I've been looking up and reading about treating chickens/coops with permethrin (spray) against mites, and I've got the main takeaways down, but I have some additional questions that I can't seem to find answers for. So I would appreciate your input.
From what I gather, I should do a big clean-out of the coop and spray it down, then spray the chickens down, then reapply every 7 days to kill the eggs until the mites are gone. Here's the questions I can't find answers to:
Here's my particular situation. I discovered mites in the coop last week. In the coop, not on the actual chickens, which was odd. I would feel and see them on my arms before I saw them on the chickens (the usual vent checks and skin checks revealed nothing). I knew I would be unable to do the full coop clean out over the weekend, because of work and other obligations, so at least I sprayed the chickens themselves (vents, armpits and back of the neck like I'd read). The following night, I saw mites on the chickens for the first time - on their backs, on top of the feathers. Did they flee the sprayed areas and come out on their unsprayed backs? I sprayed their backs that night. The night after that, still see mites on the chickens' backs, but not as many. Meanwhile the coop itself is absolutely teeming with mites - my arms start crawling as soon as I walk in
It's only Monday and I won't be able to do anything about the coop until the weekend, because I work and drive kids to camp and all that, leave early and come back very late every day for the next two weeks (minus weekends).
So my most burning question is... What can I do in the meantime to help this situation not blow out of control? The mite density in the coop is accelerating fast, and I still have 4 days left until the weekend... Would dunking the chickens in a permethrin bath help? Or spraying the coop surfaces without a clean-out of the bedding, just until I can do the deep clean? Is it okay if the chickens breathe it? I'd only be able to do any spraying either very early in the morning, or late at night. Don't want to do it at night because the product smells so bad. During the day would be better, they'd only be in there to lay, but still... not sure if they need to be out completely and if it would hurt them breathing it.
Any input would help! The questions above, and most importantly, what can I do until Saturday? Thanks guys!
From what I gather, I should do a big clean-out of the coop and spray it down, then spray the chickens down, then reapply every 7 days to kill the eggs until the mites are gone. Here's the questions I can't find answers to:
- When I re-apply, do I need to do another full round of trashing all the bedding and spraying everything down? Or is the reapplication different?
- How often is too often for spraying the chickens themselves? Do intervals shorter than 7 days accomplish anything (is it better at tall)? Or is shorter not necessarily better, or maybe is it harmful to the chickens?
- I got the permethrin concentrate; when I mix a solution in a spray bottle, how long does it last? Is it like some other products that start to degrade over time once mixed, or can I use the same mix for the repeat application a week later?
Here's my particular situation. I discovered mites in the coop last week. In the coop, not on the actual chickens, which was odd. I would feel and see them on my arms before I saw them on the chickens (the usual vent checks and skin checks revealed nothing). I knew I would be unable to do the full coop clean out over the weekend, because of work and other obligations, so at least I sprayed the chickens themselves (vents, armpits and back of the neck like I'd read). The following night, I saw mites on the chickens for the first time - on their backs, on top of the feathers. Did they flee the sprayed areas and come out on their unsprayed backs? I sprayed their backs that night. The night after that, still see mites on the chickens' backs, but not as many. Meanwhile the coop itself is absolutely teeming with mites - my arms start crawling as soon as I walk in
It's only Monday and I won't be able to do anything about the coop until the weekend, because I work and drive kids to camp and all that, leave early and come back very late every day for the next two weeks (minus weekends).So my most burning question is... What can I do in the meantime to help this situation not blow out of control? The mite density in the coop is accelerating fast, and I still have 4 days left until the weekend... Would dunking the chickens in a permethrin bath help? Or spraying the coop surfaces without a clean-out of the bedding, just until I can do the deep clean? Is it okay if the chickens breathe it? I'd only be able to do any spraying either very early in the morning, or late at night. Don't want to do it at night because the product smells so bad. During the day would be better, they'd only be in there to lay, but still... not sure if they need to be out completely and if it would hurt them breathing it.
Any input would help! The questions above, and most importantly, what can I do until Saturday? Thanks guys!
