Mites - on chooks, kids and me! Help!

[meringues]

I cleaned out our chook house a few days ago and discovered there was a decent infestation of mites in the nest boxes, so, without reading up on what to do, I put the chook house on the lawn (it's portable) and hosed it off then left it in the sun to dry... Then dusted it and the chooks with pestene powder, thinking that should do the trick. Meanwhile, my kids found the box of infested wood shavings that I had put in the fire pit for burning and sprinkled them all over themselves and all through the garden

. So I put the kids in the bath and washed them with tea tree shampoo and that seemed to solve the problem of mites in their hair. But now whenever they go outside to play they get covered in mites again. And I swear there was one in my ear when I went to bed last night. HELP! Does anyone know how to get them out of the garden/ lawn?? I am in Australia, so heading into Autumn/ winter. Are they likely to just go away as the weather gets colder? I don't really want to spray chemicals in the garden...

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Since I was one of those who have spoken against DE, I would say beyond that one article (which I had not seen until this thread), there is ample evidence that DE is harmful to respiratory tracts for people (and animals). The longer the exposure, the more notable the problem, and I think the article was fair in bringing out those facts. (It also gave very good links for supports).

I like the idea of "natural products," so the idea of DE was very attractive to me (other than the ridiculous cost) when I first started raising chickens. My Vet Tech daughter encouraged me to look more deeply (especially as I suffer from mild asthma) as DE was well known to her to cause respiratory problems.

After doing my own research, I have chosen to avoid it for that reason together with the fact that it probably isn't good for bees. I also use the deep litter method and want the healthy bacteria doing its thing which DE would interfere with as it has no ability to discriminate between "good" bugs and "bad" bugs.

I'll link some of the articles that convinced me I should avoid DE for my choice of pesticide.

But obviously there are different opinions regarding its usefulness. I do think it important to have more research on its negative effects and actual benefits (proven by studies) before assuming it is completely safe and natural and something that is effective for parasite control (internal and external).

LofMc

Harmful effects of (long term) inhalation exposure known (or suspected)
http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/degen.html
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/81-123/pdfs/0552.pdf
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11876495


If you choose to use DE, always wear appropriate protection (face mask) and apply where dust particles cannot be easily inhaled.
http://cals.arizona.edu/urbanipm/pest_press/2006/september.pdf

EDITED TO ADD: and the above article points out another reason I have chosen not to use DE; its effectiveness is reduced (greatly?) by humidity. It must remain dry to be effective. In my wet, humid, Oregon, that is highly unlikely even in the coops...I have to clean regularly to keep things dryer in winter, further exposing myself to the effects of inhaled DE.

 

[Fancychooklady]

Thanks everyone. I'm pretty sure it's Dermanyssus gallinae (what we just call Red Mite in Australia) that I have. I'm cleaning the coop out every couple of days and dusting the coop and the chooks with lots of Pestene, so I'll just keep doing that. As for the garden, I don't want to use anything that will kill the worms and good bugs, so I might just wait and see if a few cold autumn nights start to kill them off.

Red mites spend their days hiding in the coop and at dusk, once the host has settled down to roost , is when they go to work . They thrive on the warmth and blood of your birds, so a few cold nights won't impact them. . It only takes 7 days for them to mature and their offspring are hatching at a great rate. You need to go out to the coop in daylight hours and spray with a pyrethrum or permethrin based surface spray . Every other day for good measure and to get them as they are hatching. If you see a grey looking build up anywhere, these are the juveniles that haven't fed yet. Once they feed they turn red ( full of the hosts blood )
The birds also need to be treated and there are plenty of pyrethrum based poultry products on the market. I ceased using pestene because it contains rotenone and it has been linked to Parkinson's disease. These mites will eventually run the birds immune system down , causing jaundice and possibly death, so you have to eradicate them. Unfortunately rodents and wild birds will, over time reinfect your birds , so regular cleaning, spraying and inspections are a must.
The woolies home rand surface spray is only $2 and has the same ingredients as the , much more expensive poultry sprays. Good luck with your ' mission ' ,I have just won my battle with the cursed things. The extended warm weather that we Aussies have been experiencing is creating a perfect environment for these nasties.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

@meringues

Do let us know how your pest problem goes and what worked...hopefully some poultry dust and cold nights will do the trick....if not, there have been some really helpful suggestions....hopefully one or some will be a good solution for your situation.

As stated any solution has its pros and cons. Each owner needs to figure out what will work best for their particular situation...which is what I love about BYC, the depth and breadth of information you can glean at your computer finger tips for raising chickens.

And I see you are a newbie ..

How fun with your flock (hopefully sans pests soon!)
Lady of McCamley

 

[meringues]

Hi everyone,
Sorry - this was ages ago, but I just thought I should let you know that I tried the Home brand surface spray and it worked perfectly! I changed the wood shavings in their nest boxes and sprayed the nests, perches and walls of the coop twice a week for about 3 weeks and the mites seemed to be gone. Now that we're coming back into spring I think I might do another big clean out and spray in case there were any hibernating in there over winter!

 

[Egghead_Jr]

The chickens may need another dusting after any eggs on them hatch. The mites in the garden will need something to feed on and propagate. They should soon die off. I'd keep the kids out of garden until then. We are heading into summer. Lice and mites is one summer time thing I'm not looking forward to. Didn't have a problem last year (knock on wood). All those pests die down in winter unless living on animals.

 

[meringues]

Thanks @Egghead_Jr ! I read somewhere that the mites can live for 6 months in an empty coop, so was a bit worried about how long they'd stay in the garden. Hopefully we'll get our first frost soon and that will knock them out! I can keep dusting the chooks with the powder, but not really the garden and kids!

 

[MeepBeep]

I read somewhere that the mites can live for 6 months in an empty coop, so was a bit worried about how long they'd stay in the garden.!

An adult chicken mite (Dermanyssus Gallinae) can in fact sustain for 6+ months off the host with no food...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dermanyssus_gallinae

You need to have preventative measures in place to prevent an infestation from reoccurring after eradication...

 

[meringues]

Yikes! So is there any way I can get them out of my garden/ lawn??

 

[momedic3810]

Have you tried the Food Grade DE (Demetreus Earth) ? It seems to work wonders and will not harm the Chickens. But make sure it is the Food Grade. If you cannot find it in your town/village, look online. You won't need a very large bag and it is not expensive at all.