Lessons learned in my battle with mites

[oldman_bc]

if anyone tried to get on the forum for heavensentranch.com & couldn't I removed the .lot at the end.you can go to their forum now.

I use ivomec as they say in my chicken water for 2 days.it worked for me.we still ate the eggs without any problems.you decide for yourself if that's for you.

 

[BellaBelinski]

Last summer my chicks (and coop) had a mite infestation. I used a Neem oil and water mixture to spray the coop, and DE on chicks and coop. I also switched back to pine shavings (from straw), In just 2 treatments the mites were gone. I swear by Neem oil!!

 

[johnderosa1]

Actually, I rotate all the time.....  I'll use Permethrin dust for a treatment and then Sevin the next time.  I'll switch them in the dust bathing areas & also switch what I use in the coop.  I've only used the Poultry Protector for a few months - and that was because I thought the mites were almost gone.  When I see mites, I still will dust with either P-dust or Sevin, whichever I happen to have on hand. 

The one thing I haven't done is sprayed the actual birds with the Permithrin spray that I use in the coop as a dip.  I might try that in the spring. 

I agree with the rotation method... Permethrin, cydectin (moxidectin), hot shot pest strips and will be trying the elector psp. A key is to keep your clothes/shoes treated. My method has been pretty effective but hoping that the elector psp provides the knockout blow.

 

[dfalchek]

Actually, I rotate all the time..... I'll use Permethrin dust for a treatment and then Sevin the next time. I'll switch them in the dust bathing areas & also switch what I use in the coop. I've only used the Poultry Protector for a few months - and that was because I thought the mites were almost gone. When I see mites, I still will dust with either P-dust or Sevin, whichever I happen to have on hand.

The one thing I haven't done is sprayed the actual birds with the Permithrin spray that I use in the coop as a dip. I might try that in the spring.

I think you are almost there. I would dip the birds in a tote of Permethrin / water and rub in the solutions with (gloved) fingers. Spraying it on feathers probably won't get to the skin. Powder will not get mites out of a coop. You gotta spray and soak the coop interior with permethriin, which will last for months, in every nook and cranny. The best routine is to put the used permethrin bath water in a garden pump. If you have some left over, spray it around the permiter the coop and even your house. You should have louse / mite-free birds for at least two months. Those powders are nice, in between, but it is too easy to miss a spot with powder when you have to rub it into every inch of the bird. On the inside of my coop, I recently went in with a few cans of caulk and filled in corners and joints, to remove some mite hiding places, making it less welcoming.

 

[ellend]

You could always use ivermectin pour on, or preferably eprinex on your birds. Spray the inside of your coop with liquid sevin or malathion.

I had to use ivermectin EVERY WEEK for an entire winter, plus Sevin on roosts and bedding, and used pyrethin on coop in warm enough weather AND bathed each chicken when it was warm enough. Also used Poultry Protector spray on vents when it was warm enough (in addition to everything else) and it DID kill mites on contact. I betcha a head to toe soak of it would be wonderful. My girls' mite infestation really wasn't that bad, except on the lowest ranking two, either! All my scrubbing, spraying, and dusting efforts didn't get rid of them before I added the ivermectin pour-on over an entire winter. I also had to use MORE ivermec than I had seen recommended, on mine.

 

[ellend]

Bathing my chickens DID help reduce the number of mites greatly, after which I had much more success with my other treatments. I'd do it again.

 

[ellend]

if anyone tried to get on the forum for heavensentranch.com & couldn't I removed the .lot at the end.you can go to their forum now.

I use ivomec as they say in my chicken water for 2 days.it worked for me.we still ate the eggs without any problems.you decide for yourself if that's for you.

With carcinogens, you WON'T "see any problems." The damage is cumulative, and it also takes time, even years in humans, for the "damage," i.e. cancer, to show. I use ivomec also; I discard eggs for 2 weeks after the last treatment, myself.

 

[ellend]

I also switched from shavings to sand, which seemed to help, and cut down on how much "treat" I gave them in their run, to reduce wild bird contact. (Sparrows squeeze right through our poultry netting top cover.)

 

[scratch'n'peck]

Another insecticide to add to your rotation is SPINOSAD. This is an FDA approved insecticide and it is not chemically related to the other insecticides so there is lower risk of resistance. When I came across this type of insecticide, I was surprised that there was not more information on it so I started a thread:https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...-mite-infestation-that-works/10#post_14170194

Certain forms of the insecticide are actually approved for organic gardening, but the active ingredient has been used in the poultry industry in nonorganic form.

I also think that powdered sulfur as a preventative in dust bath is a good idea, but it wont treat an infestation.

 

[Heme]

Outside "Foul Pests" Inside abnormal season of "Assassin Bugs?" Alas I tried the Cyper WSP from DoMyOwnPestControl in conjunction with my Diatomaceous Earth (Coop Only).

The DE works great to dehydrate the soft underbelly and eventually dry up the mites, ants, and other nasty pests. The Cyper-WSP I got was approximately $10.00 for 4 packs or $2.50 a pack, each pack makes a gallon of solution.

From what I learned; C-WSP is a wide range insecticide tolerable by chickens (plus other birds and animals) and aside from killing pests, it prevents most insects from reproducing. That factor is important, as some insecticides that kill adult insects do not necessarily kill the larva or ovum. Re-Infestation can occur and if a bug overcomes the initial application of insecticide it becomes more resistant to the formula.

ALSO: Since I did not give it a thought before reading some of the BYC blogs; other birds in the vicinity bring their mites to feeding sites and help spread infestation. I once hand spread some bird feed and chicken layer food around a pine tree on the front property. I stopped that practice and put the bird seed in a hanging feeder and only feed the chickens in the coop as usual.

I hope this information is beneficial to my friends on BYC. Happy 2015