how often do you treat for mites?

[General Cuddles]

We never saw mites or lice on our chickens, but with the problem the hens are having, which is loss of feathers around their vent & feathers looking bad on their backs toward their tail feathers, It was recommended to treat for mites & was told we didn't have enough of hens to service my rooster. We dusted all of the chickens with sevin dust & we’re getting rid of our rooster. How often should I repeat the treatment for mites?

 

[lazy gardener]

I do not treat unless I have an issue. If I actually had a mite or lice issue, it would entail treating all birds, and a complete clean out of the coop, destroying all of the litter, and repeating the same process 7 - 10 days later, depending on the ambient temperature.

 

[Kiki]

For mites retreat in 7 to 10 days.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

I do not treat unless I have an issue. If I actually had a mite or lice issue, it would entail treating all birds, and a complete clean out of the coop, destroying all of the litter, and repeating the same process 7 - 10 days later, depending on the ambient temperature.

X2

 

[sylviethecochin]

Sevin's sort of harsh. I wouldn't use it on animals unless the situation was desperate.

There's a product advertised as poultry dust which uses permethrin as the active ingredient. Permethrin's pretty harmless to mammals (except cats, and even then, it has to be in a pretty strong concentration) It also comes as a spray.

I like to spray the corners of my coop and the bottoms of the nest box and perch with Hartz flea and tick (the one that also kills the eggs.) It has the active ingredients permethrin for the mites, and s-methoprene, which kills the eggs. I once used it on a rooster with a really bad mite infection and it cleared right up. Though no studies have shown that s-methoprene hurts chickens except in a really strong concentration, I prefer not to use it directly on the hens.

Please don't use DE except as a control. Studies have shown that as a cure for a mite infestation, it's practically worthless.