I’m talking multiple bites on my face bad. Could I hang those sticky traps high up where the chickens couldn’t reach?
I’m at my wits end and upset because I used to drink my morning tea out with them and now I can barely collect eggs without getting bitten (with bug spray on!)
by teapotlibrary
14 Comments
You need to buy mosquito repellent and spray around the fowl run
I provide standing water with dunks. I have two buckets at either end of my property that I leave full. I put the mosquito dunks in them and keep all other sources covered or moving(fountains).
The mosquitoes go to the bait water and lay their eggs. The dunks keep the midges from maturing.
Light a crap load of incense, or maybe run a big fan.
You can look into gravid mosquito traps. It can help but really only in conjunction with eliminating all other water laying sources. We were getting inundated with mosquitos until I changed our gutter drain pipes from corrugated plastic tubing to smooth PVC and gravels.
A bad mosquito problem almost always means they are breeding somewhere nearby, usually within fifty yards or so. Look carefully around the whole surrounding area, out at least 150 feet or so at first, and further if you don’t find where they are breeding within that area. This may mean collaborating with neighbors, etc. The main culprit is rainwater accumulating in human trash….containers, tires, plastic bunched up on the ground, etc. But sometimes they can be sneaky….like stub holes high up in trees or in stumps, inside cracked sections of bamboo, and in gutters overhead out of sight!
Get a bug zapper with a uv light. We have one that sticks in the ground and comes with a mini solar panel to charge itself. Takes a week to notice the change after the population has been decimated
I had the same problem recently. Got online and saw about apple cider vinegar, 1 T per gallon. I tested it out and it does seem to be preventing the larva in the water. I then did a perimeter search and found 2 plastic containers buried under the tall grass behind the barn. Got rid of those and noticed some improvement, but not good enough for me. Finally, we cut back all the tall grass about 5 ft from the barn and voilà! We haven’t had mosquitoes swarming the chickens for a month now. I like to think it’s a combination effort.
Mow the grass down, and clean uo any nearby brush. They can breed on wet leaves, grass, damo wood.
Alternatively look into makimg a bathouse.
There is enough moisture somewhere that is causing them to breed, I used to have a neighbor that had a leaking sprinkler, and every morning it way over watered their lawn (basically a mud bog) and the mosquitoes were soooo bad. we finally got a hold of their land lord and got it fixed, and the mosquitoes almost went away entirely. They were down the street from us, but the population boom was so bad, it covered the whole street, 8 or 9 houses to either side of them. it is worth it to walk around and see what could be the source of the water. it does not have to be close by.
Spray permethrin. Wont hurt chickens.
I’m gonna guess they’re breeding in the wooded area and attracted to your flock. Set up a dunk or two outside the coop and make it more inviting than the woods
Can you cut that tall grass just outside of the run area?? Mosquitoes like to rest during the day in tall, shady areas such as that. Also leaf/debris piles if you have any
I’ve heard a lot of people get dragonflies to cope with mosquito overpopulation. More of a long-term solution that would require good setup as far as having an appropriate habitat for them. Possibly, if you created the habitat, they would just naturally populate the area and eat the mosquitoes but people apparently also buy them. Dragonflies need standing water though so IDK how well that would work because at first it would probably increase the mosquito population.
Double check that there’s no standing water anywhere else that you might not have thought of. If the chicken waterer is the only standing water, I would consider getting a fountain. They even have heated ones for the winter which could be a benefit if you live someplace cold. But be careful where you put it because it can splash.
Also another workaround could be getting one of those gardening hats/safari hats with the mosquito nets on them. And just covering up with clothes and maybe gloves.
Hope you figure out a good solution!!
We have a service come in every 3 weeks and spray the yard for them . Works amazing
When the mosquitoes get bad I put some bug zappers in the coop until they die down