[Declan]

My wooden poultry house is infested in red mite- I am going to power wash  it out and then disinfect. I'm just wondering would a metal type shed adapted for the birds be a better way to go? I know its not as pretty but would it get rid of red mite/make cleaning out the house easier?
Advice please.

[HappyHippy]

You would certainly have less of a mite problem, but it would get hot enough to cook them in the summer  and cold enough to freeze them in the winter I think  Wood has better insulation factors.
You can buy poultry sheild spray to deter them which you coat the inside of the shed with and it's probably worth giving the chickens a bit of a treatment with Diatom Powder (Diatomaceous Earth) which you can also use in the house, sprinkle it EVERYWHERE ! 
HTH
Karen 
I'm in the middle of building a new chicken coop using off-cuts of beech flooring - every groove on the inside will be getting filled with filler and a very think coat of white gloss paint to make it impenetrable for the little bu**ers or at least easier to see them if they do get in (and it should make it a bit more waterproof for pressure washing)
This is the finished effect I'm going for http://www.flytesofancy.co.uk/chickenhouses/The_Gypsy_Daydream.html minus the fancy steps and door set up on the front and probably only with 2 rear wheels (unless I find any more in the shed  ) will post photo's when it's done. I'm WAY too tight to splash out nearly four grand to buy it     

[jaykay]

Nice house, but yes what a price 

Every year I say I will white-gloss the inside of my chookhouses. I think my mistake is waiting for a dry spell.... it would certainly give the little b******s fewer places to hide 

Total Mite Kill is quite effective, followed up by diatom powder (I put it under the ends of the removable perches and in the nest boxes), as Karen says.

[Fleecewife]

I agree with HH that a metal house would roast your hens prematurely    We have wooden sheds (adapted garden sheds) which we blast with a weed wand (Blow torch on a stick) every time we clean the houses. This really is very effective and saves all the chemicals.

My wooden poultry house is infested in red mite- I am going to power wash  it out and then disinfect. I'm just wondering would a metal type shed adapted for the birds be a better way to go? I know its not as pretty but would it get rid of red mite/make cleaning out the house easier?
Advice please.

[Bionic]

Fleecewife
how do you manage not to burn the houses down?

[Fleecewife]

Er...well...last time when OH was doing it the flames went under the metal edging we have to stop dogs etc chewing their way in - suddenly the whole place started burning and he had to get the metal off quickly before the whole house went up  .  Cobwebs tend to go up with a whooomph which can be quite exciting    But basically I don't keep the flame trained on any one area but move it around fairly quickly.  This gives time for any mites to be frazzled, but not for the wood to heat up.  It's the same with using it on weedlings - you just waft the flame across and they shrivel up.  I suppose it is a bit dangerous, but we don't have spare houses to decant our hens into if we use chemicals, so we have to have a method which will be immediate and they can come right back in.  I expect that one day we will burn down a house but so far it has worked really well.

[manian]

we had a few and have just zapped them with a heat paint stripper (electric)
you could hear the bu**ers 'pop' as they were singed!!
Mx

[Sylvia]

I also use a flame weeder (13 quid with gas cylinder at the mo. from Lidl) or a steam cleaner. Boils the bu###rs.

[Fleecewife]

A steam cleaner sounds good and unlikely to burn the hen house down    Does it leave the place damp?  I have been wondering about how useful they are indoors too - do you use yours in your own house?

[Sylvia]

With a fair few dogs, Fleecewife, I do all the crevices and flea hiding places regularly with the steam cleaner and haven't seen a flea on my dogs for years--note-don't steam clean the dogs
I also use it for cleaning the cooker, paint work, tiles, bath etc. Even windows! So it is a sound investement.

[ellisr]

I have a steam cleaner but never thought of it for the chicken house. That is another one to add to list the list of uses, another good use is defrosting the freezer and cleaning it at the same time.

[jaykay]

Do they make everywhere really wet?

[ellisr]

They can do if your not really careful but it drys really quick with the heat from the steam.

[OhLaLa]

A steam cleaner sounds like a good idea (never tried it tho) if there is power close enough to the chook house to run it.

Best way to deal with red mite is to paint all the woodwork - inc perches, nests etc - poking it into all nooks and crannies with creocote, the creosote substitute. Air the house thoroughly before letting the birds back in.

Also dust the birds at night when they have settled with a suitable louse/flea powder, paying particular attention to the vent area and under the wings.

I find red mite thrives just as well on metal, having just bought a second hand unit which is crawling with the little  ers.