Mites, everywhere

[GC808]

We have had an ongoing problem with mites. On our chickens, yard, coop, kids play structure...

Used diatomaceous earth and prayed the chickens two times a week, gave them a dust bath container with it, sprayed frequently hang-out spots in the yard with D.E., sprayed the inside the coop with D.E..

When that wasn't working as well, we asked the vet and she told us to use permethrin. Which initially helped. So we sprayed the coop with liquid. Used the powder form on the chickens.... still mites.

Tried garlic in the water and food, tried spraying the coop and all areas inside the coop with the soap/oil/water mixture, clean the bedding once a week...

Still mites. They are primarily focused on one chicken (she lays eggs every day). We have 9 hens. All but 1 are laying currently (the one isn't laying but she is old). The chickens free roam the backyard. We have the occasional squirrels and bunnies in the yard.

Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

 

[Cooptown Lady]

I had a mite and put it under a microscope. Sprinkled DE on the mite and nothing. Placed a tiny drop of permethrin and the mite died in less than 30 seconds. It sounds abusive, but I wanted to see what was working.

It can take up to 5 days for DE to kill a mite.

 

[rlhagan56]

Elector PSP Completely safe, very effective as a premise spray, or directly on the chickens. No dangerous dust, no issues if it gets on you and it will stop mites and lice now. I clean out the coop, spray everything with a little hand sprayer, spray the run, the perches, posts, everything and then at night I spray the girls vents and under wings. And it's safe. Reapply according to directions. Also DE of any kind is useless! I don't want to breathe it in and don't want my chickens to breathe it in.

 

[Justicedog]

I had a mite and put it under a microscope. Sprinkled DE on the mite and nothing. Placed a tiny drop of permethrin and the mite died in less than 30 seconds. It sounds abusive, but I wanted to see what was working.

Abusing mites isn’t an issue. They should be abused due to the problems they cause and what they do to the poor chickens.

 

[GC808]

We discovered so many mites on our girls and in the coop last month. We dusted the girls with DE, mostly on vent area, under wings, under the neck feathers. I got a kidde pool with a lid (turtle sandbox actually), mixed soil, DE, and wood ash and have been giving them a dust bath every view days in addition to the DE which I apply on the girls with a plastic old school restaurant mustard bottle with a tip.
Tore the coop apart sprayed with mixture of oil (veggie, thyme,, clove,, and neem- go heavy on the oil and water ratio like 1:1 and shake well), soap, and water mixture. Mixed DE in with bedding and layered the entire coop. Dusted nesting pads lightly with DE.
Key for outdoors if your lawn and other areas are infested- treat all areas. I ordered and sprayed beneficial nematodes in my yard and lawn. I also cleaned and treated my house jik as we had been bringing eggs which also had mites. Washed all bedding, pet areas, etc. Also cleaned out my car.
My kid loves the girls and picks them up they are our pets. Our girls also free roam when we are at home. We live in Hawaii and it has been rainy season for weeks.
This comprehensive treatment has worked. I didn't know if I could get rid of the mites w/o treating the girls and the coop with poison but the mites are pretty much gone- I haven't seen any in a bit. I have been keeping a close eye on the coop making sure to scoop out poop and dust all areas/surfaces.
When I sprayed and dusted I made sure to hit all areas of the coop including the wall and grooves between the wood etc. I even ripped out the wooden nesting boxes and replaced with easier to clean plastic ones.
This has worked for us thank God as we were very stressed about the mites.
Good luck don't give up you can get rid of them!

 

[rlhagan56]

Elector PSP is not a poison. It is safe and does the job. It's so much easier to use than go through all that. It is also a premise spray. There is information on it all over this site.

 

[cmom]

Elector PSP is not a poison. It is safe and does the job. It's so much easier to use than go through all that. It is also a premise spray. There is information on it all over this site.

Which also applies to permethrin, and they work well and there is no egg withdrawal period.

 

[PasoRoblesEgger]

I sprayed with Elector PSP and am going to try the Sulphur Dust to keep them away. Thinking about how to make the bag - will try using gauze.

https://entomologytoday.org/2016/07/18/battling-chicken-mites-with-bags-of-brimstone/

 

[BesideStillWaters]

The thing is no matter what you use, nothing will kill the pests eggs so repeated spraying is necessary as the pests eggs hatch.
View attachment 2557543

Elector PSP Completely safe, very effective as a premise spray, or directly on the chickens. No dangerous dust, no issues if it gets on you and it will stop mites and lice now. I clean out the coop, spray everything with a little hand sprayer, spray the run, the perches, posts, everything and then at night I spray the girls vents and under wings. And it's safe. Reapply according to directions. Also DE of any kind is useless! I don't want to breathe it in and don't want my chickens to breathe it in.

Elector PSP is not a poison. It is safe and does the job. It's so much easier to use than go through all that. It is also a premise spray. There is information on it all over this site.

I've been using permethrin, it works on all live mites, but they keep rehatching. I thought after three weeks of using once a week, the life cycle would be broken. It's not. I've read that Elector kills the eggs too, so I only have to use once - is this not the case?

 

[cmom]

If you have read the fact sheet on Elector PSP it also says repeat treatments may be necessary.