Effective fly control with RedTop fly traps

Summer is fast approaching and so are the flies! Flies love to breed around livestock, and warm, damp litter is a prime spot for laying eggs. Sanitation and good shed management are obviously the first line of defence against flies in the poultry house, but as flies can never be completely eradicated, it makes sense to employ a mix of measures to prevent populations expanding. This is where RedTop fly traps can play a vital role in controlling adult flies and preventing them from breeding.

Fly facts

  • In hot weather, flies can hatch from eggs to reproductive adults in just 7 days
  • Flies lay eggs within 48hrs of hatching.
  • Flies lay 100-150 eggs at a time, and if conditions are right, a female can lay up to 20 batches of eggs in its lifetime.
  • One fly can carry up to 25 diseases, including Newcastle disease, E.coli and salmonella.
  • Failing to control fly populations can result in a fine of up to £10,000, as well as angry neighbours!
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How do RedTop fly traps work?

RedTop fly traps are extremely effective. Hung outside the livestock building, they can catch as many as20,000 flies in as little as three days, keeping those pesky flies away from those warm damp spots in the shed where they love to multiply. Originally developed in South Africa, the traps use a specially formulated bait which contains a pheromone that is particularly attractive to the female fly, which helps to dramatically reduce the next generation of flies. The bait attracts the fly into the trap via a turret, effectively trapping it, where it dies.

RedTop fly catchers are tried and tested and have been used all over the world since 1981. The bait formula is so successful and so attractive to flies, that many have tried to copy it, without success. RedTop fly catchers really are the original and the best – beware of cheaper impersonators as they will not work as well!

How to use RedTop flycatchers

RedTop fly traps are incredibly easy to use, cost-effective and convenient to dispose of once full.

  • Simply pour in the bait, add 1 litre of water, hang the trap outside 10m-20m away from your shed and watch the flies become attracted to the trap.
  • Top up with water if required.
  • Replace the trap once full.
  • Depending on the scale of the problem, and how warm it is, the RedTop can be filled to capacity (20,000 flies!) in as little as three days – or it can still be catching flies after 12 weeks!

Watch our guide on how to use Red top fly traps here

 

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Important points on using RedTop flycatchers

There are just a few things to remember to get the most out of your RedTop.

 

  • RedTop fly catchers need UV for the pheromone in the trap to work and should be hung in direct sunlight, 2-2.4m above the ground.
  • Hang the fly trap 10m away from the area you wish to protect.
  • DO NOT hang the RedTop inside a building – it is designed to attract the flies out of the building.

Benefits of using RedTop fly catchers

  • Up to 20,000 flies per trap
  • Kills and contains flies away from the shed
  • Bait lasts for up to 12 weeks
  • Bait is environmentally friendly, biodegradable and food-safe
  • Bait is natural so flies do not build up resistance
  • Catches fruit flies and pesticide-resistant flies 10 times faster than alternative products
  • Low cost and easy-to-use
  • No electricity required, hang where necessary
  • Easily disposable
  • Doesn’t attract bees or other beneficial insects
  • Particularly attractive to female flies, limiting the next generation

Flies can multiply exponentially in a very short space of time if left unattended, so it makes sense to address the problem on multiple levels – for more information on monitoring and targeting the larvae, read our whitepaper, ‘When is the right time to start my fly control’.

However, no matter how thoroughly you apply your larvicide, you will always get some flies that make it to adulthood, and who wouldn’t say yes to getting rid of even more if they could? RedTop fly catchers present such a cost-effective and easy-to-use solution that it would be hard to justify not using them to target the adult fly population as the weather warms up.

Sanitation and good shed management should always be combined with the right mix of measures to prevent flies population in your poultry house. If you’d like to chat through different options with one of our specialists, please get in touch. For other similar guides to the prevention and control of other pests, we also have an article on tackling the Litter Beetle.