- Oct 5, 2013
- 1
- 1
- 9
Hi all -
I spent hours on the internet looking for ways to solve the mite problem naturally and didn't find a good answer, so I cobbled together bits and pieces of information and tried a few things of my own and came up with plan that worked.
There is a way to get rid of mites without chemicals and pesticides BUT it does take a lot time and a lot of effort. We only have 5 chickens, so this may not work for people with a bigger flock.
We were gone for the summer, and the friends taking care of the chickens didn't notice a problem brewing. By the time we got home it was out of control.
The chickens were covered with mites and they pulled out many of their feathers. The coop was infested and we carried mites into the house on our clothes and got covered with bites at night. The chickens had also walked in the garden, so mites were all over the plants and we got covered just by walking outside.
Here's what I did that worked:
1) Bath the chickens outside in a big tub. The water was swimming with mites. When you are done with the water pour it down a drain or someplace away from the chickens. I blew them each dry so I could see if I got rid of all the mites. Yep, used a hairdryer
2) Move the chickens to a new location - I used the a storage room. I sprinkled the floor with DE before I put shavings down. I gave each hen a dust bath in DE. We never saw a mite in the new location so the bathing worked.
3) Before you go back into the house, remove all your clothes. Then and shower and wash your hair. Use the towel to pick up the clothes, roll it in a ball to avoid getting any mites on you and throw it all in the washing machine. Do this every time you go near the coop or you will have then in your bed like we did.
4) Power wash the coop. When they get water on them, mites will crawl out of the hiding places. We has thousands of them Let the coop dry out. Spray it with a hose and see if mites still come out. If they do, power wash it again. I had to power wash ours three times over the course of a week.
5) Take out anything wood in the coop and power wash it too.
6) I sprayed the garden with Neem Oil.
7) Once I was sure the coop was mite free, I sprayed all the crevices with Need Oil and then dusted the coop with DE before putting in shavings.
8) I now check them every couple of weeks for mites. I also check the coop by spraying a little water in the cracks to see if anything crawls out. Gratefully we are mite free! It was quite an ordeal...
I hope this helps!
I spent hours on the internet looking for ways to solve the mite problem naturally and didn't find a good answer, so I cobbled together bits and pieces of information and tried a few things of my own and came up with plan that worked.
There is a way to get rid of mites without chemicals and pesticides BUT it does take a lot time and a lot of effort. We only have 5 chickens, so this may not work for people with a bigger flock.
We were gone for the summer, and the friends taking care of the chickens didn't notice a problem brewing. By the time we got home it was out of control.
The chickens were covered with mites and they pulled out many of their feathers. The coop was infested and we carried mites into the house on our clothes and got covered with bites at night. The chickens had also walked in the garden, so mites were all over the plants and we got covered just by walking outside.
Here's what I did that worked:
1) Bath the chickens outside in a big tub. The water was swimming with mites. When you are done with the water pour it down a drain or someplace away from the chickens. I blew them each dry so I could see if I got rid of all the mites. Yep, used a hairdryer
2) Move the chickens to a new location - I used the a storage room. I sprinkled the floor with DE before I put shavings down. I gave each hen a dust bath in DE. We never saw a mite in the new location so the bathing worked.
3) Before you go back into the house, remove all your clothes. Then and shower and wash your hair. Use the towel to pick up the clothes, roll it in a ball to avoid getting any mites on you and throw it all in the washing machine. Do this every time you go near the coop or you will have then in your bed like we did.
4) Power wash the coop. When they get water on them, mites will crawl out of the hiding places. We has thousands of them Let the coop dry out. Spray it with a hose and see if mites still come out. If they do, power wash it again. I had to power wash ours three times over the course of a week.
5) Take out anything wood in the coop and power wash it too.
6) I sprayed the garden with Neem Oil.
7) Once I was sure the coop was mite free, I sprayed all the crevices with Need Oil and then dusted the coop with DE before putting in shavings.
8) I now check them every couple of weeks for mites. I also check the coop by spraying a little water in the cracks to see if anything crawls out. Gratefully we are mite free! It was quite an ordeal...
I hope this helps!
