Neighbors complaining about flies

[TreatsNSnoozin]

I've never had chickens, but I always hear they eat every bug in sight. Why aren't they eating the flies/maggots? Sorry for being an amateur

 

[AnnieSantiago]

I'm guessing that's in inches? Perhaps you can post pics of your setup. Maybe we can improve your setup which in return may reduce the flies. If tge flies are even coming from you to begin with.

That is FEET

 

[AnnieSantiago]

I sure hope it's not in inches. That's way to small.

That is FEET. My coop and entire run are that large in FEET.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Yeah I'm thinking it's the other neighbor that has the ducks that's attracting flies, if there's so many flies that it's a nuisance. Sounds like you're doing all the right things with the fly traps and raking up whatever poop you see.

I've never had chickens, but I always hear they eat every bug in sight. Why aren't they eating the flies/maggots? Sorry for being an amateur

Chickens will try to catch flies, but they're not particularly good at it. There's a lot of other bugs that are tastier and easier for them to chase down.

 

[Beer can]

No pun intended, I'd ask them if they have flies? "You do?, why? We don't have any, what do you have going on to be worrying about your flies?"

 

[aart]

No pun intended, I'd ask them if they have flies? "You do?, why? We don't have any, what do you have going on to be worrying about your flies?"

Perfect!!

 

[dana0710]

Fly predators - I get mine here
https://www.planetnatural.com/product/fly-parasites/

They will take a few weeks to work as they don't kill adult flies, only prevent new flies. in the meantime get these:

https://www.planetnatural.com/product/big-bag-fly-trap/

 

[trudyg]

When we let our birds out into the yard, we had a lot of flies (esp when it's humid out). Now, they are penned up farther from the house. I think the biggest thing we did to reduce flies was more like biosecurity. Before, we just wiped our feet on the mat by the door and left the shoes outside on the porch. Now, we wear the same shoes (boots, actually) any time we go out to the pen and rinse with the hose before removing them, then leave the boots farther from the door. I think we were bringing in eggs/larva on our shoes. Support for this theory is that, when we have the grandkids over, they don't clean the boots off very well and we end up with more flies. We just have the person entering the pen wear the boots, so a large size covers most of the family (the little kids don't need to be around a rooster anyway unless carried).

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Fly predators are great - unless the problem is, as suspected, actually stemming from the neighbor as the fly predators put in place by OP will only address the larvae on her property. In situations where you are near other fly producing environments the fly predators are all by ineffective at reducing the overall population as they hatch and mature in the breeding grounds outside your property and you don't even see a reduction in noticeable flies as the adult flies then fly right on over to your place.