urbanchick Posted August 2, 2008 Share Posted August 2, 2008 (edited) I have discovered a horrible infestation of redmite in the cube. I suspect this may have been what killed Lady, who died yesterday after getting weaker over time. I cleaned out the cube today to discover clusters of redmite at the end of the bars. That was bad enough, but I then found it in all the nooks and crannies, including the bits you can't take apart, like where the panels are put together, etc. And I thought they only lived in wood?! I have hosed out all the little mites as best I could. I will be dusting each hen with redmite powder tonight before bedtime, dusting the entire cube and bars (ditching the bars I took out today, putting my spare set in). I've put in an urgent order for plastic roosting bars with Omlet. I am on holiday for 2 weeks on Monday and my friend will be looking after them so I've arranged for the bars to be delivered to her. Having done all this do you think it will keep it at bay until I get back? How long does it take to get rid of them completely? Can they still live in the cube if there is no wood anywhere? Is there anything else I can do before I go away? I don't want any more of my girls to die See the link below to see a few gruesome photos Edited August 21, 2008 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jools+6 Posted August 2, 2008 Share Posted August 2, 2008 open the cube up and let the sunlight in for a day or two .... thats suposed to kill them too , uva light .... or summit how long do the eggs take to hatch ? keep dusting and sunlighting till after that , hopes this helps ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted August 2, 2008 Share Posted August 2, 2008 Gosh . I'm really sorry to hear about poor Lady . Poor little thing . I should think all your cleaning and the plastic roosting bars should do the trick. Bit worrying that they were on the plastic though, I thought they just liked wood . The pictures were useful, if yucky, as I've never seen them before - I didn't realise the nasty beasties were so big . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yolky Posted August 2, 2008 Share Posted August 2, 2008 I think that the eglu makes it less likely but not impossible as you have very sadly found out. I know I have read that forumites with wooden bars use red mite powder on the ends of their bars when cleaning out. I think the plastic bars will make it even less likely but still not impossible I would think. I hope you shift them soon, lots of red mite powder and blasts with poultry sheild and some powder for all your chookies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lisa33 Posted August 2, 2008 Share Posted August 2, 2008 I thought red mite liked dark places and wood. Using Poultry shield when cleaning should help too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clootie Posted August 2, 2008 Share Posted August 2, 2008 So did I Lisa, and I thought there weren't any nooks and crannies in a cube??? I've had red mite in a wooden house a couple of times but I managed to clear it. I was hoping when my cube arrives in September it was going to make things easier! Nothings perfect eh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jos Posted August 2, 2008 Share Posted August 2, 2008 a few drops of paraffin will see them off Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted August 2, 2008 Share Posted August 2, 2008 Bad luck. I'd consider changing to plastic roosting bars if I were you, and give verywhere a liberal dusting with red mite powder. Not sure that paraffin would be safe around chickens tbh.....and it might dissolve the cube! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WitchHazel Posted August 2, 2008 Share Posted August 2, 2008 As well as Red Mite powder you can buy Red MIte concentrate, which you dilute and spray. I've found this brilliant, and now prefer it to the powder as the powder tends to slide off the plastic. It's still made by Barrier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superjules Posted August 2, 2008 Share Posted August 2, 2008 Bad news. Sorry to hear your problem. I'd give them a spray with some poultry shield as it melts red mite. They are able to survive a blasting from a pressure washer, they will be scattered around but they will make their way back to your hens. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought barrier products were just repellents and don't actually kill red mite. I've found diatom to be very effective, it cuts through their exoskeleton and they die of dehydration. Good luck, I hope you manage to eradicate them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsm_jones Posted August 2, 2008 Share Posted August 2, 2008 Eeew!! Thanks for the head's-up! Will keep a more vigilant look out now! Hope you manage to get rid of them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 2, 2008 Share Posted August 2, 2008 poor lady, how terrible for you! Thanks for posting the pics though, it will help other chook keepers. I've just been out in paranoid mode and had a really good look in our coop and got the diatom out and mixed a few handfuls in with the bedding. I did see one or two little crawlies that may or may not have been mites but I couldn't see any clusters on the perches or the corners. I'm going to get Ian to give the whole set up a good scrub out tomorrow anyway. Thanks for the wake up call and so sorry for your loss Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheilaz Posted August 2, 2008 Share Posted August 2, 2008 Sorry to hear your reason for posting. However, before I read this, I was just about to start a new topic. Yes, you can get redmite in a totally plastic Cube/Eglu! However, with good husbandry, the outbreak will be small and shortlived. Yes, I discovered some today, but they're not staying! The mites do seem able to cluster, but nowhere near as easily as on wood. I think regular dismantling & washing of the Eglu & using Poultry shield & Diatom is the best way to limit the impact. So much easier to control if you eliminate at the first sign & regular checkups are essential. If you do this before you go away they should be fine until you return. Thanks for the reminder. Everyone check tomorrow! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urbanchick Posted August 2, 2008 Author Share Posted August 2, 2008 I was surprised at how visible it was. From what I'd read about it, I thought you could only see them when they come out at night. But no, in broad daylight they were the size of poppy seeds and in clumps. I have arranged for the roosting bars to be replaced with the plastic ones as soon as they arrive and I have doused the hens and all the crevices in the cube with red mite powder. When I get back from holiday I will get some poultry shield which hopefully will knock it on the head. Two of the ex batts (including Lady who died) did well at first then lost weight and looked scrawny. One of my Omlet hens started to look skinny about 6 weeks ago and seemed to "slow down" in the same way as Lady, e.g. not rushing back into the run when I threw treats in. I really hope that they will benefit straightaway from being relatively mite free tonight - the mites I found were engorged with blood. I appreciate what you say about good husbandry and I'm not at all defensive about this but others may be interested to know what my routine was. I pull all the bits of my cube apart to clean every 4-6 weeks and the last 2 times I used a pressure washer. I didn't use disinfectant but washing up liquid and a washing up brush. The run is on slabs so gets a pretty good clean at the same time and I s"Ooops, word censored!"e the bars and poo pick every day. In future I will be using poultry shield and regularly dusting with red mite powder (am I the only one who hates the smell of that stuff??). Thanks for all your advice. I don't think I could have done anything different as it's difficult to spend lots of time preventing things that you think are very unlikely to happen. I just feel bad that Lady died before I discovered it. If I'd cleaned the cube a week ago she might have recovered. It's been a hard lesson. Perhaps others who have ex batts from the same rescue (15th March, near Dorchester) should take extra care? I think it's very likely that they brought it with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowy Posted August 2, 2008 Share Posted August 2, 2008 Eww! Sorry to hear of your problems, but thanks for getting those pics - I'd always wondered what it looked like. Hope you get it sorted! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted August 2, 2008 Share Posted August 2, 2008 It is possible that the ex-batts might have brought the infestation with them. No comfort I know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egg Lou Posted August 2, 2008 Share Posted August 2, 2008 Sorry to hear about your loss and thank you for posting as I know its already been said but the pics are really useful to the rest of us and a warning to keep on our toes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gallina Posted August 3, 2008 Share Posted August 3, 2008 Red mite isn't unlikely to happen: it's very likely to happen. I swear by Diatom, simply because my Eglu hasn't had red mite since I started to use it, and my Cubes have never had it. And I am not the fussiest cleaner: in fact, I do so little that even I am beginning to be ashamed. The huge advantage with plastic is that you can just wipe it off. It would be a nightmare to get rid of in a wooden coop. I would not have thought a small infestation could have caused the death of a hen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted August 3, 2008 Share Posted August 3, 2008 Can I just get clarification of the use of Red Mite Powder and Diatom ? I'm still a bit unclear and it may help newbies too . Am I doing this right? I brush dry Diatom over the ends of my wooden roosting bars with a paintbrush when a clean set goes in. Not the rough ends though, as they're a bit unaccessible when the bars are in place. I sprinkle Red Mite Powder into the clean nesting material also after a cleanout. I occasionally brush the girls' armpits with it too (must do that now ) . Diatom prevents ( ) and Red Mite treats? Correct? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gallina Posted August 3, 2008 Share Posted August 3, 2008 The rough ends are the most important place of all to put the Diatom, as that is where the red mite lurk. I rub it in with my finger, and it stays indefinitely if you are lazy like me and just wipe the bars. If you wash them properly, you have to renew it more often. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 3, 2008 Share Posted August 3, 2008 diatom kills them, it's made from the fossilised remains of some creature or other. It has sharp ends and pierces the exoskeleton of the mite and dehydrates it. But, it's also good for the digestion of animals and control of internal parasites and can be added to their food. I read on the label yesterday that you can also dilute it and use it as a spray to control flies! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superjules Posted August 3, 2008 Share Posted August 3, 2008 Diatom prevents ( ) and Red Mite treats? Correct? It's the other way round Vicky. Diatom kills them, red mite powder is a repellent. As I use Diatom, I haven't felt the need to use red mite powder, although when I clean out the henhouse I end up looking like a chimney sweep afterwards because diatom powder is so finely ground and light, it gets everywhere! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 3, 2008 Share Posted August 3, 2008 careful it doesn't get on your lungs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superjules Posted August 3, 2008 Share Posted August 3, 2008 careful it doesn't get on your lungs At least they'll be mite free! Thanks for the warning Poet, I probably should take more care. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Couperwife Posted August 3, 2008 Share Posted August 3, 2008 I read on the label yesterday that you can also dilute it and use it as a spray to control flies! this is handy to know Poet, thanks I shall get a container and have a bash (we seem to have quite a few at the moment, and I really dont like the idea of a flitrap.) cathy x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
