[Clansman]

proper creosote always works for me.

Get it into all the cracks and crevices inside the shed where the mites hide, nestboxes and perches in particular.

[Marches Farmer]

If you're moving a house with red mite try to do it during the day when it's cold - they will run out and get blown around in the wind otherwise and some are just bound to alight on another house.  We now avoid anything made from tongue-and-groove and have never had felt roof types.  Last year I sank a T&G house in the pond, weighted down, for three weeks and the red mite was still there when I raised it.  Now burned.  Now make my own using creosoted external ply and seal the joints with bathroom sealant.  Only problem is that the wood expands and contracts with the weather so the seal tends to be compromised over time.

[chrismahon]

You have to creosote tongue and groove boarding upside down to get the creosote into the grooves, which is where the mite are hiding. So if you don't strip the coop or shed into panels and turn them upside down, whatever treatment you are applying, it is really a waste of time (and money).

[Clansman]

You have to creosote tongue and groove boarding upside down to get the creosote into the grooves, which is where the mite are hiding. So if you don't strip the coop or shed into panels and turn them upside down, whatever treatment you are applying, it is really a waste of time (and money).

Chris, as a very new member here I hate to have to disagree with anyone so soon after joining! 

I have successfully been creosoting poultry coops/nestboxes/perches/sheds etc against red mite for over 35 years now and have been able to keep them mite free without ever dismantling anything.

Red mite may well be hiding inside joints but creosoting the surfaces around them will kill them as soon as they try and come out.

I would of course always creosote any new wooden structures before they are assembled but creosoting an older structure without dismantling it certainly isn't a waste of time.

[chrismahon]

We've just had a red mite attack in a creosoted coop Clansman. They were mainly in the bedding but were crossing the treated wood to get to the hens (treated 10 months ago). The mite were in the panel joints as well, when I disassembled it. Previously creosoting on the inside and they have moved outside via the tongue and groove joints, which is why I now turn the joints upside down. If they do move outside they are then available to move to new premises. So I guess if you have never had them, fine. But when you have them you need to kill them all.


Back to original post about a fumer. I started my attack by spraying the entire coop inside with Nettex Total Mite Kill. I then left it closed up and in the sun for a few ours which fumigated it, to the extent that I didn't get bitten when I took the coop apart and didn't see any alive. Some may have escaped but I didn't see any.

[Clansman]

Are you using creosote or creosote substitute?

I usually heavily soak the ends of the perches, that seems to stop them pretty well

[chrismahon]

The original stuff Clansman, not creocote. But all the time they are evolving and soon even creosote won't work.

[Anke]

Well, haven't seen a red mite for years now... a layer of fresh  (old fashioned) creosote once a year, not using anything else at all. No Tongue and groove either, and no roof felt. Plastic nest boxes.

[colliewobbles]

Last year we spent 2-3 months trying to get rid of an infestation using the most natural methods we could - all to no avail.  In the end we resorted to a commercial product which is pretty strong but we felt that our chooks were suffering so much that overall their welfare had to come before our environmental concerns.

We got a product called FICAM W which is developed by Bayer.  It cost us £20 for two treatments but we only needed one - it worked instantly and we didn't see anymore of the little blighters and the chooks visibly improved in condition within a couple of weeks.  When we moved our chicken houses to our field this spring we completely dismantled them and coated them inside and out with the second pack we bought.  It seems to have done the trick and kept them away for us (touch wood!). 

The stuff is pretty potent and you have to take some precautions when using it but all advice is given with the product.  We sprayed the first lot but found it easier to paint it on with a paste brush the second time.  We got it from a company called Bowden & Knights Livestock in Thetford, Norfolk  Tel: 01953 681830.  They are extremely helpful when you call too.

Donna

[Marches Farmer]

I used a fumer once - put the coops in a small, enclosed area and put the fumers inside the coops, then sealed it the area to keep the fumes in as long as possible.  Didn't work.