These tiny bugs / mites are infesting my coop please help

[PirateGirl]

I'm not saying beneficial insects are a bad idea, but treating an infestation with another infestation is probably not the solution. The goal in our coops and our gardens and our soils and our ponds is for things to be in balance (animals, bugs, micro-organisms, PH, algae, bacteria, etc.) otherwise we are trading one set of problems for another.

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

Also there's something else that I was considering, I like the idea of ridding pests with other animals and earlier this year I had considered getting some ladybug larvae to put on my roses and other plants but I went off the idea because I was scared the chooks would eat them (I wish I had now since green fly have ate most of them! ) and I know ladybugs eat spider mites so I'd imagine they eat these guys too then I'd be able to get rid of the plant eating aphids aswell as these mites too could that be worth a try? The obvious risk is that the chooks will eat them but when the larvae arrive in the post I will place them onto my rose bushes and other plants which are behind wire so that the chooks can't get at them so unless the ladybugs ventured out into the yard then they should be safe but it's whether the ladybugs have the sense not too but you'd imagine they wouldn't if they see chickens or other predators in the yard, they don't fly so they should be easy enough to keep track of, then possibly every so often I can close off the coop for a few days and put a few ladybugs in to keep the mites in check and during that time the chooks can sleep in the nesting shed, then vice versa they can lay in the coop while the ladybugs are in the nesting shed.. Is that a crazy idea or could that work? Is it even worth trying at least or would it be a waste to try

I have seen these somewhere, but can’t for the life of me think where! I can’t even think what they were called now? You can get them mail order I think?

 

[lazy gardener]

You are overthinking it. The "lady bugs" that infest houses during the winter are a related species, but not the Lady bugs that we think of when we think of the beneficial ones. The ones that come in to spend the winter with you bite when they are harassed! Those little buggers hurt! I would not worry about purchased lady bugs being an issue for your neighbors, unless they are a "good issue". Some farmers are bringing in predatory insects to control the fly population in their barns. But, once the preds get the fly population under control, the preds tend to die off, so they must be purchased repeatedly.

Mites are specific. The ones that eat insects or infest plants do not suck animal blood.

 

[Sire12]

I have seen these somewhere, but can’t for the life of me think where! I can’t even think what they were called now? You can get them mail order I think?

I looked them up I think their called "Androlis" they come in a tub and they eat other mites but they're quite expensive about $30 for a small tub which treats up to 10 birds so that would work for me, I'll see how the smite a mite treatment works first and if it doesn't I'll try these, they only live 4-6 weeks after you release them and in that time they eat eat eat and they don't bother the hens or people and they die once their food source is depleted, they sound too good to be true tbh lol has anyone else used them

 

[BennieAnTheJets]

Thank you, Yorkshire Coop!

Yes, I think I use this version
https://www.amazon.com/Frontline-04...orr&keywords=ivomec+250+ml+pour+on+for+cattle

I get it from Tractor Supply Company

 

[Sire12]

Ok I've been spraying the coop twice daily with a pressure sprayer filled with the smite a mite liquid, once in the morning then again at night when the mites are active, i got some 1% ivermectin and put it on all the hens and sprinkled them all with DE aswell as sprinkling DE on the roosts and scattering it on the walls, there's still quite alot of them it seems but il keep at it and if all else fails il use the androlis mites

Also does anyone know if woodlice eat mites? There's alot if them under my plant pots im wondering if I should try putting some of them in the nooks and crannys to hunt them? The chickens generally aren't in their coop during the day only going in at night so I don't think they'd hunt the woodlice unless they were on the roost but they seem to hide in cracks like the mites

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

I’m afraid DE and Smite a mite liquid (which is liquid DE) will not kill the mites.
They are only a deterrent as such which I have found personally not be in-effective against them. Unfortunately I would think this is why you are not seeing a decline in the mite population. I would highly recommend this a spray to douse the coop with ~
http://www.nettexpoultry.com/products/mite-pest-control/total-mite-kill-spray

 

[Sire12]

Ah crap really ok I'll order some of the nettex concetrated liquid then put it in the sprayer instead, my smoke bombs came but I was too scared to use them because I couldn't fully seal off the coop and surrounding sheds I tried as much as I could stuffing plastic bags in every gap but I think smoke could still get out but at this point I guess il have too give it a try there really is loads of them, il get the nettex stuff then if it properly kills them and isn't just a deterrent

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

Honestly it really does kill them. Once you have sprayed they come out pretty slow and in a few minutes they are dead. Try and get in all the crevices as that is where they hide. It works out cheaper if you buy the concentrate and mix it up yourself. You will need to re-spray at least every 3 day’s after the initial spray to get anymore that hatch. It’s a case of trying to break their lifecycle to bring them down to more manageable number. The fact you have put ivermectin on your birds should help too.

 

[aart]

I’m afraid DE and Smite a mite liquid (which is liquid DE) will not kill the mites.
They are only a deterrent as such which I have found personally not be in-effective against them. Unfortunately I would think this is why you are not seeing a decline in the mite population. I would highly recommend this a spray to douse the coop with ~
http://www.nettexpoultry.com/products/mite-pest-control/total-mite-kill-spray

Ditto Dat^^^

Was curious about this stuff, tho the link provided did not list ingredients,
this site did:
https://www.flytesofancy.co.uk/chickenhouses/Total_Mite_Kill.html

Note it says "do not spray birds or animals"...
....but sounds excellent for coop treatment.

"Total Mite Kill contains a permethrin insecticides for rapid knockdown, and is also a multi-purpose cleaner.

- Kills mites, red mite, fleas, lice and other flying and crawling insects
- Cleans & Disinfects your chicken coop and animal housing
- Kills bacteria, virus, yeast, algea and fungi (i.e. E.Coli, Salmonella, Listeria and Ps Aeruginosa)
- Oily base penetrates deep into cracks, crevices and corners which parasites commonly use as harbourages
- Contains excellent residuality on all common surfaces.

Contains: Permethrin 2.3%, Tetramethrin 0.23%, Benzalkonium chloride. Do not spray on birds or animals, avoid contact with skin."