Someone please help me!!

[Dani87]

Ok I need help. I have 7 chickens that are about 7 weeks old. We are all infested with mites! I have bombed the house and had exterminators come look at the house and they don't see anything. I've tried DE in the house and on the chickens and still the bugs won't go away .I've tried Seven spray on the coop, replaced and cleaned out everything in the coop and they won't leave us or the chickens a lone. What am I doing wrong? How can I get rid of these bugs? I feel like I'm going crazy.

 

[Chickadee888]

Have you put Sevin dust (or other poultry dust e.g. with permethrin) on the birds themselves? From what I understand, DE by itself isn't very effective in getting rid of an infestation. I think you need a chemical ON the birds. Also ivermectin could be useful to work from the inside - I think they're old enough. Plus I've read some people blow torch corners of the coop to kill the eggs (I've never tried this! sounds like a fire hazard but what do I know!). I'm sure others on this board with more mite experience will give you their thoughts as well!

 

[plokerno]

No matter what you do they will keep coming so just try your best.

 

[Dani87]

What do you mean they will keep coming back?

No matter what you do they will keep coming so just try your best.

 

[Dani87]

Have you put Sevin dust (or other poultry dust e.g. with permethrin) on the birds themselves? From what I understand, DE by itself isn't very effective in getting rid of an infestation. I think you need a chemical ON the birds. Also ivermectin could be useful to work from the inside - I think they're old enough. Plus I've read some people blow torch corners of the coop to kill the eggs (I've never tried this! sounds like a fire hazard but what do I know!). I'm sure others on this board with more mite experience will give you their thoughts as well!

I bought sevin spray on accident. Do I use that in my house too? I have attempted a dust bath with DE and put it all over my house and even with bug bombs they don't die. Debating on getting rid of the birds and moving. Will try the sevin dust first .thank you

 

[True Patriot]

Are you positive on the identification of the mites? If it's another pest other methods may be needed. How wet have the conditions in your area been? First step to stopping an infestation should be to make living conditions unfavorable to the pest. Start with a thorough cleaning of anything in the affected area. You also may want to consider a quarantine area for clothing worn around the coop. It will help reduce cross contamination to unaffected areas.

 

[Chickassan]

I would be sure they're actually harmful mites before flipping out. There are grain mites that come out of feed in alarming numbers. For whatever bugs you have inside your home you can kill ANY mite with a 25% orange or pine oil solution. The birds ivemectrin is pretty fool proof for mites. Try to be sure thats what you're dealing with before you dose though.

 

[Life is Good!]

Are the mites small, white and nearly invisible? Or are they brown, still small and run around like crazy?

Remember, wild birds carry mites. So if you've got birds in your yard, you likely have mites. The point is to contain them to a reasonable level (none is optimal, but realistically, very very very very low is best)

If white - they're immature - be glad! Seven DUST is the way to go. I sprinkle the dust directly on the hens backs, and rub all over their body (avoid the head) - especially the vent/tail area where the mites most likely live.
If brown - they're mature - and you're going to have more. Just re-apply Seven Dust faithfully and eventually they will go away. (for a bad infestation here, I reapplied on the birds every 3 days for a week, then 5 days for another two weeks, then 10 days for another two weeks...and got rid of 'em for the most part).

I found our chick starter feed was infested with the mites. That's how they got into the coop. Because the mites are white/clear to begin with, they are virtually impossible to see. And yes, they did get on me - but once I figured this out - after being out in the coop, I would changed ALL my clothes upon entering the house, and washed my arms in the laundry room sink. Mites cannot live on people, so if they are on you, they will die. I believe it's the same with all mammals...so dogs/cats are immune from chicken mites also. (Now laundry is another issue - I generated three loads a day!)

I finally tracked down that the mites had gotten underneath the linoleum flooring I had in the coop. No matter how much I used Seven Dust, or how much I cleaned, I couldn't get rid of them completely. I changed out the flooring, cleaned/cleared EVERYTHING, used 3 containers of Seven before putting new bedding in the coop - and the infestation finally, finally stopped.

So you might be looking at some drastic measures. I didn't take down the paneling or the insulation - so I might eventually need to. It's been 2 years though and the mites are for the most part gone. I doubt they'll ever truly be 'gone', as we have too many songbirds in our yard. But it's manageable.

 

[plokerno]

I mean that no matter how many bugs you kill there WILL be more to replace them

 

[Chickassan]

@Life is Good! ,Those were grain mites, they eat grain. If op has actual mites there will be biting even though they don't live on people they'll still have a taste, grain mites won't. If the infestation is grain mites, simply removing the source is plenty good the mites will either move on or starve.