War on Flies 2017- bug zappers?

[Mukluk]

The past few years I have bought the fly predators, however, this year I am giving up on them since my neighbor will not use them so it seems like a wash. I also use stinky traps away from the barn and the sticky paper in the barn area. I have not tried any feed through products to date.

I am considering adding a bug zapper to the arsenal. Does anyone have one and how well do you think it works? I am also curious because some of the reviews for them on amazon warn about the expense of the replacement bulbs. I am also concerned about harming beneficial bugs and not sure to what extent this could be a problem

FYI where I am the main pest critter is the common stable fly.

Thanks in advance for any insight on the upcoming war on flies.

[wireweiners]

My dad used to have one on his patio. IIRC, it got more moths and June bugs than flies.

[StormyDay]

Mine never caught flies, and every time it zapped one the horses flipped out. They HATED the sound of it and it couldn’t be within 20 feet of anyones stall.
It now sits in a corner somewhere.

[Squirt]

^This, totally this. Hate them in barns.

PS-I can’t wait for the quote function to be fixed

[Color_of_Light]

Timely topic. Just last Friday I called a company that sells a device called Mosquito Magnet. Don’t let the name fool you, it also kills biting flies, gnats and no see ums. It doesn’t zap or make popping sounds, its quiet. It lures the bugs in and dehydrates them somehow with propane. One model requires electricity, the other I think is some sort of battery. Both require a propane tank. There are multiple models with various features. It’ll cover one acre. Not sure if some models cover more. Prices range from $300?ish put to I think $700? One propane tank lasts a month.

[Color_of_Light]

I started using fly predators again last year after not using them for years. I don’t know that I noticed much difference over not using it. Anyone else feel the same way?

We also use feed thru fly control. Fly preditor company said that was ok.

[gumtree]

[QUOTE=Color of Light;9037408]
I started using fly predators again last year after not using them for years. I don’t know that I noticed much difference over not using it. Anyone else feel the same way?

We also use feed thru fly control. Fly preditor company said that was ok.[/QUOTE]

YUP! Like you we used them for a number of years. Really thought they helped a lot. A few years ago money was tight, not that the cost of them was a budget buster. But they started “bugging me” with emails me in like January over and over again to order NOW don’t wait.

Their emails were more annoying than the fly’s. So I sent them an email to take us off their list NOW.

Haven’t used them since and IMO in the end they really made no difference. Funny thing is, my wife made a comment that summer saying how well the fly predators were working. I laughed and said I haven’t been using them this year.

The only thing that I think really helps in cutting down on the population is use of a fogger. The install fly misters help a lot also.

OP, did you ever read the book or see the movie “Leiningen Versus the Ants”? He won in the end but had to take extreme measures and paid a heavy price. lol.

[Bluey]

We used fly predators for some years, then didn’t one year and sure could tell the difference here.

We went back to using them and, for us, here, they definitively work.

One reason could be, we are in the semi-desert and don’t have concentrations of animals, so maybe under those conditions fly predators can do their thing where it is a noticeable difference?

It was not just my maybe biased opinion, but had neighbors dropping by noticing our flies are not near as bad as theirs, that at times cover the doors where some even sneak in the houses as people come and go.
Also, their pastured horses are stomping and switching to the point of breaking tail hairs, our don’t even notice the rare fly and tails drag the ground.
We don’t have any of that as long as we have fly predators.

I would guess, fly predators do work under the right condition and won’t if you don’t have those.

[Jarpur]

Years ago, we bought a Mosquito Magnet, but returned it with the trial period. It made only a little difference, and used more propane than claimed, so was more expensive to run than expected.

We used fly predators for years, but are more satisfied with the results we get from a feed-through product, combined with automatic spray dispensers in the barn, and old-fashioned fly tape.

[csaper58]

Here, manure management is the key. That is where the flies breed.

If litter from the stalls is removed from the property or properly composted, and manure in the paddocks/pastures picked up or harrowed regularly, the fly numbers are controlled.

[Mukluk]

I have a small place and poop is picked up daily, goes into cans with covers, that are hauled off weekly. On the other hand, my nearby neighbor does not so this. That’s why I gave up on fly predators. This year will be doing the stinky traps away from stall area, Sticky traps in the stall area. But thought a fly zapper might help to reduce the fly population. I may also consider a feed through though may not be that helpful since I get the neighbor flies too.

[StormyDay]

For flies I found the best thing was using a fogger to kill them. After each spray I noticed a huge reduction in the amount of flies. They sell them in the fly spray section at TSC, I use the county vet one that’s designed for cow barns. Fog at night when the flies are sleeping on your barn walls and such.
Bats can help a bit too, but they deal more with mosquitoes.

[csaper58]

This stick string if placed above the stalls, where flies land at night to sleep, catches hundreds of flies.

www.jefferspet.com/products/revenge-sticky-fly-tape

It does not smell and is not toxic.

It is very sticky, be sure it is out of reach of the horses. Our barn cats seem to know to avoid it.

Many places carry it.

[Mukluk]

Thanks all. So far no flies but I hope I can reduce the population this year.

[whitney159]

I have no issue really with regular barn flies, though I did try the predators one year, I didn’t see much of a difference. The biggest thing for me was to remove the manure aggressively. My issue is the yellow/may/horse/deer flies, you know, the truly evil ones? I’ve read up on how to build traps for them and might very well be painting 2 dozen milk jugs blue and covering them with tanglefoot this year to see if I can cut into the population. Hate, hate HATE those things!

[Quelah]

Flies aren’t attracted to light, and are not really nocturnal, so bug zappers don’t work on them, sadly.

[fourfillies]

Consider installing a spray system. Easy to do if you are at all handy. Cost for the concentrate is less than multiple combined interventions and No Flies!

[JohnConte]

And which method the best?