The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Poultry & Waterfowl => Topic started by: Bodger on August 19, 2013, 10:40:16 am
-
I've planned to replace the tongue and groove rooves on my factory made chicken sheds with Onduline sheets for sometime now and morning, I've stripped the first one off and OMG! No wonder I've been facing an up hill struggle to keep the redmite in check this year :o There were thousands of them, both under the roofing felt and where the planks were fastened to the frame. I've sprayed all the ones that have been exposed and I'm now giving the insecticide time to work before carrying on.
I've got another three sheds to do after this one and after they've been done, hopefully I'll have better luck in trying to keep things in check. :fc: Take it from me, if you have roofing felt on your chicken sheds, you definitely need to get rid of it. :chook:
-
We found the same thing about a year ago under the T&G there was a liner of thin ply this was covered with red mite. Since then we have used garden sheds modified to be used as a coop and our red mite problem is under control, :fc:, we have found most of these factory made chicken coops to be costly and a waste of time and money. Unless one can afford the type produced by Smiths.
Tala
-
I had my own red mite horror story last night. I was cleaning out a small ark which is on the garden lawn and has been used to house chicks, completely unaware that it had a red mite colony living in it. Down on my hands and knees, scraping away at some dried on poo, resting my head on the side of the doorway, as it is a pretty small opening. Lean back to discover loads of red mite crawling around where my head had just been!! They were everywhere, all over me, hundreds crawling round in my hair. It was the stuff nightmares are made from. I was still finding them crawling up the wall of the shower a few hours later. I am traumatised. :o
This is the 2nd house they have colonised this summer and they are no where near each other and haven't ever had the same birds living in them. This one is small and mobile so has been thoroughly pressure washed and moved to a different location. The first one is a 6 x 4 shed and is still locked up in situ waiting for me to decide what to do with it. I would love to burn it to the ground and replace it with a smiths one, but they are mightily expensive.
-
nic, you are making me itch......
-
Nic - that's horrible!
-
I only nipped in and out of our shed and was itchy for hours, I do not think we even have many it was only one or two tickles but I felt like I had fleas and dare not go into the pups until I stopped itching, do others have the same problem? apart from dusting my head with that dust for mites, I am not sure how to stop the little >:( ??? Red mites, Cleggs and the Scottish midge should join forces, who needs guns and bombs? the enemy would run miles out their way
-
BLOWTORCH !!! :excited: and real cresosote
-
Redmites lower the vitality of the birds and reduce egg numbers and quality, so its always best to keep on top of them.
Severe redmite infestation can even kill young or weak stock. :o
-
BLOWTORCH !!! :excited: and real cresosote
REAL Creosote - only solution (oh and Onduline roofs of course). We haven't had red mite for the last few years!!!
-
Diatomaceous Earth /Diatom RED MITE you need this
-
does anyone have problems in plastic housing?
-
Despite a plastic house we still get mites but its much easier to control them due to less cracks for them to hid in.
-
We have felt on all our coops. Only once did we get mite underneath and that was because the coop was so infested there was no space left for the mite at lower levels. Onduline has support and sealing problems so its not that simple a solution.
-
I have tongue and groove houses, plywood rooves with corrugated tin over the top.
And an horrendous red mite problem, despite regular use of TotalMite and diatomaceous earth.
The mites are not in the rooves though, but in the tongue and groove, so I don't think onduline will help.
Presumably those of you using real creosote have enough houses to close up the treated one for a while? How long? I used diesel a couple of times, which was amazingly effective, but I couldn't use the houses for about 3 months.
What do folk make the sides of your chicken houses out of? I think I could do with starting again and burning these......
-
I use Cresote jaykay and have two chicken houses and one for turkeys (they are actually garden sheds)
I cresote the outside every year and go round the internal joints, perch mounts, cracks, twice a year, usually early spring, late summer while the birds are still in situ with no problems.
I'm not splashing it around inside though, just covering the likely mite spots.
-
yes we have 2 houses- the spare one isnt very big so they have to cram in for a while. we dont leave them out for all that long- i leave all the doors open to aid drying time and probably have them back in in a couple of weeks. my sister in law once put her hens straight back in the same day. managed not to kill any but their eyes were streaming next morning. the eggs smell as well if you do it too quick
-
I've been creosoting since I had a problem under a broody early in the season - that was a scene I never wish to repeat. And, yes, I've been juggling houses so I moved the chickens into a new duck house for three weeks while their house aired, then I've done the smaller houses and runs as they've been vacated by the broodies and broods. I've been painting the outsides with pretty Cuprinol colours and the inside with creosote - idea was then to put them away until next season although I'm recruiting a few newbies so I think I'll be wheeling them out again soon. It's a big job (and still ongoing). Thank goodness for the good weather. But no sign of red mite since (although I smell awful!).
H
-
I've reached the half way mark and replaced the roof on two of my sheds. :fc:
-
OMG I am sooooo glad this isn't just me! I have felt such a Dirty Gertie...!!! Despite being quite conscientious about cleaning my main coop is ALIVE with mites..... I have cleaned a small rabbit coop, and washed the 6 ex batteries and they were all crammed in there last night. Today I plan to "creosote" (I can't get real creosote so use a mix of bitumen and white spirit for my rather old broody runs each year) the broody runs and have a good go at the old coop..... the main coop now needs to have the lino I put in to keep it clean earlier this year removed..... and I have to put my head in there to clean it..... I am COVERED within seconds.... its sooo horrible!!! and the house is fixed so I don't know how to get rid of whatever is on the ground? I've done a lot of burning and will get some wood ash for the hens, I use DP once a week, but frankly don't have much luck with it...
-
Shower cap, for the cleaning. Looks daft but way nicer than red mites in the hair!
Horrid little b€$$%$
-
I came on the forum today to find an answer to the red spider mite problem and I have! I am so glad to see I'm not the only one and that there is a solution - creosote. I am so sick of the poor hens being bitten and losing lots of their feathers and spraying the run with alleged red spider mite killer to no avail... thanks everyone!
-
I finished the third shed yesterday and it now has a brand new roof. I've done both inside and out with something called creocote ( not sote) and left it wide open all night to help it dry. The sheds all look very smart in their new attire and now, its a matter of fingers crossed that my efforts are going to have been worthy it. I have another two sheds to sort out but can't do too much about them until this last one has dried and I can move birds into it. :fc:
-
Aaarrgghhh...the red mite horror story continues from the thread not so long ago!!
Horrid horrid things!
We still have them in our ark but not so many now as a few weeks ago and seem contained to under the perch. Powder and spray not doing much so going to try Diatom earth next. I've been putting my hens shoddy condition down to the over amorous 'Jack' but I'm now thinking these blighters have something to do with it too!
-
I came on the forum today to find an answer to the red spider mite problem and I have! I am so glad to see I'm not the only one and that there is a solution - creosote. I am so sick of the poor hens being bitten and losing lots of their feathers and spraying the run with alleged red spider mite killer to no avail... thanks everyone!
SM, be aware that there is CreoSote (the original stuff) and CreoCote which is a creoSote substitute and nowhere near as effective for mites etc.
The CreoCote substitute is the one you'll find in B&Q, Homebase and the like.
A few agricultural supply places sell Creosote but you can get in online here and have it delivered.
http://www.creosotesales.co.uk (http://www.creosotesales.co.uk)
-
Thanks for that link Clansman, we've been looking for the real stuff :thumbsup:
-
Once you have red mite in the house the best solution is ..... a match! They float on the breeze, you spread them yourself so always visit a house with red mite last, whether opening up, topping up water and feed or closing up at night. Have individual henhouses as far away from each other as possible. If they get on you they'll make their way up to your scalp (warmer there). Just wait a couple of hours then wash your hair. (Of course you may also wish to shower, bearing in mind the route they'll have take to get there!)
One of our projects for this Autumn is to design and build henhouses which are less likely to harbour red mite but which are cheap and simple enough to be burned without a pang of regret if they get infested.
-
Even if there were any suitable red mite free poultry housing on the market, I certainly couldn't afford to torch a couple of grands worth of tongue and groove chicken housing.
-
Once you have red mite in the house the best solution is ..... a match!
Cresote does the job, i've used it for years and swear by it.
I do still occasionally find the odd red mite but no infestations or ill looking birds.
-
Thanks for that link Clansman, we've been looking for the real stuff :thumbsup:
Its a bit more expensive than the local places but if you can't find a local seller its ideal.
-
Up until this last lot, I was getting creosote from my farm supply depot but the last time I went to get some, they slipped me the Creocote and to be honest, its very watery compared with the real Mc Coy.
As far as Onduline is concerned, we have it on our stable rooves and the usual supports suffice and its the same with my reroofed chicken sheds. :fc: