John Crewe - Crewe Country Farms

I first started trialling the Biofly biological fly control system from BESTICO in early 2023. After initially relying on chemical controls, we found this to be increasingly ineffective and costly, I decided to give Biofly a try.

To establish the Biofly population, I had to release predatory flies weekly for nine consecutive weeks in each room. This setup phase was more frequent compared to chemical applications but did not take long, no more than 15-20 mins each release. Our BESTICO consultant was always available to speak and provide backup where necessary.

We had some variations in how each room responded but completed the course and followed up with maintenance releases during the later summer months. It took a full season/year to really establish a viable Biofly population but once established the difference has been impressive.

The system is simple to administer. The product arrives in sachets, which are opened and placed in release stations over the slats. Biofly emerges, heads into the pit below, and starts feeding on pest fly maggots. Over time, these beneficial flies effectively replace the pest flies. Biofly flies behave differently—they tend to stay out of sight below slat level, and they are far less bothersome than pest flies.

Since then, we’ve been able to reduce the dosage and frequency of treatments without compromising the control level. The first room we treated hasn’t needed any additional Biofly releases, yet it maintains great fly control all year round.

One important thing to keep in mind is that when you empty the tanks, it’s important to preserve as many Biofly maggots as possible by keeping a small amount of slurry in the tanks. Overall, I’m pleased with how well Biofly has worked for us and recommend it to anyone looking for a more sustainable, ultimately lower cost approach to pest fly management.

Ben Donald - Donald Pig & Poultry

We run a 280 sow farrow to finish unit in North Yorkshire. This will be our 4th year of using Biofly. We started to see a rapid increase in the fly population in one of our weaner sheds which we struggled to keep under control with more conventional chemical products. This brought with it the usual challenges of health and welfare of the pigs, pen hygiene and working conditions for the people working in this building. The pens in this building are frequently washed and disinfected, however, this can be time consuming when they are covered in fly muck.

Once we established a population of Biofly in this building, the flies all but disappeared and we have continued with the same protocol each year which has kept the flies well under control. This has coincided with an improvement in the health of the pigs in this building over the last 2 or 3 years.

We have since introduced Biofly into our finisher accommodation as well which, in a matter of weeks, rapidly brought under control the fly population which was starting to get out of hand. These pens are washed out less frequently, so the fly muck was even more of a challenge when it came to washing out. It’s amazing how much time has been saved washing now that there is significantly less fly muck. A much cleaner pen is also better for animal health and welfare. Less time washing means we can focus more on other areas of the farm.

Biological fly control is very easy and simple in comparison with using chemical control. I would certainly recommend it to anyone that is having fly problems on their farm if you want to save time and improve animal health and welfare.