Generally overwhelmed with mite issue.

[ShelleyN]

Found out we had a mite issue only to realize we HAVE A SERIOUS MITE ISSUE and I don't know if I'm up for this. Our coop is in the back of our 2-car garage next to my husband's work bench. Their chicken door leads to a 10 x 4 run on the back of the house that has a 6" layer of straw that I put in there for entertainment value for the girls. They do love messing around in it. The run opens to our typical suburban back yard with lots of grass and a veggie garden they aren't allowed in. The 4 girls free range all day. I sent my husband to the feed store to get some Poultry Dust and he came home very concerned stating the stuff is very dangerous. We can't get any on us, or on the eggs-yet we're supposed to shake it all over the chickens. How does that work? I can't treat the entire yard with the stuff. What about the dog? I removed all the shavings and nest boxes from the coop last night and blasted the coop with DE. I plan on doing the same in the run today after removing the copious amounts of straw.

Questions:
What do I do with a fluffed up half-bale of hay!!?
Will a bleach wash kill everything it needs to if I wash the nesting buckets in it? Will it work in the coop for a wash?
Can I put wood ash with DE where they like to dust bathe or do I need to find a different location? They have dug craters under the storage shed recently trying to get relief. It's the only place the dirt is dry enough for dust bathing.
How do you keep these micro insects off yourself? I removed my clothes outside, and showered after cleaning out the coop washing my hair 2x and an hour later found something microscopic zooming around on my arm. So fast for the size!

Well I'll stop here, hopefully get some answers, and begin my fun filled day. Thanks all.

Shelley

 

[ShelleyN]

Well, if Poultry Dust is deadly, we're all gonners. A big blob of it landed on chicken #1s face first thing. Then the flapping distributed it excellently. I got pretty good at it by chicken #4 though. Removed all bedding, straw, nest boxes. DE'd everything within an inch of it's life. Burnt wood all day for ash tomorrow. Still haven't seen a bug on a chicken, but sure see them crawling on me after I mess with them. Maybe it's me that has a bug problem.....

 

[Teila]

Howdy ShelleyN

I have experienced a mite infestation compliments of a visiting Bush Turkey .. trust me, while I calmly mention I experienced a mite infestation, I was far from calm at the time!

If not for the fact that I adore and love my little gals, I could have quite easily put a torch to the whole get up!

Our infestation was mammoth to the point that we could see them on the walls of the coop!

We had them on us, in our clothes .. everywhere! I was paranoid for weeks! Every time we went anywhere near the coop, showers were had, clothes were washed .. the washing machine was working overtime .. sheets were changed and washed daily etc etc etc

Hang in there .. you can beat this!

Just my opinion but the half bale of hay I would be disposing of it; Bury it deep, burn it or dump it.

I believe adding wood ash to their favourite dusting spot will be beneficial. I could not get my hands on any at the time.

I used diluted Neem Oil on the roost, coop walls and floor and have continued to do so for nearly a year now. We have not had any issues since. My research into Neem Oil leads me to believe that it does not kill the mites but plays havoc with their breeding cycle.

At the time of infestation, I stripped the coop weekly and washed everything in hot soapy water and when dry, sprayed with diluted Neem Oil.

I believe some people use the oil on their chickens but I do not use it on my gals; they and their nest boxes get dusted with mite/lice dust.

I hope this helps!

 

[Miss Lydia]

@ShelleyN you can buy Neem Oil at Lowes and probably other garden centers, look it up on line very safe to use I use 2Tab to ! gal of very warm water and I use warm because it's an oil and mixes better if you use warm water this is in a pump gallon garden sprayer I spray the entire house from ceiling to floor making sure to get in all the cracks and crevices and top and bottom of roosts. Get rid of all bedding before you do this and that means don't toss it outside or around your flower beds get rid of it by bagging it up or burning it. I have used on my chickens Epernix Pour on [no egg withdrawl ]it is used like frontline for dogs being sure to get it on the skin. also frontline spray and poultry dust putting it inside a bag placing the chicken in the bag with head out and gently holding onto bottom of bag and close around the neck shake to distribute the dust all over them. Of these 3 i like the Epernix and spray the best. since i have been using the neem oil about 3 yrs now we have not had a mite out break. You can also treat ground with neem too.