[wildwitchy]

I was soooooo shocked to discover that my coop had an attack of red mite. In all the years of keeping chooks, I've never had anything like this and when i saw it this after noon - I went balmy!!!

I was doing my poo pick routine & moved the bag i keep under the perch & there was a moving pile of little red things!! I was horrified as I'm really meticulous & just changed over to using hemcore to prevent any bug problems!!

I've got rid of all the bedding, sprayed the coop with jeyes fluid & left it for an hour to soak in, then spread clean hemcore plus used a load of diatom. The chooks have all been given a dose of ivermectin again as id say they were due.

The blooming things were even crawling on me!! OMG - horrible creatures.

I don't even know where they've come from as I've had no new chooks recently. Could it come in on any hemcore/equisorb packaging as i store that in my coop & I know the supplier keeps chickens which wander around the outside barn where stuff is kept?

It seems to have happened very quickly & since ive changed to hemcore & equisorb???

Ugh, I'm all itchy. Any advice welcome! Thanks.

[Cal_Leghorn]

I WOULD WEEKLY KEEP CLEANING YOUR COOP WITH YOUR DISINFECTINT TO KEEP OUT THE BEASTS.I WOULD ALSO MAKE SURE YOUR CHICKENS HAVE SOMETHING TO BATHE IN SO IF THESE MITES COME ONTO THEM THEY CAN WASH.

[GrannieAnnie]

It's possible it came in on the packaging Wildwitchy, but wild birds carry them around too, so could have dropped off them.  I agree they are nasty little creatures!  I've just got rid of an invasion in my pure breeds house.

Even though I took off all my clothes when I came in the back door and threw them in the washing machine, then went upstairs and showered, a couple of nights later, I was sitting up here on my computer and one walked across my monitor!!!  ugh!

But it is so easy to miss and few in cracks and they multiply VERY quickly, so be vigilant like Cal_Leghorn says.

and Cal, please can you turn your caps lock off?  In the internet world it is deemed as shouting, and not all of us are deaf!   

[wildwitchy]

The coop which i can stand up in is totally covered over, but they have access to the top of the garden to rummage and dust bath etc. I was horrified! Yes, I was itching and found a couple a few walking on my arm! I had to have another bath and wash my hair. Clothes on hot wash! Everytime i feel a slight tickle on my skin i think ive got one on me!!

[spider]

Read this after clipping some of a friends chx's tonight and came across all itchy

Sure enough had one crawling on my arm, it was tiny and grey, but pressume it was a mite

Glad I clipped his after I put mine to bed 

Spider

[wildwitchy]

yes spider.  they are grey when they havent had a feed of blood apparently.  :blink:

the usual dislikes dont usually bother me like spiders, slugs, maggotts, snakes, mice, rats (not that i want a infestation of any of them either!) etc but things like flies, fleas and mites i just cant stand. I kept the shampoo on my head for about half an hour just to make sure they'd drowned. 

i was talking to another chicken friend whos got hundreds & he was saying about using garden lime for the floor etc & to paint the inside with old fashioned creosote but you cant get it now. He worms his birds with pumpkin seeds and mashed carrotts aswell anyone heard of that one? He's got some great looking birds I will say.

[caroline17]

Is the red spider mite you refer to different from the greenhouse red spider mite?I have a few of those rampaging around the raised beds and greenhouse?

Also is there any evidence that eglu coop iis more mite resistant for that reason?Less nooks and crannies?Those of you having mite infestations-can you let me know what style of coop you have to see if some more prone than others or all just as vulnerable!

[wildwitchy]

This is chicken red mite. I've found some that have been grey. All my chooks,ducks & geese are in wooden huts/coops but with plastic roofing as felt roofing is a real trap for red mite apparently. I've started using home made plastic nest boxes & found some mites in there today which were duely dealt with! They were under the tape around the edges, so i took that off & power washed the boxes plus jeyes!

I've dusted some gardeners lime in all the coops & cleaned yet again. A couple of the girls seem a bit out of sorts (pale wattles/quiet), so i think they've been feeding on them.

What a nightmare.

[hillfooter]

Is the red spider mite you refer to different from the greenhouse red spider mite?I have a few of those rampaging around the raised beds and greenhouse? They are completely different

Also is there any evidence that eglu coop iis more mite resistant for that reason?Less nooks and crannies?Those of you having mite infestations-can you let me know what style of coop you have to see if some more prone than others or all just as vulnerable!

You can get RM in any coop though Eglus are easier to clean and hence more resistant to them.  Basically RM are very easy to kill it's getting at them that's difficult as they hide in seams and in nooks and crannies.  Paint the perches with a slurry of Diatom.   Add powder to a dilute disinfectant base (or just water) with a dash of Fairy Liquid detergent.  Mix to a light batter consistancy and paint on perches and into any corners or cracks.  Use a pesticide which has a lasting residual effect to zap them.  Deep clean regularly and light clean in between and after a few cycles they should go but it can be an uphill struggle.  Last year I had to dismantle the roof of one coop to zap their breeding sites.  

Steam cleaning is best but power spraying is second best.  Re creosote - this is now banned for new installations or amateur use.  Use a detergent like Poultry Shield of Fairy Liquid will do.  House design is key and huts aren't the best, felt roofs (or any covering)are favourite breeding sites.  I would be wary of taking advice from someone who uses pumpkin seeds and carrots to worm!  Can't say I'd be too struck on using lime in any place chx have access though it might kill RM (most things will on contact).  Jeys isn't very effective either sadly.  You really need a pesticide so talk to Bowden & Knights and use what they recommend.

You're not a real chicken keeper unless you've had a RM infestation so welcome to the club Wildwitchy.  If you've got any spells in that spell checker now's a very good time to use them.
HF

[joyfull]

HF please can you not type whole paragraphs in red as this strains my eyes and makes it difficult to read your replies, thanks 

[hillfooter]

HF please can you not type whole paragraphs in red as this strains my eyes and makes it difficult to read your replies, thanks 

Sorry Joy I only do it when replying inside a quote so my response is differentiated from the original post.  I'll use blue in future.

Apologises to any one else who finds this difficult to read.
HF

[GrannieAnnie]

Not sure Joy will agree with your last paragraph either Hillfooter!!  

[hillfooter]

Not sure Joy will agree with your last paragraph either Hillfooter!!  

Well I don't suppose they dare show their little red faces in Joy's houses and not being able to see red I guess she'd miss them anyway.  Is that what you meant Grannie?  Hhummmmm is that a Red Mite on my screen or a full stop???........... 

In over ten years of poultry keeping I never had any either it's just since they withdrew Derris Dust a few years ago that they became uninvited guests.  It's then that I discovered Barrier Red Mite powder and spray were just expensive talc for chickens.  If you've never played host to them Joy here's a picture so you will recognise them when they eventually discover you there in the wilds of Lincolnshire.  

PS they are the little red things on the ends of the perch in the photo.  Start itching now!

HF

[Knight Family]

Well last year I had a real bad infestation, but I read somewhere that it was a very bad year think down to the wetness (not sure).

I ended up burning the old chicken coop as there was just to many nooks and crannies, I will say I'm supprised how many coops are built with tounge and groove wood, as when I stripped my coop down for burning (due to a move and it getting broken!) I found them in every single joint!!!!

Note: iching now at the thought!!

So I'm building my coop mk2, this time I'm using external plywood and going to seal the frame to the wood and make sure there is little or no gaps for the blitters.

Note2: They recomend you should change the cleaning method (use a different active agent) to kill the red mites as it has been found that they can be come less effective. Not sure how true this is but its what I do now.

[joyfull]

HF please can you not type whole paragraphs in red as this strains my eyes and makes it difficult to read your replies, thanks 

Sorry Joy I only do it when replying inside a quote so my response is differentiated from the original post.  I'll use blue in future.

Apologises to any one else who finds this difficult to read.
HF

As you can see from this reply you can still include the quote and post in black  .
As for redmite, never had them (yes I can see red - and red mite don't write whole paragraphs in bright colours). My coups are wooden kept near trees and wild birds - so guess I am just lucky, one day I will more than likely get them though.