Mites! Help!

Latest Articles

Mites! Help!

Downsizer Forum Index -> Poultry

Author

Message

percypony

Joined: 06 Jan 2005
Posts: 146
Location: Hants

Posted: Fri Jun 24, 05 7:26 am Post subject: Mites! Help!

I am getting to the end of my tether with these blasted little creatures now not to mention my poor chickens!
I am not sure what type they are (how many types are there???) but they range from being almost transparant to a dark brown with a few bright red ones thrown in for good measure! And in size range from barely seen with the naked eye to about the size of a pin head.
We have emptied the two chicken houses and put red mite powder on the floor and sprayed all the nooks and crannies with diluted Jeyes Fluid and this worked well last time we had an infestation but this time it doesn't seem to have worked! I am getting fed up with getting covered in the blighters everytime I go to collect eggs etc and am paranoid that they will be living off me and in my home soon!
Anyone any suggestions on how to get rid of them?
Thanks
Sarah

hils

Joined: 08 Mar 2005
Posts: 568
Location: Nottingham

Posted: Fri Jun 24, 05 7:36 am Post subject:

with out using chemical warfare (use it if you want!) you need to break the cycle of the mite. (I'm not talking from chicken mite experience - guineapig mite experience!). The mite could be coming in with your bedding if you use straw or hay. With the gpigs I used shredded paper while I was trying to break the cycle and blasted the hutch with a high power hose every three days which seemed to do the trick. I know guinea pigs and chickens are totally different but I'm sure mites behave in a similar way!

Guest

Posted: Fri Jun 24, 05 8:44 am Post subject:

Hi hils,
We have had similar experiences with mites on our rabbits but once we treat the rabbits (with a small drop of something on the back of the neck) it doesn't re-occour very quickly. But I never actually saw them on the rabbit (just the baldness they create!)
These are crawling all over the place and seem immune to the power that is supposed to kill them!!!
Maybe they are on the floor of the chicken run too so God knows how we would get rid of them then as it is a dirt floor so can't exactly wash it down!!

percypony

Joined: 06 Jan 2005
Posts: 146
Location: Hants

Posted: Fri Jun 24, 05 8:47 am Post subject:
that was me above. It seemed to log me out after I went for a cuppa!!!

pink bouncy

Joined: 14 May 2005
Posts: 174

Posted: Fri Jun 24, 05 9:44 am Post subject:

I had a huge problem with mites when I first started with poultry last year, to the point that one hen actually died.
I tried powders and sprays and scrubbing the henhouse with no effect at all. In the end I used a chemical which isn't meant to be used on chickens (it's for pigeons) as a dip and soaked the henhouse with it. It worked with no ill effects but I wouldn't reccommend it to you unless your hens were at death's door.
The pour on you might be thinking of is Ivomec which is also not licenced for poultry but lots of people have reported good results from it. It kills all parasites present on or in the bird except for tapeworm.
If you have red mite, it's pointless treating the birds for it as it doesn't actually live on them, it lives in the henhouse, particularly on the ends of the roosts. To kill these, the most effective way appears to be burning them out as it kills all stages of the mite, including the eggs. After stripping the coop and removing roosting bars and nestboxes, use a steam cleaner (the type used for wallpaper stripping will do) in all the nooks and crannies. You can use this on a dirt floor too. If you don't have a steamer you could use a small blowtorch to scorch everything but be very careful not to actually burn the wood.

judith

Joined: 16 Dec 2004
Posts: 22789
Location: Montgomeryshire

Posted: Fri Jun 24, 05 10:02 am Post subject:

Good advice about the heat gun, PB.

The mites hide wherever there is wood-to-wood contact, so they probably won't hang around on the dirt floor of the run.
The solution that has worked for me was to strip the entire henhouse down, jetwash it, then leave to dry out thoroughly. Then we gloss painted the entire inside, and used silicone sealant on ALL the cracks and joint. OH also made a couple of spare perches, and these are creosoted and rotated every time I clean the hen houses. (The ends of the perches were particularly badly infested).
It hasn't cured the problem 100%, but the mites are very easy to spot (and therefore squish!) against the white paint and they have no real places to hide, so they can't get a foothold in the house.
I hope you find a solution that works for you PP.

percypony

Joined: 06 Jan 2005
Posts: 146
Location: Hants

Posted: Fri Jun 24, 05 10:11 am Post subject:

I think the best option for us then is going to have to be removing one house at a time (there's two in their run) and doing as Judith suggests. We don't have heat guns or steamers although this sounds a lot easier.
I presume just some normal cheap gloss would do the trick?
Nice to hear they won't be all over the dirt floor! Thank god for that. I think i will scrap up all the old straw though and have a sweep through all the same.
Thanks for the help guys!

judith

Joined: 16 Dec 2004
Posts: 22789
Location: Montgomeryshire

Posted: Fri Jun 24, 05 10:17 am Post subject:
Yes, any old gloss will do. (My head has been itching ever since I started reading this thread!!)

percypony

Joined: 06 Jan 2005
Posts: 146
Location: Hants

Posted: Fri Jun 24, 05 10:20 am Post subject:
Yeah gross little buggers aren't they!? I just hope a hot shower gets rid of them off humans!!!

pink bouncy

Joined: 14 May 2005
Posts: 174

Posted: Fri Jun 24, 05 10:33 am Post subject:
They will bite you (ask me how I know, Yuk!) but they can't live on you so a hot shower will get rid of them.

Andy B

Joined: 12 Jan 2005
Posts: 3920
Location: Brum

Posted: Fri Jun 24, 05 11:07 am Post subject:

We had a problem with the red mite, you need to make sure that all of the perches are 100% clear of poo. We then used a heat gun on the perches and around the house. ( be very Carefull you dont start a fire, and its easier if the chickens are about ) This slowed them down but they started comming back but the winner was Creasote, which is not easy to get but their must be something similair. Just soak all the crooks and crannies with the stuff and it does the job, had no problems at all for at least a year. Best to do it first thing as well to give it time to dry before the girls go to bed.

nettie

Joined: 02 Dec 2004
Posts: 5888
Location: Suffolk

Posted: Fri Jun 24, 05 5:02 pm Post subject:
Have you spoken to the vet? I only ask because if you want to go down the route of chemical warfare then they might suggest Frontline or something similar, my friend was given it for her horse.

	Downsizer Forum Index -> Poultry	All times are GMT
Page 1 of 1

View Latest Posts