[manian]

 
OMG went to do the deep clean in the coop today ....... RED MITE.
Deep clean (that i do weekly) now became deep deep clean (ie remove screws from wooden bits and clean/scrub/spray)
not had them before and checked chickens and no signs
they still happy and laying and not looking down or poorly (hope i've not spoken too soon)
no problems going into coope to lay/roost

What does eveyone else do?

 

[little blue]

try Diatom - its a magic powder you sprinkle on the house / bedding / birds (wait til they're sleepy!) and it dries out the nasty beasties       

[manian]

where's the best place to get it from

[little blue]

?your local ag or feed merchant?
or any online small holder supply place

[daddymatty82]

i would definitely check your chooks again as if you found red mite they arnt red untill they got the blood inside them so if there not on chooks then where  are they drinking the blood?

[Andt]

I've recently had the same problem, although I was finding some mites when I put the hens in at night. I read about total mite kill spray, gave it a go last Saturday and have not seen any since, in fact after I sprayed my coops I saw the mites outside on the front getting away from the spray.

It's definitely worth a go, good luck.

[OhLaLa]

The birds will have red mite - the bugs need to feed.

Get the spray and follow the instructions to treat the house. Use the powder on the birds in the evening when they will have settled for the night and be calmer to handle.

Best wishes.

    

[cooper956]

the mites will only be on the birds at night thay are a night mare to get rid of iv used red mite killer it dose kill them but only the ones u get it well on  there is always some that get away. if yours are pet chickens  you could try IVERMECTIN DROPS

[danro]

where's the best place to get it from

One of my customers supplies diatoms.
Apparently there are two types - white (pure) diatoms and and 'normal' contaminated with clay stuff.

You can see more at http://www.diatomsinternational.co.uk/
Give him a call he is a great character and runs a chicken farm too so he really knows his onions!

Good luck

Danny

[Sudanpan]

Just had a look at the diatom site - not your usual website!
Anyway in the poultry section the information being given was talking about using HAY as bedding in the nest box and NEVER EVER use straw - now I am completely confused ( I thought hay was the no go material
Tish

[daddymatty82]

hay is better as its denser and smaller diamitre get a piece of straw and a piece of hay look down the hollow and you will see why it holds mites easier

[Anke]

The only sure way is painting your shed with creosote!, especially all the perches, and where they connect to the walls. Also painted the floors, doors too. use plastic boxes for nest boxes. We use a mix of straw and hay for nesting material, no real problem with either.

The reason why people say not to use hay is, as it might get mouldy from being damp the mould spores could cause some nasty infections in hens I think. But we have not had the problem, I often use the hay the goats drop from their rack.

[OhLaLa]

Anke is totally correct on all points.

If you creosote the house you will need to find somewhere else for the birds to live for a week or so as the house needs to be thoroughly dry before they move back in. If you can't do this use the spray. The nooks and crannies are where the mites hide during the day so it is especially important that you get the creosote/spray right into those areas.

Hay in nestboxes is fine, just keep the nestboxes clean and dry by changing it regularly and it won't get wet.

 

[Fleecewife]

Another option if your house is not plastic, is to use a weed wand to burn out any mites.  We had a bad infestation earlier this year and have got rid of it by use of the weed wand, plus a bit of wood preservative into crevices where the flames can't reach. We repeated the flaming every couple of days for a few times, now we do it routinely when we muck out.  The houses have all also been treated with wood preservative throughout once.  I think with red mite you can never drop your vigilance.

[plumseverywhere]

I'm using hay that goats have dropped too and so far no problems.
we had redmite for the first time ever this year, I was gutted!! but after spending a daft fortune of stuff that didn't work I found the pink nettex spray and eliminated the lot in 24 hours. they've not been back yet.