Mites- Sevin not working

[Tiss]

I discovered just over a week ago that I have mites in my run (interestingly, I don't see any on the birds or in the coop itself). I have removed every bit of ground cover from the run and used an entire bottle of 5% Sevin dust and an entire bag of DE over the last week. I have also dusted every bird I'm able to catch and but Sevin in the favorite dirt baths.

All that and there are still mites!!! It hardly looks like the Sevin has touched them. Does anyone have any other suggestions?

 

[dawg53]

Did you redust your birds/coop/nests again 10 days later to kill the nits hatched from eggs?

 

[Tiss]

It's only been about 10 days since I've found them and have been out everyday with more Sevin. There are still mites everywhere. I had my son catch a few of the birds for me so I could check them again and they're all clean still. They seem to be mainly in the soil of the run now and of course the pile of litter that I discarded a ways away.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

Quote: If they aren't on the birds, they probably aren't the type of mites that will cause any problems begin with.

Are they biting YOU?

If not, I wouldn't worry too much about them

 

[Tiss]

No, they're not biting me. At first I thought maybe they weren't anything to worry about but then I noticed that some are whitish and some are reddish brown. I think I read somewhere that they change color after a blood meal. They are only in a run. I've even checked under the leaf litter in other parts of my property.

I'm at a loss....

 

[newchick13]

How did you originally find them? My birds are looking a little scraggly but I don't see anything on them at all. I used Poultry dust in the coop just in case...

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

Quote: Mix up some of this to spray the run and coop:

 

[Capvin]

The probalem is that once the mites, etc are already there in force I do not believe that Seven is completely effective. I think you need to find one of the applicable products and spray the entire coop. I have found that mixing DE with Seven and sprinkling it on the floor of the coop (mixed in with the pine shavings) has been a very effective way of detering the mites. However, if you try it after they have gotten a good foothold you would not find it to be effective.

 

[welasharon]

Are you sure they are mites? When I use seven on mine I can literally see them drop off dead immediately. Where are they in the run? On top of the ground, or under stuff? I know my eyes aren't very good for up close but I can hardly see the mites on my chickens without putting them in my lap with my reading glasses on. I wonder if it is something else? Although it would seem like the seven would kill other bugs too......

 

[Tiss]

They are little bitty 8-legged things. Some are white and some a dark rusty brown. The mulch I removed from the run is alive with them. I just have sand on the ground in the run now, but if I move it aside, I see them crawling. It looks like there are fewer in the run now, but still more than I'd like to see. I still don't see any on the birds and they seem healthy as ever. I've also not seen any in the coop itself.

I have sprayed liquid sevin directly on the buggers and it doesn't seem to affect them at all! The whole place has been dusted with sevin and DE. I have honeybees on the other side of my property and don't want to hurt them, but want these mites gone!

I'll see if I can get a picture of them with a magnifying glass.