We’ve got a coop with a million of these live or mites?

[chickendreams24]

You guys are making me itchy. LOL

We get a mild-moderate lice outbreak every spring when the song birds come back as birds nest around our coop and occasionally in it if we don't catch them before they have chicks. We will be spraying everything this weekend and treating the birds.

I'm so glad we've never gotten mites.

 

[k2panman]

Ugh...They look like mites, not sure of the kind, but possibly northern fowl mites. Are they brown?

Yes, the photos are true color. Their body appears to be light brown with dark brown markings.

 

[k2panman]

Ok, thanks everyone. Permethrin is a synthetic insecticide. It is a synthetic version of pyrethrin. As we are going to be a certified organic farm, we need a natural insecticide. Has anyone used pyrethrin successfully? Permethrin does not break down as quickly and that may be better at killing all the mites.

 

[Henriettamom919]

Ok, thanks everyone. Permethrin is a synthetic insecticide. It is a synthetic version of pyrethrin. As we are going to be a certified organic farm, we need a natural insecticide. Has anyone used pyrethrin successfully? Permethrin does not break down as quickly and that may be better at killing all the mites.

I can't speak to chicken mites but we used this in the yard when our children were younger and it worked well on fleas, grubs and other pests.

You could also use a boric acid powder like Fleago as a preventative in your home, coops and run to prevent future mite/lice infestations.

 

[Henriettamom919]

I checked and boric acid is also safe for certified organic crops! We used this:

http://fleago.com

 

[getaclue]

Yes, the Pyrethrin liquid, and Pyrethrum powder work well, and allowed to be used on organically certified farms.

 

[Molpet]

elemental sulfur in the dust box 1/10 ratio

https://entomologytoday.org/2016/07/18/battling-chicken-mites-with-bags-of-brimstone/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/sulfur-powder-against-lice-mites.613628/

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01JJCPP0Y/?tag=backy-20

 

[Sue Gremlin]

Vinegar won't help. You need permethrin or similar pesticide.

Lice are insects so have 6 legs. Mites are arthropods so they have 8 legs.

Mites can have 6 legs as larvae. Ticks, too. I am convinced they do that just to confuse people. Mites and lice are both arthropods, mites are acarines.

 

[Sue Gremlin]

View attachment 1803620 View attachment 1803621 View attachment 1803622 View attachment 1803623 View attachment 1803624 Here are some close up photos of our pests. We were gone for 2 weeks and came back to a real mess. We have 7 chickens, a predator proof coop with an automatic door, 5 gallon bucket feeders and water buckets with the tickle nozzles. They free range on 5 acres. When we got home, besides having 2 broody hens sitting in 2 of the 3 nest boxes, eggs laid everywhere around the house and broken shells scattered about, we found the coop crawling with these critters. Terri cleaned out the coop (8’x8’x7’ all hardware cloth walls, metal roof and painted 2x4 construction) using straight vinegar and borax. We had a layer of pine shavings that we removed and I’m burning now. As I type this, I’m constantly finding another of these critters crawling on me. What are they and what is the best way to eliminate them? The broody hens have been dunked in water and are staying out of the coop for now.

These look like Dermanyssus mites (Red mites).

 

[Shadrach]

I agree with @Sue Gremlin those look like red mites. They are called red mites because when they suck the blood of your chicken their bodies, being translucent turn red.
You will probably find many of them on the perch ends. They're pretty lazy and don't like to travel far for dinner.
I use a blow torch to clean my coops to avoid using chemicals. It may not be practicable for you but it works and kills the eggs as well.