[Markw]

After Mrs Apron's post, this got me thinking on how to kill the Red Mite that is a big problem.
As mentioned the shell of the mite needs to be broken down and the mite will dehydrate and die.

I was talking with my friend this morning about the problem, the use of chemicals etc .
And I think we have come up with a fantastic fix that is perfectly harmless to the birds and. inexpensive to apply and will kill the little suckers dead within a few seconds.

The answer is pipe freezing spray in an can , it costs about £10,and you can get it any diy shop, it will get down to -40 you just freeze them to death it should kill the mite and their eggs. At this  temperature the cell structure is damaged and will kill them.

Well that is what I have come up with.

[joyfull]

Interesting Mark and not something I would have thought of - even though we have used the freezing method here on pipes - a good bit of lateral thinking there  .
I hope they aren't like scorpions though who can survive being frozen and burnt. If you get redmites perhaps you could let us know.
I'm afraid I took the easier route and bought all plastic (recycled of course) so a steam clean with an industrial cleaner away from it's normal place and Bobs your uncle sorted 

[Markw]

Not been sent to the naughty step then Ha Ha. yes plastic is always best.  the this is if you have a timber coop it could be of help. you need to get the mite to nest where you want them. this is quite easy to do.

[ANHBUC]

Sounds good Mark, just wonder what damage it will do to a coop built out of the cheaper timber.

Have not had the displeasure of the pesky redmite but would give it a go treating as you suggested.

[kegs]

Definitely possible.  This paper on page 2 mentions freezing the mites at -20 in order to kill them so their numbers could be counted for research.

http://www.nhm.ac.uk/hosted-sites/acarology/saas/e-library/pdf000200/a000154.pdf

I'm getting excited and I haven't even got red mite.... yet.

I really need to get out more! 

[joyfull]

Looks like you may have found the solution then Mark, so long as it doesn't damage the coops. These little blighter though can hide in the minutest of crevices so you may need to repeat it after a couple of days just to make sure you don't miss any 

[Markw]

Now I have found my glasses and located  the thread Ha Ha
This should not cause any damage to the timber because it.s only ice and not a chemical.

If looking at other treatments such as powders and liquids, the application works off gravity when it gets to a flat surface it tends to stop and not move sideways into minute cracks a crevices. even a liquid will travel sideways but can be stopped by an air pocket.

As the pipe freezing solution is stored in a liquid form  and under pressure within the container. As it is released it turns into a gas as a phase change and drops it temperature and gives up it's stored energy as as cold.

The cold gas should be able to reach most if not all small cracks and crevices within the treated area. The timber will also act as an insulation and slow the melting process.     

[Mrs.Apron]

Sounds good Mark.  I'm all for doing things without chemicals if poss.  I'm hoping that by keeping things scrupulously clean and well diatomed (if that's a word!) I'll keep on top of things.