I posted on here about redmite and said I'd report back on the sulphur candle solution. Here's what I did: I washed the entire henhouse with Jeyes fluid and water from a pressure hose getting into the cracks. (Loads of mites came out like a sludge!) I treated the hens with Frontline. I then bought a sulphur candle (these are available in the UK from DIY shops and are really for treating greenhouses) I closed up the henhouse and covered it with a tarpaulin. I lit the candle in the house and let it burn for 6 1/2 hours.
I then removed the candle and the tarpaulin and opened the house up to air it out. I then used Diatomaceous Earth (powder for killing red mite) everywhere in their house (applied thickly), along the perches, under the ends of the perches, under bedding, in the laying boxes, around all the edges - everywhere! I also put Diatomaceous earth in the soil where my girls have their dust baths. It has now been 9 days. My husband has a good microscope and we have been monitoring the redmite by pressing stickytape to the underneath of the perches at night and under the ends of the perches in the morning, and then looking at the tape under the microscope. The redmite number dropped off rapidly and for the past two days there have been NONE at all! Yippee. Dare I hope we have them on the run? We keep a can of Redmite Spray to hand and will continue to spray the house with this each time we change their bedding.
(I was told on another forum that diatomacious earth is dangerous to use? I wear a mask when applying it and removing it but once it has been applied I don't do anything special)
I then removed the candle and the tarpaulin and opened the house up to air it out. I then used Diatomaceous Earth (powder for killing red mite) everywhere in their house (applied thickly), along the perches, under the ends of the perches, under bedding, in the laying boxes, around all the edges - everywhere! I also put Diatomaceous earth in the soil where my girls have their dust baths. It has now been 9 days. My husband has a good microscope and we have been monitoring the redmite by pressing stickytape to the underneath of the perches at night and under the ends of the perches in the morning, and then looking at the tape under the microscope. The redmite number dropped off rapidly and for the past two days there have been NONE at all! Yippee. Dare I hope we have them on the run? We keep a can of Redmite Spray to hand and will continue to spray the house with this each time we change their bedding.
(I was told on another forum that diatomacious earth is dangerous to use? I wear a mask when applying it and removing it but once it has been applied I don't do anything special)
