How a Farmer Won a War Against Flies

Great video. I must admit that as much as i enjoyed the review, i also enjoyed watching all the little extra things uve done to make your animals happy and healthy. Some grear ideas there ❤

instead of using coca cola in the buckets, how about using a piece of meat? they will be very attracted to that. Especially if its rotting meat. Yes, it will smell absolutely disgusting but I bet it would be extremely effective.

I love the way you film the fact that you keep everything going. Everything is moving along and we are seeing the entire farm and your work and it is very relaxing and informative. Thank you

That ain’t no honey bee

Got the same problem with our horses. Been experimenting with bucket traps and different bait. Rotten eggs would be great for you with all the chickens.

FINALLY a farmer at least trying to get rid of these disgusting flies. Have been watching vids on fly strike & it's horrible! Great compassionate farmer & lucky highland cows.

Nobody likes flies.

A Farmer that can't tell the difference between a Honey Bee and a Wasp.

Salt gun 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😅😅😅

In the old days, we'd build a rub for the cattle to use. Do you need building plans?

I tossed a $30 blue light fly zapper in the livestock shelter a couple years ago....

Cool video, informative and entertaining. Wonder if anyone else has had success with grounding rods. Saw a video on farming where the farmer was claiming his vegetable gardens were kept free of insects and bugs by using grounding. Don't have a farm to test this but wonder if this would be dangerous in an open field with lightning.

Did you try to create a vest using those sticky paper?, All the time will be with them.

what if you attach the paper to their horns instead LOL

Wait. Why arent you feeding your chickens the flies on rhe fly paper!

based

give the flies to your poultry . rotten egg yolk seems to be good. add a bit of vinegar to keep bees away

Flys primarily reproduce in poop and carrion. That’s the issue.

After watching the video I can say, as an agronomical engineer, that's some good results you have there. You can, and should, try to use the right trap at the right cycle time. Example: breeding season of some insect? Get pheromones and trap the males. In some cases you can attract females, which prevent egg laying. ;)

I'm not sure if ivermectin is effective against other microbia, but nematodes are a NO-NO for every single species in the world. Except maybe some that might feed on them. Which are not plants nor animals. Keeping land nematode-free is a hard job. If it really happens like that in your land, that land is priviledged. Specially if you decide to grow crops there in the future. Just make sure to use clean equipment there not to bring dirt from other fields.

isn't ivermectin derived from/based on a 'natural' soil microbe? - Not saying that makes it great , but it seems like a relatively 'safe' contaminate for living soil. I obviously have research to do, but it seems like a relatively good solution in that it isn't a novel substance. I am also aware that there is the matter of concentration. That is, the compound may be naturally occurring product of some strains of microbes, but when we dose it in an ag context, the levels may be concentrated to a degree that does affect the soil ecology in ways that are not fully understood. Either way, it is good to see that you are taking up the challenge and exploring potentially more sustainable and safe ways to handle common issues with livestock. From my city boy perspective, it is already a big plus to see them eating grass and not subsisting exclusively on corn-based feeds.

You could also do a back pour on the cows …

Couldn't you put a piece of chicken in there? as it rots then it should attract them!

Wrap the horns in fly paper. Mobile, targeted and no need for garbage bins everywhere

The fly paper itself has nothing to attract flies. What attracts flies is other flies, so leave the paper up as long as possible, or put a second fresh trap next to an older one.

Greetings from Spain. The best bate I found for bucket traps is the left over liquid after distilling alcohol, especially wine. think it's called the backset or back wash. it attracts fly really good.

Beautiful place

Cows r so cute

This is the freaking nicest farm I've ever seen. You so nice to your girls too

Nevermind.... found the answer. I have one as well. Got her from a local shepard here in Sardinia, moved her to Philly and now back in Sardinia. They are all over the place here and really do stay close to the herd and do not let anyone approach.

Is that a meremma or a pyranees in the background?

The wand trapped a wasp, not a bee

Dragonflies

You should have just fed your chickens the flies, that's recycling 😅.. You won't spend much on chicken feeds

For the bucket just use fruit juice diluted with water, maybe mango fruit juice more sweet more thick

Thank you,, good effort 👌

What does he yell at the end?

I do samething but I just have a bunch fenced off. Less work moving fence.

Fly torture would be a good content

Jeff Goldblum gave this video four thumbs down. also... grass-fed cattle tastes like shit

We raise Kunekune pigs using rotational grazing and had similar challenges, and here's what we did and do.
Fly predators, distributed weekly, their larva deposited in wet areas that have pig poop (where the poop flies lay their eggs). As the fly maggots develop the predators eat 'em, but they do nothing to control the existing adult population, so those we use traps. Much like yourself, we found that the rolls of wide fly paper are great. I unroll big sections everywhere I can find a protected spot that the sun shines on, 'cuz the early morning sun in particular will fill the paper up almost as you watch. The bait bucket traps I use on the property perimeter, but don't get 'em anywhere near where you live. One happy surprise was our fully flighted Moscovy ducks. The pigs aren't bothered by them at all and actually let the ducks perch on them while they nap. The ducks in turn will steadily snap flies right out if the air like some sort of crazy Mr. Miagi karate master, while the pigs snooze. It takes a few weeks each spring to get caught up with them, but after that they stay pretty subdued by nothing more than bi-weekly predator releases. They're not especially cheap, but they save a ton of time across most of the season vs. tending traps & fly paper, and time is the one thing that farmer/ranchers just never have enough of. 😊

The most natural way would be to not confine these animals at all, no?

I use Bats and mantids to control insect population. Mantis egg sacks are easy to hatch and come by and provide hundreds of assassins for your fields! The bats can be tricky but after a brood of about 15 there is a noticeable difference in the evenings.

You need to get some carnivorous plants
🫱🏻🤝🏻🤝🏻🤝🏻

I don't know where you're located at but that's tall enough grass did it could have ticks in it so I don't know the picture of threat to cattle but they are to you and your dogs just something to think about

How dare you kill all those beautiful little flies you should be ashamed of yourself😂

Ideally you'd have predators manage the population, but chances are that we've devastated their population, so now dealing with these annoying bugs is our problem.