Mites in my run 😵‍💫

[mishka brownley]

HOW DO YOU ERADICATE RED MITE IN THE RUN?!

I've been battling red mites for close to three years I thought I had finally got rid of them in fall last year. Unfortunately we've had a massive, explosive infestation in the past couple of days. They appear to be in the larval stage - I haven't seen any that are red yet.

Anyway, I know how to treat them in the coop, but they are COVERING every inch of my run (including the litter) and the ground around the coop. I've never seen anything like this before.

I'm at a loss. I've put an entire bag of barn lime down in the run and sprinkled permethrin dust all over, but they're still everywhere. (I also sprayed the hard surfaces and cracks with liquid permethrin).

How do I get rid of these guys?

*My chickens appear fine for now thankfully. They've all been dusted in permethrin powder and dosed with Ivermectin.

 

[dawg53]

HOW DO YOU ERADICATE RED MITE IN THE RUN?!

I've been battling red mites for close to three years I thought I had finally got rid of them in fall last year. Unfortunately we've had a massive, explosive infestation in the past couple of days. They appear to be in the larval stage - I haven't seen any that are red yet.

Anyway, I know how to treat them in the coop, but they are COVERING every inch of my run (including the litter) and the ground around the coop. I've never seen anything like this before.

I'm at a loss. I've put an entire bag of barn lime down in the run and sprinkled permethrin dust all over, but they're still everywhere. (I also sprayed the hard surfaces and cracks with liquid permethrin).

How do I get rid of these guys?

*My chickens appear fine for now thankfully. They've all been dusted in permethrin powder and dosed with Ivermectin.

Are you certain they are red mites? Poultry mites have 8 legs and suck blood. Red mites are particularly dangerous to poultry. They can infect chickens with spirochetes.
Here's a link with enlarged photos of poultry lice and mites to help you ID what you're observing.
https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/IG140

 

[mishka brownley]

Yes, I'm sure as can be that this is what they are. They are so tiny right now though, it's hard to confirm that they have eight legs, but they move and behave exactly as red mites do (living in the coop/cracks and crevices and not on the birds). I'm guessing they are at the larval stage still, which is why they aren't red yet (they don't have a blood feed immediately).

I'm aware of how menacing they can be - I lost my whole first flock to them a few years back, before I knew what to look for. Thankfully we haven't lost any more birds since then, but I've been fighting the mites ever since. I've used every (approved) product under the sun to get rid of them... but they persist.

 

[dawg53]

It sounds like you thrown everything at them including the kitchen sink. Here's a link for you to read which might help you out and give you some other ideas in order to eliminate the mites.
https://poultrykeeper.com/external-problems/red-mite/