My eco solution to rat problems

[Patricia W]

Try ant powder in the cracks - it seems to work.

 

Tricia

[The Dogmother]

Cally chook, it is expensive, isn't it? I think it's best for just spot-spraying on any clumps you find. I dilute the concentrate down into a plant spray and use that. Probably not so 'strong' but it seems to work.

[CallyChook]

I've not had so much luck with it Claret, I used to use the aerosol spray regularly and still ended up with the original infestation. I'll see how we go at the moment... thinking of investing in some frontline on wednesday now! altho then, I would worry about how long to leave the eggs off our dinner table, with being pregnant I dont want to risk anything.....

 

Damn you red mite and your evolutionary evilness! Get off My Chickens!!

[HENthusiastic]

I'm on ant powder and creocote at the moment.

Good luck one and all.

[CallyChook]

well, saturday the coop was pressure washed and permethrin powder rubbed all over, the perches especially covered in the stuff. today there are a good number of mites still on the perches, happily burrowed in the crannies which are filled with the permethrin. It looks like a gymnast has been at the perch there's that much dust on it but there were still about 50 mites on each!

 

Is it that these mites happen to be permethrin resistant, or just that they'll die of dehydration maybe tomorrow? I squished them all under my fingernail anyways, but if there were that many on the perch there must be others thru the coop too.

[The Dogmother]

I'm on ant powder and creocote at the moment.

Good luck one and all.

 

Does it taste good???

 

*children, do NOT try this at home

 

Cally, see how you go. I'd use a preventative spot on from your vet too as any bugs that bite your birds will be killed.

[HENthusiastic]

I'm on ant powder and creocote at the moment.

Good luck one and all.

Does it taste good???

 

I tell you, if eating a load of ant powder and drinking some creocote would get rid of my red mite, ID do it!

[helenw]

Hi I'm sure that this has all been covered before but I seem to have a persistent problem with red mite and require some advice. I'm new to omlet but have been told by a friend of mine who is a regular omletter! that it is the source of all chicken knowledge.

Last summer we had a real bad infestation of red mite so bad that basically the vet said if we couldn't get rid of them that we should burn the hen house! We have always been quite good with cleaning and it was the first time we'd had them. So in the end we burnt the house and I managed to persuade my husband we should fork out for a cube. So we got our cube at the end of last year I think. The chickens didn't seem to improve feather wise and nor did the egg production but it was winter so put it down to low egg production during the winter and moulting. However the summer has been (and gone by the looks of it) and there is no real improvement. I know that the birds often carry on pecking each other when they see red on the others bottoms so was watching out for bullying. Did see a little but nothing much. However this week whilst cleaning we found red mite again. Hadn't seent hem since we got the eglu. Immediately we scrubbed down the eglu and covered the birds in diatom powder. We were really thorough. However we checked two days later at night and mites are still there. I know there are loads of different things to try but the birds are not looking good. Can anyone tell me two things, is it possible I am looking at imminent death of all 8 of my birds and what really is the best thing for birds and house to get rid of these horrible things. Hope someone can help. I really thought I'd eradicated the red mite problem by buying a cube. Obviously not. Helen

[Heidi-Hi]

They are nasty things! Firstly, I'm sorry to hear that you are worried about your girls to the extent that you wonder if they will die. I'm not sure, to be honest, but you are trying to sort it, which is good! Secondly, Diatom is good as an everyday preventative, but not strong enough to get rid of your problem. You need something like Total Mite Kill ((I like the concentrate, and mix it in a pressure bottle and spray the whole house/cube after giving it a good scrub. Smells nice too ) Let it dry and put back together. Also, with the cube, there are some 'hot spots' where the critters hide. Have a good look on the 'seam' on the panel where the poo trays slide in and out, and also check the other panels especially around the seams. You might see some black spots that looks like mud that has rubbed into an open air bubble in the plastic. Sorry, that's not mud, but big fat full of blood red mite The ones I couldn't get out, I sealed in with clear nail varnish. Put house/cube back together, a liberal sprinkle of red mite powder (or ant powder I see some is using with success) and you should be on your way to winning the battle. You need to repeat the process about every 3 days for a few times, to catch the ones newly hatced etc. Your birds will benefit too of a good dusting of mite powder. Give them a pick-up in their water like LifeGuard, just to give them a bit of a boost while they are trying to cope with the attack on their blood supply.

 

Good luck, we have all been there, and some of us still are

[The Dogmother]

Good advice Heidi-Hi

 

I'd add that a good preventative from your vet will works wonders too as it not only works on bird-borne lice, but also on any red mites that feed from the birds.

 

My vet recommends the use of Ivomec Eprinex, which isn't licensed for use on poultry in the UK

[chooksandcrooks]

Hi,

 

I've read all the posts and looked on the net and got myself really confused, is the Ivomec Eprinex *not licensed for use on poultry in the UK* the one for cattle or for rabbits/small birds and there is also conflicting advice for the same active ingredient on when to reapply if you have an infestation, some are for once a week for 3 weeks and another at two weeks then four weeks after initial dosing, can anyone help please.

 

Jenny

[The Dogmother]

It's the cattle pour-on product Jenny.

 

Once in the blood stream it kills any bugs that bite your hens. I repeat it quarterly with sprays of a permethrin based spray on any bugs I see crawling around.

 

*products mentioned are not licensed for use on poultry in the UK

[chooksandcrooks]

Thanks claret, felt I was going round in circles! Its been terrible this year trying to keep them under control, i've failed miserably. Will give the spot-on a go. Wish i'd found this site earlier.

*Any products mentioned are not liscenced for use in the UK

Jenny

[tooties]

Please help me identify what my chooks have - they look like red mite, but are on the chickens all day. Red in colour, very small, lots of them. One chook has been broody for at least 4 wks and has gone from being fine to being covered in them. One day later, they all have them. Once I have been near the chooks, I have them on my arms!! Got some red mite powder to use tomorrow, but was wondering if these are actually lice not mites??

 

Do other people hold their chickens by the legs and turn them upside down to dust them? I've seen this on the internet and although the chickens seem calm, it doesn't look very nice for them....

 

Also, do I need to replace all the aboise in the run as well as the eglu? What do you do with the contaminated bedding - does it need to be burnt or just bagged up and binned? (I'm presuming it wouldn't be a good idea to add it to my compost bin....)

 

Hoping for some answers before I tackle the problem in a big way tomorrow!!

 

many thanks

x

[CallyChook]

tooties, it could be lice or it might be norther n fowl mite. have a looksie at viewtopic.php?f=41&t=6949 and check the photos. I think treatment is similar for northern fowl as it is red mite although they're horrid little beggars.

 

As for dusting, yes I tip my birds upside down...how else can you get the dust to the base of the feathers on the underside ofthe bird (where most mites/lice will be accessing?)

[tooties]

Callychook, thankyou for the reply!! You could be right, it could be lice although the colour and the tiny size made me think it must be red mite. That link said that treatment was the same so I will go ahead and do that today.

 

Thanks for reassuring me on the way to dust a chicken too, its the kind of thing I would try and then find out 6 mths later that it was wrong!!

[CallyChook]

no problem toots... i've had a hellish month with the coop-infesting red mite... no matter how well you keep your chickens, nature has invented pests to get thru the well-prepared barriers hope your hens make a good recovery x

[MadMitch]

Where do Red mites come from and how do you end up with them?

I've had my chickens for two and a half years now and have not had even a sight of them. I poo pick daily and have a good look around and dust my girls frequently. I give everything a good clean and wash down fortnightly covering everything with Diatom and Red Mite powder paying special attention to all the gaps, edges of roosting bars etc.

Today when I went to clean them out I noticed a small dark patch moving in the Aubiose, when I poked around in it I saw they were Red Mites. They were also under the roosting bars and under the tray on the bottom of the cube. Working my way around the garden I also found them in my two eglus and my two wooden houses, all are in seperate parts of the garden.

Everythings been dismantled and the offending mites squashed and disenfected and a huge amount of diatom and red mite powder is now covering everything, the girls will be dusted later tonight, but I know they will be back.

How can all my housing get hit in such a short space of time when there was no sign a fortnight ago?

I'm so annoyed.

[chicken bark]

Sorry you have them.

 

I think the problem is they can lie dormant for months and start off grey so are less visible. It's only when they've started to feed on the hens and go red that they are more easily spotted. I believe they can come off wild birds.

 

I think the best bet is to clean out the houses, as you did today, in a few days time to catch others that are hatching out.

 

Makes my skin crawl and also is a reminder for me to check my coops again tomorrow.

[The Dogmother]

Sorry to hear that. They will come from wild birds, and the recent warm, wet weather is great for them - they could be migrating from your garden shed or other structure and be spread if your girls free range around the garden.

 

To be on the safe side, you may need to resort to chemicals rather than the preventatives you are currently using; I'd suggest using a liquid cleaner that contains permethrin and then dusting the housing with a powder that contains it. I've found that Total Mite Kill concentrate (liquid) and Buz Busters Powder will both obliterate bugs.

 

Good luck

 

Now need to stop scratching!

[MadMitch]

I got some strong stuff on order straight away but had to make do with what I had lying around till it arrived. Only seen an odd one or two since I cleand them out though. Just waiting for the rain to stop so I can get to work with the permethrin. Fat chance of that though as its rained everyday since the last week in June. I'm seriously starting to regret moving to Wales

[The Dogmother]

I was the same yesterday; got some of the animals cleaned out and ran out of time so am waiting for the rain to stop so that I can do the chicks.

[HENthusiastic]

GONE Can this really be true??? I got back from a weeks holiday expecting to be knee deep in the ***** things and they are GONE! I had been using loads of ant powder previous to going and they had got less and less, but with being away I was expecting them to be back to full numbers, but they are nowhere to be seen. Is this coincidence? Is it the cooler weather? Have other people's gone, or is it the ant powder?

[chickencam]

I have very few left now and I too dreaded coming back from a couple of weeks away. Our pet carer cleaned them out a couple of times, but she didn't do the full scrub that I do.

 

We have been pretty thorough with the cleaning and blowtorching for some time now, but we will stay vigillant.

[Jools]

The weather may help to reduce numbers, but I'd stay vigilent and keep up the defences!

 

Unfortunately, the cooler weather is preferred by the nasty beastie that is Northern Fowl Mite - discovered on two of my LF at the weekend. Interestingly, both are boys and sleep on low perches, while their harem roost above them on the higher perch. Stupid boys!!

 

Ah well, the battle lines are drawn!