Red mite issue again....

[PotassiumJunkie]

Ok so I ordered Elector PSP as advised by people on this forum to tackle the red mite problem.

I live in Ireland, so it could take up to a month to get here from USA

What do I do in the mean time? I’ve been washing the coop, changing bedding regularly, using diatomaceous earth, spraying permethrin spray (although seems to do nothing)

One of my chickens has lost condition, although still acting normally and eating...I’m panicking in case the wait for the elector stuff is too long for my girls

 

[DobieLover]

Ok so I ordered Elector PSP as advised by people on this forum to tackle the red mite problem.

I live in Ireland, so it could take up to a month to get here from USA

What do I do in the mean time? I’ve been washing the coop, changing bedding regularly, using diatomaceous earth, spraying permethrin spray (although seems to do nothing)

One of my chickens has lost condition, although still acting normally and eating...I’m panicking in case the wait for the elector stuff is too long for my girls

What concentration Permethrin are you using? I assume you are spraying the coop and the birds?

 

[PotassiumJunkie]

It’s the Johnson’s Poultry Housing Spray. 0.386% Permethrin. It says to only spray the housing on it, is there one you can get to apply to the chickens?

 

[Bio cryo guy]

Can you get some neem oil? Unrefined pure neem oil and it's extract are known miticides. You mix it with water and some soap. Depending on what material the interior of your coop is will determine if it will have any residual miticide effects. Wood and other porous surfaces would probably need to be thoroughly soaked, and even then, the oil might just soak into the wood after the water evaporates. I have read you can spray the birds directly with the diluted spray as well, just make sure you use a mild soap in your mixture. I've never done this though.

I usually mix my neem oil spray like this:
5ml neem oil
1-2ml soap
1L water

 

[Eggcessive]

Most permethrin sprays for chickens are 0.5%. Here is the US, we buy either a concentrate and mix it with so much water according to the label, or buy a product like this already to use:
https://valleyvet.cvpservice.com/product/view/basic/1511029

 

[DobieLover]

It’s the Johnson’s Poultry Housing Spray. 0.386% Permethrin. It says to only spray the housing on it, is there one you can get to apply to the chickens?

That is a good concentration for the coop. When you spray the coop you need to get every single surface paying special attention to all the nooks and crannies. EVERYWHERE. After it dries, rebed with fresh bedding. I would burn the old bedding.
You can dilute the concentration you have using 130 mls of it and diluting it to 1L with clean water to make a .05% solution. Mix well and spray each bird twice under each wing, twice on the belly (parting the feathers to get it on the skin) and twice around the vent (again getting it on the skin).
Repeat this entire treatment again in 10 days.

 

[Eggcessive]

I just wanted to point out that the label for the one I used says 0.5% not 0.05 %. I use the Permethrin 10 concentrate and follow the label mixing for chickens.

 

[DobieLover]

I just wanted to point out that the label for the one I used says 0.5% not 0.05 %. I use the Permethrin 10 concentrate and follow the label mixing for chickens.

Then the OP should be safe using the 0.386% concentration directly on the birds. The source I found stated .05%. Perhaps it was too conservative.

 

[Eggcessive]

It is very confusing, I know. I wanted to show a product that was ready mixed with the label showing the concentration. It drives me crazy sometimes to mix the concentrate. I have to write the mixing ration on the bottle, and since I am not a math whiz, I always try to doublecheck.

 

[Eggcessive]

I found this older thread about mixing the permethrin 10 concentrate and it’s usage, which is interesting:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/permethrin-spray.1134783/

The one many in the US find is this one: