Where there are chickens, there are flies. It’s an inevitable, but totally fixable problem. You can get rid of flies in the chicken coop with a little effort and perseverance. You’re tougher than those darn flies! Read on to find out how we managed to get rid of flies in the chicken coop, with just a few cheap and simple tools.
I awoke the other day to find a complete and total infestation of flies in the chicken coop. I mean, there were thousands upon thousands of them. After extensive and rather disgusting research I discovered that we had three different types of flies occupying our land – cluster flies, bottle flies, and house flies.
Because they were all different, there was no one solution to get rid of them. I read that bottle flies are attracted to “filth” and cringed when I realized we had plenty of that to go around. Chicken poop galore up in that place. Flies are attracted to chicken poop, wet bedding, and food scraps in the chicken run and coop. It’s incredibly difficult to keep the coop and run completely clean each and every day, unless you want to run around after your chickens with a pooper scooper all day long, and I certainly don’t want that life.
How to Get Rid of Flies in the Coop
The first thing that had to be done to get rid of flies in the chicken coop was to thoroughly clean the coop and lay down fresh straw in the coop and run.
After finishing cleaning, I took off to our farm store, Country Max, to supply myself with an arsenal of fly weaponry. I talked with the employees there to get their option on the best fly traps. They suggested a Starbar Fly Terminator Pro Fly Trap and a Super Fly Roll.
I’d never been so excited about fly traps in my life. I followed the directions exactly, set up the fly trap in a sunny area next to the chicken coop.
Starbar Fly Terminator Pro Fly Trap
The Starbar Fly Terminator Pro Fly Trap works AMAZINGLY well. The half gallon jug was completely full to the top after one day and I had to go buy more fly attractant so I could refill it.
What I love most about this fly trap is the same plastic jug can be used forever, you only need to keep buying attractant! The attractant doesn’t have any toxic poisons in it, so you can put the dead flies in your compost- it’s even advertised on the box as a great garden fertilizer!
Also advertised on the box: Warning: Do not seal dead flies and attractant in an airtight plastic or glass container as the decomposition will cause the container to EXPLODE. Now why would anyone ever do that?
The Poison Free Super Fly Roll
When I set up fly trap, I realized flies were swarming all around it, but at first not many were going in. I found out later they’re more interested in going into the trap if other flies are already in there, so it takes a little while for the trap to really get to work. In the mean time, I set up the Super Fly Roll directly next to the trap so flies that didn’t go directly into the trap would stop to rest on the sticky trap.
Holy Moly did this work! After three hours the fly roll was completely coated. I couldn’t even see the strip anymore, only a blanket of flies. I don’t think it would have been as effective if I hadn’t put it right next to the attractant.
Here’s the only downside to sticky traps- they fill up fast and then you have to throw them away, making them more expensive in the long run. I like the Super Fly Roll much better than the yellow fly ribbon Those traps have a tendency to twist and blow in the wind, getting them tangled up easily. This roll stays put, and the flies really stick to it!
Side note: these sticky traps can’t go in the run or the coop. We hung ours just outside of it after learning the hard way that chickens fly directly into the traps and get tangled in the sticky dead fly grossness and can’t get it off. Not the smartest, those chickens.
After five days of replacing sticky traps and refilling the captivator, we are finally at a point where we have only a couple flies zooming around our backyard. This plan of attack worked wonders for our issue. In the future we’re going to take preventative measures to keep them at bay. Mainly keeping up with poop duty more than we have been.
It’s a nasty business, but someone has to do it!
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What do you, dear readers, do to keep flies at bay on your farm? I would love to hear about new and exciting tools to get rid of these nasty pests?
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I loved your article, it was very informative…would love it if you hopped on by our blog hop on Sunday…The Homesteaders Hop.
http://www.modernhomesteaders.net
Thank you! I added it to your hop, I’ll be stopping more often, I just saved your blog to bloglovin! 🙂
I love this article! Well done! It answers questions and gives excellent solutions!
Oh my gosh..we have been struggling with fly strips and the like, but I am absolutely COVETING that big fly jar. That thing looks amazing! Must go by immediately-thanks for sharing it!
I dont use the attractant that comes with fly jars. I save raw chicken scraps or buy cheapest chicken I can find and add it to the jar. I have an acre and we use 3-4 jars that we put out every spring. I empty it every 4-6 weeks and start over with fresh raw chicken. It is a smelly hob … may make you gag … but it saves you from the fly madness!
Tamie, That is a great frugal tip! Thanks for sharing.
Ok that may work but it’s kinda gross to handle and mess with. I just use an empty gallon plastic jug. Then I use 1 tsp of sugar with 2 teaspoons of yeast and 1/2 cup warm water. Let it sit 2-3 hours til the yeast and sugar reaction is done. Pour into the gallon jug and fill to within 2” from top. The flies crawl in and drown.
Cheapest solution ever.
Oh my gosh! That whole jar was slap full of flies?!? Ew!!
Hah, yes, one of the most vulgar things I’ve dealt with thus far, but it works!
Can you feed the flies to the chickens.
You can, yes, but we don’t. What your chickens eat, you eat through their eggs. While the fly attractant isn’t toxic, people wouldn’t want to eat it. We dispose of the flies in other ways and give our chickens healthier treats instead.
I use fans to control flies. In the heat of the day it helps keep the barn cool – but neither mosquitoes nor flies can fly through the breeze the fan creates. I got this idea from restaurants and stores. They often have an overhead fan blowing at their entrance – when I was told the reason for the fan, a light bulb turned on.
My barn has 2 main entrances and 1 small one chicken-sized door. I have an ordinary 19″ box fan blowing at all 3 entrances. Screens are tacked up over the windows.
My barn is occupied by Nubian goats, chickens, a very large black snake (rodent control), and 2 cats. I milk my goats twice a day inside the barn. To avoid feeding wildlife, all feeding is inside the barn but the barn is open 24/7/365. I do get the occasional fly, but the fans do an excellent job of keeping the barn fly free with a bonus of keeping the barn cooler as well.
That’s a great idea, Nancy! I’ve seen box fans set up in barns a lot, it’s great that they’re a dual purpose tool. We might have to try your tactic next summer if the flies get out of control again! Thanks for stopping by!
about the snake though, how do you make it not to eat the chicken, mind sharing
zillion thanks
I use food grade DE in my run as well as using it to dust the poop board when I clean it. I made a shaker with holes poked into the top and put DE in it to shake into the crevices of the nesting boxes. I checked before I started to make sure that it was ok for a compost pile which was going to be used in the garden, The DE kept down all of the flying varmits down all spring and summer.
That shaker is such a great idea! We use DE in the run and coop as well, I definitely want to make a shaker this summer so it’s easier to apply!
What’s your source for food grade DE?
Hi Theresa,
We buy it at our local garden center. Sometimes you can find it at Lowe’s or Home Depot as well, and failing that, order it on Amazon!
I found a really good buy on Diatomaceous Earth. Perma-Guard brand. Food grade and OMRI listed at newcountryorganics.com in Waynesboro, VA. As of today, The price is $28.00 for 50lbs. This is the white kind, fine like flour. Tractorsupply.com has
Red Lake Earth Diatomaceous Earth with Calcium Bentonite, 40 lb.
$19.99. Red Lake Earth is for use in feeds as an anticaking agent or pelleting aid for further manufacturing in feed.
I actually prefer the Red Lake. It is a coarser product and one that I use especially for the coop area. I also mix it into their dust bath. Great for keeping mites, lice and fleas off. Makes for easier scrapping off poop. I use this as a dewormer too. Even use it on my dog. Great stuff.
I buy 40lb from local feed & tack for $16. Red Lake Earth DE. Most reasonable price I could find & I like to support local businesses.
Tractor supplies carry the DE the large bag is worth the money. It must be kept dry. I use a plastic bin you can also use a tablespoon per chicken in the feeder to prevent worms and parasites. They are very helpful and can answer most questions they also carry the fly trap and bait. Good luck.
I had a problem with flies this summer also and did a bit of research regarding herbs. I hung a few fly tapes from the farm store (the kind my in-laws use on the farm) and then snipped a handful of peppermint, basil and rosemary all over the bedding and nesting boxes and run along with a good dusting of diat. earth and it worked great. Pretty soon the flies subsided and I didn’t have to replace the tape and ended up just snipping basil over the bedding and nesting boxes and it kept the flies completely away.
That’s so cool Anna! Thanks for sharing! I’ve heard of using herbs to keep flies at bay but I’ve never heard any success stories with it. If we ever have enough extra basil to spread around the coop I’ll try that this summer. I don’t know though…caprese salad is a mega favorite around here…
Superb post but I was wondering if you could write a litte more on this topic?
I’d be very grateful if you could elaborate a little bit
more. Thanks!
Wow sounds like it worked well! I’ll have to keep that in mind. Thanks for sharing your experience.
I’ve been using the captivator trap and it works amazingly well. I can’t help but think that all of those dead flies would be a nice protein source for the chickens. Do you know if the attractant renders the flies inedible? The attractant t is labeled as having no insecticide, but of course that doesn’t necessarily mean that it would be safe for the chickens to consume. What do you think?
Hi Mike,
I’m so glad the trap is working well for you! I honestly don’t know if it would be okay for your chickens to eat the dead flies. From what I understand, the attractant contains fly sex pheromones, which shouldn’t be toxic, but I haven’t a clue what else would be in there. My chickens pick the flies off our sticky traps and eat them, but we’ve never given them ones from the captivator. It did say on the bottle that the flies are great for your compost though, so I would think if it’s good for compost it’s fine for chickens, but I couldn’t say for sure. Sorry I’m not more of a help, maybe you can try calling or emailing the company and they could give you some straight answers. Good luck and good chicken keeping!
I don’t know if you ever got an answer. But, I only used the attractant the first few times I emptied it. Since then I have used a bit of raw meat or some wet pet food in the trap with excellent results. If you put somethings different in to attract flies you would know exactly what your chicks are eating. Hope this helps!
My chickens will not eat flies dead or alive. They pretty much know what is safe to eat.
This is the fly trap we have been using. Its VERY effective but with a couple downsides. One, its pricey. Much pricier than the ones you listed both for the trap and the bait. Two, it attracts my garden “good bugs” like spiders and preying mantids to feast on the trapped flies, unfortunately trapping and eventually killing them as well. I’m looking for alternatives so thanks for your post. I’m gonna check out the two traps you posted and the basil/rosemary idea. We have tried D.E. but, didn’t do much for our fly problem but maybe these others will be more effective.
I have ducks and I order fly predators (larva that turn into teeny tiny non stinging wasps) that don’t allow the flies to hatch. I get them from Spaulding Labs. I also crush basil daily and put it in with the shavings in the duck night shed. Don’t know if it helps (read somewhere it is supposed to) but it smells good. And I clean out the duck house and runs daily and put that in the compost pile covered with a little fresh straw or shavings. The fly predators are expensive (about 90$ for the season) so I may try the fly capitvator (and make my husband empty it-ew)
Is there a reason they can’t be fed to the chickens??I mean you can buy plastic jars full of dead centipedes,why not flys??
Hi Susan,
I’m honestly totally unsure if you can feed them to the chickens. There is a chemical attractant that you use in these traps, which draws the flies into the container. It says it’s non toxic, but since I have no idea what it’s made from I’m uncomfortable feeding the flies to the chickens. I mean, there are plenty of things that are non toxic that I’d still rather not eat. I thin it’s a judgement call though, or you could try calling the company and asking them what they think!
We have to use the traps mentioned above and predators. Now granted we have 3 horses 3 sheep 13 chicken 4 duck 4 dogs and 2 cats, so we have lots of animals on our farm. The predator are not too pricy if you shop around and if you buy a certain amount and can get free shipping ect.
Thanks for the tip Natalie! I would love to try fly predators but haven’t found the money to continuously pay for them. The traps we use are cheap and re-usable so we’ve stuck with them. If I can find predators for a reasonable enough price I’ll definitely try them out!
Reading about your concerns about the attractant being bad for the chickens. Will all the flies even get in contact with it? If it is only a thing that attracts them, and then they die because they are in the jar should not make them bad?
The attractant is a liquid that goes right into the water in the trap, so it definitely comes into contact with the flies.
“I mean you can buy plastic jars full of dead centipedes,why not flys??”
Where do you buy plastic jars full of centipedes? I have never seen anything like that in the US. Do you perhaps mean mealworms? I have seen jars full of mealworms for sale…
I’ve tried lots of fly traps. Every one I saw. I’m curious. .does this one that you’re discussing stink? Every fly attracting trap I ever used or saw smelled so bad that I could barely stand it being around.!
The fly trap does stink when it fills up with flies and sits for awhile, any trap full of dead insects and water will reek if left alone for long enough. However, if you empty this trap weekly it will not have time to get to that stinky point, and in my opinion it’s worth the effort if it means no flies!
I have really bad fly issues with my ducks this year and bought the fly attractant and it smells like a rotting corps. it’s terrible
After my first experience with flies right after getting my girls, I was a googling fool. I found numerous post of people using those ugly Christmas tree air fresheners (yellow vanilla scented) so of to Walmart I went and bought every pack they had. I hung three of them in there and within a day, viola ITS A MIRCLE, NO FLIES and two years later, still no problem. Once the scent starts to fade, I replace them with 3 new ones. Apparently, flies don’t like to scent of vanilla and it seems to be true in this case 🙂
That’s so awesome Laurie!! I’m totally trying that in the summer. Thanks for the hot tip! 🙂
Do your chickens peck at the air fresheners? Are the air fresheners in the coop or outside?
Feed the flies in the flytrap to the chickies.
Another method that works well, at least it did for when I raised rabbits is to put vanilla extract, or even imitation vanilla extract in their water supply. It used to cut down on the smell as well as keep the flies away. Another way to keep the flies away is to use a thick bedding of sand in the coop and run. The chickens will scratch over the poop with the sand, drying it out and making the coop less smelly also helping to keep the flies away.
That’s a great tip Jennifer, thanks for sharing!!
We use sand in our run with a little DE sprinkled in and have no problems with flies!
I’m so upset. My girl’s have what appears as pox…we suddenly have a fly issue. ..assuming it is from the fly infestation. I was really wanting to give up this mini farm, but opened pinterest tonight and this was the 1st thing I see. I’m pumped. I’m going to buy those ugly vanilla Christmas trees…fly Traps. …sand. ..and pluck lots of rosemary. Thank you! Now got healing my girl’s. ???? Help! ? I rubbed each comb with cutip…coconut oil blended with essential oil, lavender essential oil & vx…I’ve read it will have to run its course. ..thank you for any advice on this. Shanna
Paint the POX with iodine with a small artist’s brush. I’ve cured a couple doves with this treatment. Iodine is cheep and readily available.
That jar is naaaaaasty. I have flies in our coop but I counted maybe 4. And these tiny black bugs in the sand
I use Sweet PDZ, also used for horse stalls. It dries the moisture, reduces odor, cuts down on flies and is safe or composting. I throw a few handfuls around every few days and it is more effective than I ever imagined!
What is Sweet PDZ??? I just got a pet Rooster and am getting about 10 chickens in a week, adult girls. I am making my own Coop and everything, having a blast by the way doing it. Am getting tons of ideas from this site, can’t wait to try the Christmas Vanilla hangers and the basil and the everything else…Ha Ha Ha….Love learning….Maggie
flies hate pine sol. Maybe try cleaning area with that
Also, I have tilted fan with pan of water under. Fan flow pushes flies into water and they drown.
I have sand in my coop, takes about 10- 15 minutes to clean up every morning, Stays dry , also in my outdoor run keep all mud out of coop, always have folks ask me where did the flies go, my nest boxes have easy pick shavings and DE.
Hi, I have purchased many things that should work in theory but in reality are sadly lacking…I believe in your endorsement of this product…having said that I was excited to hit the purchase button but when I tried to add the attractant I sadly find it doesn’t ship to Canada…does anyone know I can obtain the attractant here in Alberta?
I’m so sorry they aren’t working for you! These products have worked well for everyone I’ve talked to, I’m sorry they don’t ship to Canada, that’s a big bummer! I suggest going to a garden center or farm/feed store near you and asking if they have attractant, most of them carry them, and they could even look into ordering this brand for you. I hope you can find something that works, flies are SO frustrating!
You can place a small square of beef in some water, it will attract flies in short order. Once you trap flies they themselves will attract more flies. When dumping leave some of th flies in the jar, don add more water.
I have chickens and ducks and do not have a fly problem. I simply hang a few gallon size ziploc bags around my coop half full of water. In that water I add a couple tablespoons of Baking soda and a few pennies. It works wonders in keeping flies away. I use this same method to keep flies away when I’m camping or fishing or picnicking.
I like this idea. How do you hang your gallon baggies?
we use the same traps but our local feed store(s) regularly run out of the refills so I tried chicken poop and water… works great and then I’m not concerned with feeding the flies to my girls!
I’m always interested in just about anything that has to do with chickens. We’re so close to moving to our bigger homestead where I’ll be able to have chickens that I find myself soaking up as much information as possible! Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us! It’ll definitely help me when the time comes!
I don’t have a farm but I have six cats three litter boxes. In the summer, folks going in and out of the house leave the door open, letting in tons of flies.
I use these little tubes of sticky fly strips that spiral out of the tube when you pull them out. The flies congregate under the lights over both my breakfast table and dinner table so I hung the strips from the light fixtures. In minutes they were full of flies, so I had to put new ones up right away. Fortunately they come four to a box and I had bought two boxes.
This works rather well in the house. I can see where you would need something considerably bigger for outside.
I see that you wrote this article a couple of years ago, but I just got into the backyard chicken “hobby” and read this article yesterday (while at work — sh-h-h).
After work, I made a beeline for my local farm supply store and bought 2 Captivator Fly Traps and some extra attractant. This thing is FANTASTIC!
I set one in the vicinity of my deck (though not on it), where flies have made sitting out with or without a drink or snack impossible all summer, and one about 10 feet from my chicken coop/run (I only have 4 5-week-old pullets, so it’s a small setup). Within minutes the jug by the deck was being swarmed by flies! I managed to sit out with an uncovered glass of wine by my side to watch them and didn’t have a single one come near me.
Your advice has found a new fan in Tulsa!!
Thanks so much!
I use sand in my run. It breaks down the waste rapidly. About twice a year I mix in a $10 bag of PDZ. We have no flies, and no smell. I also use PDZ in the coop catchment and simply scoop it into a bucket every morning with a litter scoop. My coop is about 15 feet from my patio, and it is such a pleasure to see and hear my 5 girls with none of the usual negative aspects of keeping chickens!
Whow! I start keeping chicken next september and surely will read and follow all these tips. Thanks!
Save the $7 for the attractant and the next time you cook some chicken for dinner, cut off some of the excess fat from the edges and drop those pieces into the trap. After a day it will start to smell funky and you will get flies galore. Just keep some water in there to kill the flies.
I’ve used this with the milk jug topper style, the soda bottle style and there type you show here. Works better than the store bought attractant.
Very smart idea, thanks for sharing!
This may sound like a dumb question but I’m trying to learn how all I can about homesteading so I can get out of this city and go back to my roots… with the caught dead flies, couldn’t you feed them to the chickens? I thought chickens ate bugs?
You technically CAN feed them back to the chickens as the bait is non-toxic, but we don’t do it. I get skeeved out about feeding them to the birds, flies carry disease and are terribly filthy. When the jug needs to be emptied it smells so bad that a big whiff of it is enough to make you woozy. I like to keep in mind that whatever my chickens eat, I’ll eat through their eggs and meat, so I don’t go out of my way to feed them really nasty stuff. If they eat a few live flies on their own, that’s okay, but I won’t feed them a whole jug of decomposing flies.
I have great success mixing a couple of ounces of apple cider vinegar. And about the same amount of both vanilla extract and Pine-Sol with about an ounce or two of barn and stable spray for flies into a 1-gallon sprayer and leave Outdoors. I spray about every other day and managed to keep the flies at bay. I do this while the girls are outside
Wow – I have really enjoyed reading all of the feedback and the original post. My husband and I are moving to a small “farm” where I hope to have about 4 hens (no rooster) and this information is extremely helpful. Thank you!
I use hanging fly traps and also spray beneficial nematodes all over using a hose-end sprayer. They are microorganisms that kill the larva of flies, fire ants, mosquitos, grubs, etc.Doing this a few times a year for a few years is a huge help getting rid of a lot of pests naturally.
We have horses, dogs and chickens. Commercial chicken farms use Agita 10wt. A bait and killer for the flies. Discovered it this year. Keeps the flies way way down. It beats our misting system in the barn, the fly bags and stickie tapes I’ve used for years.
Our chicken COOP has sand floor with DE. DE works till it gets wet. Then it’s just mud. I like the vanilla idea. Gonna give that a shot too.
Charlie, Thanks for sharing your experience! Agita 10wt sounds like a great solution for fly control. I hope the vanilla trick works well for you in addition to your other methods.