Fly Away Fly

Flies are an unwelcome guest on any farm.  Farmers get a lot of complaints from neighbors about flies, and in most cases the farmer doesn't like the flies any more than the neighbor does.  Flies are a nuisance to everyone, farmer, neighbor, and animal.  Flies can cause disease, spread disease, or bother animals enough that they lose production.  There are many options to control flies on a farm from sprays, fly paper, dusters, to parasitic wasps, but one of the most overlooked ways to reduce flies on a farm is to keep the farm as clean as possible.  Manure, feed, and milk are three of the biggest draws for flies to keeping those things cleaned up on the farm will help to reduce fly pressure.  Some things to think about would be:  make sure barnyards are cleaned regularly, stalls are cleaned and freshly bedded daily, milk houses washed after each milking, spilled milk around calf hutches is cleaned up, and spilled feed is cleaned up.  Flies are drawn to food sources and places to lay their eggs and if those options are not available on the farm they will move on.  The added benefit to keeping the farm neat and clean is that it will reduce the chances of runoff from the farm that can lead to water quality concerns, and it will give a positive impression to the neighbors that the farm is doing the right thing.  I should state that there will always be flies on a farm no matter what anyone does, but keeping them at a manageable level is the goal.