COMPLETELY Getting rid of mites in barn. Infestation... HELP

[CochinLover1]

Please help...I had a really big mite problem this past summer in my barn. They were these really tiny light brown mites that were EVERYWHERE. I now have an extreme phobia because of this traumatic experience, whenever I picked something up in the barn, they would be crawling all over my hand.

I then discovered that they had hitched a ride into the house... and I found them in my bed. I sprayed everything with frontline and killed the house mites.. (still remember crying myself to sleep upon discovering the "friends") spring is just around the corner and i'm getting really paranoid and jittery. Can someone please please tell me how to completely kill them in my barn? All ideas are very much wanted...

Thanks in advance,
A very scared CochinLover1

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Please help...I had a really big mite problem this past summer in my barn. They were these really tiny light brown mites that were EVERYWHERE. I now have an extreme phobia because of this traumatic experience, whenever I picked something up in the barn, they would be crawling all over my hand.

I then discovered that they had hitched a ride into the house... and I found them in my bed. I sprayed everything with frontline and killed the house mites........ Can someone please please tell me how to completely kill them in my barn? All ideas are very much wanted...

Thanks in advance,

Your welcome in advance. Pyrethrum or Promethium insecticide is what you want. It is not overly toxic to any animal with a vertebra and warm blood but I wouldn't shower in it. To gauge how toxic it really is an over the counter medicine for new born human infants infected with the scabies mite contains 5% of this naturally occurring chemical. However it will kill the daylights out of honey bees and Aquatic life (no back bone and cold blood don't you know) so use it only after you have familiarized yourself with the use of this repellent/pesticide. Use a power sprayer to soak the interior of the barn paying careful attention to all the wooden walls, the cracks, the splits, the framing, and the wood joints, don't forget the nests and roost poles. Clean the floor and either spray or dust it well to kill any remaining mites. It sounds like your infested with red mites. Google "Red Mites" to learn more.

 

[ChickNanny13]

Your welcome in advance. Pyrethrum or Promethium insecticide is what you want. It is not overly toxic to any animal with a vertebra and warm blood but I wouldn't shower in it. To gauge how toxic it really is an over the counter medicine for new born human infants infected with the scabies mite contains 5% of this naturally occurring chemical. However it will kill the daylights out of honey bees and Aquatic life (no back bone and cold blood don't you know) so use it only after you have familiarized yourself with the use of this repellent/pesticide. Use a power sprayer to soak the interior of the barn paying careful attention to all the wooden walls, the cracks, the splits, the framing, and the wood joints, don't forget the nests and roost poles. Clean the floor and either spray or dust it well to kill any remaining mites. It sounds like your infested with red mites. Google "Red Mites" to learn more.

Then dust with DE

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Then dust with DE

Do as you wish but no one i know of has ever enjoyed success in keeping mites off their birds with DE. In that respect using DE as a pesticide is like using garlic to repel Vampires. Yes I eat and have garlic in my house and so far my home is free of vampires.
But that doesn't mean that the garlic is responsible for the total lack of vampires hiding under my bed.

DE can also harm you or your birds if you inhale it and that unlike how to keep vampires away is no fairy tale.

 

[CochinLover1]

They are not red mites (thank God) they're as small as a pencil dot and they are a light brown.

 

[ChickNanny13]

Do as you wish but no one i know of has ever enjoyed success in keeping mites off their birds with DE. In that respect using DE as a pesticide is like using garlic to repel Vampires. Yes I eat and have garlic in my house and so far my home is free of vampires.
But that doesn't mean that the garlic is responsible for the total lack of vampires hiding under my bed.

DE can also harm you or your birds if you inhale it and that unlike how to keep vampires away is no fairy tale.

What do you recommend to prevent lice/mites? Is there another name that Pyrethrum or Promethium insecticide go by? Do you recommend Sevin?

 

[chickengeorgeto]

What do you recommend to prevent lice/mites? Is there another name that Pyrethrum or Promethium insecticide go by? Do you recommend Sevin?

The dirty little secret about Sevin is that there is no dirty little secret about Sevin. Some nations allow its use on poultry and others ban this use. Every 5 years or so the countries play musical pesticide and where it was banned before it is perfectly OK to use now, and vice verse. Sevin has been used for decades with (as far as I can tell) no measurable problems. The chickens and the money spent by you belongs to you so as far as I am concerned do as you wish. You could certainly do worse.

As far as I know at this time there is no ban or withdrawal periods when using Pyrethium. Besides using it on new born babies dairy farmers are allowed to spray milking parlors down with the stuff to kill the flies that go along with cows and it even makes a good submersion dip for your dog.. It is the active ingredient in most household insect bombs like Raid, and it is approved for killing insects in so called "Organic" crops. At least it is if its produced by peon sweat labor in third world nations like Kenya or Ecuador instead of produced in a factory.

http://www.colostate.edu/Dept/CoopExt/4dmg/VegFruit/organic.htm

I currently use Y-Tex GuardStar 40% EC Livestock and Premise Spray. A 4 ounce bottle makes 15 gallons of spray or i think 25 gallons of dip. It is even recommended as a drench around and underneath beehives to kill Small Hive Beetle larva.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

They are not red mites (thank God) they're as small as a pencil dot and they are a light brown.

Red mites are normally brown. They only look red after sucking your chickens' blood. Take a deep breath and relax, they are not the end of the world.
In fact you can't even see the end of the world from where you are even if you were standing on a red mite's back. I also like to mix a good pesticide with used motor oil then use a brush to paint the roost with this mixture making sure to work it deeply into the wood roost poles. Red mites don't live on your birds, they day in the cracks in the wood and come out after dark to feed returning to their strong hold when the Sun comes out like Dracula..

 

[theoldchick]

In severe infestation such as yours you will have to be diligent on treating your birds and the area they are in. You will never be completely free of mites but you can control the numbers. Saturate the area with the insecticide mentioned or whatever is recommended for your particular area-most permerthins work well. Remember barn cats can be sensitive to certain insecticides. First start by getting rid all bedding/roosts and burn them. Keep the area as clean of feces as possible for long term prevention. I like to place old feed bags or cardboard under the roosts and replace them every week to be burned. Other folks use poop-boards. Remove the birds from the sprayed area until all surfaces are dry. Make sure you have adequate ventilation in your barn.

I don't know how many birds you have but washing them with cat flea shampoo will kill and remove the mites. Rinse well and dry thoroughly. If you have too many chickens to bathe spray them with a product safe for cats. However, some livestock sprays may be safe for poultry: READ THE LABEL.

Once you have cleaned and treated the barn/chickens, all the clothes you wear during this process should be removed before entering the house (careful of the neighbors!), and immediately washed in hot-hot water and hung out in the sunlight to dry. Then you should head for the shower and wash thoroughly.

You'll have to treat your barn every month to keep the numbers down. Remember you will have mite eggs hatching and repopulating the area.

 

[CochinLover1]

Ok. I remember picking up some scratch from the bucket and there were 100s of them. But then they are on most everything. Thank you for the advice too!