Mites about 15' away from new hen house

[phelpcd1]

Ok, I am fairly grossed out. I have one of the those large black plastic compost bins. I went out and pulled off the lid and there are thousands of what appears to be tiny mites (along with fungus gnats and god knows what else) all over the plastic bin - seems like the compost is too moist so leaving the lid off for a while...........but, my new hen house (no chickens yet) is about 15' from the compost bin. I'm in the city so not exactly alot of space to separate things............are these the mites that will infest or harm the chickens? I don't want to get them yet if so until I've had a chance to remove the compost pile completely. Ewwwwww...they are just so "crawly" when so many lumped together!!

 

[Yay Chicks!]

I found this three year old thread with regard to the same worries you have. Perhaps it will help? https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/193047/red-mites-on-chickens-the-same-as-in-compost-pile

 

[phelpcd1]

Ahhh, so it sounds as tho not an issue. Altho I don't know that mine are red per se - of course, it's sunny and they look more like a white or clear color. I will see if I can get a decent photo to properly identify them...just yukk.