Dealing with bird mites; my home, my hens, my itchyness!

[The Yakima Kid]

In order to control the pests, you must exclude the wild birds. My husband thought the wild birds in the chicken yard were cute - until we found ourselves perpetually battling scaly leg mites.

Take the birds out of the coop, clean it thoroughly and give it a good spray with either carbaryl or pyrethrin if they are available. Repeat at least four times at the specified interval.

Obtain a container of poultry dust, preferably carbaryl or pyrethrin. Place a bit of this inside a garbage bag, then insert chicken with the birds head outside of the bag. Gently shake bird in the bag. Or you can use a puff bottle or a cosmetic puff and thoroughly dust the chicken, making sure to get down to the skin as well.

Repeat as per the instructions on the container.

It is important to clear pests from the housing as well as the birds, or the pests will simply rejoin the birds when they are replaced in the housing after treatment. Treatments must be repeated because the pesticides do not kill the pest eggs.

I hope this helps.

 

[The Yakima Kid]

One reason "old time farmers" didn't see the pest problems we see today is that they used very persistent pesticides including DDT and Lindane. When I was in Future Farmers of America in the early 1970s DDT was used as a poultry premise treatment.

 

[missnu01]

Oh My,,this makes me wonder if keeping chickens is worth all this misery! If I ever get them again,,I will not have hens anymore,,not worth this hassle,
as much as I love them

I never got them in the home, but I did have a different outbreak of a teeny bug called booklice,,I was infested and it came in off the woodshavings,,It was terrible,they were everywhere,and It took almost 1 year to get rid of the infestation,,they don't live off humans,or blood,,but they thrive in wood and humid places,,it was a disaster,and gave me an real phobia. I still get haunted by it,,that's why if I get another mite problem and think it could come into the home,,it's no more chickens for me. I hope the DE keeps things at bay this coming season!! I powder then every 4 weeks,I really don't want to use chemicals especially since I have 2 young children..Will the DE prevent this ??

DE has been touted to be some magical powdered cure all, but it really isn't all that great for anything...it can sometimes deter ants...but that is all I have ever seen it actually be good for.

 

[chookhead]

Hello fellow aussie. I have the same problem especially in summer but the only solution that I have come across that seems to work is MORTEIN DIY spray the one the large jug thing I spray my chickens with it all over and I spray their bedding and the perimeters of their 'age and they have no lice for at least 6 month it is ny far the best treatment and there are no side effects or waiting periods where u cant eat the eggs so go out to Cole's or wollies and by Ur self one.

 

[Hens Haven 1]

Ouch! I sure understand what you're going through, and although I'm in the Northern Hemisphere, I think our problems are similar.

I've found that the Frontline Plus spray works best for me, and I only have to use it about three times a year. The problem is that here there are two different species of mites that frequently attack the birds- northern fowl mites and red mites. If I'm not mistaken, one stays on the bird all the time and feeds constantly, and the other hides during the day and only comes out of the cracks and crevices of the roosting and perching places of the birds to feed at night.

If you've cleaned out your coops with rotenone, (which is almost impossible to get here,) that ought to stop the little night-time crawlies. But the Frontline Plus spray has an extra ingredient that also kills the eggs and emerging larva of the daytime mites.

The ratio of fipronil that you use on your cats is probably too mild to have any lasting effect on the birds, and they are indeed, host specific. This doesn't mean they won't try to make a meal of you, but they won't be able to successfully live off of you and reproduce.

Wild birds do bring in mites, but it's very difficult to keep you birds away from any contact at all. Any place a wild bird has fed, perched, eaten, dust-bathed, or walked has the potential to carry any mites that may have dropped off.

Please don't give up your birds without trying again! Obviously, your birds are a source of great pleasure for you and it would be a shame to see them leave.

I hope this helps, but I'm sure that many other folks with much more experience will join in the discussion and offer better advice.

Yours in the Fancy,
Sandy

 

[Jazza]

I'm near Lightning Ridge and have used powder mentioned by the others..I buy it online from www.mtsyviadiafomite..in ACT ph 0261615992. We had problems with "Lousy Jacks".not mites, just greedy..so now also feed in coops (old birdcages). I have found that when the hens have plenty of dustbaths in dirt or ashes they come "clean" too. Something for your sheds is the Diafomite and also Coopex(expensive but great for mozzies/ant/spiders in cages..and sheds, verandah's etc) it's from Bayer..www.bayeres.com.au. I'm allergic to all that other stuff, but these have no effect on me, just the bugs!! Selsun shampoo (yellow bottle) is good for human itchies (sulphur based) Jazza

 

[Jazza]

Scaley leg mites...I use Vaseline or petroleum jelly..dead cheap, non toxic to all and very effective...the mites can't breath so die...plus the chicks have lovely smooth legs...if they're really bad at first, wash with a toothbrush and Selsun shampoo (or any nit shampoo)

 

[cgoodloe]

DE (Diatomaceous Earth), Food Grade version ONLY, works very well in the home too. I put it around baseboards, under beds, behind furniture, and in the chicken dustbowls, roost, coop, etc. This stuff kills any softbodied insect including good bugs so be careful where you put it outside. My son went on a scout trip a couple years back and he brought home fleas. I put that powder all over the kids' room in the carpet and under mattresses and around baseboards everywhere else. Fleas were gone completely within a month. It kills ants too but only if they walk through it so pour it into anthills too. Also, add some DE to your chicken's feed once in awhile. It supposedly stops internal parasites and worms. I'm not sure if that works but my chickens never had internal problems. Humans and pets can eat the stuff but it's not tasty by itself so best to mix a little (teaspoon, not heaping) to a smoothie. Too much will bother your stomach. Don't breathe it in so wear a mask when dusting with it. It can also irritate eyes. Small side effects with huge benefits! I am an organic gardener so this is one of my staples. If you have any questions about it, please let me know. You can buy it on ebay or doing a google search for it. But I did find this Australian website http://diatomaceousearthonline.com.au/ so check it out there.

Carla

Sorry I just realized some other posters also mentioned similar stuff that I did. Sorry!

 

[chkn]

Yeah, the same thing happened to me: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/756271/can-mites-live-off-people-infest-their-house

 

[chkn]

I also made my chicken run fairly bird proof. I used 'aviary wire' over the hard wire and made some shade fabric curtains for the door. Birds come in alot less often. I have a neighbor cat who visits and helps occasionally. The birds come in and don't want to leave or can't figure out how to leave. I'm always happy when the cat comes and carries one off. Yeah, the wild birds are a big problem.