Lessons learned in my battle with mites

[Sparkling]

I will try this! I love the more natural and long term preventative measure!

Thanks! I'll try this too. I added garlic powder to their feed. I can put garlic in the nest boxes too.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Thank you for the encouragement.

Today is day four of the ambush against the evil insects. I haven't actually seen any on my birds, I hope I've intervened in time. The house was absolutely horrid. We bought a power washer and ended up having to SOAK the floor in water, and use a flat front shovel as well as the power washer to get the inch layer of yuck off the floor. Not sure the previous owners ever had cleaned it out. It's clean now though!!! Scrubbed, power washed, cleaned with murphy's oil soap, and then a friend of mine suggested we paint the inside, so today we used the spray painter and painted the whole inside of the house, ceiling, walls, floors, roosts, nest boxes, everything, and as much of the little house as I had paint for - got the floor and roosts painted before I ran out.. Used a full gallon of paint. Left it to dry all afternoon, and then we put fresh bedding down on the floor. It's much much much better now. Hopefully painting the inside will break the cycle. Any mites left in the wood after the soaking won't be able to escape the paint.

And put DE in their dust bath area also.

Really trying to avoid using the Permethrin because the chickens yard is connected to the orchard and I really really really don't want to harm the bees.

If you are really concerned about bees dying from Permetyhrin poisoning remember that it is the active ingredient found in Marigold Flowers or other flowers in the same family. It is also a powerful insect repellant and if used according to instructions any honey bee deaths will be minimal.

Permetyhrim is even approved as a drench treatment in which about 5 gallons of Permethrim and H20 is poured on the ground beneath bee hives in order to kill small hive beetle larva.

None of this should make you use Permethrin in a careless manner because if a honey bee gets into the fresh spray it will be killed grave yard dead.

The really be all to end all is a GMO chicken whose blood, skin, and/or feathers will kill lice and mites. But that brings on a different question.

That question is If a hatchery offered a GMO mite resistant chicken would you buy them?

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Hehe - the sulfur is used in a few commercial pest powders for mites.
But I mean, I've never BEEN bitten by vampires so you'd have to prove it didn't work ;-) hehe

Powerful stuff that garlic.

It'll also keep the Daughter of Dracula from nibbling on your lower lip. ;<)

 

[aart]

Quote: Keep in mind, tho garlic might be beneficial to the birds...
...too much of it ingested can cause anemia, and I know I find the aroma to be irritating to nose and lungs when breathed in large/strong doses.

 

[casportpony]

 

 
I will try this! I love the more natural and long term preventative measure!

Thanks!  I'll try this too. I added garlic powder to their feed. I can put garlic in the nest boxes too.

Keep in mind, tho garlic might be beneficial to the birds...
...too much of it ingested can cause anemia, and I know I find the aroma to be irritating to nose and lungs when breathed in large/strong doses.

X2. Show me one vet that says garlic can be given safely and I'll stop warning people about it.

-Kathy

 

[Little Fuzzy]

I'm so sorry for your situation. I have not had mites yet and are not looking forward to it. I just saw a device for yard care, a steam machine that was for killing weeds, very high heat I guess, I wonder if it would kill mites in the coop. Of course you would still have to bath the chickens. I think you need to do their head also.

 

[casportpony]

I'm so sorry for your situation. I have not had mites yet and are not looking forward to it. I just saw a device for yard care, a steam machine that was for killing weeds, very high heat I guess, I wonder if it would kill mites in the coop. Of course you would still have to bath the chickens. I think you need to do their head also.

Why bathe when you can apply dust or spray?

-Kathy

 

[casportpony]

Good article on mites and lice:
http://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/pdf/8162.pdf

-Kathy

 

[spurrer]

I haven't seen any mites on my chickens, I only have two but I want to change the shavings and nesting material in my coop and need to know what I can spray that won't hurt my chickens. Can you tell me what to use and where to buy it. I just went thru a short period with soft shells and white eggs that are supposed to be brown. I had been using egg shells for calcium. Evidently that wasn't working so I bought oyster shells and they are almost back to normal. I have not had chickens before except when I was young and we had some. I don't remember my mama and daddy doing anything special for the chickens. We did go out to the chicken house at night and clip their wings. That was quite an experience. Will appreciate it if you will tell me what to use in my coop.
Thanks,
Jane from Alabama

 

[Bantambird]

Many people use permethrin spray or powder.