4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[pam771771]

So I've successfully kept chickens for just over a year now, but in the last few weeks I have somehow got an infestation of red mites in the coop.

 

I have been putting down red mite powder, which has killed a fair few, but as they were still there, last weekend I actually painstakingly took the whole coop apart, pressure washed every part, covered every part in red mite powder, and screwed the entire coop back together.

 

The red mites had not been erradicated, but there were certainly a lot less around, so I've just kept on putting more powder on wherever I still see mites.

 

Anyway, I was pretty happy with the progress we were making (that is until today), it was bin day, and when I came home from work I brought the bin in. I didn't notice until I looked down, but the wheelie bin is infested, there were hundreds (possibly thousands) of (grey) red mites running up my cardigan sleeves - it was awful. I lifted the bin lid and around the inside, directly under the lid of there bin were, well there had to be, millions, and that is no exaggeration.

 

I felt like crying, I just don't know how to get rid of them. Please someone tell me there is an easy way of getting rid of them, and why have they infested the wheelie bin.

 

My biggest worry is that they'll get on the clothes of my kids (who play outside all the time), and that they'll end up in the house, and I really can't cope with that.

 

I've loved keeping chickens, but this is really making me consider giving them up

[Chickabee]

The weather probably has a part to play. I take it you have a wooden coop? Some people have actually given up and torched their coops , because the mite have proved impossible to eradicate. I don't think the powder is is as strong as the spray for the coop. The powder is more for the birds. I wish I could be more positive, any chance you could get a plastic coop?

[Chickabee]

Sorry, I should have been clearer. I recently had a bout of red mite despite having everything omlet. I, as you,jet washed everything,sprayed total mite kill everywhere, doused the housing with diatomaceous earth then treated each individual chicken with invertimicin spot on and put down all new bedding and nesting material after a good dosing of diatomaceous earth. They probably got in your bin through some faeces or bedding. I would jet wash the bin, then spray it with total mite kill. I even put some shredded paper with DE in the roosting area for a couple of nights, just to be sure. They are evil things please let us know how you get on

[jackian]

Hi ,

I had a wooden coup and so many red mite I was desperate. In the end I took a hammer to it and burnt it.

I have had a recycled plastic coup now for two years with no problems it can be scrubbed so easily and is easy to dry out .

 

It is a big problem but I'm not sure your bin and coup are the same problem . Are you sure they were red mite in your bin ? Please don't be despondent as I am sure that it can be sorted .

Have you dusted your girls with mite powder? If there are any on them of course they will get into the coup and it goes back and forth .. I am not sure what others use but I use spot on for kittens . one spot on the back of the neck . It is supposed to be not recommended for chickens but my vet said it was OK . This product is not licensed for use on poultry in the UK

Good luck and the good tines are mo re than the bad

 

Jackie x

[Chickabee]

It probably has the same ingredient at invertimicin (which is not licenced for use on chickens) but is available on the internet and probably some bigger pet stores. There is an egg withdrawal period though, which I think is a week, but it does work. You just have to make sure you've got rid of them out of the house too viscous cycle otherwise

[Mrs_B]

Please don't blame yourself, battling something like this without success isn't nice and can be very demotivating. I think the other posts are spot on with people switching to a plastic coop to make life easier (wooden coops with a felt roof can harbour a lot of red mites, which live for a long time without feeding).

 

However I don't know what anyone else thinks about suggesting a fumer? This would be like a small fume generator that fumes the coop through, killing any bugs or mites inside (including any hiding in the hard to reach spots etc). I have never used one but it might be worth looking at?

 

x

[Chickabee]

I've seen those Mrs B. Good idea. I guess you just do it during the day whilst the chooks are free ranging. Could be worth a try

[pam771771]

Thank you all for making me feel a bit better about this problem. And yes the bin problem is probably because when I clean them out I put the waste in the bin - this actually makes me feel loads better, as I has convinced myself that they had infested my entire garden. I need to dispose of the waste in a much better way it seems.

So tomorrow I'll clean them out, put down more powder and see what happens.

[miller30]

Just putting down powder won't work you need to use a spray like jeyes,poultry shield,ficam and do it once a week until you break the cycle I have 18 wooden houses and these get treated once a week with poultry shield double strength and then when dry powered it is also best to burn the bedding leanne

[Beantree]

We are battling as well Pam. We have 9 wooden coops of various sizes and it is important to stay on top of the problem or they are firewood. We are treating them with creosote, but that only stops the mite getting into the joints.

 

Your bin was infested from hatched eggs. The chemicals won't kill the eggs so you have to treat again after they hatch.

Problems are compounded by some red mite living on the chickens, so they just drop off inside after the coop has been cleaned. Mite live happily in wood shavings but also live for up to two weeks (I read) outside. I check all our perches daily for red mite and kill them. One idea I have not tried is a drinking straw taped under the perch. The red mite are supposed to go inside and are easily spotted by looking down the straw.

 

Our infestation started in March with an influx of migratory birds.

[The Dogmother]

A spot-on preventative every quarter is a good way to get rid of them.

 

Red Mite powder is more of a preventative; mites will crawl across it and still live!

 

I spray my housing weekly with Total Mite Kill Concentrate, and then powder with Buz Busters mite powder and it has a very effective knock-down rate. I would suggest doing this every 3 days until your are on top of it, then revert to a weekly treatment year-round.

[pam771771]

So it is now a month since I first posted, and the red mite infestation is no better.

 

I am currently furiously bidding on e-bay for a second hand eglu.

 

I feel like I have tried almost everything, but will continue to fight on until I manage to get an eglu, and then the coop will become firewood!!!

 

I really didn't realise how difficult they would be to get rid of, I imagine they are living under the felt and in every nook and cranny they can find. I have just had a conversation with one of my friends who wants to get a couple of chickens - I've told her to get a plastic coop!!!

 

Thanks for all your advice, but for me I think the red mites have won , and a plastic coop is now the only way to go.

Do those of you with a plastic coop still put down red mite powder weekly as a preventative measure?

 

Thanks

Pam

[The Dogmother]

Do be aware that red mite powder is only a deterrent - it doesn't kill mites.

[Beantree]

Ant powder kills red mite but I am reluctant to use it much because of the risk of the hens breathing in the dust. Creosote also kills red mite, but the coop is then uninhabitable for weeks afterwards whilst it dries out. It does seem to last about a year though. You could completely wrap the coop in clear plastic sheet and leave it in the sun on a very hot day. Once the inside temperature gets over 60 degrees every mite is dead, eggs included. It needs to be well off the ground otherwise you kill the grass. I wouldn't burn the coop immediately as there is a hot sunny spell due soon. Buy some plastic sheet. You may need to treat it with the roof off and done separately.

[The Dogmother]

Ant powder contains permethrin, as does Buz Busters - I use the latter on a weekly basis and my coops are (touch wood) mite free.

[Chickabee]

What about a steam cleaner? I've got one of those

[Beantree]

We've used a steam cleaner on occasions Chickabee. Although it is very effective at cleaning in gaps and joints, it can't get in them all and it also blows the mite all over the place. So we use it as a prerequisite to stripping down and creosoting. As we strip down we spray Nettex Total Mite Kill, which limits them spreading into the ground. As we creosote each panel we spray Nettex onto the outside to kill the escapees from the cladding joints.

 

Even a plastic coop gets red mite Pam. They live in the bedding and it needs to be changed frequently, or something toxic to mite be mixed with the bedding.

[Chickabee]

Yes I've got a cube, I still get mites. That's why I was asking about the steam cleaner. Thanks for the advice Beantree