Every Type of Mite, at once?!

[DellaMyDarling]

Isn't Permethrin supposed to kill on contact, mites?

It's been a few hours since I went out (sprayed all hens under wings, bums, and rubbed on heads this AM.)
Still, the gals are CRAWLING with mites right where I sprayed
What the eff is going on?
Are they resistant to spray? (Fresh mix)
Are new mites simply hatching and quickly replacing old mites as fast as I spray?

I could try a bath again.
Previously, just dunked birds, swished, let go. Perhaps I should dunk and scrub birds?!

 

[cmom]

How much permethrin are you mixing with the water?

 

[cmom]

If the mites are as bad as you say it may take awhile. Are you spraying places like cracks and crevices, places where the mites can hide?

 

[cmom]

The only advice I have is that if you haven't you need to spray your coop thoroughly, ceiling, walls, floors, on and under the roosts, inside and outside of the nest boxes, any cracks and crevices where the mites can hide, everything everywhere. Maybe mix your spray a little stronger and repeat weekly. It doesn't kill the mite eggs. I don't know why it's not working for you. I have had good luck with it. I use a gallon sprayer with a wand to reach hard to get to places.

 

[DellaMyDarling]

How much permethrin are you mixing with the water?

Mix says 1:200 for chicken body application. I've actually ramped up and slightly increased the dosing.
By my terrible math, 1:200 in my spray bottle should be 25oz water to 1/16oz Permethrin. I'm now mixing 25oz to 1/8oz.

I have indeed been spraying roosts, boxes, floor coverage, etc.
I know they're sneaky buggers but I don't see any on the eggs, nesting, roosts, etc. Perhaps the spray worked there for now (higher mix rate, I think it was 1:9.
Saw an article recommending some sticky strips for roosts. Wondering if I can find or make some.

 

[cmom]

I'm using a gallon sprayer. I have been using around 3 oz permethrin to a gallon of water. My initial spray I went heavier. I shut the birds out of their coops until it dried. I soaked the coops inside. I have had no ill effects with the birds. I sprinkle permethrin dust in the nest boxes. Good luck...

 

[DellaMyDarling]

Reading more, I definitely have Northern Fowl Mites.
They completely live on the birds.

Sounds like coop treatment is important, but removing all floor bedding is useless.

Now how the heck do I truly get them off my birds? Getting really concerned about everyone's health status.

 

[Shadrach]

It helps to know which type of mites you are dealing with.
Red mite doesn't live on the chicken so if you are seeing mites on your chicken during the day they are probably not red mite.
Red mites are translucent white/gray until they feed. It's the chickens blood that makes them go red.
Red mite live in the coop, usually at the ends of perches and in the cracks of the coop construction. They don't like daylight.
Northern fowl mite do live on the chicken. They tend to be slightly larger and darker in colour.
Lice also live on the chicken and tend to be larger than mites. Lice favour the vent area of the chicken and may also be found around the ears and eyes; moisture seems to attract them.
I don't believe you can rid a coop of any parasites and keep old bedding.
So, the first thing I would ask is do you need any bedding in the coop at all? Some straw in the nest boxes makes sense but the chickens here sleep on roosts, all 'bedding' does on the floor is harbor parasites, fungus and other pathogens.
Permethrin spray will deal with both mites and lice on the chicken but if the coop isn't stripped out and the mites eradicated you're wasting your time and money.

 

[cmom]

My birds were severely infested last year. They looked terrible. I used the permethrin dust on my birds after bathing them with Adams flea shampoo. I use 3 tubs of water and I let them sit quite awhile in each tub, I poured the shampoo on the birds and worked it through their feathers making sure I got under the wings good too in the first tub. The second tub was water with vinegar to help cut the shampoo. I let the birds set in that tub too and rinsing well. The third tub is plain water which again I let them sit in it for awhile final rinsing well. After their baths and they had dried I covered them in permethrin powder giving them a good dusting and also put the dust in their nest boxes. I did the bath routine twice. I sprayed the coops thoroughly and under the shade/rain tables in their pens. Under the tables one week I shook powder and the next week I would spray under the tables. The birds are beautiful now, but it didn't happen over night. I continued spraying in the coops for weeks. If wild birds can get in they are usually carriers of mites and lice. I took a pressure washer and washed out all of the coops after I cleaned the shavings out. Then I sprayed the whole coop really well with the permethrin spray kind of heavy on the first spray and continued weekly. I did put fresh shavings in and sprayed them too or put dust in them.

 

[cmom]

I do have shavings in the coops that have floors, it's easier to clean the poop out. Some of the coops do have floors and some don't. I do either way put the dust or spray the floors in all of the coops whether being wood or dirt.