Sandychick Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 I posted on here last week about maggots in flitraps - gross! The garden stank, they were just a breeding ground for flies! I've removed them from the garden now and we've got far less flies than when we had flitraps in it! Will never buy one of these again - BIG MISTAKE! Smells far more evil than anything the chooks can produce! Sticking with garlic powder, bokashi and citronella, thanks! Seems to be some very mixed views. I love my flitrap!! Makes me very happy to see hundreds of dead flies stuck in a trap! It is up a tree so maybe thats why I can't smell it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yolky Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 I noticed a previous reply on here about using Hemcore, Bokashi and Garlic which was suggested works to reduce the number of flies. I currently use Aubiose in the run. Should I be raking out the Aubiose each day or just water it down to dilute the poo? What is the difference between Hemcore and Aubiose? I wondered if I am washing down the run too often. I do it in the morning, late afternoon and then once the girls have gone to bed. Am I producing a breeding ground for the little disease ridden things. We really cannot invite people over for a BBQ because of the amount of flies in the garden. Help! If you are using hemcore/auboise (they both are the same thing really) in your run then you really shouldn't be getting it wet. The reason it works so well on the poo is because it is dry and so sucks all the moisture from the poo. You need to keep the run with auboise as dry as possible (you need a cover on it if it rains) or it won't work properly. At night I rake all the hemcore to the run door and sift through with a cat litter scooper. You don't have to do it every night though. I would get some bokashi and garlic (I think this helps because it neutralises odors so the flies don't smell it so much), not wet the run (if you need to get a cover Ikea do shower curtains that are clear for 85p) and also as someone posted above she felt her flytrap actually encouraged flies so perhaps try not using them for a couple of weeks and see after all of that if there is a change. I wish you luck as having lots of flies about is not nice at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Brown Clan Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 Mine kept making me retch , the smell was vile so have had hubby remove it from my garden and hang it on a tree in the alley behind our house !!! can't smell it anymore but it sure is filling up with flys !!!!, will just chuck it away ( when wearing a gas mask ) and never to return again .Will use citronella , bookasi ( sp) and garlic from now on Flitraps are effective if you can stomach the smell I can't !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Slats Posted July 23, 2008 Share Posted July 23, 2008 Ours has been up 2 weeks and is about half full and I have to admit I have started to wonder if it's attracting more flies than we would otherwise have. The stench is awful and it makes my stomach churn to sit out there. Going to get hubby to move it right to the back of the garden to see if it still keeps the flies off the run with making the whole neighbourhood want to wretch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FruitandNutCake Posted July 23, 2008 Author Share Posted July 23, 2008 I have a heavy drain cover, which i lifted off and pured the contents down the drain, followed by a couple of buckets of water ( already lined up ready!!). Wet poos on the patio definitely attract flies, but I have found dusting them with citronella powder stops the flies - and I wait for them to dry a little before scooping them up. The run is covered, and I use aubiose which drys the poo up quickly. But I did notice more flies in the run when I didn't replace the flitrap straight away. I've got more flies down the bottom of the garden where there are no chickens and no flitraps, so I don't think the chickens or the flitraps are increasing the flies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beach chick Posted July 23, 2008 Share Posted July 23, 2008 I think maybe it's just a bad year for flies?? I dont notice that many round the chickens, but they seem to be making a beeline (or flyline) for the kitchen and I cant think why - no more or less hygienic than usual. OH says its the dog's fault but the rest of us wont have it!! we have a tennis racket style zapper, which is quite fun - you hit the fly and it gets electrocuted... one down, 27,500 to go! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
