Flies!

[PeakBagger Packers]

How do you all handle flies in and around the barn? I try to clean my barns once a week and then put juniper shavings over the stall mats, not very deep. I've got 4 fly traps up and they are so full I just can't believe it. 
I've been trying to use natural repellent, essential oils with apple cider vinegar but it doesn't seem to be helping much. I hate to use those awful chemical types around my babies and my does... 
Tips?

[Kat]

Not much help here, no problem with flies - do you have livestock other than goats? I'm a bit of a clean freak, clean 1-2x/day and use pine shavings over my stall mats. But then I only have 3 goats.

[Charlie Horse]

Never use those stinky fly traps. T hey catch gallons of flies while attracting 5 gallons of flies. Ask me how I know....

[PeakBagger Packers]

Not much help here, no problem with flies - do you have livestock other than goats?  I'm a bit of a clean freak, clean 1-2x/day and use pine shavings over my stall mats. But then I only have 3 goats.

That's incredible, Kat! I wish I could find the time but once a week on the weekends is usually the best I can manage. We have a juniper forest we are constantly cutting on to decrease fire danger so the shavings are in constant supply! 
No other livestock, but we do have 10 goats. Don't tell me I have too many goats.... Haha! 

[IdahoNancy]

Fly tape can help a bit. Those long sticky things that are all twirled up. They are non-toxic in case the goats do get a hold of them. I attach both ends to the barn ceiling and leave a loop hanging down, my ceiling is low. One of my goats a few years back would wait until it was completely full of flies before he would try to eat it. He was tall and could reach the tape stretched up on his back legs. Of course it would wrap around his face and stick to him. He would give you that "help me, can you get this off my face" look.

[Kat]

ewww.... the things goats do!  Folks at my office gave me a cup that says "I work hard so my goats can have a good life" - says it all lol!

[CMGifford]

I've actually used a fly trap with the dissolving packets of fly bait with some success. It makes a pretty nasty smelly mess but it does at least attract and trap the flies. If you already have a lot of flies then I think it is better to go ahead and trap them rather than having them all of the place harassing me and the goats. You can hang them outside shelters if you have a high spot and that does keep them outside rather than inside for the most part. I got my trap at Tractor Supply. I also used fly tape last year. This year the flies have not been too bad and I am only using 1 trap so far but I noticed a couple of the goats sprinting from shelter to shelter as if their hair was on fire today (I'm pretty sure it was flies bugging them). I also had a spray that I used last year but you need to keep the goats out of the shelter for awhile as the fumes are not good for them but it definitely killed flies QUICKLY.

I was thinking about trying fly predators but I never pulled the trigger because there is an expense to them, you have to resupply every month or so, and I don't really know how effective they are. I'd be interested in hearing from anyone that has tried them.

[Nanno]

Fly predators... they are AWESOME!!! I have two horses and usually 10-20 goats at any given time and we have almost no flies. The horse corral is right next to the goat pen and very near my house, so we should be covered up with flies but we aren't. The fly predators are actually not that expensive. I paid $150 in January and it includes all the shipments for the entire season, spring thru fall. You don't have to resupply every month. You choose the plan you want and they automatically ship them to you on schedule. You just have to sprinkle them around in fly breeding areas at dusk. It's very easy and it WORKS!

I get my fly predators from Arbico Organics. I've been getting them for over 10 years now. The horse barn where I went to college has been using them for probably 25+ years now. When you compare $150/year on fly predators to all the expense of buying fly traps and bait, plus all the extra repellant you have to use, it's a bargain. I still use some fly spray on my horses when I ride, and I occasionally spritz the goats if I see more flies than usual (because no, you can never eliminate ALL of them!), but I think I've sprayed my goats maybe three times this whole summer on particularly hot, muggy days.

[Nanno]

Fly tape can help a bit. Those long sticky things that are all twirled up. They are non-toxic in case the goats do get a hold of them. I attach both ends to the barn ceiling and leave a loop hanging down, my ceiling is low. One of my goats a few years back would wait until it was completely full of flies before he would try to eat it. He was tall and could reach the tape stretched up on his back legs. Of course it would wrap around his face and stick to him. He would give you that "help me, can you get this off my face" look.

That is hilarious and disgusting!!

[blackie's maiden]

I have also used the Arbico fly preditors and was impressed.with them. However I also use a lot of diatomaceous earth and the two don't mix...the D.E. kills fly preditors and flies alike.

You have to fight flies on as many different fronts as possible. Our program, which is not perfect but works pretty well, is a dusting of D.E. (white FOOD GRADE only, often called shell powder) in stalls, frequented area as needed; 1/4 to 1/3 Cup apple cider vinegar per horse per feeding; 6" diameter balls covered in shiny aluminum foil hung around barn on string long enough to allow them movement in the breeze, about every 10-15 foot radius, high enough though that goats/horses can't get hold of.them.

The flies seem to know the DE is.deadly for them and just seem to avoid sprinkled.areas for the most part. Feeding the apple cider vinegar to them seems to keep our horses' tails as quiet as people.who spray their horses every day. We feed it year round because it offers other health benefits as well and it has to stay built up in their bodies to repel bugs. Again, you're still going to have some. Unfortunately, we haven't witnessed same results in goats with the ACV, I think the reason being, we can't control their intake as we don't feed them individually.

The aluminum-covered balls are quite amazing. Especially if they are moving and sparkling in the breeze, they do an amazing job of repelling, although again, a few seem to ignore them. If they get packed with barn dust and don't sparkle any more, you either have to rinse or recoat them with new foil.

And then there is once or twice a year for a short period where nothing seems to help. The flies are really aggressive during these times. THEN we do have to resort to fly spray. But most of the year we don't which is a lot easier on us and the horses.