Do I need to treat for mites outside the coop?

[TMecklenborg]

My chickens have mites! I had not noticed any symptoms, but I found bugs on an egg and then checked their vents, and they sure do have mites all right. I have ordered Prozap Garden and Poultry Duster to treat the birds and coop, but I am not sure whether I need to also treat areas they spend time in during the day. They range in the yard each day, so if mites are hopping on and off all the time they might be in the fence, the porch, the compost heap.... Is that a concern, or do mites stay where the chickens sleep? They seem pretty active in the coop during the day -- when I picked up some recently-shed feathers they crawled all over my hands (yuck).

Relatedly, could they establish a colony inside the house? My research indicates that chicken mites will bite people, but I don't know whether they can live off people.

 

[Bogtown Chick]

Sorry about the mites! blech.

I dealt with them last winter.

Good that you got the poultry dust. Dust once a week until gone. (About 3 weeks) You'll have to withold eggs for a period after that as well. Everybody should get dusted...because if one has them...they all have them. Painting the inside of your coop and roost to cover the wood and then a clean out of the bedding/ wash/vaccuum of the coop. I also got myself some Neem oil to spray the roosts every couple weeks.

I also got Ivomec pour on that I put a few drops on the birds and it eliminated the lice/mites completely. but I understand that it doesn't work on California strains of mites and lice . Some CA BYC members definitely said it was worthless for them. But I'm certain it eliminated it for me and my Minnesota bugs.

 

[Folly's place]

x2. Treat all the birds, cleanout the coop, apply permethrin or carbaryl dust to the coop, then new bedding. Mites and lice will show up sometimes, and dusting and Ivermectin work great here. Disgusting! Wood ashes, or DE added to their dusting spots outside may help too. The only approved product for poultry is permethrin, which now has a withdrawal time too. When I use Ivermectin, I toss the eggs for a week, because I feel better doing that. If you dust the birds, WEAR A SAFE FACE MASK! In fact, wear one when cleaning the coop or dusting anything. Mary