Heavy Mite Infestation

[Susie Seagrave]

Curious what exactly these are....got links or the ingredients or pics of labels?

I follow this routine:
1. Clean the house, nesting boxes and droppings board with NETTEX Poultry cleaner.
2. Wipe/soak all the surfaces, especially nooks and crannies, with the NETTEX Mite Kill spray, which contains Permethrin. This must be left to dry completely and birds should be kept out for a minimum of two hours.
3. Dust all the surfaces, nooks, crannies and nesting boxes liberally with Barrier Mite powder for protection.
4. I spray my hens with my homemade garlic juice, lavender oil and water spray to kill existing mites. I have found this really works well. I repeat this spray after 2-3 days. I also then clean the vent area, using a very fine comb to remove any lice/mite eggs attached to the shafts around the vent.
5. Dust the hens with the Barrier Mite powder to stop re-infestation.
I'd repeat this process after about 2 weeks.

 

[Folly's place]

That's a lot of work, but glad it's taken care of your mite issues.
Mary

 

[HiEverybirdy]

I follow this routine:
1. Clean the house, nesting boxes and droppings board with NETTEX Poultry cleaner.
2. Wipe/soak all the surfaces, especially nooks and crannies, with the NETTEX Mite Kill spray, which contains Permethrin. This must be left to dry completely and birds should be kept out for a minimum of two hours.
3. Dust all the surfaces, nooks, crannies and nesting boxes liberally with Barrier Mite powder for protection.
4. I spray my hens with my homemade garlic juice, lavender oil and water spray to kill existing mites. I have found this really works well. I repeat this spray after 2-3 days. I also then clean the vent area, using a very fine comb to remove any lice/mite eggs attached to the shafts around the vent.
5. Dust the hens with the Barrier Mite powder to stop re-infestation.
I'd repeat this process after about 2 weeks.

I did something similar yesterday with different chemicals after finding what appear to be northern fowl mites on our cockerel's feathered legs, back, and vent and would love some feedback on whether I need to do more, because there are still some mites on the cockerel today.

• Mixed a quart of water with 5ml of Gordon's Permethrin 10 in a spray bottle.
• Dumped pine-chip bedding from 3 coops in garbage bags and sprayed it down with the Permethrin solution.
• Shop-vacuumed all 3 coops and sprayed the Permethrin solution all over--especially the roosts, corners, joints, cracks, etc.
• After that dried, I troweled some GardStar Poultry Dust into the crannies of the cockerel's cabin. He sleeps in a separate coop but spends the day with the flock, so there's no doubt he's spread them around, even though I haven't found any mites on the other 10 chickens.
• Spritzed the cockerel's vent, under wings, and the backs of his elbows (since the mites were all over his legs) with the Permethrin solution.
• Got a migraine from the heat, started to doubt myself about the amount of chemicals I was applying, and procrastinated spraying the rest of the flock, who I still see zero mites on today.

Today, he still has visible mites, though not nearly as many. Should I spray him with the Permethrin 10 solution again, or does it take a few days to work?

And should I go ahead and do a good vent spritz on all the other chickens when they hit the roost tonight, including the 11-week-olds who live in a coop he never goes into? They do share the yard and dustbath pits.

Luckily, nobody, even the cockerel, seems to be experiencing other symptoms yet. No paleness or lethargy or avoidance of roosts. Not that I'm not waiting for that stage to happen!

Thanks for any thoughts.

 

[Folly's place]

If one bird has mites, it's necessary to treat all of them!
We are having a very bad mite issue here, and I think that the bird's outside dust bathing area are part of the problem too. We aren't going to spread any insecticide out there, and the wild birds visit the coop and run whenever the flock is free ranging, another problem, so the mites seem to be rolling on and on, at least on a few of the hens.
Rant over!
Mary

 

[HiEverybirdy]

Yes to this feeling: Thank you for weighing in! Your thread back in 2016 about the Permethrin spray was part of my research yesterday.

Thoughts about whether to re-spray the cockerel today? I don't want to overdose him but don't want to under-dose him, either.

We check all the boxes for preventing mites – clean coops, no crowding, plenty of time to dustbathe, keep our feed inside, limit guests to the chicken yard, etc. – except we can't keep the wild birds away. We live in a jungle and those little feathered friends are here to stay. The cockerel can't stand them--now we know why!

Edit to tag @Folly's place since I forgot to tap "reply" when I posted. Headache still has me loopy.

 

[Folly's place]

We have had good success with the permethrin spray, and I've been very reluctant to spend the $$$ for spinosad, the other choice. Must be ordered online, and some folks here have complained about poor shelf life, another negative. More
Some people over the years have recommended eliminating individual birds who are cursed with parasite problems, and I'm considering it here, reluctantly. I need to examine EVERY one of my 49 birds, at night with that flashlight, rather than the token six or eight, and see what the story is on an individual basis. Bah! Humbug!
Mary

 

[HiEverybirdy]

Hope you don't have to cull for that. I'd read mites could be an indication of other health problems so could help you choose birds to cull but hadn't heard of that as a preventative measure. Either way, a copperhead nearly culled the cockerel for us the morning I found the mites, which was one reason I was carrying him around when I saw mites on him. We were looking for more copperhead "friends" in the chicken yard. Fun weekend.

I'd be fine trying the Spinosad if the Permethrin doesn't work, but it most definitely wasn't my first option due to the price (eek) and availability.

The cockerel still had visible mites after the first good spray down, so I treated him again before bed last night. I'm afraid to look closely this morning. My next step would be to dip him totally, but I'm hoping the residual pesticide from 2 sprayings ends these things on him soon...if that's how it even works. Do all mites have to die immediately for this treatment to work?

After treating the cockerel, I changed clothes for good measure and came back to treat the sleepy ladies with a good spritzing around the vent area and on their feathered feet. Then I spent 90 minutes hunting mites in the coops with bright light. The ladies' coop is as clean as I expected. I found 5 total mites on the roosts, which I think had just come off one of the pullets who now had a couple on her legs and vent last night. I gave her extra spritzes and spot treated their coop again.

The cockerel's cabin still had mites galore, so I re-sprayed the roost and walls around him. I must've eliminated 200-300 in there.

We're on the journey. These chickens think I am insane.

 

[Folly's place]

And it's great that neither your cockerel, and especially you, didn't really have a copperhead interaction!!!
Here we have a small rattlers, very rare, as our only poisonous snake. I don't miss living in areas having many such dangerous critters!
Mary

 

[Simmy K]

Just FYI,

I currently am having issues with mites.theyre all through the grass, house, pets, everywhere.

I'm having really good success with garlic spray. Chickens hadn't laid in a week and after 2 days of spraying, they're laying again and I can't see mites on them. Also sprayed the dog and kennel. Thought she had a flea allergy, but the red dots have subsided significantly.

The only pet I'm not willing to do this to is my kittens, so they're getting regular baths.

Not sure what I'll do inside, as I can't spray chemicals due to pet birds. No garlic due to kittens. Probably a lot of vaccuming and washing. Maybe I can garlic spray around windows and doors...

 

[cmom]

Just FYI,

I currently am having issues with mites.theyre all through the grass, house, pets, everywhere.

I'm having really good success with garlic spray. Chickens hadn't laid in a week and after 2 days of spraying, they're laying again and I can't see mites on them. Also sprayed the dog and kennel. Thought she had a flea allergy, but the red dots have subsided significantly.

The only pet I'm not willing to do this to is my kittens, so they're getting regular baths.

Not sure what I'll do inside, as I can't spray chemicals due to pet birds. No garlic due to kittens. Probably a lot of vaccuming and washing. Maybe I can garlic spray around windows and doors...