HEAVY RAIN = MITES...... TREATMENT ADVICE/COMMENTARY???

[EggSighted4Life]

@HortaChickenist I wonder will the feathers indeed start to grow back or will that not happen until molt?

 

[HortaChickenist]

I see some new feathers trying to coming in but will reevaluate after third and final treatment...I may be bathing them as I still see redness around a few of their vents...coop and run seem clean but as mentioned by others there are microscopic mites I may be missing plus given my eye sight they probably don't have to be micro anything for me to miss a few

 

[Cinmerri]

I'd been using the IC3 without mixing it with the mineral oil which is what they suggest for poultry infestations...for those of you not familiar it is a concentrate of rosemary oil, geraoil, peppermint oil and probably has as fast if not a faster knock down then permethrin works great on all types of insects and is used indoors and in food sensitive areas...given the heavy amount of rain though everything is getting washed away except in the coop...we have an organic garden and I've been dealing with all sustainable sprays for over 30 years, there isn't anything I don't have in the arsenal...sometimes you gotta switch it up...I'll blast with the permethrin and monitor...place is completely cleaned out getting ready blast and replace bedding...

What a bummer on the DE, obviously it doesn't work when you pour out a nest pad and liner with DE on it and you see mites running around in it...I was using the food grade kind to...geeesh...oh well live to learn another day

Ps it smells awesome hahahahaha

Where do you get IC3?

 

[HortaChickenist]

I found it on Amazon (shocker right?) and they have various sizes depending on your needs and applications....since I also use it in the garden I went with the larger. size....another nice feature is you can use it indoors and around pets and food...also my birds showed no signs of respiratory distress when I misted them with the mineral oil/IC3 mix...but as with anything TEST first on your least favorite or grumpiest bird and go from there....just kidding chicken lovers its not like any of us doesn't have one or two not so loving birds...

With that said let us know if your try it...pay attention to mixing ratios oz per gallons...the label gives you amounts based on the severity of your infestation.

Good Luck!

 

[ChickNanny13]

Never had a problem, thank you for this thread. I dust my girls (4 BO) regularly rotating with DE & Poultry Dust, sprinkle some in their shavings (DLM) never had an issue, however it's been raining & humid lately. Have checked & not seen any on my girls but the past couple days I find a few crawling on my legs. Have never felt/seen any on the roost.

So I purchased Permethrin 10, calculated wrong (15ml/gallon water) & sprayed my open enclosure (8x12x7) on Thurs....Today I walked in, found a couple on my legs when I came out It's too soon to spray, so what more can I do?

I did spray the whole gallon of Permethrin the other day; cracks, roosts, shavings & moved it around sprayed the dirt & sprayed shavings again, inside the nest box & poop board. The girls did a dust bath in the shavings after I had some left over so sprayed the surrounding perimeter. Too soon to respray?

I picked up some Sevin today, plan sprinkling in the shavings tomorrow & the girls. I may not have an infestation but I HATE biting bugs. Very frustrated that I'm still seeing "mites" on my black boots when I go in, close to giving up my girlsWhat more can I do? What am I doing wrong with my spraying? HELP!

Below is my set up....

 

[Trishkabob]

Never had a problem, thank you for this thread. I dust my girls (4 BO) regularly rotating with DE & Poultry Dust, sprinkle some in their shavings (DLM) never had an issue, however it's been raining & humid lately. Have checked & not seen any on my girls but the past couple days I find a few crawling on my legs. Have never felt/seen any on the roost.

So I purchased Permethrin 10, calculated wrong (15ml/gallon water) & sprayed my open enclosure (8x12x7) on Thurs....Today I walked in, found a couple on my legs when I came out It's too soon to spray, so what more can I do?

I did spray the whole gallon of Permethrin the other day; cracks, roosts, shavings & moved it around sprayed the dirt & sprayed shavings again, inside the nest box & poop board. The girls did a dust bath in the shavings after I had some left over so sprayed the surrounding perimeter. Too soon to respray?

I picked up some Sevin today, plan sprinkling in the shavings tomorrow & the girls. I may not have an infestation but I HATE biting bugs. Very frustrated that I'm still seeing "mites" on my black boots when I go in, close to giving up my girlsWhat more can I do? What am I doing wrong with my spraying? HELP!

Below is my set up....

your setup looks so tidy and good! It is such a drag to deal with these things. I certainly don't know how often permethrin can be used-not sure how you miscalculated the measuring?-but once worked for us. Before we used it, my husband used a heat gun and waved it (carefully) over the areas in/on the henhouse we could see them (we had enough that they were easily seen) and they died instantly so depending on how much area you have you might try that (a hot hair dryer might work too? Not sure what temp. is needed to do the deed). It didn't solve it but it helped. Permethrin finished them off.
I'd find out how often permethrin can be used and just keep at it. Once the rain eased we never saw them again (and ours started with an infested nest of wild birds so if you have birdfeeders you should treat around those too.)
We have bees so have to be very careful what we use and how.
Don't give up on your girls yet!

 

[ChickNanny13]

Not giving up but someone mentioned "dirt mites" that look the same as bird mites....I tried capturing a few but they won't go in the bottle, only outside. So I got a piece of clear tape, will be taking it to the Dept of Ag tomorrow.

It's so frustrating cause I don't feel nor see any on the roost nor girls. It can't be grain mite cause there's none in my food bin plus I ferment my feed. Secondly, I've been in there never had any bites (knock on wood & thank goodness), my dog's been in there, checked her out & combed her, nothing.

I've read how the Permethrin spray once works wonders, I'm now trying Neem Oil that I use on my garden, it seems to be working better, sprayed 2days in a row. Unless the permethrin is working.

Will be at the Dept of Ag door step in the morning.

 

[PennyM]

I can't wait to hear what they say! I get little bites like mosquitoes but they're not, whenever I walk into the run. They're tiny and I can't see them. I've sprayed the coop but not the run (I was afraid it would be too much). The chickens seem fine though.

 

[ChickNanny13]

I can't wait to hear what they say! I get little bites like mosquitoes but they're not, whenever I walk into the run. They're tiny and I can't see them. I've sprayed the coop but not the run (I was afraid it would be too much). The chickens seem fine though.

Sorry took so long to give you an UPDATE....

You're in SC, could it be No See Ums? Learned of them when we were in FL in a motorhome prior to taking a Cruise. Hubby got bitten so bad, covered in red bites/rash, so itchy he used ammonia to help sooth. After that we incident we were inside with windows closed by 4pm

Took the samples, used tape to collect some, taped it to the inside of a ziplock bag then put it in a jar. The insect guy at the Dept of Ag Insect first said "bird mites", then put it under the microscope & said it's not. The looks like it but the color is not right, none on the birds & I haven't gotten bitten. It's a mite but he has no clue what kind....Duh, he's suppose to be the "expert".

Last night I waited until dark to spray a half gallon of mixed Permethrin, past spraying (gallon) of Permethrin had been in the afternoon. Note I also had dusted with DE, Poultry Dust, sprayed Neem Oil & Sunday got some Sevin to dust the girls (none found on them, clean vents, wings, necks, body) & enclosure. Yup, over did it I'm sure, told Hubby done with chemicals but need to find out what I'm fighting.

This morning went out to feed the girls, didn't find anything on my boots. Kicked the shavings around, nothing - I elated but reserved. Lunch time I decide with all the chemicals, I'd put their salad in a plastic dog bowl. Put it on the ground, watched & saw nothing crawling up the sides - Very happy.

Before I closed them up went to pick up their food trough & the plastic bowl, flipped it over. It was crawling with mites, they were all bunched up in the corners. Should have taken a picture but I grabbed the can of Raid & sprayed, really sprayed! They were floating in Raid. Collected it in a container which I'm taking to the feed store tomorrow to see if anyone there can help identify. The odd part, none on my boots!

I'm beginning to believe it's "feed" mites? In the morning I plan of feeding the girls as usual & putting the dog dish down for the day, this time take a picture when I pick it up later in the evening & take a picture. The new plan is I'll keep doing this & spray the bowl with Raid until I get them all. IF the weather permits tomorrow, I'll remove the shaving in there now, bag & spray with Raid & to the dump we go. Spread some new shavings & no more feed scattered on the ground as treats at close up time.

I've attached to picture of the underside of the dog bowl (it's been cleaned), they congregate in the corner & along that plastic strip. Also is a picture of the mites swimming in the Raid, the dark stuff is dirt, the container I grabbed wasn't "fresh". Can't magnify for this but on my camera I can so I'll be researching online what resembles this mites. Will post later the picture I take of how they bunch up after tomorrow's "catch & kill".

 

[PennyM]

@ChickNanny13, it's possible it could be No See Ums. They mostly get my ankles and legs. I just know that I can't go into the coop without spraying bug spray on my legs!

Edited to add: Those little brown things look nasty, they make me itch!