Flies are a nuisance not just to human beings but also to poultry and other animals, while they also serve as a vector of both bird and human diseases. A serious fly infestation has the ability to hamper with and effect the broilers performance causing your business considerable losses. The house fly is the more popular pest and uses poultry manure as breeding ground since it has the perfect amount of moisture that flies need. Flies cause poor community relations and sanitary related health issues. With the onset of summer comes a threat of fly population explosion for poultry farmers and flies will almost always find a way to seek shelter and given their speed of breeding, it would take no time before they become a real problem. In order to tackle a fly infestation it is necessary to establish the type of fly that is breeding in the farm.
Why flies are bad for your poultry farm
- A large population of flies has the potential to cause stress and discomfort while also affecting the fly biology and causing a decreased production in egg-laying chickens, pullets and breeders.
- If fly control is not managed in due time, it can lead to poor community relations and even litigation in some cases.
- Fly control is vital for success in the rearing and production of egg laying chickens.
- Failing to comply with a fly infestation problem can lead to spreading of diseases.
- Can become a hindrance for poultry farmers to work in such an environment.
- Diseases can be transmitted through flies by carrying viruses, bacteria, parasites, and fungi on their bodies, or through their mouthparts after ingesting or coming in contact with infectious materials.
How you can control a fly infestation
- Natural measures can be taken to prevent a fly infestation, like keeping the area significantly dry and ensuring that litter is cleaned up immediately since it is one of the most common breeding grounds for flies.
- Dead birds and broken eggs are another cause for build up of flies, prompt cleaning of these can help avoid.
- A method to monitor fly populations should be put in place as part of the poultry fly pest management program.
- Cultural/physical, biological, mechanical, and chemical control are the four basic management strategies that help run successful fly control programmes.
- Systematic monitoring of fly populations helps in decision making about when and where to deploy insecticides.
- Manure management is one of the single most important aspects that poultry farms must manage in order to mitigate the fly infestation problem.
What practices does Aviagen follow – Aviagen makes it a point to adhere to all the possible steps in order to control fly infestations in the poultry farm.
- While insecticides are a temporary solution to controlling fly populations, effective fly management comprises eliminating common breeding spots by ensuring that moisture is controlled.
- Sanitation is the most important part that helps defend fly infestations on poultry farms. Aviagen ensures that litter is cleaned up promptly making the environment devoid of poultry manure, broken eggs, dead birds, etc.
- Ultraviolet fly zappers are another technique used in non bird areas like reception, processing plants and egg rooms. These zappers use the process of electrocution to reduce the number of flies.
- Fly paper with adhesives is one of the other measures taken which involves hanging a sweetly fragranced paper that eventually traps any fly that attempts to sit on it.
- Certain insecticide products are also used depending on the level of infestation.
- Residual/ non-residual insecticides and larvicides are used to target the removal of a large adult fly population and the fly larvae.