Chicken keepers - best thing to get rid of mites?

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Ranyhyn

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We clean and spray for mites every time the coop is cleaned, this time round we have pulled the coop apart and reproofed it etc and there are still mites everywhere.

We use a mite spray and powder on the chickens, but they are always there :(

Our chickens only come in at night and spend the whole day (apart from laying) out of the coop, but it's still not pleasant to think they are being bothered by the blighters.

What can we do to get rid of them more successfully?

The coop is made from wood, cleaned once a week and bedded on sawdust and straw in nesting boxes.
 
Mites are a nightmare to clear. They will retreat to the cracks and crevices full of blood in the morning after a nights blood sucking before the chickens go out and then drop onto the chickens the minute they enter the coop at night. So it is said you are best to let the chickens go to bed and then grab them one by one and liberally cover them in mite powder. I always use Battles although I think it advises not to put it onto the bird. I have never had a problem though. You can easily tell if you have mites by popping your arm through the entrance door and they will soon drop onto you and start biting when they detect the warm skin. Disgusting thimngs they are.

Spray the coop with red mite spray - the stuff in the blue container is best - it's name evades me. I also use fullers earth which is all natural and sprinkle that powder liberally in teh bedding along with some mite powder too. Once you have mites they are hard but not impossible to get rid of. They can really afftecvt the chickens. Mine used to refuse to go in their coop if we had mites :( Mine all now roost in the stable eaves, so it's harder to rid them of mites. My poor horse even got attacked by them too :(
 
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They are horrid things, thanks for the tips. Great one about the timing too as usually we'd do the birds during the daytime with powder!

We had mites on us yesterday and it was horrendous, feel so bad for the chookas.
 
Best disinfectant to use is Virkon S. Proper creosote (not the substitute stuff) is good if you know anyone who still has some kicking about. Remove any felt if possible and seal whatever cracks and crevices you can. Paint the inside white so they're more visible and easier to tackle and remove any felt if possible. Swap to a plastic coop if you can - they're not 100% mite-proof despite the claims but can be better than wood.

I know a lot of people swear by diatom but I've never rated it personally. I have white painted coops (Cuprisol is good as the weatherproofing makes it almost plasticised) and sealed cracks (:D) and have no mites :) Hope this helps.
 
Old fashioned creosote is the best thing for coops, if you use it you will be red mite free, you need to leave it to air for a few days but if the run is covered I would just let them roost in there for a few days, its warm enough

If you have roofing felt on the coop its best to replace it with plastic or a product like Onduline

Thick bleach painted on the gaps works too but wait for it to dry before putting the chickens back in

Of the over the counter products Perbio is the best as it contains the highest % of active ingredient (permetherin) Total Mite Kill from Nettex is also quite good
 
Plastic coops are easier to hose down definitely and are great in the winter as they dry very quickly but you can still get red mites in them, I have five Eglus and one of them persistently gets red mite
 
We had terrible trouble with mites for two years - (real) creosote, disinfectants dusting powders, the blighters were back in no time at all.

We have remained clear since using Neem Oil.

Get a small skip and fill it with hand hot water. Add 5 mls Neem oil 3 mls of liquid soap to each litre of water. Catch chickens and dunk them in the mix, I do not do their heads but make sure they are soaked.
Spray the house with the same mix. I do the birds about every 6 weeks and have had no problems since using it. No need for egg withdrawal.
 
My vet says to use frontline or effipro spray on chickens legs and spray the house with a household does spray ie indorex.
 
They're a pesky nuisance. I've got ducks and a guinea fowl (which I can't catch, neither can I catch the bantams), so I do their house/bedding as well as I can with diatomaceous earth which is supposed to kill the beasties as its basically a type of sharp sand which punctures the shells.

Horrible things; I cleaned out the house once not realising they were there, and itched for days, awful. Now I wear protective wear to do it, i.e. goggles/mask & overalls + gloves.
 
Hi I use Deosect, I use it for the horses diluted as fly spray but use it stronger in the inside of out poultry houses . It usually gets rid of them quite quickly. If i have a major problem then I do spray the chooks aswell as the horses. You can soak the wood quite well with it in the houses .
You can get it from Scats, it is £26 a can but lasts for several years for me so is well worth it.
 
I just finished a post to someone trying to sort out her problem with mites in her horse's feather. I mentioned that I'm going to try diatomaceous earth on my horses' feather and in their field shelters. DE is a desiccant and kills mites by mechanical, not chemical, action. It is completely safe as long as it is food grade DE. I save my Fairy Liquid bottles, dry them and fill them with DE. Then I use the bottles as puffers and puff the DE into all the crevices, perches, cracks in my hens' coop and into their bedding. I puff it into their nest boxes and on the ground where they take their dust baths. I even put a small amount into their morning mash. I never use straw, only shavings. I figure if it hasn't harmed the hens it should be safe for the horses.

Poultry Shield is the product in the blue container. It's very good.
 
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Another vote for Poultryshield - very good, and less nasty to humans/animals than other options.
Creosote is now banned - most of you probably knew that, but thought I'd jsut point it out.

I spray regularly with Poultryshield as per instructions; then also dust bottom of nest boxes and cracks/ends of perches with DE (the stuff I have says you should wear a dust mask as it contains silica, which can cause harm if breathed in).
 
Creosote is not banned but is restricted to 'professional' use. I have no trouble getting hold of it and it's sold on eBay and in agricultural merchants.

The substitute stuff works to a lesser degree too though
 
I didn't know that - thanks for pointing it out. Will check it out.
Personally, I'd rather not use it, and since current methods work all is well.
 
Mites are easy to kill -- the problem is, they will be back when their eggs hatch! I don't think anyone has mentioned that. They don't live on the birds but migrate to them at night.

Buy a gallon or two of white vinegar (£5/gallon?) at your local cash-and-carry and spray liberally inside the hen house with a knapsack sprayer until everything is soaking. Repeat in 10 days. End of problem.
 
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