Red mite questions....

[Miss Chuckles]

We've had birds for a number of years but we're recently wiped out by a mink and a fox. I just discovered that our one remaining hen, Foxy, has been putting up with a horrible red mite infestation. We've had dry, warm weather recently and she was staying with a friend's hens, which is where she may have picked it up. We have an extra hen house not in use. If I move her into that will she bring mites with her? Must I treat her as well and is dusting powder enough or do need to use some sort of insecticide? How long can mites live in the coop without a host? Can I get infected ( cause now I feel things crawling all over me and I'm not liking it).

 

[TiaRC]

Mites can't live long without a host. Dust her and dust her again in 3 days. Worked for my infestation. Not a thing since.

 

[Eggcessive]

Mites can be pretty difficult to get rid of because they will hide in the cracks and spaces in the coop. Many bring them in on bales of straw. Using a poultry dust (sevin or permethrin) every 7 days several times, and cleaning out your coop, spraying the walls , roosts, and nest boxes with permethrin or Ravap, then adding new bedding is the standard treatment. Many people will also paint or whitewash the walls and roosts. Here are some good links to read with pictures:

http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/08/poultry-lice-and-mites-identification.html
http://anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu/pdf/8162.pdf
http://ohioline.osu.edu/vme-fact/0018.html