Spray or dip chickens with red mites

[d_outcast]

I watch a video in YouTube about dipping chicken with red mites in a solution of permethrin and water in the bucket. Is that more effective than spraying? The more I research which method is best to get rid of mites the more I get confused. But I know one thing, permethrin seems to be effective as most claimed.

Another method I watched is cleaning the chicken coop with hot water concentrating more on the cracks and crevices. That would be almost an all day chore to wait for water to boil and spray the entire chicken coop. Hopefully this will instantly kill the mites & eggs or larvae. I take it that it is just a one time step?

Pls help me. I can't stand seeing my pullets suffer.

Thank you!!

 

[cmom]

I have previously posted this, the best product to get rid of the mites in my opinion is permethrin which is very cost effective. I have a lot of birds. I had some birds that were severely infested. I thought they were just molting but weren't getting their feathers back in when I discovered they were loaded with mites. The first thing I tried was DE. The birds weren't improving and still had mites. I first discovered them in only one coop but eventually found them on birds in another coop. I dusted the birds and the coops with the DE and no improvement after treating them for a couple of weeks. Next I did use some sevin dust that I had but it was almost gone but it did help. I did some research and came up with permethrin. I'm pretty sure the wild birds brought them into their coop, rodents can too. I used the dust on the birds and in their nest boxes and sprayed inside of the coops, every crack and crevice, on and under the roosts, ceiling, walls, floors, anywhere the mites can hide. It's best to clean out the coop before you spray. I use pine shavings in my coops. I wear special clothing including a mask and gloves. I did a weekly spraying for awhile and put permethrin dust in the nest boxes. I also sprayed the birds getting under the wings and worked it through their feathers with gloves which you can also do with the dust. Slowly the birds began to recover and get their feathers back in. I think if I hadn't treated with the permethrin when I did I probably would have lost some birds to the mites. The birds were in bad condition. Permethrin only kill live pests, not the pests eggs. TSC carries the permethrin powder, premixed spray bottles and the concentrate. I use the concentrate. For my initial application, I mixed it a little heavy. It did not affect the birds but I did keep them out of the coops while it dried. I spray my coops as needed and when I spray I do weekly spraying for 3 or 4 weeks then stop as I don't want the pests to develop a resistance to the permethrin. Repeated weekly spraying is necessary because again, it does not kill the mite eggs and as an added benefit is there is no egg withdrawal period. The birds are beautiful again. There are other products available but much more expensive and in my opinion the permethrin works great. Good luck...

 

[cmom]

I had been using a gallon sprayer. I like the wand because it lets me get into hard to reach places. I have several coops so now I mix it in a backpack sprayer. Good luck...

 

[aart]

Another method I watched is cleaning the chicken coop with hot water concentrating more on the cracks and crevices. That would be almost an all day chore to wait for water to boil and spray the entire chicken coop. Hopefully this will instantly kill the mites & eggs or larvae. I take it that it is just a one time step?

Spray the cracks and crevices with the permethrin....if they are roost mites.


Google images of lice/mites and their eggs before the inspection so you'll know what you're looking for.

Part the feathers right down to the skin around vent, head/neck and under wings.

Best done well after dark with a strong flashlight/headlight, easier to 'catch' bird and also to check for the mites that live in structure and only come out at night to feed off roosting birds.

Wipe a white paper towel along the underside of roost to look for red smears(smashed well fed mites).

Good post about mite ID by Lady McCamley:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/my-chicken-has-mites-now-what.1273674/page-2#post-20483008

 

[speedy2020]

I think most small animal/bug don't like mint. If you use charcoal grill a lot, burn some mint with it. And then put the ash in the chicken coop and run. The mint is very to growth and hardy plant.

 

[d_outcast]

I've been putting DE in their nesting box and change it every 5days after power washing the entire coop. I'm waiting for the permethrin that I ordered online. Takes 4-6wks for the USPS to deliver in Canada. I will try the wood ash and mint next time I clean the coop.

Thank you.