The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Poultry & Waterfowl => Topic started by: Dizzycow on August 25, 2011, 02:48:11 pm
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After 18 months of chickens I have finally been invaded by the little bxxxxxds. After mucking out the hen house I saw my hands were smeared with blood, couldn't work out why, then found areas of the coop thick with them. Disgusting. I rushed up to Dobbies and spent my birthday vouchers on a weed wand which is, quite frankly, terrifying. I'm going to try to Diatom the flock tonight when they go to bed. There's no way I'll be able to do the Cream Legbars, though. At least they sleep in the rafters not the hen house. I've also Diatomed their dust bathing spots.
Any suggestions or advice on this revolting subject would be most welcome.
:-[
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The weed wand is terrifying but just think of the effect it has on the mites :o. I find that cobwebs tend to go up with a rather spectacular gout of flame, but if you don't point the gun at any one place for long you shouldn't burn the house down ;D or take off your eyebrows 8) Clumps and clots of mites are truly disgusting but you can get rid of them - when we have had an infestation I have done the houses with the weed wand every second day for several goes. We have used pigeon dusting powder on the birds to good effect too - no idea what's in it but it's what we had to hand.
Have a nice hot shower or you will be itching for the next few days :wave:
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shove the diotom earth everywhere - we've used all sorts to try and get rid of the little blighters and nothing has worked as well as this stuff. I just doused everything, including the birds for several days.
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Thanks Fleecewife - as ever you're full of excellent information!
That was revolting. The cobwebs DID go up like a rocket, and there was a smell like burning hair which I presume was the mites....? Bits of straw were quite flamable too! Funnily enough, when collecting eggs over the last few days I thought the hen house smelled different. Not just pooey.
I discovered the mothers of motherlodes. Our hen house came with plastic feet wrapped in bubble wrap. We had a Helpx-er who decided it would be better if the whole house raised up higher, so he built a frame for it and raised it. The bubble wrap was still on the feet...... Holy God the seething mass of mites, eggs, poo, etc inside the bubble wrap was repulsive. I couldn't really take the weed wand to them because there were still bits of plastic stuck to the feet, and I'd just put fresh straw and newspaper inside the house. I threw Diatom around the feet, do you think that will help? (Also there was a hen trying to get in to lay, didn't want to send her up in flames!)
I can't believe you did it every two days, what a drag. I might manage once a week! I hope the canisters last for a good while. Great that you managed to get rid of them. Horrible horrible horrible.
The dogs were snuffling around in old straw, should I Diatom them too? What about the shed floor (the hen house is inside a shed which is open on one side, straw on the floor from kids playing and lots of poo on the floor from Cream Legbars roosting in rafters. Also, do you think the empty hen houses will be ok?
I suspect that this is why my poor hens are bald, and it's not the cockerels' fault after all! I'd quite like to dip my poor hens into a bucket of something which would kill the mites in one go. I'm concerned I'm not going to manage to douse them well with Diatom, and I'm very nervous of my cockerels after having a vicious one.
They're still appearing on my arms. Yuck! A shower it is!
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Thanks, Captain. Luckily I bought a massive tub of the stuff, so I'll try to get the flock doused, and have put lots into the house and nesting boxes.
To add insult to injury, our cat took a dead mouse inside the pool table where we can't reach, pool table is in the study beside me, and now the study is filling with bluebottles. YUCK. Luckily it's a lovely day so windows are all open!
The trials and tribulations.....
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Yuk!!
When we had an outbreak last year, I made a sort of 'mud', from diatom and water, and literally painted the inside of the coop, and all the nooks and crannies with it. It's still there quite some time later, and we're still mite free, touch wood.
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We always spread a good dusting of lime under the shavings on the floor and throw it up the walls and into the nest boxes, never had a mite problem.
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Excellent news. I like the mud, Womble. (The flamethrower scares the bejeesus out of me.) I can also get hold of lime which I will dust the floor with. Thanks.
One of our hens has just been killed by the neighbours' dog. They're mortified, of course. Luckily it died very quickly as I'm really not good at handling these things. So all in all a rather horrible day. I'm having a lovely glass of wine in the sunshine (while doing a fair bit of scratching) to cheer myself up.
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Hi Dizzy - I have been reading but not talking as I thankfully have no experience of these mites. Sorry to hear you have not had a good day, yet again. Enjoy your sundowner :wave:
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Lucky you, Shearling! Keep the houses clean and don't let them find you... horrible things!
:wave:
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selfish question, Vikki, any evidence in the duck house? ::) :&>
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Not cheeky in the least - I'd ask the same thing! The duck and drake which are yours, (the duck, I mean!) are in our little courtyard and completely separated from all the other poultry. When we catch her we can give her a good dusting of Diatom just to be on the safe side, however you will see on Sunday just how separate they are. I'm not worried about it, but I'd ask too if I were you!
That was my next question, however... The chickens check out the (exterior, NFD, not where the ducklings are) duck house regularly, but having cleaned out the duck house today I was really surprised to find no evidence of mites whatsoever - do they dislike the taste of duck? The fresh straw was doused with Diatom, but the ducks are AWOL as per usual. Ducking and diving in the pond, I suspect.
:farmer:
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If I remember right one clever person on here wrote once that ducks have different feathers and harbour a different variety of mites? That might be the reason...I never found evidence in the house but my ducks have phases when they sit and rub their wings gently and I did wonder if they are itching. Did find nothing on the last one we caught but they are harder to check over generally. :&>
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Hmmm. They certainly don't seem affected and the house is clear, despite chickens going in. Your duck has no contact with anyone except her brother, two free range guinea pigs and two dogs, the ducks bully all the others, they're very bold. I checked the glamorous plastic box which they sleep in, no evidence of mites.
I think that person was right, and the mites don't like ducks.
ps, looking forward to telling you my drake saga on Sun, you planted an excellent idea in my head which worked brilliantly! :bouquet:
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I'll get everyone up as early as possible, so we can have good time for a chat! Want to hear all about it! :wave: :&>
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we've recently had an infestation...... diatom and cleaning with smite+++++
put the diatom on all ledges and on the floor and nest boxes.
we mixed into a paste as well but on checking they were in the diatom mud!!!!!!
deffo better with dusting!!!!!!
ours are virtually gone, and only brown so not getting to hens hopefully
Mx
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Manian, How long did it take to de-mite via Diatom? Mine are being thoroughly doused constantly but I still have the odd mite on me after taking eggs out of the nesting box. I think the chooks are looking better after three days, I'm convinced their bald patches are improving too. Good to know, appreciate the advice, thanks a million. :)
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we cleaned and hoovered the shed!!!
then placed the diatom on all ledges etc and nest boxes. we went in at night and looked for their 'runs'
they were dead in about 2-3 days
see the odd one but they are brown.... so not eaten; also very small
HTH
Mx
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I got round to cleaning out our hen shed and found no mites, although I noticed 2 hens with scaly feet. Our hens are outside more than inside so maybe thats why. I shall still get some more powder and hopefuly not get any mites at all!! made me itch thinking about it!!
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I had this problem once,and that was enough,I was tired of it costing me small fortunes in diatoms and so forth.My answer,Real Creosote! I purchased it from Melton Mowbray and is only available to trade,Smallholders and Farmers. at only £18.00 for 5 gallons,I painted all four coops with it-(old 6x8 sheds) and I have never had the problem since! I do not need to use smite or anything,my girls are bug free!! ;D
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Diatom only since the bad infestation last year - no mites this year :chook: :&>
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Oooh, I'm scratching away just reading these posts! Interesting about the creosote, I'll see if I can find some. I was thinking about the roof of the coop, inside, that is. Rather hard to flamethrow or Diatom up the way. I suppose I could tip the house over. I feel so bad about my poor baldy chooks, hopefully they're feeling the benefits of being rubbed with Diatom at bedtime. The floor of the house is littered with dead mites, mighty satisfying! Can't treat my cream legbars though, as they roost in the rafters. They're bound to be affected as they use the nesting boxes in the infected hen house. I've sprinkled Diatom into the nest boxes, but imagine that it won't sort the problem unless I treat the rafter-roosters. Any suggestions welcome!
:bouquet:
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Mites tend to come from below - access the birds from the perches, then up their legs. I always put lots of diatom powder on the perches, smear vaseline on the sides and underside of the edge - it seems to help. Hope you can get rid of them soon! :&>
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:cat:Made me itch too, I just wondered if as I used a large clean shed for my chickens, it may well have been creasoted as I bought it used but in excellant condition as it was only used for storing tack in a barn!! maybe thats why I have no mites...the scraty feeling is horrid, I have given up fruit picking in the Forest as I get bitten to bits, I sat on a stone a few days ago and the back of my thighs were bitten all along where the edge of the stone would have been...I was suprised that cleaning out the hens was easy and not a bit of a tickle or bite...creasote it is then!!
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Try this recipe. I promise you it works 100% and I have never had a problem with mites since I first used it about 6 years ago. Forget ALL the products you can buy because they DON'T work AND they're WAY over priced! The great thing about this recipe is that, once mixed up, it lasts and lasts!!!!
It's a recipe used by horse owners to keep flies and... insects away from their animals.
15ml citronella oil
2 tblsp methylated spirits
1 tblsp washing up liquid
4 tblsp vinigar
1 mug cold strong tea
Top up to 1.5 - 2 litres with water and use as a spray.
You can buy citronella oil from your local pharmacist. Just mix it all up and put into a plant sprayer.
Spray all over the hen house. You can put some on the birds, too. Just spray a little onto your finger and rub into the hen's skin, under a wing.
Make sure you spray into all the 'nooks and crannies' in the house and especially under the perch, where it is supported either end because that is where the mites like to hide during the daytime.
Once the mites have gone, just spray a little around the hen house occasionally to be on the safe side.
I HAVE COPIED THIS FROM A FACEBOOK PAGE I USE (CHICKEN CHAT) AND IT DOES WORK AND SMELLS REALLY NICE AS WELL
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Thanks, Sam. I will try it, for definite. I'm fed up with finding little mites crawling up me after I collect the eggs from the coop. I think I have some citronella, although perhaps not enough. Def have meths and the rest. I suspect meths might be the most effective ingredient. All advice appreciated, and all advice taken! Will do a major flamethrow, Diatom and spray tomorrow. Sam, can I spray the chooks directly? I know the ingredients won't hurt them, but I presume that spraying them will be effective? Maybe I can rig something up to spray the rafter-roosters from above!
Presumably not a good idea to do a flamethrow after spraying with the magic recipe which includes meths??!! BOOM! ;D
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and feathers ;D ;D ;D apply the flamethrower with care, flamegrilled chicken :D :chook: :chook: :&> :&>
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I've just had my first infestation too. :'(
Have always dusted with diatom & so tried poultry shield ( though I'm sure is a form of liquid diatom with other stuff added) and am really impressed. Will be using the weedwand too. Will be trying the sam.t. recipe as well - thanks for that.
Have also used creaosote on my newest shed - no red mite there!
So if I can persuade the hens to spend a few days there - will be creosoting everything.
But the worst thing is getting the little b******s on me yuk - never knew about that side of red mite before.................. :o
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yes you can spray the chooks obviousley not near their eyes :) the tea is black tea , and alot of people are using the oil lamp stuff (a lot cheaper) and getting the same results :)