Anyone successfully eradicate red mites?

[Matejka]

Nug bomb?
Move birds, set off bombs including rafter area, air out ?
Just a thought, dont know haven't researched it.
Exterminator?

 

[McChooky]

Link to the Merck Vet Manuals recommended treatment for red mites below: https:/www.merckvetmanual.com/poultry/ectoparasites/mites-of-poultry

 

[SpeckledCoopQueen]

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.
View attachment 3256779

I’m worried we will go through the hassle of making another coop/run just to have the same issue there. We don’t free range, have a lot of hawks and predators and with 26 chickens we’d have to make a pretty large run/coop to just wait this out. So frustrating!

 

[McChooky]

I’m worried we will go through the hassle of making another coop/run just to have the same issue there. We don’t free range, have a lot of hawks and predators and with 26 chickens we’d have to make a pretty large run/coop to just wait this out. So frustrating!

This mite can go 8-9 months without a meal.One meal and they'll lay more eggs.https://poultrykeeper.com/external-problems/red-mite/

 

[SpeckledCoopQueen]

This mite can go 8-9 months without a meal.One meal and they'll lay more eggs.https://poultrykeeper.com/external-problems/red-mite/

So I read that they come out for a meal every 1-4 days. So as long as I have the permethrin residue treated on my coop that group should come out, get exposed and die before they can lay eggs. Then I wait for the remaining batches of eggs to continue to hatch and they will get poisoned on their way out to look for a meal before they get a chance to lay eggs. It makes sense to me to leave my birds as is as long as I’m continuing to treat them and the coop so that the mites come out to feed resulting in them getting doused with the permethrin instead of letting them starve to death for 9 long months. As long as the chickens are there the mites will continue to search out for food which will bring them out of hiding and onto the treated areas. I am constantly at the barn so if I did rehouse the chickens temporarily, I’m sure it’d only be a matter of time before I transmit them back to them. This whole thing is a nightmare, but I apparently need to continue to stay on top of it! I think I will use the liquid on my fourth treatment and then caulk every single crack/paint the wood. I’m also planning on taking down the ceiling so I can spray or dust all the way up to the roof! Ughhh!

 

[McChooky]

So I read that they come out for a meal every 1-4 days. So as long as I have the permethrin residue treated on my coop that group should come out, get exposed and die before they can lay eggs. Then I wait for the remaining batches of eggs to continue to hatch and they will get poisoned on their way out to look for a meal before they get a chance to lay eggs. It makes sense to me to leave my birds as is as long as I’m continuing to treat them and the coop so that the mites come out to feed resulting in them getting doused with the permethrin instead of letting them starve to death for 9 long months. As long as the chickens are there the mites will continue to search out for food which will bring them out of hiding and onto the treated areas. I am constantly at the barn so if I did rehouse the chickens temporarily, I’m sure it’d only be a matter of time before I transmit them back to them. This whole thing is a nightmare, but I apparently need to continue to stay on top of it! I think I will use the liquid on my fourth treatment and then caulk every single crack/paint the wood. I’m also planning on taking down the ceiling so I can spray or dust all the way up to the roof! Ughhh!

Using a steamer or blow torch on the cracks and seams is one of the most popular methods of killing them.Chickens on wire floors in cages rarely get them.

 

[citychicks99]

OP, are you still struggling with mites? I'm currently battling them too and found something called predatory mites from my search. They're mites that eat red mites but they have no interest in chickens. I haven't used them and I'm not sure we have red mites anyway but if you're still having issues that might be something worth trying.

Beautiful coop btw!

 

[SpeckledCoopQueen]

OP, are you still struggling with mites? I'm currently battling them too and found something called predatory mites from my search. They're mites that eat red mites but they have no interest in chickens. I haven't used them and I'm not sure we have red mites anyway but if you're still having issues that might be something worth trying.

Beautiful coop btw!

Thank you! I am not! I believe I finally got rid of them after the two elector psp treatments follows up by permethrin poultry dust twice throughout the whole coop and on each chicken. Was a mess.. but have t seen one since!

 

[McChooky]

I’m worried we will go through the hassle of making another coop/run just to have the same issue there. We don’t free range, have a lot of hawks and predators and with 26 chickens we’d have to make a pretty large run/coop to just wait this out. So frustrating!

If you treat the chickens and new coop both for mites right before you move them there won't be any mites to lay eggs.Some mites spend their entire life on the chicken but the red mite isn't one of them. Red mites live in the coop and feast on the chickens when they go to roost at night.

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.
View attachment 3256779

I love how sturdy this coop is!

 

[BDutch]

OP, are you still struggling with mites? I'm currently battling them too and found something called predatory mites from my search. They're mites that eat red mites but they have no interest in chickens. I haven't used them and I'm not sure we have red mites anyway but if you're still having issues that might be something worth trying.

Beautiful coop btw!

This works only during summer to keep the mites under control (low) with a minor infestation and no use of poisons.
The predator mites die of cold before the mites.
In freezing winter-cold all mites die. But the eggs of the red mites survive.

Thank you! I am not! I believe I finally got rid of them after the two elector psp treatments follows up by permethrin poultry dust twice throughout the whole coop and on each chicken. Was a mess.. but have t seen one since!

Great to hear!
The mites probably will stay away all winter. But keep a sharp eye on them as soon as temp comes 4C above freezing in the coop all day/night.

I have a lot of songbirds in the run and coop who no doubt have red mites from time to time. I haven’t had mites for 7½ year nows with preventive use of diatomaceous earth. 7½ years ago I had a light infestation.

I use a ‘paint’ with diatom earth in spring to prevent any tiny mites, that hatch from eggs, to grow to adulthood. It’s not poisonous. It does work for me / in Europe. But I have read diatom earth doesn’t work in the states/Canada. Not sure if prevention might work overseas. Maybe your red mites are a bit different?

Most farmers here spray a diatom solution for mite control in between selling the old layers (end of commercial life) and getting the new chickens, because the poisons are all forbidden in the food supply chain.

The spay bottle I used worked only for 5 minutes before it stopped spraying. That’s why I make a thick solution I can paint. The cracks and the area’s around the roosts get an extra diatom layer. In summer I repeat the treatment.

And I check regularly if there are mites. I use a few pieces rolled waved paper (to prevent biscuits to crush) and attach them under the roosts to check.