Mite Infestation

[Grand-hen-ma]

Good morning peeps.

I was away at a funeral in Maryland and was only gone for 2 weeks. While gone, my son called me to tell me one of my Roos had died. There was no evidence of anything getting into the pen with him, or the hen with him. She is fine. Before I left I dusted the girls and Roos, as well as their pens, nesting boxes and so on. I used 2 large size containers of dust. (5%) I also cleaned out their pen and added new bedding.

So when I get back from Maryland I am horrorfied to see how many mites were on my girls. Egg production had slowed and there were lots of feathers all over. I was horrorfied how ratty my girls were beginning to look. Immediately I went on line, BYC, and read all the things people used to kill the mites. Adams flea and tick mist caught my eye. So I brushed that onto the visible mites. I cleaned the pens, treated with dust and Adams. In the next couple days it looked like the mites were gone. So just for the heck of it, I cleaned the pens again and treated with the dust. We even went out to the pens in the evening.

I check the girls on Saturday and what do I see....MITES!!!!! So once again I cleaned the pens and used the dust. I also treated the girls and Roo, the surrounding area, the barn, the dogs, any cracks, knooks and crannies I could find. I even took alcohol and saturated the girls roosting beam. I scrubbed it, rinsed it then applied some dust.

Oh and the bedding I clean out gets burned, even the dirt goes into the fire pit. So, I ask, has anyone had such a problem with mites? How often should I use the dust? I am in Florida, (Hudson) is there any place that sells the dust in a larger bag than what I can get at the garden shop? I need help to kill the mites before they kill my girls.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

You need to switch to a different product, not keep using the same one that is not working effectively. Also, you will need to retreat the area at least once; with as many repeat problems as you are having, I would probably suggest retreating at least twice at 5 day intervals, and would suggest using a product with an insect growth regulator.

 

[Judy]

Maybe something in this will help: http://ohioline.osu.edu/vme-fact/0018.html

It talks about using ivermectin, and I know you can find the dose for whatever form you find on here.

 

[Grand-hen-ma]

Thanks for the help.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Be sure to look up on here or google egg withdrawal times (or milk and meat withdrawal times) for the product you choose.

 

[dawg53]

You can use eprinex on your chickens. Dosage is 1/2cc for standard size and 1/4cc for smaller chickens. Put it on bare skin on the back of their necks, repeat in 10 days. Sevin dust normally kills mites. You must have a severe infestation. When dusting with sevin, you have to redust your chickens and their house in 10-14 days to kill mite eggs that have hatched since the first dusting. You might have to repeat this several times due to the infestation and break the mites life cycle.

 

[superchemicalgirl]

Do you have a local tractor supply co?

Get some Sevin dust and dust your chickens. I used a cardboard box to put the chicken in, then poured the dust over them and rubbed in all over the back, head and under the wings. Then I flipped the chicken and did the abdomen, chest and vent really well.
You'll need to repeat this every 10 days. You can take the chickens off the roosts at night if you have a problem catching them.

I also got ivermectin pour on, a few drops on their skin near their neck area works. Also repeat this in 10 days. If you can't find the ivermectin pour on get the horse wormer with ivermectin and praziquantel mixed (I think the brand is EquiMax) and shove a meal worm down in the wormer then feed this to each chicken. Again repeat in 10 days.

Using 2+ different medications helps kill resistant mites. Remember to keep treating in 10 days because the eggs are not killed by the product and will keep hatching and starting the cycle again.

You'll also need to treat your coop. I bought a high concentration permethrin (or pyrethrin) spray in the horse section of TSC. Spray on your roosts, especially near the cracks where it meets your walls. Spray also on the floor, paying close attention to cracks. Sevin dust the heck out of it too.

And good luck.

 

[superchemicalgirl]

I also found that 70% isopropyl alcohol (not higher or lower) in a spray bottle kills mites that you see. I know you alluded to this in your post, but it might be useful to try for you as well.

Keep in mind that mites are going to take multiple treatments to get rid of the infestation, don't go (too) crazy!

 

[Lollipop]

Colette, Adams Flea & Tick Dip is excellent for louse/mite infestations. Mix as directed in a 5 gallon bucket and dip the birds in up to their chinny chin chins. Either strain the mix left in the bucket or mix some more and spray everything in the coop, nests, roosts, walls and floor. Good stuff and you don`t have to re treat in 10 days as it lasts for about a month. You can smell it for that long, but it`s no a bad smell. Seems like a lot of work, but it beats having creepy crawlies eating your birds alive, and it`s effective. Be sure to use the DIP as I directed so you get the whole bird........Pop

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

So sorry for your mites problem. i know how frustrating it can be. We have an ongoing problem with mites. They come in on the wild birds, and if i don't stay on top of things they quickly get out of control. i was real sick for about a month and a half and hadn't done big pen clean out in a while. So one of my pens got overrun. Couldn't find my ivermectin so i dusted all the chickens. But a couple days passed before i could get to the pen. By that time, i noticed the mites were up around the girl's faces, the only place i hadn't dusted. One poor broody had very sore spots around her eyes - i felt so terrible! Anyhow, found the ivermectin and treated all the chickens, then dabbed Vitamin E oil (from capsules) on the skin around their eyes.

Finally got into the pen, pulled out all the nest boxes and scraped them clean. Used Adams Flea and Tick spray with IGR all over the nest boxes. Then scrubbed the coop down with antibacterial soap, clorox and warm water. Then sprayed the entire coop with the Adams spray. Before putting the nest boxes back in i dusted inside with the poultry dust, then shavings on top. Also used the poultry dust all over the floor of the coop. This took me all day.

i think i read on here somewhere that you want to use the ivermectin again in 7-10 days to catch any new hatchlings. Threehorses has a very good post on treating mites. i'll try to find that and post the link.