Bedding - Pro’s & Cons

[Hoytman]

May be impossible to know for sure...I seriously doubt they could have come with hatchery chicks.
I just learned the other day that red mites can be carried by rodents:
http://www.poultrydvm.com/condition/poultry-red-mites

I too doubt they could have come with hatchery chicks, but I can't be certain either.

Red mites; that is possible. Usually red mites are everywhere around here though it seems. I know they can be devastating to some coniferous landscape plants; at least from my own experience. They're usually all over the concrete patio's around here and are tuff to kill. Even harsh winters don't seem to stop them...I'm not even sure I buy into it that harsh winters kill insects anyway. It may happen to some, but I don't tend to think that large numbers of any kind of insects are killed by harsh freezing winters.

 

[Hoytman]

I would say any out door living animal could carry them. However, I've seen so many in landscaping and on concrete driveways...and I'm sure rodents are around, but there's not an over abundance or nuisance issue with the rodents where I've seen great numbers of red mites.

 

[Rein Quest]

If red mites are what I think they are. I had a bunch crawl out of a purely metal tractor seat when I was welding a crack. They seem to infest anything. The tractor it came off was from almost 2 hours away so the bugs didn’t come off my birds.

I want to back up just a moment here. That post said DE was useless if my memory is good. Isn’t DE supposed to be what you can put in a dust bath to directly treat your birds?

 

[paneubert]

DE supposed to be what you can put in a dust bath to directly treat your birds?

DE can be of use if kept bone dry. So a dust bath would be a good spot. The method by which it works is to microscopically slice the outsides of bugs. They then dehydrate. This is why I shake my head when people talk about FEEDING DE to their animals. As soon as it hits moisture, it no longer is super sharp and "cutty". It becomes basically mud. So as soon as your animal takes a drink, all you accomplished was feeding them some mud.

Same general logic against mixing it into your bedding I guess. If it is bone dry bedding and stays that way, then I guess it COULD have some small impact on bugs. But if it is allowed to absorb any moisture, then it is back to being useless.

 

[aart]

I want to back up just a moment here. That post said DE was useless if my memory is good. Isn’t DE supposed to be what you can put in a dust bath to directly treat your birds?

Many swear to it's miraculous effectiveness in all kinds of scenarios.
The only thing I've seen first hand is it's ability to eradicate grain mites from bags of feed.
I do not believe it is effective in preventing mites/lice by using in the dust bath.

 

[Hoytman]

The bag of DE I bought at my feed store came from St. Gabriel Laboratories...it says it can be mixed with water...look on the website for the ratio...and sprayed where needed. Water evaporates and it leaves a white residue. Now, to it's effectiveness, as in "cutting" more or less, isn't stated on their website that I have seen. One can only assume it's effectiveness is NOT lessened...or they'd likely have mentioned it.

Many products can be used dry or wet; think Sevin Dust, or Eight Dust. There are many others too.

 

[paneubert]

The bag of DE I bought at my feed store came from St. Gabriel Laboratories...it says it can be mixed with water...look on the website for the ratio...and sprayed where needed. Water evaporates and it leaves a white residue. Now, to it's effectiveness, as in "cutting" more or less, isn't stated on their website that I have seen. One can only assume it's effectiveness is NOT lessened...or they'd likely have mentioned it.

Many products can be used dry or wet; think Sevin Dust, or Eight Dust. There are many others too.

Apples versus oranges with those comparisons. Sevin dust is carbaryl, which is a synthetic insecticide. Eight dust is Permethrin, another insecticide. Permethrin is sold in sprays already, so no opposition from me about it being used "wet". I also would not be surprised at all if Sevin dust actually worked BETTER when wet. Haha.

On the other hand, DE is literally fossilized diatoms, a tiny life-form that is like algae, but with a hard skeleton. It is the definition of "natural". But so is asbestos. Haha. I can totally see why it could work to "spray" wet DE and have the dried form be useful in the "cutting". I would imagine the "mud" would stick and then dry in place. Would then be a physical barrier like a floor covered in microscopic glass shards that the bugs walk over. It is the wet form that seems to be useless. Know what I mean? Oddly enough, same story with asbestos. Actually, not that odd. The bad part of asbestos is the microscopic fibers that lodge in your lungs. You keep it wet when you are removing it from an old house because it keeps the fibers from becoming airborne and breathed in. Guess what the main complaint of DE is? Lung problems due to the tiny particles slicing up your lungs when it becomes airborne.

 

[aart]

Guess what the main complaint of DE is? Lung problems due to the tiny particles slicing up your lungs when it becomes airborne.

Well, yeah, that ....and it's doesn't kill most poultry pests.

 

[paneubert]

Well, yeah, that ....and it's doesn't kill most poultry pests.

Haha. Well yeah. There is that. If I am going to use a dust, it would probably be sevin (always feels weird spelling it that way) or eight dust (good play on words in relation to sevin dust) as was mentioned earlier. Go with a "real" pesticide.

 

[aart]

Haha. Well yeah. There is that. If I am going to use a dust, it would probably be sevin (always feels weird spelling it that way) or eight dust (good play on words in relation to sevin dust) as was mentioned earlier. Go with a "real" pesticide.

I do and only when I see bugs.
Never heard the eight thing..I just call it permethrin.