hl050 Posted September 2, 2013 Share Posted September 2, 2013 AAAHHH! After keeping hens for 5 years - i've been infested with Spide mites, its horrendous !! both eglus have got it. I spent yesterday taking them apart jet washing them, left them to dry in sunlight, cleared all aubiouse out of WIR. Sprayed mite killer stuff all over the place in WIR and eglus. Put diatrom everywhere and dusted the girls with lice powder. I am still itching today - i know still probably in my mind but its creeping me out !! Is there anything else I should be doing? No sign of any this morning? do you have to keep taking the eglu apart to check? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted September 2, 2013 Author Share Posted September 2, 2013 You need to keep up those measures every week. You're not imagining it; you would need to take your clothes off outside as the mites can be carried indoors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hl050 Posted September 4, 2013 Share Posted September 4, 2013 AAAHHH!!!! You mean they are also crawling over me!!!! Do I need to spray myself Checked Elglus this morning and they are back. Sprayed everywhere again now have run out of spray (off to Farm shop tonight) This is horrid, was going to go away for weekend now I think I'll be home jet washing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted September 4, 2013 Author Share Posted September 4, 2013 You can shower in a dog flea shampoo that contains permethrin if you think you have them. Be sure to use Total Mite Kill Concentrate followed by Buz Busters powder, that should nuke them pretty quickly. Leave the housing open to sunlight when you can too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hl050 Posted September 4, 2013 Share Posted September 4, 2013 mmm dog flea shampoo that sounds attractive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted September 4, 2013 Author Share Posted September 4, 2013 It's the same ingredient as used in head lice preps, only a lot cheaper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowy Posted September 4, 2013 Share Posted September 4, 2013 Just remember that if you wash the housing down first, you wash the mites off but that doesn't kill them! I soak everything with a Total Mite Kill or Poultry Shield spray first and leave it for half an hour. Then I empty the sprayed bedding into the bin and wash everything down. It all gets a final spray before putting back together. I once made the mistake of tipping the poo trays into the compost bin before I'd sprayed. Next time I lifted the lid on the bin, thousands of red mite flooded out and up my arms!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted September 5, 2013 Author Share Posted September 5, 2013 Remember that TMK has to be shaken before you use it, you dilute the concentrated version 1 part in 10 of water, refill the spray with it from the big bottle or make it up in a watering can to sprinkle all over the housing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hl050 Posted September 7, 2013 Share Posted September 7, 2013 Hi snowy I wish I'd read your post before emptying the poo tray into the compost bin hI dogmother thanks for advice spraying first I jet washed then left to dry then sprayed. When I put house. Back together. I went and bought lice shampoo (couldn't face the dog flea option) asked chemist so I could get the correct stuff. I was so embarrassed I thought they would thinking was bonkers if I mentioned spider mite so I said the children had headlice. He asked how many people in household etc and I bought 4 bottles of stuff. I don't even have children!!!! Washed my hair once (and showered with it) and its miracously stopped itching I'm sure it was all in my mind but I'm never going to get head lice that's for sure!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted September 7, 2013 Author Share Posted September 7, 2013 Do bar in mind that with headlice you need to do two treatments a week apart to catch any hatching eggs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sentiant Posted July 24, 2014 Share Posted July 24, 2014 I once made the mistake of tipping the poo trays into the compost bin before I'd sprayed. Next time I lifted the lid on the bin, thousands of red mite flooded out and up my arms!!!! Arrgggghh! that is horrible Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eija Posted June 20, 2021 Share Posted June 20, 2021 How do you know if you have red mites? I found a bunch of teeny tiny black/ crimson round-looking bugs on the ceiling, walls and underneath the roofing felt of our chicken coop yesterday. Also found one on an egg today (photo below). I haven't found any castings yet and they seem to be equally dispersed rather than clumped together. I disposed of the roofing felt and they were all over it. I crushed a few on the walls, but no blood came out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beantree Posted June 20, 2021 Share Posted June 20, 2021 Looks and sounds like a case of red mites. The usual place is in the corners and the joints near the ends of the perch. Getting them in the felt is a VERY bad case. What we do is strip everything out of the coop and then throughly steam clean. You will need to keep doing that until you don't see any more. Have any of the hens got noticeably pale combs? I ask, because the next stage is the last. Red mite are a difficult thing to deal with. I know someone who just burned the whole coop. We stripped all the cladding off one and burned all of it once. Then treated the framework and rebuilt the coop. Problem is the mites hide in the joints. Pity we didn't have a steam cleaner then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eija Posted June 20, 2021 Share Posted June 20, 2021 58 minutes ago, Beantree said: Looks and sounds like a case of red mites. The usual place is in the corners and the joints near the ends of the perch. Getting them in the felt is a VERY bad case. What we do is strip everything out of the coop and then throughly steam clean. You will need to keep doing that until you don't see any more. Have any of the hens got noticeably pale combs? I ask, because the next stage is the last. Red mite are a difficult thing to deal with. I know someone who just burned the whole coop. We stripped all the cladding off one and burned all of it once. Then treated the framework and rebuilt the coop. Problem is the mites hide in the joints. Pity we didn't have a steam cleaner then. Yikes, I better get on that today then. Thanks Beantree. I first noticed them when I opened the maintenance door in the morning, which is where the end of the perch sits. There were 5-6 of them on the end. I covered it in DE and I haven't found any in that spot since. I've got some Smite spray, so I'll clean the whole thing out, coat it with that and some more DE. Hopefully we won't have to burn the coop 🤞 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beantree Posted June 20, 2021 Share Posted June 20, 2021 I don't think DE will do the job, but you have the problem and just realise what may be necessary: burn it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eija Posted June 20, 2021 Share Posted June 20, 2021 Yeah we'll give it a shot. If we can't solve it within a week, we probably will 😬🔥 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
