Dealing with bird mites; my home, my hens, my itchyness!

[happyhento2]

Dear Hen Keeper, I am from Australia and you will be delighted to hear there is a really easy way to keep your chikes mite free.Last year I incubated chickes but they were quite ill ny 8 weeks with mite bought in by an outside set of chickens. The vet gave ivermectin . i had read about this as it is available in England and America. It worked a treat , Another vet this year is now selling ivermector, he said 2mls a large chicken 1 a small, I used only a third meal for 4 week olds then gave them another dose 2 weeks later. Now I have a smart brother who told me it is the same as they use for sheep and goats, or cattle as the ivermector, is that I bought.MY Mother put on 1ml per large hen of my cousins , and 3 weeks later a chicken won at the show...You only need to treat the home then and get rid of the nest. The vet put on my jar use every 3-4b months but I believe 6 monthly seems fine, and overseas they do this....It kills all parasites internal, like worms and external like mite, lice...I t is expensive but such a larg bottle it will last forever or you can share the expense. I have found within hrs i see a response in my hens....God Bless deborah , take an epsom salt bath yourself if your itchy...Mumrubbed salt in and the showered..I found epsom salt and soaked....

 

[Uriel]

Don't ever listen to exterminators. Everything they do is toxic. For mites--in fact for any insects including spiders and ants--simply use DIATOMACEOUS EARTH (pronounced DYE-at-oh-MAY-shuss).

I'm a bird Mom of 36 years and an animal lover and rescuer even longer: since the age of two. Diatomaceous earth is not, contrary to what the name would lead you to believe, "earth". It has nothing to do with soil. It's natural, pulverized exoskeletons of tiny marine animals. When an insect eats this powder, it desiccates them--dries them out inside, depriving them of moisture--and cuts them so that the insects die.

There are 2 kinds of diatomaceous earth: the kind for industrial use which you put outside on the ground, in your trash cans to prevent ants, flies and other insects, etc. and the edible kind which humans use as nutritional supplements for themselves and their pets. The only difference in manufacturing is not in the diatomaceous earth but in the equipment they use. DO NOT EVER USE industrial diatomaceous earth on your animals or yourself because the equipment can be tainted with pesticides and other poisons.

Diatomaceous earth is available at feed stores, hardware stores, online. Of course, the edible kind is more expensive.

Just dust your birdies with diatomaceous earth and the mites will exit rapidly. Get it under the feathers and massage into their skin underneath their insulation feathers which are right next to their skin and look like puffy little snowflakes.

Mites can eventually kill birds and infect their blood. It's a very serious infestation.

Here's one of my personal experiences with diatomaceous earth. My Mom got an infestation of carpenter ants which burrowed through the exterior brick wall of her home and set up residence inside her curtain rods. When I opened the curtain rod it was filled with what looked like black sand. Every inch of space was filled with hundreds of thousands of ants. I poured them out, vacuumed them up (immediately placing the vacuum's dust bag in the outside garbage cans inside double-knotte plastic) and dusted the hollow interior of the rods with diatomaceous earth. Then I got industrial diatomaceous earth "umbrella" (they're covered to prevent rain from washing them away) stands at a hardware store to place in the ground at the base of the home's exterior. I pumped the powder (they have dispensers for that) into crevices of the brick exterior and onto exterior window sills inside and outside of the house, and into the ant houses. I also pumped it into the interior floor spaces between the baseboards and the floor.

Result? Within TWO HOURS NO MORE ANTS! EVER! (Of course, depending upon your situation you might need to reapply annually.)

So, please protect yourselves, our earth, our dear animals, and your home environment from toxins and use non-toxic DIATOMACEOUS EARTH.

Inside the home if you have babies or children or pets crawling around, use the edible diatomaceous earth to apply to the baseboard areas. I used to have horses and I would apply that around the stable and to them and no more flies. Sprinkle diatomaceous earth into your garbage cans (do keep your cans clean with a liner and sprinkle the diatomaceous earth underneath the liner). The stuff is magic and SAFE! I imagine if you order edible diatomaceous earth in a huge quantity the price can be reduced. I always keep both the edible and the industrial diatomaceous earth around the house ready to be applied.

I'm sorry I saw this post so long after it was put online. Good luck to everyone from this lifelong city kid and animal lover! Let me know how it turns out.

this is a very helpful post for sure.
i read this as i was soaking my mystery rash in a vat of neem oil, tea tree, other oils, and food grade DE in a 4/1 ratio. to think i was just using it on the chickens at first. its very good for people too.
The rash had crusty parts that i could not get off and boom, gone, fell right off when soaked hand in the de/oils.
i think i found my new best friend! (hugs DE)

 

[weezilgirl]

Don't put Frontline on chickens. I called my vet about it and he said absolutely not.

 

[blucoondawg]

Don't ever listen to exterminators. Everything they do is toxic. For mites--in fact for any insects including spiders and ants--simply use DIATOMACEOUS EARTH (pronounced DYE-at-oh-MAY-shuss).

I'm a bird Mom of 36 years and an animal lover and rescuer even longer: since the age of two. Diatomaceous earth is not, contrary to what the name would lead you to believe, "earth". It has nothing to do with soil. It's natural, pulverized exoskeletons of tiny marine animals. When an insect eats this powder, it desiccates them--dries them out inside, depriving them of moisture--and cuts them so that the insects die.

There are 2 kinds of diatomaceous earth: the kind for industrial use which you put outside on the ground, in your trash cans to prevent ants, flies and other insects, etc. and the edible kind which humans use as nutritional supplements for themselves and their pets. The only difference in manufacturing is not in the diatomaceous earth but in the equipment they use. DO NOT EVER USE industrial diatomaceous earth on your animals or yourself because the equipment can be tainted with pesticides and other poisons.

Diatomaceous earth is available at feed stores, hardware stores, online. Of course, the edible kind is more expensive.

Just dust your birdies with diatomaceous earth and the mites will exit rapidly. Get it under the feathers and massage into their skin underneath their insulation feathers which are right next to their skin and look like puffy little snowflakes.

Mites can eventually kill birds and infect their blood. It's a very serious infestation.

Here's one of my personal experiences with diatomaceous earth. My Mom got an infestation of carpenter ants which burrowed through the exterior brick wall of her home and set up residence inside her curtain rods. When I opened the curtain rod it was filled with what looked like black sand. Every inch of space was filled with hundreds of thousands of ants. I poured them out, vacuumed them up (immediately placing the vacuum's dust bag in the outside garbage cans inside double-knotte plastic) and dusted the hollow interior of the rods with diatomaceous earth. Then I got industrial diatomaceous earth "umbrella" (they're covered to prevent rain from washing them away) stands at a hardware store to place in the ground at the base of the home's exterior. I pumped the powder (they have dispensers for that) into crevices of the brick exterior and onto exterior window sills inside and outside of the house, and into the ant houses. I also pumped it into the interior floor spaces between the baseboards and the floor.

Result? Within TWO HOURS NO MORE ANTS! EVER! (Of course, depending upon your situation you might need to reapply annually.)

So, please protect yourselves, our earth, our dear animals, and your home environment from toxins and use non-toxic DIATOMACEOUS EARTH.

Inside the home if you have babies or children or pets crawling around, use the edible diatomaceous earth to apply to the baseboard areas. I used to have horses and I would apply that around the stable and to them and no more flies. Sprinkle diatomaceous earth into your garbage cans (do keep your cans clean with a liner and sprinkle the diatomaceous earth underneath the liner). The stuff is magic and SAFE! I imagine if you order edible diatomaceous earth in a huge quantity the price can be reduced. I always keep both the edible and the industrial diatomaceous earth around the house ready to be applied.

I'm sorry I saw this post so long after it was put online. Good luck to everyone from this lifelong city kid and animal lover! Let me know how it turns out.

How do you explain all the people on this forum who report DE to be 100% ineffective against mites and lice?

The difference between filter grade DE and food grade DE is that the filter grade has been heat treated and the food grade has not, DE is also dangerous to humans and animals as it can be breathed in and damage the lungs.

 

[The Yakima Kid]

How do you explain all the people on this forum who report DE to be 100% ineffective against mites and lice?

The difference between filter grade DE and food grade DE is that the filter grade has been heat treated and the food grade has not, DE is also dangerous to humans and animals as it can be breathed in and damage the lungs.

Thank you so much for posting this. People really need to read the Hazardous Materials sheet for DE before assuming it is harmless. Natural doesn't mean harmless - aspergillis, rabies, and arsenic are completely natural, but I'd rather not encounter them.

 

[The Yakima Kid]

Bluecoondawg - by any chance you have Blue Ticks? I once had a Treeing Walker AKA "Trigg Walker." Great dog, a touch hot nosed.

 

[blucoondawg]

Bluecoondawg - by any chance you have Blue Ticks? I once had a Treeing Walker AKA "Trigg Walker." Great dog, a touch hot nosed.

Not any more, I used to have a couple, my last hounds were redbone and redbone mix with walker, they were good dogs, I got rid of the hounds because I had to go to work on the road, back home now but sticking to my bird dog and the wife's ankle biters.

 

[abear]

Okay, for starters. No need to go near evil chemicals. Food chain- more like food web. You can't see 99% of it, but they'll pass on those chemicals and you'll be eating that stuff.

Chooks: inside of house is painted with whitewash (garden lime and water). If you have wooden nesting boxes, anything, can do this.

Once a month:

- spray perch, walls, nesting box with eucalyptus/ neem/ pyrethrum, a few drops of each or any in a spray bottle of water. Do it on a breezy day so it will dry.

- Put lime (garden lime) and diatomaceous earth in their dust bath area (top up monthly). they will dust themselves with anit mite stuff this way.

- In their nesting boxes, I use about half straw, then rosemary, peppermint, thyme,balm of gilead (Cedronella triphylla), holy flax (Santolina rosmarinifolia), lemon balm, some crush dried eucy leaves,wormwood, oregano, tansy, marigold petals, catnip etc. what ever is growing well and can handle a good trim. Dry by hanging upside down in the shed (cool dark well ventilated) for a couple of weeks, then mix with straw, more lime and a handful of DE. These plants of resins and volatile oils will be a very inhospitable place for mites to hang out.

If you can handle your chickens, dust them with DE if you suspect mites- see Bluecoondawgs post on DE.

An ongoing preventative lifestyle is better than a painful after the fact fix

 

[Ell157]

For getting rid of the mites in the laundry I use Bosisto's eucalyptus dust mite wash and bleach, and wash in hot water,which did the trick. I kept the washed clothes seperate and re washed everything a week later to be sure.
I had the same problem, the chickens got mites, the crawled on me, and bit me. Even after a shower I still found a couple and I totally panicked. I bagged all clothes and linen that I had been in contact with and sprayed Martine in the bag until i could wash them. I was so paranoid about the mites crawling on me that after I p
Locked the chooks away for the night, I sprayed my clothes, body and all through my hair with mortein, and then had a shower. I know that this is probably not good for you, but it does work!
The chooks were treated with pestene, and the ground covered in lime, plus a friend of ours who is a pest controller sprayed a special chemical on the ground and in the house that kills the mites and will kill the eggs when they hatch, and it didn't cost me a fortune, you just need to know a pest controller who knows what they are doing, and who has dealt with mites.

 

[johnderosa1]

For getting rid of the mites in the laundry I use Bosisto's eucalyptus dust mite wash and bleach, and wash in hot water,which did the trick. I kept the washed clothes seperate and re washed everything a week later to be sure.
I had the same problem, the chickens got mites, the crawled on me, and bit me. Even after a shower I still found a couple and I totally panicked. I bagged all clothes and linen that I had been in contact with and sprayed Martine in the bag until i could wash them. I was so paranoid about the mites crawling on me that after I p
Locked the chooks away for the night, I sprayed my clothes, body and all through my hair with mortein, and then had a shower. I know that this is probably not good for you, but it does work!
The chooks were treated with pestene, and the ground covered in lime, plus a friend of ours who is a pest controller sprayed a special chemical on the ground and in the house that kills the mites and will kill the eggs when they hatch, and it didn't cost me a fortune, you just need to know a pest controller who knows what they are doing, and who has dealt with mites.

Treating mites in the laundry is actually rather simple... If you have clothes that have come in contact with mites, simply run them through a dryer cycle on cotton setting for 15 minutes (if dry) or just dry them normally if they went through the wash. The key is to treat your birds and coop while making sure you sanitize clothes and body everytime you come in contact with them. Without doing both you will continually re-infest your birds and yourself...