What to do with bedding being cleaned out due to lice/mite problem?

[BeccaSmith]

Hi Everyone! I hope I am putting this question in the right forum. I have a lice & mite problem that I will be treating my hens for in the next day or so. I plan on removing the old bedding from the floor & nest boxes but I am unsure what to do with it. We use pine shavings with the deep litter method and I would hate to waste it all if I can compost it but wasn't sure how good of an idea it would be to compost it if there is the possibility of lice &/or mites being in it? I am trying to figure out if I will be reinfecting my chickens with lice and mites by putting it into the compost bin. I have a large three bin compost system that is out in an area where the chickens are but that cannot get into it, but the sides are slatted and stuff falls out and they walk by it all the time. If I can't put it in the compost bin I am unsure what to do with it, other then toss it? I can't put it out in the garden area to burn it because the garden is pretty active and I don't have place to store it that the chickens wouldn't get to, unless I kept it in garbage bags to burn in the garden (the chickens do not have access to the garden so perhaps it would be ok?). Any recommendation's would be appreciated!

 

[theoldchick]

Burn it. I use a burn barrel and spread the ashes. Those eggs can live through just about anything, and lie in wait for the perfect time to hatch. You'll go from 0 mites to 5 million in less that 24 hours when conditions to hatch is perfect. I'm not kidding.

Burn your old bedding.

 

[what did I do]

Get rid of it! If you keep it on hour place there is a good chance you will get a reinfestation.

 

[BeccaSmith]

Well since I can't burn it, I will put it in the trash! I'll take it to the dumpster at my work to get rid of it right away since our trash pick up was today! It really sucks to loose all that beautiful could have been compost for the garden!

 

[Kevin565]

I would just bag it up then burn it. It may be safe to compost but I personally wouldn't take any chances.

 

[BeccaSmith]

I would just bag it up then burn it. It may be safe to compost but I personally wouldn't take any chances.

If I bagged it and tied a knot and stored it away from where the chickens are and if I waited long enough I would think the lice/mites would die and it would be ok to add to the compost pile, I wouldn't think any eggs would have been laid in the bedding since I thought lice and mites only lay their eggs on the chickens? How long would be safe to wait do you thinkm a few weeks or a couple of months? If it would be more then 2 months, I could just spread it in the garden in November and burn it like you recommended, perhaps that would be the best thing to do. Hubby will just love that I want to bag it! LOL.

 

[BeccaSmith]

So lice and mites don't only lay eggs on chickens then? Also I will have to bag it and wait to burn it as there is currently a burn ban due to our air quality thanks to many local wildfires.

 

[theoldchick]

Mites lay eggs where ever they happen to be. Then the eggs follow the law of gravity and fall to the bedding, roosting area, nest boxes. While some eggs do stick to the feathers, they are dislodged by preening. Immature stages of the mite also live in bedding. Different species have differences in their reproductive nature, but keeping the coop clean and using fresh bedding helps keep the numbers down. Burning used bedding helps wild birds from getting the lice/mites and reinfecting your flock. However, burning the bedding is only part of the answer, as you still need to treat infested birds.

 

[BeccaSmith]

Mites lay eggs where ever they happen to be. Then the eggs follow the law of gravity and fall to the bedding, roosting area, nest boxes. While some eggs do stick to the feathers, they are dislodged by preening. Immature stages of the mite also live in bedding. Different species have differences in their reproductive nature, but keeping the coop clean and using fresh bedding helps keep the numbers down. Burning used bedding helps wild birds from getting the lice/mites and reinfecting your flock. However, burning the bedding is only part of the answer, as you still need to treat infested birds.

That makes sense. I will burn the bedding as soon as we no longer have a burn ban, think it will be ok in a plastic bag until we can burn it or should we just toss it in a trash can and put it out on the curb for collection? I don't know how long we will have a burn for, it could until the end of October. Perhaps tossing it is the best thing to do at this time although it is not what I would ideally like to do. I also plan on treating all our chickens as soon as I clean all the bedding out, and then retreating and cleaning out again about 10 days later. Some of the girls have a lot of eggs on them, I'm hoping I might be able to gently trim off those feathers at the base and dispose of them in addition to treating them.

 

[BeccaSmith]

Just curious, how long can lice eggs and mite eggs lay around until the perfect time to hatch, years?