Fly Prevention

General Sanitation

It sounds simple but overall sanitation is still the most important and effective way to control flies whether you have a large kennel or just a backyard dog. If sanitation is immaculate then fewer or no Fly Predators may be needed. However, if “immaculate” is not practical in your situation then adding a few more Fly Predators and perhaps some traps or sticky tape will still yield very satisfactory results.

A clean kennel is step one for few flies during the summer

All outside trash and manure areas should be kept clean. Use garbage cans with tight fitting lids, lined inside with plastic bags. By placing garbage in secure plastic bags, odors will be reduced, therefore attracting fewer egg laying flies. Food residues should be washed from all feed dishes, prep stations and garbage containers regularly. Locate the garbage cans as far away from the house or buildings as possible. Dispose of garbage or manure weekly as House Flies take a minimum of 8 days to emerge. Sending your fly problem to the dump is much preferred to keeping it.

Eliminate other potential fly breeding areas too. These include rotting mulch and vegetation, as well as moist soil that has droppings. Avoid leaving moist pet foods outdoors for several days.

Remove fallen, fermenting, or over-ripe fruits from the ground. Any potential breeding material should be removed or spread thinly and allowed to dry to prevent fly development. The goal is to get the manure or other matter dry within 5 days as that is the minimum time for a House Fly to pupate. As they form their cocoon (pupate) if they are in a medium that is drier (or wetter) than 40-60% moisture by weight, the pupae does not form properly and that particular fly never completes its development. Keep it dry, get no fly.

Canned food left over a weekend. The white things are hundreds of fly eggs. Avoid this.

Dispose of animal carcasses quickly during the summer. Otherwise, they will quickly become “fly factories” within 24-48 hours. A small animal (i.e., dead cat, ground squirrel, tree squirrel, rabbit, etc) can easily produce more than a thousand Blow Flies if left by the side of the road. Keep in mind that flies can travel ¼ mile.

Doo Management

For most dog owners, dog doo management is THE most important variable in any fly control program simply because this is the largest single source of (from a fly's perspective) “the good stuff.”

Wash down daily to remove all droppings

Depending on your facilities and number of animals consider the appropriate suggestions below. Common to all situations is cleaning and pickup of kennels, pens, runs or the yard of droppings and other decaying organic matter at no more than a 7 day interval to minimize fly breeding. This is because House Flies take a minimum of 8 days to emerge at optimum summer time temperatures. Daily pickup is preferred, but if you remove those pupae before the flies have emerged, the difference can be enormous.

Backyard Dog

(1) For the typical backyard dog(s) pick up the droppings as often as possible, but no less than once a week, and place them in a sealed fly tight garbage container. If you have no time for “poop patrol”, or you have neighbors with animals, simply use at least twice the recommend quantity of Fly Predators and be sure you spread them within 50-150 ft of the poop patches. Simply releasing some on your fence line may be good enough if the neighboring animals are close.

Kennel on Dirt

(2) If you have a kennel with pens and yard on dirt, collect the manure frequently and stockpile it in a compost pile if it must stay on the property or a sealed container if it going in the trash. If properly constructed, there will be very little if any pest flies breeding in the compost pile, but the farther the pile is from your house and kennel the better. The decomposition of manure generates substantial heat and reduces the suitable fly breeding area to the outer 6” of the pile. Place Fly Predators on both the areas where the droppings were left as well as near the compost pile.

The wash for the kennel above goes here and this is the prime fly breeding location on the entire property. Put Fly Predators here to stop flies.

Kennel on Concrete

(3) For kennels with concrete pens, runs and yard wash down daily. If the wash goes down the sewer then your fly breeding should be minimal and the number of Fly Predators needed will be minimal. But if the wash goes into a drainage area, then that area is likely your optimized “Fly Factory”. Remember the recipe for flies is manure and moisture and this drainage area will have plenty of both. Put the majority of your Fly Predators in this drainage areand the rest near any areas on dirt that the dogs have access to.

Weed Control

Surprising as it may seem, flies need a place to rest and get out of the heat or cool temperature. Weeds and tall grasses are perfect for this so if you remove weeds from around buildings you can “encourage” pest flies to hang out elsewhere.