[farmers wife]

Had a shock tonight went to shut the hens in and collected a few eggs to see millions of mite (never had a problem before).  In the morning plan to jet wash and disinfect the mobile and when dry over in Diatomaceous earth.  Because of the massive upheaval, time and the number of hens Ive come across this biological control of other insects that eat the red mites. http://www.chickenvet.co.uk/Uploads/Info/109.pdf


I assume then if I use the diatomaceous then I can use the other other mites to eat them?  Or by the time the biological control arrives (assume Friday) the diatomaceous earth will no longer be effective?  I dont want to dry up the good guys.


Ive put two and two together now had a drop in egg production, found some eggs in the overgrowth and a couple are looking anemic.


Is it a good idea to rub in some dia earth on hens? I would like to use a drop on but the egg withdrawl time is an issue and the additional cost and if the Dia earth is just as good then the children can spend the morning dusting them down.


How long does this control last? I'm also looking at this shield stuff and it states need to spray around once a week I have a large area I assume I need to keep an eye on this now?

[devonlady]

I think that if you pressure wash the mites will find their way back! If you have a steam cleaner, or can borrow one, and it will reach the hen house you can boil the bu##ers to death!!

[Fleecewife]

With such an infestation, you really need to blitz them.  Being a pyromaniac I prefer one of those weed wand flame thrower things.  Very efficient but there is a slight risk of setting the place on fire  .  We then drench the house in Creosote, into every nook and cranny.  You do need more than one house so you can let the creosoted one dry out.  We had no luck with poultry shield or any of those products.  We do though sprinkle DE around the place, especially nest boxes.  We also douse the hens in it every now and then.
For the predators, it wouldn't be a rapid response as they have to work up their numbers, and nor would they ever clear the whole place.  I think, but don't know, that DE would bump them off too.

[chrismahon]

Ants eat red mite but can't get them all because the mites hide in very fine gaps that the ants can't get into. This may be the same with these predators. We rely on the ants giving us early warning of mites so don't use chemicals as they kill the ants long before the mites are killed.


My advice is to steam clean the coop. Then creosote the perch ends to trap mites being carried by the hens and getting off. If you squash all you find every morning (helps greatly if the perch can be lifted out) after about a week you will be down to single figures. Then it's a case of checking every few days until the count is zero. Mites will be brought back in from soil baths outside. Adding potash helps.


We used to creosote the coops, but it is horrible stuff if you get any on your skin. Also a pain swapping coops around waiting for the stuff to dry. Can speed the drying by mixing creosote 50:50 with paraffin- it is just as effective in killing mites.

[hexhammeasure]

silly question but is this red spider mite the same one that attacks plants?

[farmers wife]

no I dont think so these are the ones that live in the wood and suck the blood of the hens. I am sure the latin names are different.

[landroverroy]

silly question but is this red spider mite the same one that attacks plants?

Red spider mite is entirely different to the red mite that attacks birds.

However, ref your question about the use of diatomaceous earth, - unfortunately it does not distinguish between good and bad mites. So it will kill them all equally well. So maybe best use steam or a weed wand/ blow lamp or similar until your new best friends arrive.   

[Fleecewife]

silly question but is this red spider mite the same one that attacks plants?

No, but it does pretty much the same, except to plants, plus spreads disease.  I've just had to dig out and burn all my cucumbers because of them 

[Q]

Your post reminded me to give the red mite a quick check over as I hadn't done it for a while.
I was expecting loads but surprisingly not too many - just about 8-10 clusters of about 10p coin size.
My preferred WMD is a standard blowtorch followed by lashings of Diatomatious earth.
Getting to like the smell now

[princesslayer]

Is it a good idea to rub in some dia earth on hens? I would like to use a drop on but the egg withdrawl time is an issue and the additional cost and if the Dia earth is just as good then the children can spend the morning dusting

Be careful of this - I had an infested 3 year old boy! He was not impressed with the subsequent showering down...

[HesterF]

The mites on chickens are just red mites, the ones in the garden are spider mites, I think.

Interested to know how you find the natural predators. I've just ordered enough for four of my chicken houses since they all have mites to some extent at the moment. The marketing literature indicates they should completely wipe out the red mites and then die out themselves - also they are small than the red mites so they can get into the crevices. It somehow seems too good to be true but if it avoids creosote and it's not bad value compared with the insecticide I use in cases when I can't clear them out of the house.

And yes, I think you'd have to clear out the diatom first - I imagine it would affect the predators in the same way as the red mite.