Poultry ticks (Argas persicus) creepy coop ticks--check your crevices

[Gallo del Cielo]

Dear Sir:
I ask you permission to reproduce the excellent photographs of Argas persicus who posted on this page. They would be used in an atlas that teachers Parasitology, Faculty of Medical Sciences of the National University of Cuyo (Mendoza, Argentina) are developing. It will be used as teaching material for students in the medical career. The atlas does not bring economic benefits to authors. Since then I will inform the origin of the images.
Grateful
Carlos G Borremans

Hi Dr. Borremans, I would be honored to let you use the photographs. I'll PM you my information for attribution.

 

[carnivore]

Subscribe me!

 

[Sidhe13]

Can anyone confirm that you don't get ticks on metal, or in metal cracks?

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

Can anyone confirm that you don't get ticks on metal, or in metal cracks?

I don't think that an all metal coop or roosts will completely prevent poultry ticks, but it would help in that there would be fewer cracks and crevices for the ticks to hide in compared to similar structures made of wood. I think that the ticks would use any crevice available to hide during the day, even if it's made of metal. If you have ticks, you have to eliminate the crevices.

 

[Neptune]

I know this is an older post. I just identified this bug and found the link. I'm in AZ and it has been 112-115 for a stretch. Thanks for all the info! I vaccumed,sprayed roosts and walls etc with Apple Cider Vinegar. Then took off roosts, scrubbed walls, then caulking all-around the cracks, re installed the boards! Fingers crossed!

 

[KramAus]

I live in rural Australia and had these evil things in one my pens about 18 months ago. Picked up a rooster to look at one night and he had spots of blood on his feet plus these 'bug' things. Couldn't work out what the heck they were until finding out on here they were poultry tick. Never even heard of them in 25 years of keeping chooks. Every night I walked in to check with a torch there would be a few crawling around trying to get on a bird.

Eventually found that there were probably 200+ living under clumps of dead dry leaves on the roof of the cage. So what I did was during the day kill the roof ones by spraying and burning the leaves. Then what I did was make up an oil poison type mix and regularly paint the obvious access points and more importantly paint the ends of the perches with the poison so they couldn't get to the birds. Then pretty much continue to every night check when I went to lock them up with the torch and squash any more buggers trying to crawl in. I reckon it took us 6 months to totally eradicate them doing this. Seriously they are the worst things ever. Haven't seen even a single one for about a year now so hopefully finally nailed them.

I couldn't work out where they came from as I hadn't brought in any new stock for 2+ years. Then it finally dawned on us. The lady next door used to have a few chickens over on her side of the fence about 5 metres away. She obviously had them, moved away, taken her birds and then they eventually sniffed out mine for new hosts and crawled across.

 

[plm6846]

Arizona, North Scottsdale temp 103 to 115 al thru summer. Found these nasty ********, cleaned, Orange Guard x 3 gal, pressure washed and had such a infestation in one of three coops we took siding down and found hundreds and hundreds of those ********!! We burned coop to ground. We do have ticks in coop two but I was so crushed to have lost one coop I have no desire to loose another! My hens are ill..loss of feathers, (not usual moulting) nasty liquid poop and weight loss! 14 hens...I am trying so hard to help them every night I go armed to their coop..I spray them with poultry protect and go huntin fer beasties! We have lost 7 hens so far this summer, five heat two predator..two prior to this loss was to my mystery illness ...illness based on my tick infestation. Our newest coop is not near coops one and two those hens are great and coop remains pristine...I have to caulk but will have to wait out this heat til probably Sept. When evenings are a bit cooler. Check your coop for dark spots..I just thought it was crud from chickens!! I feel so dumb!! No one would have known had it not been for BYC site!! I should post a few pics of our discovery..just don't know how here

 

[chickendaddy'swife]

just discovered ticks in my coop too. i live in northwestern az . other than squishing them and using the DAP did you use any other control method,i.e. sprays??? etc?

 

[plm6846]

I found recommendations for Orange Guard which is safe for chickens...then power wash, then spray again...didn't seem to work at all...so we burned it down...next coop Poultry protect spray almost nightly helped birds didn't stop ticks..they were still there! I finally went toxic and saturated the entire coop area with Raid...bout killed myself but I did not let hens into coop for two days ... Then poultry protect then cleared all hay in coop floor (ticks loved that hay!)dusted with DE and Premethrin dust (safe for chickens) and looked every day and only found dieing and dead ticks! Next weekend I did toxic again when I saw one living tick...another two days for confused chickens...have not seen another tick since. I removed their lurches and replaced with 2x4 that I painted and put Flexseal 8 inched on ends of boards then went crazy and spray foamed all possible cracks and then caulked all other possible wood to wood spots..no live ticks, but I remain vigilant and check weekly and spray hens with poultry protect. They are healing growing feathers and slowly gaining weight, poop has nearly returned to normal..yes there is hope after ticks! My research suggested not to use anything for floor but large flake wood shavings..not fine..large..chickens weren't too sure about it but have adjusted. I dust all shavings with DE and permethrin so every time they go to lay or walk about they get dusted and it kills all critters especially poultry ticks! They do not go to any furbearing animals just feathered ones, and can only be seen at night..late! Good luck!

 

[plm6846]

These ticks per my research must have wood to wood to go into. Something about their need to have this element to reproduce and lay eggs and keep their nasty bodies in top shape. There is nothing to say metal will harbor them only wood to wood.your perches, 2x4 with 2x4 on top, like door headers and corner braces Etc., usually found within one foot of perch..this is why I chose to coat my perches with paint then where I attached them I used flexseal on the perch at least 8 inches on each end..no wood to wood, and of course caulk everywhere!