Joint action to reduce fly nuisance

Four borough councils in the southeast of England have joined forces with local poultry farmers to establish a code of practice for use when handling poultry manure during the summer. The move follows major problems last year when the residents of Benenden, Kent, claimed to be infested with flies following the spreading of manure on nearby fields.

The code deals with transporting, spreading and storing manure in a way that will prevent fly infestations. Local farmers, say the participating councils, have offered advice and an invaluable contribution to the debate to ensure that the code is acceptable practically as well as by Environmental Health Officers that may have to deal with any complaints.

The councils say the code’s primary goal is “to address the issue of fly infestation and to prevent problems before they occur by working in partnership with those involved, rather than to take enforcement action against individuals after the event.”

While it is the councils’ wish to work with farmers, they will consider a failure to follow the code as evidence in any enforcement action and go on to say that “It is the common intent of the local authorities participating in the code of practice to take robust enforcement action against any company or individual who is identified as having caused infestations of flies.”

The code includes such detail as requiring manure to have a dry matter of preferably 50% but a minimum of 30%. If manure is wetter than this it can only be used if it is incorporated immediately or stored within a “manageable facility” not a field store.

“Regular inspections of poultry houses should be made to identify any infestations of maggots or flies at an early stage,” says the code, “so they can be treated as quickly as possible.”

The code also recommends that a monitoring and treatment process should be implemented and good records maintained to show what has been done. The councils say that the use of an ADAS endorsed monitoring scheme may be used to demonstrate “best practice”.

If manure is infested with larvae it should not be removed until full treatment has been completed and the code recommends planning well in advance to take this into account.

There are also recommendations for the transport of manure and it is the responsibility of the haulier to “ensure trailers are not overloaded allowing manure to be spilled onto the highway.”

The code recommends either covering field heaps or if left uncovered, inspecting them three times a week and sheeting them down immediately any fly activity is noted.

Environmental Health Officer Duncan Haynes, who was instrumental in getting the code of practice drafted and agreed said: “We have no guarantees that the code will prevent fly infestations but we’re hopeful that it will.

“As nothing of this nature has ever been tried before we have had to start from scratch. We’ve had some of the best people working with us which we’re really grateful for and have used the advice we’ve been given to draft the code.

“We’re particularly grateful to the representatives from the farming community who have brought an industry perspective to the debate. They have signed up to the code which means that it has a greater chance of being successful if we’ve got it right.”

The code, which the participating authorities stress is a working document, is being promoted by the borough councils of Tunbridge Wells; Ashford; Maidstone; and Tonbridge and Malling.