Do mites ever really go away? Or are they always present in the environment?

[fanofdmb84]

So I started fresh this spring. New coop, new chicks, new bedding, on 5 acres that have never had chickens on it. But we have wildlife. A lot of it.

I've recently noticed some tiny black bugs, what I assume are mites, around the vents of a few of my chickens. I haven't noticed any symptoms in the chickens yet, so I can't be sure how long they've had them, but I have to wonder, aren't mites everywhere in the environment, just looking for their next host?

I'm hesitant to go all out with treatment and replacing all bedding in my run and coop because it's already pretty "new" and I feel like as soon as I do, I'll find more because we live in nature. We have birds, deer, mice, chipmunks, squirrels, fox, coyotes, bears, opossum, raccoons, you name it.

Does anyone know if some mites are just to be expected or can I expect to treat my birds and not see them again? It seems like a losing battle and I just wonder how many rural flocks have some mites but not so many that they go unnoticed?

Extra info - my entire coop is painted on the inside so there isn't really anywhere for the little buggers to hide out. I have DE and lime in all their dust bath spots. It's going to start getting cold here soon so I would imagine the mite population might just dwindle out over winter?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

External parasites are a management issue. Wild birds can and do bring them in, so you can never fully eradicate them unless you keep your birds in an enclosed system. Most chickens keep them at a controllable level by dust bathing. You should provide an area for it and use dry ingredients. Old timers used to swear by including wood ash to help with parasite.

If they get out of control you can treat birds, and all wood cracks with a poultry dust or spray as needed. Treat weekly for 3 weeks to break the life cycle.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I have to wonder, aren't mites everywhere in the environment, just looking for their next host?

There are tons of mites that exist in the world.. only a few that effect poultry.

The first link is about mites in general..

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/scienc...mites-live-plants-pretty-much-everywhere-else

I have seen red mites that were not "roost mites" out in my pasture.

This second link is about poultry mites specifically..

https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poultry/ectoparasites/mites-of-poultry

I treat the birds when needed, using permethrin based spray.. it's also available in dust form.. sometimes called garden dust. When I had to treat my birds (including the follow up 7-10 days later) for what was either lice or northern fowl mites, I didn't have to treat again for several seasons after that.. I did spray the nest boxes and the floor bedding at the same time. I also check my birds monthly after roost with a flashlight and have a heavy wildlife load that includes most species you mentioned plus rats, cats, and the like.

In my area, DE is not effective at prevention.. I'm under the impression that it's due to high humidity.

 

[fanofdmb84]

There are tons of mites that exist in the world.. only a few that effect poultry.

The first link is about mites in general..

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/scienc...mites-live-plants-pretty-much-everywhere-else

I have seen red mites that were not "roost mites" out in my pasture.

This second link is about poultry mites specifically..

https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poultry/ectoparasites/mites-of-poultry

I treat the birds when needed, using permethrin based spray.. it's also available in dust form.. sometimes called garden dust. When I had to treat my birds (including the follow up 7-10 days later) for what was either lice or northern fowl mites, I didn't have to treat again for several seasons after that.. I did spray the nest boxes and the floor bedding at the same time. I also check my birds monthly after roost with a flashlight and have a heavy wildlife load that includes most species you mentioned plus rats, cats, and the like.

In my area, DE is not effective at prevention.. I'm under the impression that it's due to high humidity.

So when you check your birds between treatments, does that mean you see ZERO evidence of mites? I picked up a bird today and was able to visualize 2 black mites (presumably) on one bird and none on another.

I'll pick up the dust tomorrow, I guess I'm just trying to understand if it's reasonable to expect to find no mites on any birds or if seeing the occasional few is cause for concern.

 

[Perris]

I'm just trying to understand if it's reasonable to expect to find no mites on any birds or if seeing the occasional few is cause for concern

A few is not a cause for concern. As others have mentioned, there are many different types in the environment, most of them are not harmful to poultry, and a healthy chicken (that hasn't had its beak 'trimmed') can preen themselves of any that are bothering it. The little overhang on the beak is particularly useful for that purpose. They will also dustbathe to control the ectoparasite load.

When a bird is ill the parasites can get a foothold, and infestation may be the first sign that a bird is unwell. But a couple of mites is not an infestation and your hesitation

to go all out with treatment and replacing all bedding in my run and coop because it's already pretty "new" and I feel like as soon as I do, I'll find more because we live in nature

is well founded. Make sure you've got somewhere dry-ish where they can dustbathe, and they should be able to take care of them themselves. When they can't, they probably need more than just mite treatment.

Fwiw, I sometimes add bonfire ashes to their spa here, and sometimes see the chickens dustbathing in an old (cold) bonfire pit, so I think they think the ashes help. People used to add them to washing lye, so I think we knew it too, once upon a time.