Permethrin

[HippieAtHeart]

For the coop - Clear out all the bedding. Burn it or otherwise bag up and dispose of it. Spray all surfaces (though I skipped the ceiling and top parts of wall though, because my coop peak is too tall) and crevices with permethrin, including roost bars and nests. After it all dries, put in new bedding (I made sure to do my spraying early in the day, so it was mostly dry by late afternoon so the chickens could go back in).

For the chickens - Spray under belly, under wings, on back, around vent, around base of neck. If they're getting them on their heads (which you may see scabbing around comb or even eyes if it's bad), I'd carefully pat some around the base of the comb or just behind the head, but I wouldn't spray them directly in the face.

Thank you so much for the guidance! I will make sure to do this first thing tomorrow morning. How often should I do this?
I literally just put in all new hemp bedding for them this Sunday as that’s when we got them, so am trying to figure out if when I take it out and burn it (might as well light a $20 bill on fire...oh well) if I should put more in or put the dried leaves I’ve saved if I’ll have to do it again in a week or two.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Thank you so much for the guidance! I will make sure to do this first thing tomorrow morning. How often should I do this?
I literally just put in all new hemp bedding for them this Sunday as that’s when we got them, so am trying to figure out if when I take it out and burn it (might as well light a $20 bill on fire...oh well) if I should put more in or put the dried leaves I’ve saved if I’ll have to do it again in a week or two.

So I'd say it depends on how bad your infestation is. Mine wasn't too terrible, and one full treatment of the coop was sufficient to get rid of them, but to be on the safe side maybe put in bedding that you don't mind tossing for now, and if you don't have to re-treat, you can go back to bedding of your choice.

I treated the chickens themselves twice (I think I did treatments 10 days apart), and also added some of the powder (I used powder on chickens, liquid on coop) to their dust bath so they'd naturally work some into their feathers over a few weeks.

 

[cmom]

How do you deal with gnats and fly? Like we have a crazy amount the last 2 weeks because of all the rain.

Permethrin. I had a severe mite infestation. I sprayed thoroughly in all of the coops every crack and crevice, everywhere. Repeated treatments are needed because it does not kill the eggs. As a bonus I noticed it also got rid of the flies. I had a lot of flies in and around the coops. Good luck...