Anyone successfully eradicate red mites?

[SpeckledCoopQueen]

Weeks after finding a burrow into our chicken run we now have red mites! We set a trail camera to figure out what was burrowing and found it to be the biggest rat I’ve ever seen! We extended the hardware cloth apron, attempted to live/snap trap him with no luck but the extension has kept him from burrowing! But we believe his invasion has left us with red mites. I bought Elector PSP and treated the coop/birds as soon as it arrived. The coop was drenched and I’m positive I didn’t miss any surface area. 13 days later I retreated with the correct concentration. Two nights after that I spotted more mites and picked up some Permethrin Poultry dust and did every surface and dusted each chicken. My coop has lots of cracks (kicking myself for putting wood strips up this way) and I also pried off some of the wooden steps going up to the roosts and found a few clusters. Once exposed to the poultry dust they immediately started to die. By the time I was done there were piles of dead mites! I plan to continue to retreat- using the powder. It might be more expensive but it appears to leave a stronger layer for any mites traveling over it in between treatment times. My coop is attached to our barn and we built one heck of a run, so truly don’t want to have to restart and move them but I’m completely overwhelmed by these nasty pests. I feel terrible for my chickens- some are looking a bit rough. Im worried this is going to be an ongoing problem and am hoping for some input and success stories. I live in Wisconsin and want to knock this before the cold weather hits. Help!

 

[Sussex19]

I don't really know, but I had them, and washed down the coop well and then dusted it with Permethrin dust. I haven't seen any since, but its hard to believe that I completely eradicated them.

 

[Shadrach]

Weeks after finding a burrow into our chicken run we now have red mites! We set a trail camera to figure out what was burrowing and found it to be the biggest rat I’ve ever seen! We extended the hardware cloth apron, attempted to live/snap trap him with no luck but the extension has kept him from burrowing! But we believe his invasion has left us with red mites. I bought Elector PSP and treated the coop/birds as soon as it arrived. The coop was drenched and I’m positive I didn’t miss any surface area. 13 days later I retreated with the correct concentration. Two nights after that I spotted more mites and picked up some Permethrin Poultry dust and did every surface and dusted each chicken. My coop has lots of cracks (kicking myself for putting wood strips up this way) and I also pried off some of the wooden steps going up to the roosts and found a few clusters. Once exposed to the poultry dust they immediately started to die. By the time I was done there were piles of dead mites! I plan to continue to retreat- using the powder. It might be more expensive but it appears to leave a stronger layer for any mites traveling over it in between treatment times. My coop is attached to our barn and we built one heck of a run, so truly don’t want to have to restart and move them but I’m completely overwhelmed by these nasty pests. I feel terrible for my chickens- some are looking a bit rough. Im worried this is going to be an ongoing problem and am hoping for some input and success stories. I live in Wisconsin and want to knock this before the cold weather hits. Help!

The good news. That's a lovely roomy looking coop.
The bad news. I rate the chances of you completley ridding it of red mites low to nonexistant. The colder weather will help but mites can live a long time without feeding and there are the eggs. Take the loft part. You would need to take out the ceiling to spray the raffters. You could try a high concentration Permethrin spray but like most it's a contact action and it won't kill the eggs.
I would suggest a day in the coop with a blowtorch which is how I used to clean coops but the coops were tiny compared to yours and more importantly, off the ground and not attatched to a barn.
You don't write how many chickens you have but even if it's 20 building a new coop where being able to deal with these problems is the design priority might work out less trouble.

 

[SpeckledCoopQueen]

I don't really know, but I had them, and washed down the coop well and then dusted it with Permethrin dust. I haven't seen any since, but its hard to believe that I completely eradicated them.

Do you think yours were brought in by rodents or wild birds?

 

[SpeckledCoopQueen]

The good news. That's a lovely roomy looking coop.
The bad news. I rate the chances of you completley ridding it of red mites low to nonexistant. The colder weather will help but mites can live a long time without feeding and there are the eggs. Take the loft part. You would need to take out the ceiling to spray the raffters. You could try a high concentration Permethrin spray but like most it's a contact action and it won't kill the eggs.
I would suggest a day in the coop with a blowtorch which is how I used to clean coops but the coops were tiny compared to yours and more importantly, off the ground and not attatched to a barn.
You don't write how many chickens you have but even if it's 20 building a new coop where being able to deal with these problems is the design priority might work out less trouble.

I have 26 chickens! Ive considered taking the boards off the ceiling so that I can dust the ceiling completely to the buildings top. I’ve bought a garden duster and am going to get up in there and disperse it that way, also going to use that on the walls/surfaces when I treat again instead of the actual duster. I love the coop, it’s been up for two years and I hate to dismantle it.. but I’m not sure what else we can do. Im worried no matter what we will be dealing with these mites as long as we have chickens and I don’t want then to have to endure them.

 

[McChooky]

If you'll move your chickens to another coop they'll die out but it can take a year.Winter is the best time to do it. Its the only sure fire way of getting rid of them.They multiply fast.

 

[Sussex19]

Do you think yours were brought in by rodents or wild birds?

I'm more inclined to think they came with the chickens when we bought them, but its possible that wild birds brought them. As far as I knew, I didn't think that rodents had the same sought of mite as chooks, but I might be mistaken.

 

[Shadrach]

I have 26 chickens! Ive considered taking the boards off the ceiling so that I can dust the ceiling completely to the buildings top. I’ve bought a garden duster and am going to get up in there and disperse it that way, also going to use that on the walls/surfaces when I treat again instead of the actual duster. I love the coop, it’s been up for two years and I hate to dismantle it.. but I’m not sure what else we can do. Im worried no matter what we will be dealing with these mites as long as we have chickens and I don’t want then to have to endure them.

I know nothing about your your weather, circumstances or your keeping conditions but you do mention you've got a large run.
I build these. They are okay down to -6 Centigrade for a few nights. They're cheap and robust if built properly and at a push the one in the picture will house ten if they only have to roost and lay eggs there. A pair like this might do you while you sort the big coop out.

 

[McChooky]

I made a chicken tractor to get mine out of the run onto clean ground and is big enough for them to roost in. They got scaly mites earlier in the year from a rooster .To totally get rid of scaly mites requires the same treatment unfortunately. (Perhaps a few month less )

 

[McChooky]

They can be moved to any area they haven't been housed before - so long at its a safe distance from the old coop . Hopefully it'll save you a lot of time, money and aggravation.