[Eve]

Ah, had thought of the problem with repairing plastic or making modifications, but didn't know about their weight. Thanks 

[P6te]

I've got 2 hen houses, one is a shed I converted last year.  I didn't eradicate the problem but certainly made it easier to manage.

I have lined the inside of the house with plywood sheeting and sealed the joins between the boards so the Red Mites don't have ready access to the joins between the ship lap / tong and grooved boards.

Before boarding it I thoroughly treated the timber with creosote (yes, the proper stuff). I have a horizontal board across the end of the shed on top which is a removable perch.  The underside of the perch timbers and the ends and joints are doused in creosote.

I also sprinkle any red mite power in the nesting boxes.

[scotelf]

For red mite, Diatom powder in this cold weather. Dilute jeyes fluid sprayed EVERYWHERE when not so cold 

[MAK]

So what are the implications of having red mite? What happens to the birds if the mite is not eradicated.
Everyone seems to go to great length to kill the mite but why?

[Sylvia]

They feed on the chicken's blood. Imagine tens of thousands all sucking a tiny amount of blood at once Your fowl become anaemic and die

[chrismahon]

They multiply very quickly MAK, depending on the temperature, peaking at 6 days beween hatching and laying eggs by the hundred. So you could see them one week and be completely overrun the next. After treating coops all Summer last year I would say if you see 100 you have 10,000. Vaccumned out one coop and took one lb of blood-filled mite out. Then the eggs got stuck in the hose of the cleaner and hatched so the whole thing was infested a week later. They jump onto you when you go in the coop as well as they sense your body heat and try to feed.

First signs are birds going off lay and pale combs. In the final stage, perhaps a few days later, they either come out in the morning and can't walk or don't come out at all. They can replenish the blood to some extent but as the mite multiply they are unable to keep pace.

Do you have them in France?

[MAK]

I do not know if we get Red Mite in France but I guess that we do.
My admin assistant ( OH) just tells me that she has checked Poultry Shed.com and someone was told by a French vet that there are no products sold here as they are too toxic to the environment.
The vet added that she should bath the chickens in wood ash if she sees any red mites. She has not but chucks her wood ash in the coup on a regular basis and that maybe this keep them as bay.
Sounds OK to me.
However if the little pests can survive the cold here then they are welcome to a drop of blood but as soon as it warms up I will NAPALM them if I find one.
 

[princesspiggy]

we had red mite too recently, wev had a very mild winter here. i only seem to spot them when im plucking a chook for dinner. iv never spotted them in the chook house or on live chooks.
we use barrier h louse powder on each chook and on the bedding, and i mite spray on the house which has to be left to dry completely before use.  u can smell them from a distance!!
we had a plastic shed once and lasted a good while but once it broke - that was it - i couldnt repair it, but a wooden one can always be patched up.

[plt102]

We used to have red mites a lot and then started using datomatous earth powder. We put it in their dustbath and liberally sprinkle around the coop every time we clean them out. It seems to be a good long term prevention and cure and I haven't seen an infestation since. If I ever think a hen is looking a bit peeky I give them a dust with DE just in case they have mites.