What is the Best and Safest Way to Eliminate Mites?

[ValerieJ]

Definitely figure out why it is wet I. your coop and fix that too.

 

[BDutch]

Hello chicken folks! I've had an on-and-off-again issue with mites on my birds (doesn't seem too serious - am only seeing the little beasties near the vent area on my chickens - but I don't want it to get worse and I hate that my girls and boys have itchy things all over them).

Anyway, I have diatomaceous earth and when I apply it, it seems to work a little at first, but then the mites come back. Is this because I'm not applying it often enough, or is it just not that effective? How often should it be applied if mites are present in order for it to work well? Is there another product I should be using that is more effective but safe for my chickens and the environment? I really don't want to resort to Sevin dust because I know it is horribly toxic - as effective as it is. Do any of you out there have any products you swear by? Thanks!

I have had a light infestation with bird mite nearly 2 years after I started with chickens. I found a colony of monsters in the roost (under a piece of bark on a branch). Used mainly diatom (DE) and didnt use any chemicals to eliminate them.

• First I threw away the roosts and made 2 new roosts.
• Gathered all the coverage (wood shavings, hay, straw) in a plastic bag and put it in the garbage.
• I cleaned the coop thouroughly with soap and water. (a steam cleaner does even a better job).
• Then I made a kind of paint with water and DE and painted the inside of the coop with it. And dubbel on the roosts and the connection to the coop. Where I could see connections and cracks in the wood I put extra DEpaint too.
• Also painted the laying nests. I put a layer of sand with DE under the wood shavings and hay. And put some tabacco in.
• In the sand bath i put some DE too.
• And finally I carefully (do not inhale) I put some DE under their feathers. And did this again after 10 days.
• Checked every day. Found a few monsters. Painted such a spot.
• After 2 weeks I painted the coop again to maje a thicker layer.

After this I always check the coop at least once a week (except in winter).
Since this time I did find 2 times a few monsters (just 2 -5). Then I paint, put extra DE in the sand and control every day.

For me this works great untill now.

 

[CalBickieMomma]

I have had a light infestation with bird mite nearly 2 years after I started with chickens. I found a colony of monsters in the roost (under a piece of bark on a branch). Used mainly diatom (DE) and didnt use any chemicals to eliminate them.

• First I threw away the roosts and made 2 new roosts.
• Gathered all the coverage (wood shavings, hay, straw) in a plastic bag and put it in the garbage.
• I cleaned the coop thouroughly with soap and water. (a steam cleaner does even a better job).
• Then I made a kind of paint with water and DE and painted the inside of the coop with it. And dubbel on the roosts and the connection to the coop. Where I could see connections and cracks in the wood I put extra DEpaint too.
• Also painted the laying nests. I put a layer of sand with DE under the wood shavings and hay. And put some tabacco in.
• In the sand bath i put some DE too.
• And finally I carefully (do not inhale) I put some DE under their feathers. And did this again after 10 days.
• Checked every day. Found a few monsters. Painted such a spot.
• After 2 weeks I painted the coop again to maje a thicker layer.

After this I always check the coop at least once a week (except in winter).
Since this time I did find 2 times a few monsters (just 2 -5). Then I paint, put extra DE in the sand and control every day.

For me this works great untill now.

Thanks for the feedback! I plan to clean out all their bedding on the floor (their coop just sits on the sand where I live - our property used to be a sand dune, so we are known for having lots of it around ), as well as the nesting box material and will take down their curtains and wash those, too. I'm getting the liquid pyrethrin and a sprayer, so will be spraying down the entire interior of the coop and inside the nesting boxes and perches. Once everything has dried out, I might go ahead and sprinkle a bunch of DE around on the ground and in the nesting boxes before adding the new bedding. I'm also thinking about getting some pyrethrin dust (if I can find it) to keep on hand for the future.

 

[ValerieJ]

Thanks for the feedback! I plan to clean out all their bedding on the floor (their coop just sits on the sand where I live - our property used to be a sand dune, so we are known for having lots of it around ), as well as the nesting box material and will take down their curtains and wash those, too. I'm getting the liquid pyrethrin and a sprayer, so will be spraying down the entire interior of the coop and inside the nesting boxes and perches. Once everything has dried out, I might go ahead and sprinkle a bunch of DE around on the ground and in the nesting boxes before adding the new bedding. I'm also thinking about getting some pyrethrin dust (if I can find it) to keep on hand for the future.

That is a good plan. You can spray it on the birds too. The label should have the dilution percentages. Spray around their vents, under wings, under feather of chest, neck and back. I haven't done this myself, but I don't think you need to drench them, just small sprays. I think @Folly's place can tell you for sure.

 

[Chickassan]

The tobacco is a great idea actually, the wild birds gather ciggie butts and line their nests to keep the mites away.
Obviously that is pretty gross but it works like a charm, nicotine is an amazing insecticide.
Old timers depended on it quite a bit even worming goats and sheep with tobacco leaves.

I have had a light infestation with bird mite nearly 2 years after I started with chickens. I found a colony of monsters in the roost (under a piece of bark on a branch). Used mainly diatom (DE) and didnt use any chemicals to eliminate them.

• First I threw away the roosts and made 2 new roosts.
• Gathered all the coverage (wood shavings, hay, straw) in a plastic bag and put it in the garbage.
• I cleaned the coop thouroughly with soap and water. (a steam cleaner does even a better job).
• Then I made a kind of paint with water and DE and painted the inside of the coop with it. And dubbel on the roosts and the connection to the coop. Where I could see connections and cracks in the wood I put extra DEpaint too.
• Also painted the laying nests. I put a layer of sand with DE under the wood shavings and hay. And put some tabacco in.
• In the sand bath i put some DE too.
• And finally I carefully (do not inhale) I put some DE under their feathers. And did this again after 10 days.
• Checked every day. Found a few monsters. Painted such a spot.
• After 2 weeks I painted the coop again to maje a thicker layer.

After this I always check the coop at least once a week (except in winter).
Since this time I did find 2 times a few monsters (just 2 -5). Then I paint, put extra DE in the sand and control every day.

For me this works great untill now.

 

[cmom]

I agree with the other posts. If you have some type of mites, the best product to get rid of them in my opinion is permethrin which is very cost effective. I had a severe infestation last year and the birds were loosing a lot of feathers which I thought was due to molting but upon closer inspection discovered the mites. I treated the coop weekly for awhile with permethrin because it does not kill the mite eggs. I have had off and on bouts with mites this year. I sprayed the coops for a few weeks then stopped then a few weeks later I would notice them again so again I sprayed weekly for awhile. I'm pretty sure wild birds brought them in. Originally I found them in one coop and another time I had them in 3 coops. Permethrin works and there is no egg withdrawal. Initially I sprayed the birds too. If you have a TSC you can get the dust, premixed spray and the concentrate. I also use the dust on the birds and in their nest boxes and spray inside of the coops, every crack and crevice, on and under the roosts, ceiling, walls, floors, anywhere the mites can hide. I buy the concentrate but I have a lot of coops so I mix it in a gallon sprayer and the wand helps me to reach the hard to reach areas. For smaller places the premixed spray is good. It took awhile for the birds feathers to come back in, but they are beautiful again. If do use the dust or spray, wear special clothing including a mask and gloves. Good luck...

 

[cmom]

I had heard from various places that DE was something wonderful, but when I had my mite infestation the birds got worse instead of better so I did some research and couldn't find one scientific study to support it. I was desperate so I decided to try the permethrins. It did take awhile but slowly they improved. I like that there is no egg withdrawal as there is with other products. I even used flea shampoo on them and it did help but they still had mites. Then I tried the people head lice shampoo (Nix) on the birds. If you want to bathe your birds, every over-the-counter (OTC) treatment for head lice contains either pyrethrins (Rid or Triple X) or permethrin (Nix). They are effective treatment. Both only kill live pests, not eggs. The birds seemed to enjoy their baths. Lesson learned...

 

[aart]

The tobacco is a great idea actually, the wild birds gather ciggie butts and line their nests to keep the mites away.

 

[Duckfarmer1]

I'll probably have to spray them since the mites are on them, but I'll be sure to clean out the coop and spray it down, too. Thanks so much!

TS has the permethrin and it’s like $8...it’s over by cattle supplies. Directions are on bottles for how to use...good luck!!

 

[Duckfarmer1]

Thanks for the details! I keep reading about treating them with the spray or dust, but not EXACTLY what to do. They are definitely mites (teeny-tiny crawly bugs) and I mostly see them around the vent area - and in the head feathers of my poor little Polish girls.

It's finally started raining here (I live on the California Coast and it's usually bone-dry ) so I'm not sure if I can treat the run, but I should be able to treat the coop (there is a bit of water leaking in at the base, making the bedding damp, so I was going to wait and clean it out completely when we have a break in the weather - this coming weekend - then spray EVERYWHERE inside the coop before putting down bedding again).

I did find some external parasite dust in my chicken cabinet that is composed of permethrin, so I'll dust them with that (vent area and under wings) tomorrow - since my liquid pyrethrin won't be here until Friday.

Hoping this all works out! Never had a mite problem until earlier this summer. And to make things even more ''exciting'' around here, two of my pullets and my roo have bubbly eyes (read that was a viral infection and there is all kinds of advice on treating that, ranging from letting it run its course to getting antibiotics from the vet. Right now, I'm monitoring it to see if it gets worse. So far, I'm not seeing any lethargy - just one runny eye on each of them, with what appears to be swollen sinuses with one of the pullets and a slightly swollen eyelid on my roo. Still, they seem to be acting normal, otherwise).

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