MITES Help!!!!!! Can't seem to get rtrid of them!!!!

[stux2c]

I am not sure what to do next??? I have a flock of 10 hens, 4 barred rocks, 2 ri reds and 4 ameracaunas. I noticed a while back that I had mites (small, gnat sized, tan colored bugs) all over the barred rocks and one of the reds. I dusted them with permetherin (sp?) poultry dust and I have used DE on the hens, the run, and the inside opf the coop (nesting boxes, poop shelves, and roosts).

I thought I had rid them of the mites til I looked today and can see the eggs of mites all bundled up at the base of the feathers of all the barred rocks, and they are crawling all over near their vents. One of the barred rocks vent areas is highly covered in mites. I dusted all of them again today with the permetherin, and DE. How long til I should expect them to be ok?

What else shold I do. what am I doing wrong? I do not want to enpty out and sanitaize the whoel coop. I have been using DLM int eh coop and it is going well, expcet for the mites.

Any guidance from my BYC peers would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Tomhusker]

I think that when you treat with a dusting, you have to do a follow up dusting in about 10 days to kill any mites that might hatch after the treatment. I know this is something we do for other parasites, on other animals.

 

[MotherJean]

Tomhusker has it right. You must treat your birds (all your birds) at least twice, 10-14 days in between treatments. The eggs are chemical resistant and many will not be killed by the first dusting. With the second dusting you are trying to kill any that have hatched but killing them before they mature and lay more eggs. So, timing is important. Also, I know it's a hassle to clean your coop, but unless you do and do so thoroughly, you'll never get rid of the mites. You really must remove all of the litter, clean out the nest boxes, and dust everything either with Permethrin or with Sevin dust (carbaryl). Be sure to get the dust in all the cracks and crevices around walls, floors, nest boxes, and under roosts. Once you have a handle on this infestation, I recommend regular use of Codex food grade diatomaceous earth (DE) in your coop, nesting boxes, and areas in the run or yard where your chickens like to dust bathe.

 

[Dar]

Dri-Kill works well too.... just be careful to wear a mask... I used it last year and ended up with pneumonia last year (no mask duhhhh... lol

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[adoptedbyachicken]

There are 2 types of mites, those that live their entire life on the chicken and those that are only there for a short time, spend the rest of the time in wood in your coop. The good news is that by seeing egg clusters you have the first type. Cleaning the coop is a good idea but not mandatory since these mites will not survive off the hens. They leave only to hitch up with another hen so even if you don't see mites on one they all must be treated. The others are right too in that you have to treat at least twice. When I had few hens I did them 3 times to be sure. Now that I have over a hundred not so much.

You need to consider your source for the mites to prevent reinfection too. You may have gotten rid of them and got them right back. Mice and wild birds are the common vector. Exclude them from your coops and discourage them from your runs.

Wet weather favors mites as dust bathing is natures way of dealing with them. Dampness prevents the dust bath from being effective. Making sure the bedding in teh coop is dry and adding some cedar shavings to the mix will help. Don't go with pure cedar or the birds might react to the bedding by getting stuffed up.