Jump to content
Chickens Dogs Cats Rabbits Guinea Pigs Hamsters and Gerbils Birds
Aunty e

Red Mite - ARGH!

By Aunty e, in Chickens, Eggs and Hatching

Recommended Posts

Aunty e Chatty Chicken

Aunty e

Posted
Posted

We had to downgrade to a wooden house last winter as I needed to build a walk in run and needed the cash essentially! Anyway, I've just discovered the most repulsive red mite infestation. Never had it before in the cube and it was literally like jam crawling over parts of the wooden house :vom: I've just scrubbed the entire house out and sprayed every part of it with poultry shield. Is there anything else I should be doing? And how often should I spray the house with poultry shield? I did it with my big garden pump spray, so it didn't take long. Must get saving the pennies for a cube again.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Redwing Chronic Clucker

Redwing

Posted
Posted

I'd spray every few days for the next couple of weeks personally

 

Maybe put a temporary nest box in the run so you can leave the house open to dry, also the mites hate the light. Only do this if the chooks can be safely contained in the run though!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Green Tea Chicken Eggspert

Green Tea

Posted
Posted

Have you got any DE? I use DE in my wooden coops all the time and (touch wood) have managed to avoid red mite so far. I use a puffer bottle and get it into all the nooks and crannys but I'm thinking of getting a sprayer:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/DIATOMACEOUS-EARTH-200g-Bag-plus-powder-sprayer-/180517962923?pt=UK_Pet_Supplies_Poultry&hash=item2a07b584ab so that I can be even more thorough!

 

Another thing I've heard of people doing is painting the inside of the coop with gloss paint and sealing all the crevices with bath sealant so that there's nowhere for the little critters to hide and they are easier to spot but I haven't quite gone that far myself yet :roll:

Link to comment
Share on other sites
craftyhunnypie Chuckling Chook

craftyhunnypie

Posted
Posted

No - don't use Jeyes fluid! My hubby when he had an infestation ( thanks to rubbish chicken sitters) - he used a heat gun, then yacht varnish, then poultry shield & red mite powder / diatom. He was also told cheapo talcum powder would dry out any mites just as well - it did.

He now strips down his wooden house every couple of weeks to check for mites ( hardly any ). He still uses the heat gun & varnish occassionally - but always when doing general cleaning - uses poultry shield & red mite powder. He also puts gaffa tape over the cracks where they liked to gather - marvellous stuff, as mites hate it. The birds get powdered about every fortnight, plus we put some in their dust bath.

It is disheartening when you find mites - but you can & will get on top of them.

Emma.x

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Jools Chicken Addict

Jools

Posted
Posted

I think Jeyes was good for red mite because of the phenols, which were also in creosote. However I think they're no longer allowed, which is why they don't work so well. :think:

 

I've only ever had to use red mite powder, diatom and poultry shield but I've read posts on other forums on the subject :roll:

 

Steam cleaning - not power washing or pressure washing or whatever else it's called. They don't like being boiled alive.

 

Ficam??? (sp) but I think it's pretty potent stuff.

 

Creosote (not creocote) which is still available to farmers and the like.

 

Ivermectin on the birds themselves.

 

Removing the birds from the house after dark and housing them in cardboard boxes overnight, then burning the cardboard boxes to burn the mites.

 

Corrugated card in the hen house to provide a dream home for mites - then burn it every morning.

 

Whichever of the above you go for (if any), you'll need to do it several times to catch new hatches.

 

Good luck!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
vickichicky Frequent Layer

vickichicky

Posted
Posted

:( Oh god poor you! I had a constant battle with Red mite for a year - was literally in tears with it at times. (I got it from a bale of straw I bought for the girls at a farm shop) :roll: Went through loads of DE, the red mite powder & Nettex total mite kill spray (which was about the best) before finally giving in a getting a second hand cube. The transformation in my girls was immense - the Exbatts who I thought were still feather plucking from habit fluffed up on their bums and they were all generally happier!

The wooden house has stood empty since October last year up the end of the garden. Yet when I dug it out and jet sprayed it ready for the chicks (thinking the mites would be long gone as I'd read that they only live about 2-3 months without feeding) I felt that familiar tickling sensation on my hand.... there were still some alive :wall: I creosoted it inside & out twice before finally no more white (unfed) little Red mite crawled out. Then did it again for good measure. I had read in Poultry world about a lady who had finally won the Red mite battle by spraying with Creosote. You just have to make sure it is good and dry and well aired before chickens go back in - so you'd need something else temporary but secure in the meantime for about 5 - 7 days. I am still paranoid and keep checking the heat pad I've been putting in for the chicks overnight for any signs - but nothing yet.

I wish you the best of luck!

Vicki x

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Aunty e Chatty Chicken

Aunty e

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Right, I'll poultry shield again tomorrow and get some DE too. I have lots of household flea sprays, will take some down later and try them out on the mites (chooks are out in their new yard at the moment). Ex batt who was at death's door seems better already, but all the girls slept outside last night :( Will have to see how the ebay stuff goes, might be able to get a second hand cube.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
majuka All Knowing Superchicken

majuka

Posted
Posted

We had a really bad outbreak last year and we got on top of it with various methods. We took the whole coop apart and got a blow torch on it (hens were in a separate part of the garden whilst doing this!) it goes without saying you need to take care using a blow torch! You need to keep frying them, you will hear one pop and that is the mites exploding, keep frying though until you hear the second pop and that is the eggs exploding. We then washed the coop out with hot water and poultry shield. We then smeared all of the cracks with vaseline (this did get on the girls unfortunately). We took the coop apart several times afterwards to check for any further signs. We have a steam wall paper stripper and once a week we poke the nozzle into the coop to boil any mites left over (again make sure hens are well away) usually we leave it in there for about half an hour.

 

Good luck!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
witzend Frequent Layer

witzend

Posted
Posted
You need to keep frying them, you will hear one pop and that is the mites exploding, keep frying though until you hear the second pop and that is the eggs exploding.

 

 

We then washed the coop out with hot water and poultry shield. We then smeared all of the cracks with vaseline (this did get on the girls unfortunately). We took the coop apart several times afterwards to check for any further signs. We have a steam wall paper stripper and once a week we poke the nozzle into the coop to boil any mites left over (again make sure hens are well away) usually we leave it in there for about half an hour.

 

As much as I like to sound of popping mites/eggs :vom: I think I'm glad I plumped for my fried eglu! :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Aunty e Chatty Chicken

Aunty e

Posted
  • Author
Posted

The problem is that our house is quite complex and the girls sleep all over it. There are lots of nooks and crannies and it's hard to get into. I like that idea with the steam wall paper stripper. I'll dig out an extension cord and get ours in there tomorrow!

 

OH is pretty much on board with the cube idea, and handily we've just borrowed some extra money on our mortgage to pay for a new boiler. There might well be enough left over for a cube. We were thinking we might just turn the chook house into a playhouse for the cats and kiddies.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Aunty e Chatty Chicken

Aunty e

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Do I need to go to the vet and ask nicely very for Eprinex? They're sort of OK with me telling them what to prescribe for the cats, so they might go for it...

 

Still mite there this morning. I realise now they've been around for a couple of weeks, but at first I couldn't see them in the house, and when I found one on me I first thought scabies (I have a really nasty set of bites on my egg collecting arm), then ear mites and only then did I think red mite, as they're grey before they eat!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
The Dogmother Eggsistentialist

The Dogmother

Posted
Posted
Do I need to go to the vet and ask nicely very for Eprinex? They're sort of OK with me telling them what to prescribe for the cats, so they might go for it...

 

I would.

 

I use it quarterly, clean the cube/eglu with Total Mite Kill conc, then powder with Buz Busters - works a treat :D

 

Good luck

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...