Heavy Mite Infestation

[Chickinie]

Depends on which poison you use.

I just use the store bought ratsak wax blocks and the 'big cheese' wax blocks. I think they have the same poison in them.

 

[Folly's place]

Of course all poisons are toxic, or they wouldn't be poisons, BUT some are more likely to be problems than others. Check with your veterinarian, look up the MSDS on products, check with the wildlife folks in your state, and decide what to use.
Mary

 

[Chickinie]

... or use a more natural method...

 

[termeerchick]

Ah that definitely makes sense. Ive checked out the mouse traps that have the cover on it but figured that would take forever trying to trap them all. Now that I have talked to a few of you I feel more confident using a bait station. I will actually probably do both and just check A few times a day checking traps and stations...and of course dead mice laying around. I figured if I don’t try to get rid of the mice then I’ll never get rid of the mites and lice because I’ve seen mice in the nesting boxes multiple times.

 

[Chickinie]

There is a few videos on youtube of how to make various mouse/rat traps. I've been thinking of trying a water bucket one with magnets for a while because the rats that come to the chook shed out the back of the property don't eat any baits. I have to cage trap them individually, which takes forever to get one as well! Very frustrating.

 

[aart]

... or use a more natural method...

Like what...bring in lots of snakes?

 

[cmom]

I had mice in my aviary that were making it impossible to eliminate the mite, no where near hundreds though. It stunk! They had and were carrying them around from around the chooks. They made the mother birds abandon their babies because of how they would crawl all over them. One day there would be no lice in the nest, then they would be covered in them. Gross. I've found that the mites only explode in numbers in chook nests when they are clucky, and unfortunately little bird nests (finches).

I had the same dillemma with the toxic poison in the mouse poo an the doves possibly eating it. I just gave them a block of poison, but each week so the doves had less chance of filling up on possibly poison poo. I did it until the blocks weren't chewed on.

As for if their dead bodies are poisonous... The owls we have around here MUST pick the dying mice. And I've seen a (resident) kookaburra eat a poisoned one and it was fine, and still is... but I always have suspected that they have traces of poison. I think I heard that it breaks down, though. I'm not sure...

From research I have done and as Mary said, most will go down in their tunnels and die. It doesn't take much to kill mice and most critters won't die from second hand poison but there may be some exceptions. I use the bait stations in my barn and rarely find dead rats and mice. Every once in a very great while I have, but not usually. Once you pretty much eliminate them and watch the bait stations, you can check the bait through the little window over where he bait is, I rarely have to put new bait in them. We are rural on a dead end road. Most of our property is pasture.

 

[aart]

As for if their dead bodies are poisonous... The owls we have around here MUST pick the dying mice. And I've seen a (resident) kookaburra eat a poisoned one and it was fine, and still is... but I always have suspected that they have traces of poison. I think I heard that it breaks down, though. I'm not sure..

Someone here (maybe @Howard E ?) posted details on which types of poisons are more likely to have secondary toxicity to things that eat the poisoned rodents.

 

[Chickinie]

From research I have done and as Mary said, most will go down in their tunnels and die. It doesn't take much to kill mice and most critters won't die from second hand poison but there may be some exceptions. I use the bait stations in my barn and rarely find dead rats and mice. Every once in a very great while I have, but not usually. Once you pretty much eliminate them and watch the bait stations, you can check the bait through the little window over where he bait is, I rarely have to put new bait in them. We are rural on a dead end road. Most of our property is pasture.

Here, they die outside. Well rats are more obvious (unless they are in the roof). Maybe it's because it's warmer here so they don't seek comfort as much...

 

[Chickinie]

Like what...bring in lots of snakes?

You'd probably kill more mice with a shovel while your waiting for them to digest...

But yes.. I just let them look for the rodents when they drop by... Try not to stand on them and die while they do.