mites, mites, mites

[julieseawel]

Can charcoal ashes be used in a dust bath or does it have to be wood ashes?

 

[missnu01]

I'm not sure. Maybe any ashes would help. But wood ashes are very alkaline. Not sure of the ph of charcoal ashes...

 

[margieclarke]

I have used the mite spray myself and it does seem to be helping.
My neighbour helped me dust them with mite powder tonight as well my cockeral was looking very sorry for himself.
I'm going g to get some wood ash for them to dust bath in as well I don't want them to go thorough this again..

 

[vesais]

These comments are so amazing!

edited by staff

 

[Undimere]

In May, 7 out of 10 of my chickens had live mites and eggs on their feathers. As of yesterday, 9 out of 10 have eggs on them but I didn't see a single live mite. Do I separate the 1 hen away from the flock?

 

[artsyrobin]

can you post a pic, i'm wondering if you may be dealing feather mites? The only way i've found to get the eggs off is bathing in dawn

 

[skullgrrrl]

There's a reason the government is banning the use of Sevin (& its a good one) - its a known carcinogen. When you put that stuff on your chickens it gets on you, into the soil and into the ground water!

When my flock had mites I power washed the inside of my coop, bathed the hens in a bucket with dish soap, vaselined their legs (at least three times/wk), sprayed the inside of the coop (roost bars, nest boxes and shavings) with a spray bottle containing water, crushed garlic and neem oil. I also dusted the inside of the coop with DE and a small amount of cedar sawdust. It does work but you have to be consistent. The problem is chickens get mites from wild birds so if you have backyard hens or free- ranging birds you may also get mites.

We need to start looking for alternatives to highly toxic insecticides whose impact is more far-reaching than just killing mites. The alternatives might take longer but they are healthier for all of us.

 

[CrazyTalk]

No, it doesn't.

The whole point with Carbaryl and carbamates in general is they break down almost immediately. They don't get into the groundwater. They don't get into the soil. They break down.


Neem oil, on the other hand, is hugely toxic to pretty much anything with an exposed mucous membrane, breaks down very slowly, and gets into water and stays there. Natural doesn't mean safe. It's nasty stuff, especially to amphibians.

 

[kendradillon]

my friend recommended to me a few drops of frontlne per bird, and to gut out and clean the coop sprinkling SEVEN dust on everything. no more mites

 

[spies04]

Did you put the frontline in the center of their backs? Were you concern about them eating it from their feathers? I also am fighting mites and would love to say adios to them