Mites - on chooks, kids and me! Help!

[momedic3810]

I really appreciate the information on the DE!! I had NO idea it was such a damaging product! Thank you, again, for opening my eyes!

 

[birds4kids]

I am not saying DE is anything great but a lot of people swear by it.

The concerns about eye and respiratory illness seem reasonable, but then you could still use it in the nooks and crannies where the mites hide during the day because these are not places often disturbed, and it is the fact they are undisturbed that makes the mites hide there, a little DE there will deny them that safe harbor.

Edited by Staff

 

[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.

 

[chicken19]

I really appreciate the information on the DE!! I had NO idea it was such a damaging product! Thank you, again, for opening my eyes!

No problem!

 

[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!

 

[Fancychooklady]

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!

That's great news.