bites from mites

[BlackFeatherFar]

One of our chickens was looking sick so my wife discovered mites on it and bathed it and the mites got all over her, and bit some. Then I came home and since then have been terrorized by continuous bites. They say that mites won't stay on humans, but it's been five days now and it's not getting any better. I use calomine lotion for the itching, but can't see the mites. Lots of showers, and clothe washing, etc. Any ideas out there?

 

[Frost Homestead]

sounds like scabies mites. you wont be able to see them. you can either go see a doctor and try to get them to give you a topical miticide or you can treat it yourself. I went to two different doctors who refused to give me the medication because I had scratched myself so badly. I ended up using a 10% permethrin concentrate mixed with some petroleum jelly. I reapplied it several times before it cleared up (kinda like you would with chickens) but it worked. dust your birds with some sevin too, make sure you do anywhere they have been.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/2000/2101.html
What you are most likely dealing with is the Northern Fowl Mite unless it was at night that your wife gave the bath. They will die in 3 weeks with no poultry. But they have eggs that hatch at 7 days.

You need to dust all the chickens and retreat in 7 days. I like pro zap poultry dust, available at the feed store or online.

Also toss all bedding and nest box material and repeat in 7 days.

Also it is wise to spray the coop with permethrin spray when you do this.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

I am typing this out in 2 posts because I had typed a nice long response which got deleted as I went to another web page - when I hit the back button it was all gone!

So I wanted to just enter what I had typed in the last post so it wouldn't disappear again.

But I need to add to what I said.

I have several times over the past couple of years gotten the Northern Fowl Mite in the house. They have bitten me in the middle of the night, bitten me when I cared for the chickens, etc.

They do DIE without the chickens. I just vacuumed and changed/washed sheets, etc. and now I keep my chicken keeping clothes bagged up when I take a shower...put the bag in the garage when I get dressed.

The most helpful thing for me has been to treat the chickens for mites every 4 months.

Now if you have the red mite in your home that is a tough one as they can live for 34 weeks with no poultry meal. But they only come out at night.

You can have an exterminator deal with those...that is what happens when someone has a bird's nest outside their window and a window air conditioner unit in the window. When the bird leaves, the mites come in the house and annoy the people. That is why you are told not to touch feathers or wild birds.

Now, in terms of treating the birds, you will have to be aggressive. Get some ProZap poultry dust and permethrin spray. Throw out all bedding, nest box material, and take each chicken individually- turn them upside down over a plastic bag or box...something to catch the dust. Take a tied-off sock with the dust in it and shake it all over the chicken...under wings, around vent...everywhere except the face.

Spray the coops with permethrin diluted as on the bottle under the label.

You will repeat in 7 days UNTIL gone. You might have to do this several weeks so go easy on the bedding to prevent money waste.

http://msucares.com/poultry/diseases/pesticides.html
carbaryl described as restricted...newer link


http://anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu/pdf/8162.pdf
older link
http://extension.unh.edu/Agric/Docs/exparasites.pdf

 

[seminolewind]

That's awful. Esp in the house. I read one time a woman had a room of finches in cages and turns out her house became infested with these mites. It took a year of treatment to get rid of them. Wish you luck!

 

[Duramaxgirl]

Thats quite a freaky situation! What type of bedding do you use? I've never had mites yet but I keep sevin dust on hand if I ever do get them. Did you recently acquire new birds?