Gnats, flies and my poor girls

smilesx4 · #1 06/29/14, 06:46 AM

Hi,

we have a gnat problem and it's driving me and my girls crazy. They are so itchy and I have been trying everything. I have fly traps in the shed, I have fans on for air flow. I clean pens monthly. They are on concrete with a layer of sawdust and a layer of hay. I have now resorted to spraying nightly but I don't want to keep using chemicals. Do you have any suggestions?

thanks!

onebizebee · #2 06/29/14, 09:00 AM

Vanilla I have heard gnats hate vanilla but I have not tried it as I do not have gnats here. Just the dreaded flies.

Backfourty,MI. · #3 06/30/14, 06:23 AM

http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/stor...y?cm_vc=-10005

This is what I use. Still chemicals I know but I only spray them about every 2 weeks. Lasts longer than anything else I've tried.

smilesx4 · #4 07/01/14, 12:15 PM

thank you so much Backfourty. I will try anything at this point! I have even thought of putting a bug zapper in there, but the noise would scare the **** out of my gang. They had noises of all kinds!

Chief Cook · #5 07/02/14, 04:00 PM

I live behind an alfalfa farm, and I never knew that gnats swarms could get this big! Not to mention the skeeters!!! Anyway, I asked one of the owners of the farm how they could stand it out there changing sprinklers with all those clouds of bugs. And here is what he told me: They go to the pharmacy and get citronella oil and put a few drops on a bandana and tie that around their necks. It keeps all the bugs off their faces and out of their ears. I know you wouldn't want to put something like this on your goats, but it should help you to be more comfortable while you are out there working. Hope you find some relief for you and your babies!