Fowl mites under control ?

[Stablecoop]

Hi friends! I am posting to let folx know (and to get feedback on) a method that I’ve been using to control mites. We’ve been battling these mites for a couple of months. Tried dusting whole flock with DE, one bird at a time in pillowcase (with birds head OUT of course), cleaned all bedding/coop/nesting boxes…mites persisted. Then tried drench of ivermectin as recommended in our chicken health book. Reduced population of mites, but they came back. This week, I have been directly treating vents, backs, under wings with a Harris DE puffer, have done this once each evening after birds have roosted for several days and not a mite in sight!! They even started laying in nest boxes again! Will continue this for the lifecycle of at least 3 anticipated mite generations. Seems to be really working!! Any feedback from the community is so welcome. Maybe this could even help someone in a similar situation. Thank you!!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Also, was thinking if I focused on killing the mites on the birds, the pests can’t live more than 3 weeks in the coop itself, so the ones in the coop over time will starve?

Depends on exactly which mite you are dealing with. Some may not live more than 3 weeks in the coop itself - they rely on a Host, but the Hosts (your chickens) are still there! So the life cycle continues. Mites may be able to go dormant and live up to 8 months without a host. But then again...your coop is not empty, so there's really no need for them to go dormant.

I can appreciate your hesitancy for using pesticides. Dusting the hen with a Permethrin based poultry dust and working the dust into the crevices of their housing is what I would do in freezing weather. Personally I like using spray for housing, dust for the birds themselves.
Imho, DE is dusty too. It's not a product that I would personally use. Too many folks here on BYC have expressed frustration and sometimes bewilderment that their hens STILL have lice/mites when they have used DE and/or other remedies. These things may have their place in deterring external parasites, but once there's an infestation pesticides are needed unfortunately.
Spinosad (Elector PSP) is another product many use with good results. I have not used it, I've found that for me, Permethrin has been all that I have needed.

Cleaned out bedding and put DE down. It’s below freezing here so we worry about applying the water based pesticides, they won’t dry, just freeze. Dusting with pesticides makes me really nervous about prolonged airborne permethrin. What do you think? Thank you for your help.

 

[aart]

What about spraying the coop? It won’t dry?

You could get a powder sprayer and fill the cracks.
Or use liquid in the warmest part of the day to douse the cracks and crevices.
Are you sure they are roost mites?

Best done well after dark with a strong flashlight/headlight, easier to 'catch' bird and also to check for the mites that live in structure and only come out at night to feed off roosting birds.

Wipe a white paper towel along the underside of roost to look for red smears(smashed well fed mites).

Good post about mite ID by Lady McCamley:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/my-chicken-has-mites-now-what.1273674/page-2#post-20483008

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thank you wyorp, I very much appreciate and respect your good advice. Do you have a specific product you’d recommend for the P. Dust? Do you wear a dust mask or respirator?

You can find Permethrin based poultry dust at TSC. Depending on region, they may carry different "brands" but what I have pictured is what I have. Dust for the birds and I mix up the concentrate per package directions to spray housing, making sure to get it into nooks/crannies of nesting boxes, where roosting bars are attached, etc.
Sometimes I do wear a dust mask (N95) when applying the dust, it's a good idea to do that. I put the dust in a sock (some put it in pantyhose). I hold the bird, gently spread her feathers up and tap the sock on her body to release the dust, tap tap tap all over her, then I work the dust into her feathers and onto the skin the best that I can. With the sock I feel like I can target areas better and for me it's easier to dispense than trying to hold a can and sprinkle it. When I'm done, I put the dust filled sock in a quart mason jar or other container with a lid, store it for next time.

Wearing a mask when you dust the chickens, clean up their poop, rake bedding, etc. etc. is always a good idea. Chickens are naturally dusty, poop dries crumbles and becomes part of the dust/dirt particle that you breath when cleaning.

 

[cherrynberry]

Thank you so much! If it was warm here that’s what I would do, just dip them all and clean/spray coop, but there’s no place for wet chickens right now. I worry about the permethrin dust being airborne. Any tips for dipping them when it’s below freezing? I’ve been racking my brain over this. Thank you again!!

Don't dip them. Dust the birds and spray the coop. Dust is done in 7 day intervals. I am dealing with an infestation as well. Wyorp Rock and Eggcessive have been the BEST in helping me.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hi friends! I am posting to let folx know (and to get feedback on) a method that I’ve been using to control mites. We’ve been battling these mites for a couple of months. Tried dusting whole flock with DE, one bird at a time in pillowcase (with birds head OUT of course), cleaned all bedding/coop/nesting boxes…mites persisted. Then tried drench of ivermectin as recommended in our chicken health book. Reduced population of mites, but they came back. This week, I have been directly treating vents, backs, under wings with a Harris DE puffer, have done this once each evening after birds have roosted for several days and not a mite in sight!! They even started laying in nest boxes again! Will continue this for the lifecycle of at least 3 anticipated mite generations. Seems to be really working!! Any feedback from the community is so welcome. Maybe this could even help someone in a similar situation. Thank you!!

Glad this seems to be working for you.
How are you treating their housing to rid it of mites?

 

[aart]

And aart thank you so much for taking your time to help I really ALWAYS appreciate your advice!! But this time, the dust seems like a risk to human health I can’t take. Even reading this https://nj.gov/health/eoh/rtkweb/documents/fs/3422.pdf warns not to sweep it, cautions that it has shown to cause reproductive harm in males, and the first aid and implications of respiratory exposure are very different than DE. For those reasons, I was wondering if anyone had an alternate solution that’s worked for them besides permethrin dust, and/or how they applied the spray/dip in winter. Thanks again for your insight, I really do value your experience and insights.

It's up to you.
I've read too many stories about mite and lice infestations becoming dire after trying to treat with DE.
I've used premethrin dust more than a few times for lice, 2-3 treatments 7-10 days apart, and my males were still fertile and no obvious respiratory issues in the flock.

 

[Marie2020]

This is a very helpful thread for anyone new or old with chickens.
Thank you

 

[rosemarythyme]

@rosemarythyme posted this a while back how she dealt with mites on clothes and biting her, you may want to check that out too. https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/spinosad-for-mites.1437217/post-23795797

I sure hope you are able to get them under control. The hens must be miserable as well, so they will be happier (and healthier) once you start working on this. It's not all going to be fixed in a day, it takes time and dedication to get rid of the bugs.

The good news is they don't live very long inside your house, without chickens to feed off of, so as long as you're not bringing more inside each day they can be kept under control indoors in a pretty short period of time.

Since that previous post I've learned that other folks have confirmed that rubbing alcohol works really well, so that's pretty safe to spray around on soft furniture like your mattress and sofa (anywhere you've frequented the last few days after interacting with chickens). For me they were mostly biting me in bed, so getting the bed and sheets treated and then NOT letting hubby bring more bugs inside (he was banned from the coop for about 2 weeks) went a long way to give me relief from bites.

 

[cherrynberry]

Just use permethrin dust and spray. For infestations, DE is known to work, but not stay consistent or not even work at all. They may still come back....