Northern Fowl Mite - Help me get rid of these bugs!!

[bluecallduck10]

So 4 of my girls have been nesting for about a month. One mom hatched out 7 beautiful babies just yesterday,

I went in to examine her nest (3 eggs unhatched) and when I picked up an egg, I noticed tiny pink/red bugs on it.

After some quick research, I'm fairly certain they are Northern Fowl mites.

How do I get rid of these things? I don't want them bothering my nesting girls or the new babies!

I was planning on completely cleaning out their housing area today, but would it be okay if I moved the bedding from the current nests and put new bedding down? Would the nesting moms care as long as their eggs are still there?

Thanks for any advice!

 

[Amiga]

Disturbing a nest is a toss of the dice - depends on the duck how she will react. Ick.

Diatomaceous earth has been used by a number of people for pests. Just remember it's such a fluffy powder, the food grade is the kind to use, and don't let yourself or the ducks inhale it. If you pull the bedding out (I would), I would carefully place the DE in all the cracks and crevices, and smear it on the floor and up the walls a couple of inches.

You could also check in with the Predators and Pests forum. Lots of information there.

 

[ducksinarow]

I use sevin dust. I also put it in my birdhouses. Some here won't use it but it works.

 

[bluecallduck10]

I check the nests throughout the entire time my girls sit to take out unfertilized eggs and they've always come back to them. But I have never dismantled an entire nest... I'll probably have to risk it to make sure I get rid of all of the bugs.

Yeah I'm a little wary about using DE with the respiratory problems. I'll probably use that as a last resort.

I've heard a lot of good about Sevin dust. Should I dust the birds with it or just put it in their shelter? I don't know if it would be harmful for the ducks to ingest since they preen a lot. I searched my white drake for the bugs and couldn't find any. So maybe the birds are taking care of the ones on them pretty well and there's just a lot of bugs in the nests?

Thanks for the replies!!