[Q]

I have been battling the dreaded red mite for a little while now.. thank you hot weather!

I have been searching out, squidging and burning clusters and now I only find 2 or 3 tiny clusters in the morning.

My question is that even though I have been changing the bedding and been liberal with the diatomaceous earth the eggs still have mites on them in the mornings - not feeding red ones like the clusters but a lot of small black crawlies!!

I fluff up the bedding each day to get the diatomaceous earth to get about a bit.

I thought diatomaceous earth would have dealt with these - am i missing something?

[Fleecewife]

Are you also dusting the birds with DE?

[Anke]

Forget DE, old fashioned creosote (the stuff sold to fence builders for outdoors applications) is the only thing that gets rid of mites long term.


But it will mean you will need to acommodate your hens in a different (and also treated) shed until you can do the current one.


We used to try all sorts of strategies, but really once we applied creosote we literally haven't had a mite infestation. Annual re-treatment is necessary.

[Q]

Are you also dusting the birds with DE?

I do but not every day.
Shouldn't DE be more effective though assuming these little black ones are the next part of the life cycle.
Just wondering if DE is worth while because changing the bedding every other day gets expensive.

[Fleecewife]

What is the life cycle of Red Mite? | Chicken Healthcare & Advice (nettexpoultry.com)


Doesn't look like black crawlies are anything to do with red mite.  Sounds like you've been blessed with something else as well. Some folk have all the luck

[Richmond]

As Anke says, creosote is the only real deterrent, and even that needs re-doing yearly.
Do you have a felt roof on your house? If the mite takes up residence under that no amount of treatment of the actual house will kill them all as they will hide under the felt. Replace it with corrugated tin or onduline.
Also do not use any form of bedding in the actual house, only in the nest boxes. This will give the mites fewer hiding places and be a little kinder on your pocket, if you have to pay for bedding. A few handfuls of shavings mixed with a good double handful of DE in the nest box should be sufficient for a week.
The black mites on eggs could be Northern Fowl mite - have you checked your birds over very thoroughly? It looks like a sooty black deposit around the tail and vent but can be found elsewhere on the body if the infestation has been there a while. DE should kill this too, but you really need to rub handfuls into the birds daily. If you think you have a real problem then talk to your vet about a prescription for Ivermectin.

[Q]

What is the life cycle of Red Mite? | Chicken Healthcare & Advice (nettexpoultry.com)


Doesn't look like black crawlies are anything to do with red mite.  Sounds like you've been blessed with something else as well. Some folk have all the luck

oh such joy!!
i thought the little black ones were an early part of the red mites cycle.

[Q]

As Anke says, creosote is the only real deterrent, and even that needs re-doing yearly.
Do you have a felt roof on your house? If the mite takes up residence under that no amount of treatment of the actual house will kill them all as they will hide under the felt. Replace it with corrugated tin or onduline.
Also do not use any form of bedding in the actual house, only in the nest boxes. This will give the mites fewer hiding places and be a little kinder on your pocket, if you have to pay for bedding. A few handfuls of shavings mixed with a good double handful of DE in the nest box should be sufficient for a week.
The black mites on eggs could be Northern Fowl mite - have you checked your birds over very thoroughly? It looks like a sooty black deposit around the tail and vent but can be found elsewhere on the body if the infestation has been there a while. DE should kill this too, but you really need to rub handfuls into the birds daily. If you think you have a real problem then talk to your vet about a prescription for Ivermectin.

I will check more carefully - no felt on the roof but they are wooden slatted pens. I intend to separate all the wood and create gaps that the blowtorch will get at.

[twizzel]

The best cure for red mite is setting a light to the house and watching the whole thing burn to the ground. Obviously must build a new house before you do this    but make sure the new house is treated inside and out with creosote, and given time to air before you move hens in.

[Perris]

if you are considering replacing the coop, I recommend switching to a Green Frog recycled agric plastic one (not cheap, but holds its value so when you come to sell so you'll get your investment back) which has very few places for any creepy crawlies to hide, and is trivial to assemble, disassemble and blast with a power washer (so you save on cleaning chemicals, pesticides, or the hassle of trying to get hold of real creosote).

[Q]

Strange this morning that there were hardly any of the little black ones on the eggs (yesterday the eggs were crawling with them).

[Richmond]

if you are considering replacing the coop, I recommend switching to a Green Frog recycled agric plastic one (not cheap, but holds its value so when you come to sell so you'll get your investment back) which has very few places for any creepy crawlies to hide, and is trivial to assemble, disassemble and blast with a power washer (so you save on cleaning chemicals, pesticides, or the hassle of trying to get hold of real creosote).

The problem with power washing plastic housing is that the mites are not killed, just flushed into the grass. They are then perfectly capable of finding their way back into the house again ......

[Richmond]

Strange this morning that there were hardly any of the little black ones on the eggs (yesterday the eggs were crawling with them).

Have you treated the hens again?

[chrismahon]

We never really got on top of our red mite problems until we used a steam cleaner. Problem is the mites hide in the joints of the cladding and the chemicals can't reach unless the coop is turned upside down. Some do remain on the chickens and to catch them we treat the perch ends with creosote (ONLY the ends, as contact with skin causes bad chemical burns). The mites that get off the chickens are trapped under the perch, which can be lifted out in the morning for treatment. After about a week the mites will have gone. Another coop steam clean and then check the perch every week, because there is a chance that some will be in the run and will find their way back. Haven't had red mite for 7 years now, but still checking the perches.

[Q]

Strange this morning that there were hardly any of the little black ones on the eggs (yesterday the eggs were crawling with them).

Have you treated the hens again?

Not individually yet but i have (always do) put DE in the dust baths.