Mite infestation in bathroom, how to eradicate and how to treat chickens

You might want to look around regarding the feed. I was buying from Runnings and occasionally TS. Occasionally a moldy bag (returned) but no real problems. (I recommend pouring your feed into a bin. (I just use trash bins.) That way you’ll see any problems right away and you’ll be less likely to feed the rodent population.

Anyway, I wanted a higher quality feed and was told I could get Hubbard feeds from a small local Ag supply in town. You never know what’s available until you do some research. They check the feed when it comes in though I’m sure they might get a bad bag now and again... obviously they can’t open & check every bag. Plus it’s fresher.

A note on DE... I put some into an in-coop dust bath (winter...) but I’ll never do that again. Fine gray dust everywhere! It was awful. Don’t do it. Outside maybe, but I’m convinced the stuff’s way over-rated.
 
Hi Hobbyhomesteader! I am so grateful you replied on this thread!!!! Your expertise is exactly what I need! My field is Wildlife Biology and I really dislike not being able to properly identify these critters, or any critter....but Im quite unschooled in the field of entemology! I cannot take a photo of the mites I saw in the bathroom--my camera can't zoom in on something so small and, at this point, the ones I can find that remain are dead and therefore harder to make out details. I can describe them pretty well though and maybe that will help with ID, or maybe rule species in or out. They are beige, almost translucent and about the size of a small grain of sand. Some were even smaller than that. They were out and about in the daytime, crawling around in the billions (literally covering surfaces). I couldnt count the legs but it appeared that their two front legs were the ones most noticeable. I mention this because, in the reading the link you sent me, I learned that the different age stages have different numbers of legs. Unfortunately, the dead ones are mushed up enough by the spray and cleaning that I cant count the legs. I do have an eye loupe so if you have questions that will help ID, I can look further and report back :)
At this point, I have a few follow questions for you. I *believe* I eradicated the critters from my bathroom, BUT given the misconceptions you cleared up about hosts, I am now concerned that, if i missed even ONE (and how could I not have, right?!?), that the infestation may start anew. Is this a concern? My concern stems from the fact that, although I emptied and thoroughly sprayed my bathroom and cleaned it up, I DID NOT empty the two closets in there. I didnt observe any critters in those areas, hence my decision to do that. Hopefully that was not a big mistake :O
Also, I was assuming that, since these bathroom crawlies were active during the day, that I would also see presence of the mites on my birds during the day. The literature suggests that "they" are active at night, a time when I have not checked....and without positive ID, I dont even know what "they" are! Quite honestly, Im still really confused as to how these mites got in my house; if the birds arent infested, there would be no other way for the infestation to start! We have no bird nests on the house, etc.
I think its safe to assume I should just treat the birds at this point, a smart idea this time of year anyways. Do you have a method for treatment you like most for mites?? Im sure many people on here would love to hear what you recommend for both treatment AND prevention!!! :D
Anyways, I really appreciate your time reading this little novel Ive posted here...and hopefully with your help I can start to make heads or tails of this!! Many thanks!!!

Hiii! I actually started in wildlife biology too so most of my mite experience is with mites on wildlife and I'm only just now as a chicken tender applying this skillset to agricultural mites. Thanks for the description! You're correct that mite life stages are rather easy to discern based on the number of legs (larvae = 6 legs, adults = 8 legs). However, this is also true in ticks so merely counting legs wouldn't help you determine which type of ectoparasite you were dealing with (i.e. mites vs ticks vs lice vs fleas) and your description really could be larval mites, larval ticks, or lice! The best thing to do is rely on body shape. Most people seem pretty comfortable identifying fleas. Poultry lice have quite a distinct oblong figure eight shape with a prominent head separate from their body with jagged edges along the side of the body - I think they look like the stegosaurus of the ectoparasite world! Lice are also much bigger than mites, roughly flea sized, so you can see their features with the naked eye. If you did have mites, beyond "types of mites likely to come from wild birds" there's no amount of describing you could do that would help me identify them without a detailed photo. High-powered microscopy is needed to differentiate between Ornithonyssus and Dermanyssus BUT it doesn't really matter which they are in terms of eradication! :) In fact, most ectoparasites respond to the same pesticides, you just have to use them in a manner that reflects the lifecycle of the parasite. I typically defer to pest control experts and veterinarians (and your local extension agent!!) when it comes to treatment options because that is not my area of expertise, but I can tell you that in wildlife we commonly use selamectin or ivermectin to control mites on animals and permethrin-coated cotton balls in bedding materials to control them in the environment. Re: whether "the infestation may start anew. Is this a concern?" - it's true that infestations can linger or recur (this happens with a similar species, O. bacoti, in nursing homes and animal facilities) but in my experience if you clean a second time within the week and keep your bathroom clean (i.e. no debris for hiding or nesting, no more birds in that room, etc) then you'll probably be fine.... if they were in fact mites anyway! Re: activity during day vs night - this depends on the specific species of mite. The northern fowl mite (O. sylvarium) spends its entire life cycle on the bird and eggs are laid in masses at the base of the feathers most concentrated near the vent. Similarly, the tropical fowl mite (O. bursa) also spends its whole life on the host. You would know if your birds were infested with these no matter what time you checked! Conversely, the red poultry mite (D. gallinae) is the one that hides in the environment during the day and feeds at night so you could miss an infestation if you only checked in daytime. Re: treating your birds - frankly I would this time. You've mentioned frequent exposure to wild birds so I would go ahead and treat your birds topically and their bedding, coop, run, etc. with a permethrin-based product. If you anticipate this exposure to be a regular thing throughout the year, you may want to consider incorporating parasite inspection and prevention into your annual schedule. For example, you could inspect your birds monthly for signs of parasites (only treating them if you see signs) and treat their environment quarterly (or however often seems appropriate given the seasonal interactions with wild birds) as preventative. I bet you'll find your monthly health checks can inform how much concern you should have about ectoparasites and if/when to treat the environment.
 
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You might want to look around regarding the feed. I was buying from Runnings and occasionally TS. Occasionally a moldy bag (returned) but no real problems. (I recommend pouring your feed into a bin. (I just use trash bins.) That way you’ll see any problems right away and you’ll be less likely to feed the rodent population.

Anyway, I wanted a higher quality feed and was told I could get Hubbard feeds from a small local Ag supply in town. You never know what’s available until you do some research. They check the feed when it comes in though I’m sure they might get a bad bag now and again... obviously they can’t open & check every bag. Plus it’s fresher.

A note on DE... I put some into an in-coop dust bath (winter...) but I’ll never do that again. Fine gray dust everywhere! It was awful. Don’t do it. Outside maybe, but I’m convinced the stuff’s way over-rated.
Thank you for this info!! I couldnt agree more...not all feed stores are created equally. I think I need to look around more and once my chicks are off medicated feed, Ill have a more choices. Regarding the DE, I have heard similar stories and I apreciate your input, I will absolutely not go that route!!! :)
 
Hiii! I actually started in wildlife biology too so most of my mite experience is with mites on wildlife and I'm only just now as a chicken tender applying this skillset to agricultural mites. Thanks for the description! You're correct that mite life stages are rather easy to discern based on the number of legs (larvae = 6 legs, adults = 8 legs). However, this is also true in ticks so merely counting legs wouldn't help you determine which type of ectoparasite you were dealing with (i.e. mites vs ticks vs lice vs fleas) and your description really could be larval mites, larval ticks, or lice! The best thing to do is rely on body shape. Most people seem pretty comfortable identifying fleas. Poultry lice have quite a distinct oblong figure eight shape with a prominent head separate from their body with jagged edges along the side of the body - I think they look like the stegosaurus of the ectoparasite world! Lice are also much bigger than mites, roughly flea sized, so you can see their features with the naked eye. If you did have mites, beyond "types of mites likely to come from wild birds" there's no amount of describing you could do that would help me identify them without a detailed photo. High-powered microscopy is needed to differentiate between Ornithonyssus and Dermanyssus BUT it doesn't really matter which they are in terms of eradication! :) In fact, most ectoparasites respond to the same pesticides, you just have to use them in a manner that reflects the lifecycle of the parasite. I typically defer to pest control experts and veterinarians (and your local extension agent!!) when it comes to treatment options because that is not my area of expertise, but I can tell you that in wildlife we commonly use selamectin or ivermectin to control mites on animals and permethrin-coated cotton balls in bedding materials to control them in the environment. Re: whether "the infestation may start anew. Is this a concern?" - it's true that infestations can linger or recur (this happens with a similar species, O. bacoti, in nursing homes and animal facilities) but in my experience if you clean a second time within the week and keep your bathroom clean (i.e. no debris for hiding or nesting, no more birds in that room, etc) then you'll probably be fine.... if they were in fact mites anyway! Re: activity during day vs night - this depends on the specific species of mite. The northern fowl mite (O. sylvarium) spends its entire life cycle on the bird and eggs are laid in masses at the base of the feathers most concentrated near the vent. Similarly, the tropical fowl mite (O. bursa) also spends its whole life on the host. You would know if your birds were infested with these no matter what time you checked! Conversely, the red poultry mite (D. gallinae) is the one that hides in the environment during the day and feeds at night so you could miss an infestation if you only checked in daytime. Re: treating your birds - frankly I would this time. You've mentioned frequent exposure to wild birds so I would go ahead and treat your birds topically and their bedding, coop, run, etc. with a permethrin-based product. If you anticipate this exposure to be a regular thing throughout the year, you may want to consider incorporating parasite inspection and prevention into your annual schedule. For example, you could inspect your birds monthly for signs of parasites (only treating them if you see signs) and treat their environment quarterly (or however often seems appropriate given the seasonal interactions with wild birds) as preventative. I bet you'll find your monthly health checks can inform how much concern you should have about ectoparasites and if/when to treat the environment.
This is such awesome info, MANY THANKS!!!! I cant believe after all my anxiety that these were bird mites, they turned out to be "grain mites". Without this incident however, I never would have accumulated this much info so quickly...so that's a big plus! :) I no longer work with wildlife but plan to return to that field eventually...I miss it! We use cotton balls in tubes (for nesting material) for our mouse population to help control deer ticks on our land. Its very tricky to time it properly, esp with our New England weather, but Im glad to know this practice is still used in the Wildlife Bio world :) I am grateful for all of your expertise and I know this info will help others as well!
 

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