Lessons learned in my battle with mites

[WthrLady]

Makes me wish i wasn't allergic to tea tree oil and lavender.

Tea tree oil spritzed on kid hair for lice repellent too.

 

[Duckie48]

Hello SIMZ,
I know that you are in the states, but, I have recently had a big problem with mites. It is summer here in Queensland.
The temps have been up around 40c but at the moment it is a lot cooler but about to warm up again.
I was crawling with mites myself and I hate it.
I was told to put garlic into the nesting boxes, the stalks, leaves etc.
I didn't have any so I bought some fresh garlic with a bit of stem and leaf on.
I chopped, peeled, diced the cloves and put it in all the nest boxes.
Now I don't have mites. I check every day. Now when I have access to some garlic stem and leaf rubbish I am going to put it in all the boxes permanently.
I know the chooks ate some of the garlic, so that will help too.
TRY IT.

 

[Duckie48]

Also do you have Pestene there.

 

[SIMZ]

Being a city boy in the country the locals piled on the scorn and ridicule when I suggested the answer to their chickens' mite problem was to simply throw a clove or two of garlic in the water and change the water regularly. Being a city boy in the country I did first fall foul (teehee) of a very overwhelming mite problem myself - we had to shower after going in the coop for a little while. I sprayed the coop with chemicals twice a week for a month to little avail. So I changed tactics...
We now grow lavender and garlic by the bucketful. Crushed garlic is added to oats soaked in hot water (with a little jam or yoghurt if the girls are being picky) every few days. Any garlic peel gets thrown in the coop and nesting boxes (saw an old Italian fella in the neighbourhood doing this), along with lavender. A good spray of diluted tea tree oil (or lavender oil if my stocks are low) once a week throughout the coop helps, and to reduce the cause the chickens now have a treadle feeder. Mind, my 4 girls are a long way from managing 25. Good luck

I've heard garlic can leave an off taste in the eggs. Do you find that to be true?

 

[SIMZ]

Also do you have Pestene there.

Not sure? Never heard of it.

 

[johnderosa1]

I battled mites on my flock for months. Tried everything. Found a product that is expensive but got rid of all the mites with one application to the vent. It's safe, too.

http://www.elanco.us/products-services/poultry/controlling-houseflies-darkling-beetles.aspx

It is expensive, but it absolutely works. I'll gladly buy this product to save all the time & expense of everything else that I tried. I did also spray down the roosts, nest boxes & coops. Here is the least expensive place to buy it. The retailer does not have the new label. It is safe for use on chickens.

http://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail....=86672329123&gclid=CKLn3-ThlMMCFQNrfgodzxkASA

I did find one other product that worked. Frontline spray (fipronil) also killed the mites with one application. However, I only used it on one rooster, to test it. Since I eat my chickens and their eggs, this is not a safe product to use. There is no data on it's withdrawal time. The Elector psp has no withdrawal time for meat and eggs.

thanks for posting this information. I have done extensive research on this issue and was not aware of the product. It might be expensive but having a labeled product that offers one treatment control (i will be testing this claim) that can be used for premise treatment AND direct application as well WITHOUT withholding eggs or meat is almost too good to believe. I just ordered some... Even if it takes some addition steps i would be trilled beyond belief. Thanks again for posting

 

[Guinea Goonie]

Wild Birds have mites and they tend to leave a few behind when they feed and such. If you free range like it do, then your flock is going to have mites.
Using chemicals to kill the mites may work, but DE is the safest and may be the best preventative treatment.

I put a small coffee can worth in every few weeks in the bedding. I put the stuff in their feed every few weeks also.

You HAVE TO use :"food grade" DE only..

You can buy 50 to 100 pound bags of the stuff at your local feed store and they will be happy to order it if they do not carry it.

They tend to have leg mites, but at a reduced infection.

Since mites are parasitic they have evolved a dang near perfect way of infecting and reproducing on their hosts.

Remarkable little turds they are, but one can reduce their numbers if they keep a vigilance in treating.

My birds seem pretty happy with their life here on the farm.

They have a nice 10 by 16 building to come home to and lots of places and areas to roost and keep their feathered friends.

I have a smaller coop for the wild jungle fowl rooster and his hens. He has to kept away from the other roosters as he fights with them.

They all have some sort of mite, but they all get a square meal and lots of fresh well water.

I also put vitamins and electrolytes in the water every month just for prevention.

Guinea Goonie

 

[dfalchek]

Doesn't sound like you've rotated controls. If you use only a single method, poultry protector, there is a 100 percent chance it will ultimately become ineffective. Ultimately, no method is 100 percent and very few chicken people rotate, using different tool. If you have only one tool, you can't do much. Permethin soak and scrub (and spraying down the coop and run with the used water, is the front line. Then I would Sevin Powder. I would make sure they have a dust bath with DE and maybe Sevin Powder as a component. You could even use Ivermectin -- 1 ml applied to back neck of the chicken (same stuff you put on dogs and cats for fleas). But you have to toss eggs (or cook them up and feed them back to chickens) for 5 days. But Ivermectin will keep birds worm, lice and mite free for three months.

 

[SIMZ]

thanks for posting this information. I have done extensive research on this issue and was not aware of the product. It might be expensive but having a labeled product that offers one treatment control (i will be testing this claim) that can be used for premise treatment AND direct application as well WITHOUT withholding eggs or meat is almost too good to believe. I just ordered some... Even if it takes some addition steps i would be trilled beyond belief. Thanks again for posting

Johnderosa1 --- would you please keep us posted on how it works for you? I would really appreciate the info!

 

[SIMZ]

Doesn't sound like you've rotated controls. If you use only a single method, poultry protector, there is a 100 percent chance it will ultimately become ineffective. Ultimately, no method is 100 percent and very few chicken people rotate, using different tool. If you have only one tool, you can't do much. Permethin soak and scrub (and spraying down the coop and run with the used water, is the front line. Then I would Sevin Powder. I would make sure they have a dust bath with DE and maybe Sevin Powder as a component. You could even use Ivermectin -- 1 ml applied to back neck of the chicken (same stuff you put on dogs and cats for fleas). But you have to toss eggs (or cook them up and feed them back to chickens) for 5 days. But Ivermectin will keep birds worm, lice and mite free for three months.

Actually, I rotate all the time..... I'll use Permethrin dust for a treatment and then Sevin the next time. I'll switch them in the dust bathing areas & also switch what I use in the coop. I've only used the Poultry Protector for a few months - and that was because I thought the mites were almost gone. When I see mites, I still will dust with either P-dust or Sevin, whichever I happen to have on hand.

The one thing I haven't done is sprayed the actual birds with the Permithrin spray that I use in the coop as a dip. I might try that in the spring.