Tips For Keeping Mites At Bay

*** Tips For Keeping Mites At Bay ***

One fundamental problem ALL poultry keepers have is keeping your coop and poultry mite free. There are several different kinds of mite which include (Northern Fowl Mite, Red Mite, Spider Mite, Scaly Mite and Predator Mite) just to name a view, but believe it or not there are reportedly over 45,000 different species of bird mite but only a few species actually cause problems to mammals. In this article we look at ways of preventing mites invading your coop but furthermore keeping your poultry mite FREE.

So, where do mites and lice come from?

The real problem comes from wild birds because they carry lice and mites and transfer them to your chickens. Wild birds will always help themselves to any chicken feed that happens to be on the ground or in feeders and this is when lice and mites get left behind. The insects then jump on your chickens, in no time at all they multiply and pretty soon you have to deal with an infestation both on the birds and in their houses if the problem goes unnoticed and untreated.

Tips for keeping your coop and poultry mite free

• Keep hedges low and trimmed
• Keep wild birds out of your garden as much as possible
• Keep wild birds from entering your run or coop
• Keep coop away from hedges
• Try not to use felt to weatherproof your coop
• Keep grass low and cut
• Have a weekly cleaning regime
• Treat for coop regular for mites using a mite treatment even if you don't have them
• Treat your birds regularly (once every 3 months for mites/lice)
• Add DE (Diatomaceous earth) to dust bathing area's
• Use a mite powder/add to dust bathing area (most include permethrin)
• Keep coop clean and tidy
• Do not use a pressure washer if you have mites, it doesn't kill them it just spreads them
• Apply vaseline to perch ends
• Mastic up any cracks or crevices
• Do an annual treatment using wood preserve or better still creosote
• Add mite powder/DE to bedding mixing in or sprinkling on
• ALWAYS wear a mask when using any treatments as they can be nasty especially if inhaled

Common mistakes when treating for mite

A lot of people make mistakes when treating for mite, the biggest is noticing mite and then just treating the coop or their poultry once and thinking that will do the job, IT WON'T. Treating mites is a battle and once you get infested with them it is really hard to get rid of them. Mites and Lice lay lots of eggs and have a life cycle of around 5-7 days so if you don't re-treat your poultry or coop 5-7 days after the initial treatment those eggs will be hatching plus those you haven't managed to kill and by then the situation has worsened and you now have an infestation on your hands. It is vital that if you have mites, you re-treat 5-7 days after your initial treatment to break the life cycle and then treat and clean for your coop every 5-7 days to keep on top of them. You know the saying "prevention is cheaper than the cure", well never a truer word spoken when it comes to mites or lice because it really is. Even if you don't have mites STILL treat your poultry and hens for it as a preventative measure.

DONT'S

• Don't treat your coop and poultry just the once
• Don't use a pressure washer as it just spreads mites or lice everywhere
• Re-use any bedding, completely clean coop out and burn any old bedding
• Just leave the coop or poultry and think it will be ok (IT WON'T)
• Treat or clean coop with poultry or other animals about, lock them out
• Don't clean your coop or treat your poultry without wearing a mask

Things that can be used to treat mites or lice

• 1% Ivermectin drop on for birds
• Vaseline to perches and legs
• DE (Diatomaceous earth) directly to birds and dustbathing area's
• Permethrin based products (fly spray and ant powder) are both cheap and effective
• Poultry shield
• Smite
• Don't use hay or straw (it attracts mites/lice) trying to use a good quality bedding or shaving

Any other advice?

We have lots of other advice and help to give regarding mites, lice, flea's and ticks - please take a look at our -> Document <- for further details.

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