Can you ever really get rid of mites if they are in the coop?

[kayri]

I am battling mites that I found in the coop last Fri. So far I have sprayed down the coop twice with a Permethrin solution (followed the directions on the 8% goat stuff) and fumigated (twice) with a pyrethroid recommended by the livestock people. Tonight I still found a couple of live mites in there and in my opinion, two mites is two too many. Of course I am dusting my chickens like crazy also and will put Ivermectin on them tomorrow.

Unfortunately my coop is a board and batten design which allows a multitude of hiding places for the mites. I am willing to bathe my chickens once I am sure that the coop is mite free so they don't get re-infected, but I am worried I'll never be able to get rid of all of them. Do they overwinter in the coop? Is there anything I can do short of getting rid of the coop? or buying another one and letting this one lay empty for 6 months? HELPPPP?

 

[purpletree23]

Sounds like you've done a thorough job. Mites are tough to get rid of because they are so tiny and can hide in such tiny spaces. I would dust with Sevin dust. Keep the chickens in the run for a day, open all the windows and doors and dust everything lightly. Eventually the mites will crawl through it and die.

You might want to try Raid insect foggers. There is one I like to use in y basement a few times a year and it doesn't leave a residue. It's called Raid Fumigator Fogger. It costs a little more than the liquid foggers but well worth it. It comes in a package of 2 or 3 if I remember correctly. This time close all the windows and doors and seal any large cracks with old rags. Set off the foggers and leave it for as many hours as you can. The 'fog' does penetrate tiny spaces. Before lettingthe chickens back in I would air the coop out for 2 hours. I'm paranoid. I would also cover their roost with a cloth. I'm not sure how the skin on their feet will react to the insecticide.

Happy bug killing. Let us know how it goes.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Personally I like to use a product that gets adults, larvae & eggs, and that lasts for months. Adams and several others make room and/or yard sprays that last for 210 days.

 

[chickenbottom]

ya i found out a few of my girls came in contact with them and i have to go shopping tomorrow for sevin dust and permethrin and adams flea and tick shampoo someone said that worked really well i read on here so im gonna do that them dust them and do the coop ugh more money i dont have in my pocket lol

 

[Judy]

Thing is, even if you kill every critter in there, you could get more next week from some wild bird flying over. It's a matter of controlling numbers.

 

[Chick_a_dee]

I had/have mites.. My hens started losing lots of feathers on their heads and chests, two are baldyheads. Lots of head shaking and when a hen turned up dead (suspected internal layer) I noticed small bugs on her. We cleaned out, dusted with Dri-Kill, new shavings (dusted with Dri-Kill) dusted the hens, cleaned and dusted the nestboxes, dusted the walls and ceilings.

This weekend I will be cleaning out again, bleaching the whole place, dusting the whole place, dusting all the hens and worming them all.

Already I have noticed my baldyhens have started to grow back some feathers on their heads, and everyone is shaking their heads a lot less.

 

[kayri]

Thanks for all the feedback. I fumigated again today and put ivemectin on the birds, just went out and checked with a flashlight and I saw 2 live mites, which means I will fumigate again tomorrow (cover the windows with plastic/duct tape) and spray again. The flea bomb is a good idea. It really is a small coop, but I don't mind overdoing it at this point. . . This weekend I'll spray everything down with bleach and then permethrin again. I'll let you know if I get them. . .

 

[Smoky73]

I do one spray of Frontline on each of my showbirds every two months to keep away mites. Notice I said showbirds. I never do my large fowl, as those are the birds I use eggs from. The banty eggs from my silkies, all either go to hatching or back to them to eat after boiling. So far, after using Frontline spray for over a year, I have not had a reoccurance of bugs, not even in the large fowl birds. You have to be consistant though, if you wait much past 2 months, they will return. But, I can handle taking one day every two months to spray my birds down. At that time, I usually clip nails and beaks as well.

 

[2txmedics]

I also read somewhere that since some of us have rustic looking cops that have cracks and splits...to make a PASTE out of the Poultry Dust...lice/mites, making it like really thick. and painting it onto the walls from the bottom of the floor of the coop up as high as 3'

Keep us posted, I had to dust my flocks and also do the run/coop....everytime I sift the shavings around, I sprinkle alittle POULTRY DUST...and mix it in good...

 

[kayri]

sprinkled a bunch of DE around today, did a flashlight check a few minutes ago, didn't see any live ones, but I will continue with planned chemical onslaughts on Sat.