[Fleecewife]

<<The fact that they were there to see, obviously in day lite hours is unusual?>>

Where I found them was at the ends of the removable perches where they had gone to hide during the day, in a big grey grainy clump.  They weren't running around sucking blood.  My hens from that house are a lot happier now they are not being tormented at night.

I think I got my weed wand from LBS Horticulture (good prices for all sorts of bulk things) but various places sell them.  They work on small disposable gas cylinders. Creme brulee - now there's a thought 

[plumseverywhere]

I'm going to get one of those wands!!

mine were visible in daylight - they crawled up my arm while I was cleaning the coops out. I always think red mite are a bit stupid though because they do that thing where they group together so you can't really miss them - if they hung around ont heir own you'd easily mistake them for a bit of dirt or miss them altogether 

anyone ever had any luck with poultry shield? the fowl trust sold me a huge vat of it but 4 weeks (or 5?) we are still fighting a losing battle, every few days they are back :0( 

[DJ_Chook]

One of my flocks has a really bad attack of red mite. They are in a wooden house so I have been pressure washing it out every week, then I wait 15 mins and watch the angry red mite come out of their hiding place then I pressure wash it again, I do this several times. When I think it's red mite free I wash it with Jeyes, rinse out, let it dry a bit, then liberally coat every surface with diatom powder. Then it's clean bedding! I've been on this regime for 4 weeks and I still have millions of red mite. Currently building them a new plastic ark.

I've used poultry shield before now and found it to have no effect. I may aswell have sprayed the coop with Carlsberg for all the effect it had. I'm going to try vinegar, if anything at least it will be cheaper!


DJ Chook

[plumseverywhere]

Totally hacked off with poultry shield, I went to countrywide and picked up a bottle of something very pink - sprayed it all over my pet red mites yesterday lunchtime. went out today expecting to see them blowing raspberries at me as they have done after each of their poultry shield showers but no!  could see no crawlers, only dead'ns.  feeling most chuffed today. will have to keep spraying this barbie stuff to break the cycle I know, but its a good feelign so far!!

[Daisys Mum]

I got a bottle of that too and it does seem to work.

[Helencus]

What's it called I've got to get some as I'm pretty sure they're back..

[doganjo]

I must get some too - I still haven't seen any of these horrid bugs but this thread is soooo scary that I MUST be missing them.  I cannot possibly be the only person on here who hasn't got them.  So please look at the label and tell us what it is.

[plumseverywhere]

its 'total mite kill' from total poultry solutions made by NetTex. its about £8 for a made up 750ml bottle. totally brilliant stuff - still no redmite looking up at me!! and teh chickens have today laid in a nest box that they abandoned weeks ago...

[doganjo]

http://www.millbryhill.co.uk/small-holder-533/poultry-products-654/poultry-care-vet-products-665/liquid-smallholder-poultry-products-22767.htm
£6.99, orders over £40 post free in UK

[langdon]

i am fighting the same fight meself,
i have to say after reading all of these replys and seeing that some people are able to completly cover the floor,
etc when cleaning using diatom and poultry shield im amazed!
these products are so flipping expensive, i do use them meself but i have to admitt i hust put in nest box, perch at night and
around the outer edge of nest box.
i allso know everyone to their own ways, so please im not trying to aggrovate anyone
langdon

[doganjo]

I got a big tub of diatom ages ago for about £6 but I can't find anything as cheap ass that now.  what's the cheapest anyone has found it?
Langdon, I cover the floor with diatom when i muck out once a week, but as it is so fine it doesn't actually use up an awful lot of it, and like you I just treat the perch ends and nest box otherwise.

[hennypenny]

This year has been really bad for it with us.  We have 10 poultry houses - garden shed, coops, arks a variety of designs.  None has felt roofs,but all are wooden.  We build our own and now use ply as T&G was offering too many hiding places.  All perches, nest boxes etc come out, and i clean the birds about once a fornight, unless there is a mite problem.
Ive got it really bad in my Buff Orp house.  A bit of litter fell outand under it was a seething mass! Iemptied it and it was like a horrormovie...a seething mass of movement.....

Tomorrow afternoonIm cleaning, spraying (yet again) and eprimexing the birds...

I think its just keep at it.....for me Jeyes works well internally with creosote externally. Its just a chore having to continually do it. If I could get big bits of UPVC Id use this,bolted together.

[Farm and country]

I think Fergie made a very valid point about the crevices of the wood. Redmite do tuck themselves away during the day into all the cracks and crevices so if you just treat the inside you may not be treating the bigger problem. If possible you need to loosen the screws that hold it together and spray (poultry shield?) into the gaps.
One customer of mine said she'd gone to the extent of taking the roof off and said she found large clusters of them 
Also, if your poultry have a particular favourite spot for dust bathing put some Diatom down, that way when they fluff their feathers out its getting right down to their skin where the mites are most likely to be. More effective than dusting the birds yourself!

www.farmandcountrysupplies.co.uk

[JL]

We are under red mite assault as well. Started last year when we bought some ex supposed free range hens. We may have had them before but the problem really started after that. We have managed to reduce them but never get rid of them. And they're really bad at the moment. I cleaned one of the houses today which we thought just had a few But when I slid the bottom out they just pored out like grains of sand. This week I am trying poultry shield and diotom (however you spell it) powder. We are hoping not to have to burn any of the houses as a couple are quite antique. Some of the new houses are just as bad but they are easier to clean and have less hiding places for the buggers.
Its getting to be a real chore. I will try the vaseline on the perches tomorrow and the weed gun. I hadn't thought to use it that way. should be satisfying even if it doesn't work. I will also look for some old creosote in the local sales.

[landrovermanuk]

To fill the nooks and cranies I've started to treat the inside of the hen house with epoxy resin. The idea being that it will totaly seal the wood inside. I'll then paint the outside with coal tar creosote and cover the ends of the perches with vaseline...And prey that works...But it's slow going when you only have the one house and have to treat a little bit in the morning so it's dry and safe for the birds that night.