What is the Best and Safest Way to Eliminate Mites?

[ValerieJ]

If you don’t do the bedding you may have to redo the birds...I don’t know...but I was warned this...so I took precautions

You have to do the bedding and the birds. Then you have to do it again once a week for a few weeks.

 

[CalBickieMomma]

Thanks again for all the advice! I dusted my birds yesterday morning, then just quickly checked one of the girl’s vents last night and only spotted one mite, not a bunch, so hopefully it’s working. Still need to clean and treat the coop, but am hoping the permethrin dusting will help keep the little arachnids at bay until I get my pyrethrin and can clean out and treat the entire coop .

 

[cmom]

The dust will help. You can also put it in their nest boxes, on the floor, etc. Good luck...

 

[Ila88]

Personally, I have had success dusting them with diatomaceous earth, around the vent and under wings. Also make sure they have somewhere to dust bathe. I add some DE and wood ash to the sand under their coop where it always stays dry. If I suspect mites I also clean the coop out and spray the roost bars and corners with Raid with pyrethrum. Good luck.

 

[cmom]

Personally, I have had success dusting them with diatomaceous earth, around the vent and under wings. Also make sure they have somewhere to dust bathe. I add some DE and wood ash to the sand under their coop where it always stays dry. If I suspect mites I also clean the coop out and spray the roost bars and corners with Raid with pyrethrum. Good luck.

I'm sure it was not the DE that deterred the mites but rather the Raid with pyrethrum. 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 had 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. I did use some seven dust that I had but it was almost gone but it did help. I did some research and came up with permethrin, which is the pyrethrum on steroids. It lasts longer than pyrethrum. I did a weekly spraying for awhile and put permethrin dust in the nest boxes. 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. I did originally bathe the worst birds with flea shampoo which did help but did not get rid of the mites but then discovered that the over the counter head lice shampoo for people also contained either pyrethrum or permethrin. The added benefit was no egg withdrawal period, and the birds are beautiful again.

 

[ellend]

POULTRY PROTECTOR spray. Can be purchased in larger amounts as concentrate. Non-toxic. I fought northern fowl mites for many months with "shake-n-bake" use of D.E. combined with Permethrin premises spray. D.E. was worthless. Permethrin (spelling?) spray on birds too. I even resorted to heavy use of Seven dust. What finally worked was to DIP each bird in Poultry Protector. VOILA! No more mites! It was summer, and several years ago--I may have dipped each bird more than once; I don't remember. Their infestation wasn't even overly bad; those were one tough little buggers! I have zero financial interests, or links to anyone with such, to this product.

 

[Al Gerhart]

A lot of good methods of dealing with the mites has already been posted but has anyone brought up WHY you have mites to begin with?

Wild birds.... there is no reason why wild birds would come around a chicken coop if the feed is secured in a good treadle feeder. Water maybe, but that is usually available in plenty of places. Even better is having a coop tight enough that the wild birds can't enter but if you free range you have to get the wild birds to forage for natural food instead of hanging around your coop.

 

[ValerieJ]

A lot of good methods of dealing with the mites has already been posted but has anyone brought up WHY you have mites to begin with?

Wild birds.... there is no reason why wild birds would come around a chicken coop if the feed is secured in a good treadle feeder. Water maybe, but that is usually available in plenty of places. Even better is having a coop tight enough that the wild birds can't enter but if you free range you have to get the wild birds to forage for natural food instead of hanging around your coop.

I feed the wild birds a few hundred feet from my coops and get very few in there with my chickens. But I have to say my chicken littles would see a treadle feeder as a certain death trap.

 

[Al Gerhart]

Smart tactic, feeding them away from the coop. And yes, tiny chickens and treadle feeders do not work well together. Two pounds and above, should be fine. In that one situation a feeder like the feed o matic might not deter the rats but it is safer for the bantams and silkies. The soft close door feeder would help keeping the smaller birds safe but having rats is a risk and there is a small risk using a treadle feeder to keep the rats away.

 

[ValerieJ]

Smart tactic, feeding them away from the coop. And yes, tiny chickens and treadle feeders do not work well together. Two pounds and above, should be fine. In that one situation a feeder like the feed o matic might not deter the rats but it is safer for the bantams and silkies. The soft close door feeder would help keeping the smaller birds safe but having rats is a risk and there is a small risk using a treadle feeder to keep the rats away.

I have full sized Orpingtons with the attitude of chicken little.