Red mite infestation!

[Kai98]

This is my first time ever experiencing red mites and I’ve heard they can be a huge pain to get rid of and manage. I was looking into exzolt but I’d like to hear what works best and is the easiest to work with especially since I’m currently pregnant and don’t have a ton of stamina for cleaning haha. I do have diatomaceous earth that I used when I changed the bedding last month but I’m concerned that my hens & chicks are vulnerable.

 

[Stelliebellie1234]

If you can move all of the chicks and chickens into a an uninfested coop after getting rid of the mites on them, that should help. Social distance your chickens so that they do not spread it to the other ones. Exterminate that coop and move them back in.

 

[Kiki]

DE won't do squat.

Get some permethrin spray and spray the crap out of your coop and every bird every five days until the mites disappear.
If you can't do it every 5 days do it at least once a week for no less than 3 weeks straight.
https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/martins-horse-stable-permethrin-citronella-spray-1-qt

 

[Kiki]

If you can move all of the chicks and chickens into a an uninfested coop after getting rid of the mites on them, that should help. Social distance your chickens so that they do not spread it to the other ones. Exterminate that coop and move them back in.

You don't need to move the chickens because wherever you move them to you're just going to spread the mites to also.

Treat the chickens and the coop.
Social distancing is just silly.

 

[cmom]

I have posted this previously. I had some birds that were severely infested. I thought they were just molting but weren't getting their feathers back in when I discovered they had mites. The first thing I tried was DE. The birds weren't improving and still had mites. I first discovered them in only one coop but eventually found them on birds in another coop. I dusted the birds and the coops with the DE and no improvement. I did use some sevin dust that I had but it was almost gone but it did help. I did some research and came up with permethrin. There is no egg withdrawal period with permethrin. Wild birds and rodents can bring the mites and other pests in if they have access to their coop. I used the dust on the birds and in their nest boxes and sprayed inside of the coops, every crack and crevice, on and under the roosts, ceiling, walls, floors, anywhere the mites can hide. Nothing will kill the mite eggs so repeated weekly treatments are necessary. Wear special clothing including a mask and gloves. I did a weekly spraying for awhile and put permethrin dust in the nest boxes, originally sprayed the birds getting under the wings and worked it through their feathers with gloves which you can also do with the dust. It will take a few weekly applications. Slowly my birds began to recover and get their feathers back in. I think if I hadn't treated with the permethrin when I did I probably would have lost some birds to the mites. The birds were in bad condition. I did originally bathe the worst birds with flea shampoo which did help but did not get rid of the mites but then discovered that the over the counter (OTC) head lice shampoo for people. Every over-the-counter (OTC) treatment of head lice contains either pyrethrins (Rid or Triple X) or permethrin (Nix). Both are effective treatment. Both only kill live pests, not the mite eggs eggs. Good luck...

 

[Rachmaginger]

Exzolt has worked really really well so far for me. I too am pregnant but am more paranoid about bug infestations than the actual cleaning lol. I have been dusting the perch with permethrin and putting it in the dusting pits for a while. I even used petrol on the coop to try kill everything. I did a big spring clean and scrub out of the coop but would still find a few at the end of the perch every day. Exzolt is expensive, but so easy to use. Just put in the drinking water, then again in 7 days. I don’t think I ever had a big infestation but there has been a good pile of dead mites at the end of the perch. If anything, it gives me peace of mind that there are less bugs eating my chickens. I’m pretty happy with the results so far

 

[cmom]

I don't think it is available in the US.