mites

[mountain chicken]

This stuff works its 100% animal safe vet recommended this for our dog he said it would work just as well on our chickens ,
sprayed the dog next day he was mite free almost 3 weeks now.

found it on amazon

 

[SDChickMom]

I thought I would report that I put the Elector PSP on the hens, and it truly is immediate. I was spraying their vent, and they were fussing, but as I put it on their heads where the most damage was present, they calmed down.They just sat there and let me spray. It was weird how soothed they appeared. I feel terrible that I didn't just buy the expensive stuff first.

I did their vent, their heads and necks(most damage), under wing. Since I couldn't ever see the insects well, what happens if I miss a spot? Do the mites only die on contact? I will do the coop next and birds again, but I wanted to give them relief as soon as the stuff came in the mail. I just wanted to make sure I was "doing it right".

It is my understanding the product is a bacteria that kills the mites. If this is the case, I was trying to figure out how extensively to spray the coop. We have that false ceiling on our coop(pictures earlier). If it is a bacteria, I would think as long as the inside of the coop is sprayed, the mites would come into contact with it as soon as they tried to come in to feed. What about our pen and run? Seems like overkill, but I am tired of the mites war. If I am not getting it right, and someone knows this stuff, I would appreciate the 2cents. Thank you BYC community!!

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

Sorry, catching up. I only noticed broken "chewed" feathers on one hen...but she may be my hen that's on the bottom of the pecking order....so I couldn't tell if it was mite or pecking. What caught my attention was the constant scratching of heads and backs and my DE Blue hen constantly pecking at her tail...when I inspected, she had picked herself raw so figured this was mites. I'm waiting for the spray Kiki recommended to come in, but I got desperate and just sprayed her, the houses, and the run down with Seven Dust. It appears to have helped for a few days and while waiting for the spray to come in, I'm treating the hen's wounds. As far as scratching - it looked like every hen was doing it...but the Blue hen was the worst.

From what I have read, some reason depluming mites will only attack certain chickens. It is not always seen in the whole flock - though they might all have it to some degree. Just some get a worse case.

 

[mountain chicken]

I would spray everything top to bottom this will help insure you got the whole infestation , our vet said it's best to spray everything down once a month,

it proved itself on our dog , so now I'm going to try it in the coop
spraying all the walls and roosting poles,even the birds

 

[nminusyplusm]

I thought I would report that I put the Elector PSP on the hens, and it truly is immediate. I was spraying their vent, and they were fussing, but as I put it on their heads where the most damage was present, they calmed down.They just sat there and let me spray. It was weird how soothed they appeared. I feel terrible that I didn't just buy the expensive stuff first.

I did their vent, their heads and necks(most damage), under wing. Since I couldn't ever see the insects well, what happens if I miss a spot? Do the mites only die on contact? I will do the coop next and birds again, but I wanted to give them relief as soon as the stuff came in the mail. I just wanted to make sure I was "doing it right".

It is my understanding the product is a bacteria that kills the mites. If this is the case, I was trying to figure out how extensively to spray the coop. We have that false ceiling on our coop(pictures earlier). If it is a bacteria, I would think as long as the inside of the coop is sprayed, the mites would come into contact with it as soon as they tried to come in to feed. What about our pen and run? Seems like overkill, but I am tired of the mites war. If I am not getting it right, and someone knows this stuff, I would appreciate the 2cents. Thank you BYC community!!

Spinosad is a compound produced by a soil bacterium.

"How does spinosad work?
Spinosad affects the nervous system of insects that eat or touch it. It causes their muscles to flex uncontrollably. This leads to paralysis and ultimately their death, typically within 1-2 days."
http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/spinosadgen.html

I'd spray everything, birds, coop and run. If you garden, just be careful to keep it away from anywhere you have pollinators.

 

[nminusyplusm]

This stuff works its 100% animal safe vet recommended this for our dog he said it would work just as well on our chickens ,
sprayed the dog next day he was mite free almost 3 weeks now.

found it on amazon

If you use that you might still need another product to get into cracks and crevices in your coop. It hasn't lived up to its company's claims regarding bedbugs:
https://entomology.rutgers.edu/personnel/changlu-wang/pdfs/Singh2013NaturalProductsPCT.pdf

 

[JaeG]

Neem has long been used to treat caged birds:
http://www.essentialbird.com/using-neem.html

It's a bit of a myth that essential oils are harmful for birds but the purity of the oil is very, very important. Those with other chemicals added to stretch it further and produce a cheaper product can adversely affect your birds.
http://www.essentialbird.com/diffusing.html

 

[mountain chicken]

If you use that you might still need another product to get into cracks and crevices in your coop. It hasn't lived up to its' company's claims regarding bedbugs:
https://entomology.rutgers.edu/personnel/changlu-wang/pdfs/Singh2013NaturalProductsPCT.pdf

I agree nothing is fail safe especially in nooks and cranny's
bedbugs something I never want to see so I wouldn't know how it works with them .

we just seem to encounter mites on the dogs and chickens as they spend lots of time playing in the tall grass and rolling around in the dirt and sand

 

[adrikeen]

From what I have read, some reason depluming mites will only attack certain chickens. It is not always seen in the whole flock - though they might all have it to some degree. Just some get a worse case.

This is good to know! Thank you! Out of my breeds that may have this: Blue hen, Porcelain D'Uccle (the standard D'Uccle and Mille Fleur seem fine) and Sebrights. The Silkies/Brahmas/EE's all seem fine although the EE's appear itchy. Everyone's legs look good so it's not the scaley mites.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Be very careful if you decide to do this... Someone up the road from me did this and set his pigeon loft on fire. That night they lost over 2000 pigeons I think.

A single spark or ember can smolder for days or maybe even weeks until such time as the right combination of humidity, temperature, and wind can kindle a conflagration. Then kiss chicken coop, chickens, and maybe even home and family goodbye.

If you have many chickens then use a 1 or 2 gallon hand pump garden sprayer and treat the birds at night when they are on the roost, and really lay the Permethrin spray on thick and heavy, wetting the skin by sticking the spray nozzle in and amongist the feathers. Treat the coop buy painting the interior with a coat of used motor oil mixed with liquid Permethrin. Add mineral oil if it is to thick at first to flow easily. Pay especially close attention to the roost poles, corners, wood joints, nest boxes, seams, and cracks. This can best be done during the daytime. Wild birds are your worst enemy when it comes to controlling mites and lice.