Non permethrin mite treatment

[Meghancauthorn]

I have bees and I use permethrin.

I haven’t had noticeable die off when I treat my coop. Bees don’t really have a reason to visit the chickens.

That's great to hear. How close are your hives to the coop? Mine are very close and the bees hang out near the coop quite often.

 

[Meghancauthorn]

This is not correct, or at least not with red roost mites.
The whole lifecycle is in the coop, with mites coming out at night to feed of the birds, before going back to the cracks where they live, breed, and lay eggs.

Are red roost mites really red? These are Tanisha/brownish.

 

[Meghancauthorn]

If you treat your birds inside the coop, at night when they are roosting, the bees will be in their hives, not near your spraying efforts.
Anything that will kill mites will also kill other insects, there's no 'bee safe' insecticide.
Mites are miserable little beasts, spread by the wild songbirds, and here have come in with them when the coop doors are open.
Mary

Thank you! I was thinking it was unsafe to spray while the birds were in the coop. This helps a lot.

 

[Folly's place]

There's more than one mite species that affects birds; one lives only on the bird, the other lives in the coop and comes out at night. Neither are fine!
Mary

 

[Sussex19]

Are red roost mites really red? These are Tanisha/brownish.

They are only red after they have had a meal, as the red colour is actually the chickens blood.
Hang on and I'll find a photo of them.

 

[Sussex19]

 

[HumbleAmerican]

That's great to hear. How close are your hives to the coop? Mine are very close and the bees hang out near the coop quite often.

70-80 feet or so.

 

[Meghancauthorn]

70-80 feet or so.

Thanks!