Bio security and mites.

[Aimeeroy]

Hello fellow poultry keepers. I am currently battling my first Mite infestation. We had an exceptionally rainy year here in central coast, California. My chickens (15 in the flock) all free range during the day so they are exposed to wildlife birds, etc. I believe I have northern foul mites, but possibly red roost mites as well. I have tried the all natural approach with DE and wasn’t getting anywhere. I then switched to elector PSP. I checked my coop and roost the following day although the numbers have gone down, there were still quite a few.
Incidentally I don’t see a ton on the birds near their vent area but they are definitely picking at themselves during the day.
I will do the nighttime test again tonight now that I know a little bit more what I’m looking for.

On Thursday (just three days ago) I thoroughly cleaned out and sprayed down the coop and surrounding area with permethrin liquid solution but I did not put the liquid permethrin on my hens. I used a pinch of Prozap (prescribed by my local, veterinarian) on neck under wings and vent area of each.
Things were looking better for a couple of days until this morning when I went to pull the newspaper (currently not using wood shavings because it’s easier for the mites to hide in there) and the newspapers were crawling with the teeny tiny blood filled and disgusting mites. I’m wondering if my girls who are free ranging are just going out into the yard and getting more mites on them and bringing them back into the coop or if the permethrin didn’t work.

I’ve been reading about life cycles and eggs, etc. of different mites and it seems the red mite has a shorter lifecycle and harder to control. My hens are looking less pale but I do have a broody and it’s been impossible to keep the nest free of mites, I’ve been taking care of her daily.

Has anyone sprayed dusted anything around their yards to help combat possible infestation. I’m wondering if I should not let my girls out for a while after I have thoroughly clean the coop again. At any rate seems like I will be battling this for weeks.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

They are not bringing them in, you just have a heavy infestation in your coop. You will have a battle on your hands for a good while.

What is the plastic looking material in the last photo?

 

[Aimeeroy]

That’s what I thought. My poor girls. They are definitely red roost mites as I checked tonight. Every 3-4 days will be be necessary to break the life cycle. I’m considering breaking the coop down and replacing the roost bars etc.

the second photo of plastic material is a black trash bag outside my coop next to some exposed straw bails I will be burning. The little white specks are either another type of mite or eggs but strangely they appeared after a couple of hours during the daytime next to some straw?

 

[Shadrach]

I feel for you. Many people, particularly those who have never had an infestation do not appreciate just what a disaster a mite infestation can be. Here in the UK some people just burn their coops and start again.

There are hundreds of different types of mites, many not even classified. I'm pleased you've read up on the mites life cycle because what I write next should make some sense.

Northern fowl mite are the common mites most dangerous to the chicken because they live on the chicken. However, they can be a lot easier to deal with because the chicken is small compared to a coop and there are only so many places on a chicken they can hide.

The red mite however, if allowed to get established in a coop is almost impossible to get rid of.
The red mite cycle is around 7 days. Each adult mite can lay between 4 to 8 eggs. This gives an exponential population rise. There is an added problem. Hundreds of red mite don't arrive in the coop in one hit so to speak. An infestation may well start with one or two mites; possible a couple one day and a couple the next. These lay eggs. From this couple one mite might lay eggs on day one of arrival the other on day two, etc etc.
This gives the potential for mite eggs to hatch every day once the mites are established.
Take one single adult mite that lays 8 eggs, four of which hatch (not all their eggs do hatch fortunately) After a single cycle you now have 5 mites. The next cycle (excluding the original mite) may give 16 mites. The next cycle 64. The next cycle 256. The next 256...etc.

By the time a keeper has noticed that the coop has mites there could be hundreds maybe thousands of mites and eggs.

The next problem is Permethrin and the other mite killing chemicals one gets recommended don't kill the eggs; they just kill the live mites.

To get rid of an infestaion one has to kill every single mite, not just most, every single one, and every single egg.

There is only one method I know that will deal with a red mite infestation and that's a blow torch. The flame from a blow torch kills live mites and the eggs instantly. Those who don't understand the red mite problem laugh when I recommend coop cleaning with a blow torch, mainly because they built massive wooden coops with more end grain than a lumber yard where the mites can hide and lay their eggs.

It can take months to eradicate red mite from a large wooden coop using chemicals.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

That’s what I thought. My poor girls. They are definitely red roost mites as I checked tonight. Every 3-4 days will be be necessary to break the life cycle. I’m considering breaking the coop down and replacing the roost bars etc.

the second photo of plastic material is a black trash bag outside my coop next to some exposed straw bails I will be burning. The little white specks are either another type of mite or eggs but strangely they appeared after a couple of hours during the daytime next to some straw?

Hopefully with the suggestions given, you'll be able to get these buggers eliminated.

Ugggh! I agree with you, burn that straw. I can't name the mite things in the straw, but a lot of times mites can be brought in with straw. I wonder if they are what Old Timers call "straw tick mites". Either way, yeah...I'd get rid of them.

I wish you success in battle!

 

[Aimeeroy]

I feel for you. Many people, particularly those who have never had an infestation do not appreciate just what a disaster a mite infestation can be. Here in the UK some people just burn their coops and start again.

There are hundreds of different types of mites, many not even classified. I'm pleased you've read up on the mites life cycle because what I write next should make some sense.

Northern fowl mite are the common mites most dangerous to the chicken because they live on the chicken. However, they can be a lot easier to deal with because the chicken is small compared to a coop and there are only so many places on a chicken they can hide.

The red mite however, if allowed to get established in a coop is almost impossible to get rid of.
The red mite cycle is around 7 days. Each adult mite can lay between 4 to 8 eggs. This gives an exponential population rise. There is an added problem. Hundreds of red mite don't arrive in the coop in one hit so to speak. An infestation may well start with one or two mites; possible a couple one day and a couple the next. These lay eggs. From this couple one mite might lay eggs on day one of arrival the other on day two, etc etc.
This gives the potential for mite eggs to hatch every day once the mites are established.
Take one single adult mite that lays 8 eggs, four of which hatch (not all their eggs do hatch fortunately) After a single cycle you now have 5 mites. The next cycle (excluding the original mite) may give 16 mites. The next cycle 64. The next cycle 256. The next 256...etc.

By the time a keeper has noticed that the coop has mites there could be hundreds maybe thousands of mites and eggs.

The next problem is Permethrin and the other mite killing chemicals one gets recommended don't kill the eggs; they just kill the live mites.

To get rid of an infestaion one has to kill every single mite, not just most, every single one, and every single egg.

There is only one method I know that will deal with a red mite infestation and that's a blow torch. The flame from a blow torch kills live mites and the eggs instantly. Those who don't understand the red mite problem laugh when I recommend coop cleaning with a blow torch, mainly because they built massive wooden coops with more end grain than a lumber yard where the mites can hide and lay their eggs.

It can take months to eradicate red mite from a large wooden coop using chemicals.

Update: I hired help and we spent two full days 16 hours, taking apart all of my coop except for he main frame. We used a steamer in the main joints and torched as best we could. Then we put protected the rough exterior with Thompson’s water sealant. And I sprayed permethrin all on these main parts.
The blow torch was most successful. After torching flooring and roofing and all planks used for roost bars we scrubbed the debris using peppermint detergent and sesame oil solution. Once all the parts were dry, I thoroughly sprayed them with permethrin, and then we reinstalled. I even replaced the roost bars for extra measure. I took a magnifying glass and searched each plank and bar, and if I did see one crawling, we torched again. I was confident that we had every single mite. We even built a new nest box entirely and treated with permethrin before installing .

I’m not gonna lie the infestation was massive. I feel terrible. I can’t believe my birds are still alive and even laying eggs at least some of them were.
So this morning I did my detective work using a magnifying glass and flashlight. I checked the newspapers and I’ve been using instead of a wood shavings, didn’t find any but I checked one of the small planks that my pullets were sleeping on, and it was crawling with at least eight blood filled mites, I’m thinking that I had two types of mites. Then I removed that plank and brought it out into the sunlight and sprayed it with poultry protector, which is mostly citric acid to see if they would stop crawling. It took about two or three sprays before they all ceased. I’m thinking the hens must be carrying another mite that they’re getting in the environment. Upon inspection of the vent area, skin around the neck and breast. I don’t see anything. I even took one hen and use the magnifying glass. But just for good measure, I dusted them in DE and applied permethrin powder to under the wings vent area and neck, I was hoping that would kill whatever was on them but apparently it didn’t , what do you think?
In addition, I’m getting bitten when I’m in bed at night and that’s after a thorough shower and scrub down. Also, my dog and cat are itching and biting and I don’t see any fleas on them. So frustrating! what in the world?

 

[Kiki]

Spray your birds with the permethrin evey couple of days (4-5) for the next few weeks to kill the rest of the bugs BEFORE they get to egg laying stage. It will take multiple treatments to really get rid of them.

 

[Kiki]

Update: I hired help and we spent two full days 16 hours, taking apart all of my coop except for he main frame. We used a steamer in the main joints and torched as best we could. Then we put protected the rough exterior with Thompson’s water sealant. And I sprayed permethrin all on these main parts.
The blow torch was most successful. After torching flooring and roofing and all planks used for roost bars we scrubbed the debris using peppermint detergent and sesame oil solution. Once all the parts were dry, I thoroughly sprayed them with permethrin, and then we reinstalled. I even replaced the roost bars for extra measure. I took a magnifying glass and searched each plank and bar, and if I did see one crawling, we torched again. I was confident that we had every single mite. We even built a new nest box entirely and treated with permethrin before installing .

I’m not gonna lie the infestation was massive. I feel terrible. I can’t believe my birds are still alive and even laying eggs at least some of them were.
So this morning I did my detective work using a magnifying glass and flashlight. I checked the newspapers and I’ve been using instead of a wood shavings, didn’t find any but I checked one of the small planks that my pullets were sleeping on, and it was crawling with at least eight blood filled mites, I’m thinking that I had two types of mites. Then I removed that plank and brought it out into the sunlight and sprayed it with poultry protector, which is mostly citric acid to see if they would stop crawling. It took about two or three sprays before they all ceased. I’m thinking the hens must be carrying another mite that they’re getting in the environment. Upon inspection of the vent area, skin around the neck and breast. I don’t see anything. I even took one hen and use the magnifying glass. But just for good measure, I dusted them in DE and applied permethrin powder to under the wings vent area and neck, I was hoping that would kill whatever was on them but apparently it didn’t , what do you think?
In addition, I’m getting bitten when I’m in bed at night and that’s after a thorough shower and scrub down. Also, my dog and cat are itching and biting and I don’t see any fleas on them. So frustrating! what in the world?

DE is worthless. It can actually cause them skin irritation so stop using it.

 

[Kiki]

This spray is easy to use. No mixing required.
Item 'Martin's Horse & Stable Permethrin Spray' https://www.backyardchickens.com/reviews/martins-horse-stable-permethrin-spray.11854/

 

[Reggan]

Update: I hired help and we spent two full days 16 hours, taking apart all of my coop except for he main frame. We used a steamer in the main joints and torched as best we could. Then we put protected the rough exterior with Thompson’s water sealant. And I sprayed permethrin all on these main parts.
The blow torch was most successful. After torching flooring and roofing and all planks used for roost bars we scrubbed the debris using peppermint detergent and sesame oil solution. Once all the parts were dry, I thoroughly sprayed them with permethrin, and then we reinstalled. I even replaced the roost bars for extra measure. I took a magnifying glass and searched each plank and bar, and if I did see one crawling, we torched again. I was confident that we had every single mite. We even built a new nest box entirely and treated with permethrin before installing .

I’m not gonna lie the infestation was massive. I feel terrible. I can’t believe my birds are still alive and even laying eggs at least some of them were.
So this morning I did my detective work using a magnifying glass and flashlight. I checked the newspapers and I’ve been using instead of a wood shavings, didn’t find any but I checked one of the small planks that my pullets were sleeping on, and it was crawling with at least eight blood filled mites, I’m thinking that I had two types of mites. Then I removed that plank and brought it out into the sunlight and sprayed it with poultry protector, which is mostly citric acid to see if they would stop crawling. It took about two or three sprays before they all ceased. I’m thinking the hens must be carrying another mite that they’re getting in the environment. Upon inspection of the vent area, skin around the neck and breast. I don’t see anything. I even took one hen and use the magnifying glass. But just for good measure, I dusted them in DE and applied permethrin powder to under the wings vent area and neck, I was hoping that would kill whatever was on them but apparently it didn’t , what do you think?
In addition, I’m getting bitten when I’m in bed at night and that’s after a thorough shower and scrub down. Also, my dog and cat are itching and biting and I don’t see any fleas on them. So frustrating! what in the world?

I also believe I am dealing with multiple kind of mites. It's been a nightmare. What made me reply to your post is your last couple sentences. We have them in our house and on our dogs now too. It's a nightmare. My coop, birds and enclosure run are doing better then we are now. Take heed and do some homework on bird mites in homes. It is real and has us in the fight of our lives. Get ahead of it and fast. If you'd like details let me know. I believe you might have read some of what I've done with the birds on another thread. My world is totally upside down since then.