Fly Predators as a control system for Horse Stables

The plastic bag was sealed tight. The shreaded wood chips allowed the dark cocoons to rattle around. Nothing was moving. I picked up the sealed bag and watched carefully for 3 days. One morning my mom called me "The bag is full of ants. The ants have eaten all the flies. Well later that morning I went straight for the predator flies infested with ants! Hmmmm... looks just like it always looks except this time the etsy bitty little flies are scurrying around as they escape their cocoons. I take bag into the kitchen and fix up some coffee and my mom and I give these tiny little flies a good once over. No ants. just tiny little flies. We started with Predator Flies the summer of 2006. We were not able to deploy flies for a full season. 2006 was the summer I broke my leg, ankle and foot. That was the summer that I left my dream ranch and moved back to town. I received my last shipments in town. However, 2007 and 2008 we spread the cocoons around the corrals on the manufacturers schedule for our region. I do notice a difference.

I first heard about Fly Predators while volunteering at a Horse Rescue. Everyone was a buzz with this new fad. I had no previous experience with the concept but the hypothesis makes perfect sense. So what are Predator Flies? Do they look like ants? According to Garden Insections The fly Parasites predator are the naturally occurring enemy of all manure breeding pest flies.Check it out! http://www.gardeninsects.com/flyParasites.asp

Pest Control; Home made fly traps

Make Your Own Fly Trap

A bit of Fly psychology.

When a fly takes flight it always takes off up and toward the sun.
That is why this thing works!!!

Materials Needed:

One 5 gallon bucket
Screen, on old screen off a door will do
Glue, something the consistency of caulking
Bailing wire or twine
3 lb coffee can

Bait
Equipment:
Knife to cut the bucket
Scissors
Using your knife or box cutter, cut windows out of the side of your bucket all the way around. Flies will always move toward the sunlight so you want a nice open view.
Next, cut a hole in the bottom of the bucket.
Make a cone out of your screening. Leave a small opening in the top about the size of your little finger. This is where the files will enter the trap...BUT..they will NOT try to leave the same way. Place the cone in the hole in the bottom of the bucket and trim excess leaving enough screen so that you can clip and fold it back and glue it in place on the bottom of the bucket.
Now that you have your cone in place cut a strip of screen that will wrap around the inside of the bucket. Glue this in place. Cut a square or circle to use as a lid. Place this on with bailing twine or wire. You will want to be able to take the lid off and empty your bucket so that you can use it again next year.
Bait it!A good fly attractant is like an old sourdough start. Once you get it going, keep feeding it. Being a horse person I hang my fly traps on the corral fence and put a 3lb coffee can on the ground under the cone. The files come to the bait and when they take off they fly "up" into the cone and walk on up into the trap.
At the beginning of the season I start out with a commercial attractant. There are several on the market. I add a little fresh dog poop from time to time. I also throw in some decaying vegetable cutting from the garden. What ever smells is the key. Be sure and keep water in your bait can. You don't want to let it dry out.
Placement of your fly trap is important also. If it is not working well where you hang it, move it five feet. Don't ask me why this makes a difference. I know one year it works on this part of the fence and next year it wants a new spot.
If you are a dog person you may want to take a little extra time and screw three or four legs on to the bottom of your bucket. That way just find the freshest poop in the morning, set it down and before you go to work you will have captured several hundred files.