Spinosad for mites

[Ninjasquirrel]

Our one hen has ascites and we went to drain her yesterday only to find she was covered in mites. Very odd because its so cold out. Either way I covered all my birds in DE and then we sprayed down the coop and run with spinosad. I didnt want to use it on the birds because its so cold out. I'm hoping just the spray down of the coop and run will be enough. If not I might have to get Permethrine dust. Any advice?

 

[Ted Brown]

I have just gone through a mite episode so can relate.

You are best to identify the type of mites you have as it will determine how to proceed with cleaning the coop (more below)

I had Northern Fowl mites and used both Permethrin spray (before it turned cold) and then sulphur powder. Both treatments are known to be effective. With the sulphur I dusted the birds around the vent, under wings, on the back and chest (keep the dust away from the head) weekly for three weeks AND mixed it into the dust baths. Previously I sprayed with Permethrin on a day 1, 5, 14 cycle; I still had mites and switched to the sulphur powder because of cold temperatures. I am pretty certain both will work BUT persistence is required it is not a once and done process. Permethrin dust can replace sulphur but I did not have access to it at the time.

I have read that mites and other such critters will attack weaker birds and not appear on others that are in good health. Notwithstanding you need to treat all birds once you have an infestation.

You also need to deal with cleaning your coop. NFM live on the host almost permanently (can live off the host for up to 3-4 weeks) whereas Red/Poultry mites live in cracks and crevices mostly around the roost areas (MUCH harder to get rid of) and come onto the birds at night to feed. In my case I cleared all bedding out of the coop and moved it to the run (if you have red mites burn it). I then sprayed/soaked the entire coop (walls, floors, roof, roosts, nests, feeders, etc); did this weekly for 3 weeks.

I now inspect all birds weekly or so.

 

[cmom]

Spinosad is good but much more expensive than permethrin which is much more cost effective and works. Even with spinosad, repeated weekly treatments may be necessary. It also states this in their fact sheet especially for mites. I also use poultry dust in the nest boxes. It usually has permethrin in it. You can dust the birds with the poultry dust. Make them look like a powdered doughnut. With both products there is no egg withdrawal period. I never had any luck with DE. I bought a 50# bag of it. I still have some left. Good luck...
This is for permethrin concentrate.

 

[Ninjasquirrel]

Spinosad is good but much more expensive than permethrin which is much more cost effective and works. Even with spinosad, repeated weekly treatments may be necessary. It also states this in their fact sheet especially for mites. I also use poultry dust in the nest boxes. It usually has permethrin in it. You can dust the birds with the poultry dust. Make them look like a powdered doughnut. With both products there is no egg withdrawal period. I never had any luck with DE. I bought a 50# bag of it. I still have some left. Good luck...
This is for permethrin concentrate.
View attachment 2473684View attachment 2473685

Not sure what kinda mites these are. They looked like moving bits of dirt. I didnt see them on any of our other birds. I'll have to try the Permethrine dust and see if that prevails. I know once I covered her with DE all the mites died almost immediately.

 

[ChichiMama]

Omg how horrible... so u you could tell by seeing moving pieces of dirt??? So skeeved... not looking forward to anything like that... how are their feathers? Feel so bad for all of you.

 

[cmom]

If DE killed them then they are probably not mites. I had some birds that were infested a few years ago. I used the DE and they weren't improving, in fact they were getting worse. I then got the permethrin and started treating them and all of my coops with the permethrin. I had first found the mites on birds in one coop and then I discovered some on birds in another coop. I'm pretty sure if I hadn't treated the birds and the coops when I did, I may have lost some of the birds. At first I thought they were molting but they weren't getting their feathers back in and they kept looking worse, that is when I discovered the mites.

 

[Sue Gremlin]

They could be lice, which tend to be more visible on birds that are sick as yours is. Lice also tend to occur during the winter months. If this is the case, they would be mostly around the vent, and will not live off the bird, so spraying the coop wouldn't be of any value.

 

[cmom]

I used the DE for a couple of weeks plus and no improvement. Glad it worked for you.

 

[Ninjasquirrel]

They could be lice, which tend to be more visible on birds that are sick as yours is. Lice also tend to occur during the winter months. If this is the case, they would be mostly around the vent, and will not live off the bird, so spraying the coop wouldn't be of any value.

I know what lice look like and it was definately not lice. We're headed to TSC to pick up Permethrine dust today

 

[Ninjasquirrel]

If DE killed them then they are probably not mites. I had some birds that were infested a few years ago. I used the DE and they weren't improving, in fact they were getting worse. I then got the permethrin and started treating them and all of my coops with the permethrin. I had first found the mites on birds in one coop and then I discovered some on birds in another coop. I'm pretty sure if I hadn't treated the birds and the coops when I did, I may have lost some of the birds. At first I thought they were molting but they weren't getting their feathers back in and they kept looking worse, that is when I discovered the mites.

If it didnt kill them then they must have ran under her feathers. I even rubbed the dust in under her plummage but I didnt see them after that. They're all getting a thorough bath today in Permethrine. The store I went to yesterday only carries Spinosad