Do Mites Survive the Winter?

[JacobMaxwell]

I live in northern Ontario, and right now it's about -10C, and by the middle of the winter temperatures are usually down to -25C. I wondered if these cold temperatures kill mites. Not that my flock has mites, but I just wanted to know if they will be safe from the pests over the winter.

Thanks in advance!

 

[CherishHolland]

If they have a warm body to snack on then no the cold will not kill them off.

 

[Wyandottes7]

No, the cold will not kill them off. My birds get mites even in the winter.

 

[purpletree23]

The best thing to do for your chickens is to provide a nice dust bath for them. Someplace where they can roll around and cover themselves with gritty dry dirt. In addition to the dirt I use DE, poultry dust and fine ash from a wood stove or fireplace. You can use one of the old, blue plastic kids pools if you have enough room or other plastic container as long as they have enough room to flop around and really cover themselves.

A cardboard box cut to a depth of 4 or 5 inches will do too. Prevention is better rather than trying to get rid of an infestation.

I know this might sound excessive but I put my cooled ash from our wood stove into a metal bucket with a tight fitting metal lid. I store it way out back next to nothing combustible. I stir it everyday for a week and then I feel comfortable to use the ashes.

Too many house fires are started every year because someone thought their ashes were 'cold' and stored them in a container under the deck of their house or even in a card board box.