[madchickenlady]

Have spent today steam cleaning my hen houses, we seem to have an infestation of small - very very small - black insects they are really tiny but move quickly, no idea what they are but hope that steam cleaning, spraying and a liberal dose of powder will do the trick!

[HesterF]

If they're like tiny black flies, I've seen them in my houses too - including the ducks and geese. Not seen any evidence they do any damage so I just ignore them!

[madchickenlady]

I haven't seen them fly but they look like miniature thunder flies - they are causing a problem as the hens have mostly gone off lay and will not go in the hen house at present, so I have a huge hen house which they will only use the external perches and most of them (10 at last count) cram themselves into one of the standard size house - you know the type, advertised to house and run six birds but probably only comfortable for four! You should see them all 'pop' out in the morning - and as one is a really large old hen and another is a large cockerel - I do mean 'pop;!  

[HesterF]

Yep, I think they're the same things - they may even be fleas? But I've not had such an infestation that the birds wouldn't go in. Anything with permethrin (same as the red mite killer) will kill them whatever they are so if you've a problem, get spraying! I've got one house with 15 'growers' in at the moment - except that they're no longer so much growers as grown and that's now a tight fit. Not getting much luck with selling them though - especially not the cockerels. Dinner coming soon.

[kelly58]

I have them too, just put diatomaceous earth everywere with the puffer 
Hope it works 

[Ryder]

I have found that diatomaceous earth is better painted on as a slurry.  Get a few handfuls of food grade diatom, mix with a water so it becomes like a runny paint and paint your coop.  When dried, your coop will become grey, but one application will last for around a couple of months and mites just cannot survive, after a few days they will be gone.  I had an infestation by the time I found the mites and I had nothing to hand but this.  At first I just sprinkled the powder but it was not very effective and I had to do it almost everyday as it just falls to ground.  Not to mention it was dusty, bad for chickens breathing.  But as a slurry, it is not dusty, seems to eliminate mite and only need to do a couple of applications over the summer.  I would be interested to know if it kills of these flea type things also.

[ella01]

I have them too in an  plastic  chicken house. Thousands of them. Have shaken the dia......  powder all over  but shall try the making a slurry of it and hope that works .  So thanks for that tip.
Never had them before. Thought it might be  the plastic coop but obviously not if others have then in wooden coops..

[HesterF]

I would try a spray rather than diatom if they're not mites. The way diatom works on mites is to do with their physiology rather than killing thm direct so it may well not work on other insects.

[Ryder]

I have them too in an  plastic  chicken house. Thousands of them. Have shaken the dia......  powder all over  but shall try the making a slurry of it and hope that works .  So thanks for that tip.
Never had them before. Thought it might be  the plastic coop but obviously not if others have then in wooden coops..

mites or the flea type things?  Hester is right, if it is not mites it may not work. If it is mites remember to paint the perches also, top and bottom and remember to get into the all the corners.  Diatom takes about 24-48 hours to kill the mites, so after a couple of days you should see very very few mites.  After a week or so as the remaining mite eggs are hatching and dying you will see a couple of mites here and there. I'd be interested to know how the slurry went on your plastic coop if it is mites.

[ella01]

By evening there was not one in the nesting box. I had cleaned it out and put fresh sawdust in with fresh herbs and well powdered with the dia... powder and  it has remained mite/bug free.  Just puffed it generously in the rest of the coop. Took out the roosting pole and it was thick with these beetles. These hens never roost but just cuddle up in the nest box.
Whatever they were the stuff has killed a lot of them. Not fleas, maybe mites but more like beetles.
Will get someone to steam clean the coop sometime and then paint the slurry stuff on and we will see how that goes.