RED MITES!!

[Catwmn]

I am new to owning chickens and today I was holding one when a tiny red spider like bug ran out of her feathers onto my arm. Now, I am not entirely sure this is red mites. It was MUCH larger than what I see on the internet in pictures, but still it was GROSS and she had several on her. I checked all of the other ones I could catch and didn't see any on them but now I want to get rid of these things!!

What is the best course of action?

We plan to totally scrub out the coop tomorrow with good antibacterial soap and let it dry, put down new shavings and dust with DE on EVERYTHING.

I also plan to sprinkle DE in the dust bowls they dust bathe in for good measure.

Are there any other suggestions??

Thanks in advance!!

Cat

 

[klmclain1]

DE will not kill them. You need to get Sevin dust and dust all your chickens thoroughly. Then clean out the coop and dust, or use liquid sevin to spray, being sure to get down into the cracks and crevices. Leave the dust in there and put bedding back in. Repeat the entire process in 10 days. You could also sprinkle some Sevin in their dust bathing area.