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Do you own a blow torch? If you could lift her out for say ten mins you could blowtorch the coop and kill a high percentage of the little $&%$ and be able to return her at once as there is no after effect. You don't need to blacken the wood or even scorch it much - just play it over all the cracks to get the heat and flame to lick in.

The hot vinagar spray will deal with any mites it touches but is caustic and the smell of picked coop is something else again!

Have you tried Diatome powder in a thick layer? Not just a light puff but an actual covering, thick enough for footprints.

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The weeks and the years are fine. It's the days I can't cope with!

Oh no!!! Thats truly cr*p - all that effort and still the little sh*ts live on. <<<<<<<<<hug>>>>>>>>>

I seriously doubt the red mite powder's effectiveness. I put a huge pile of it in the bottom of the coop as I thought that would stop them getting inside and they didn't seem to notice the powder at all and so I had my little infestation.

I think the vinegar and heat might be a good solution for a sitting hen. I guess the smell might only be off putting to us humans and the vents will be open anyway. I sprayed my killer stuff with the girls inside and worried about them but they seemed fine the next morning.

Do you think a hair dryer would be hot enough to kill them - bit less chance of setting fire to something?

Dont think a hair dryer would do it ...but have you got or can borrow a paint stripping gun..they're much hotter but would scorch wood before they set fire to it.
good luck

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Anyone who says nothing is impossible has never tried slamming a revolving door

Thanks for your advice & support everyone...I truly felt like crap earlier!When it happened with Marigold I felt overwhelmed with guilt that we hadn't prepared ourselves for the (then unknown)worst!...this time however,I thought we'd been OTT in preparing her for a comfortable & safe three weeks!I just felt totally desperate that there's no winning with them!
Despite spending the morning hunting papers & computer for rabbit hutches & then this afternoon driving around checking out all the little free~ad boards in shops around Ipswich...came up with zilch!So unfortunately she is still in the same coop.We have however given it a good scrub & wiped down with Poultry Shield...didn't want to spray as it would have left it damp for her?Dusted the area her box is in with liberal amounts of mite powder,changed her nest...also layered with mite powder & newspaper & mite powder & hemcore.She also got another good dust down...much to her disgrace!
We were a little worried it would put her off going back on the eggs,but despite her hissing viscious broody ways,we still love her more than the eggs,so her comfort & wellbeing comes first!I'm sure I'll be checking her in a very paranoid way for the next two weeks & ideally if we can sort a new coop then that will be preferable,but hopefully the mite powder will prove it's worth & keep them away!...there were actually far fewer mites in her nest than I'd expected,so maybe the Barrier stuff's not as carp as I was starting to think???
Unfortunately we have neither a blow torch nor paint stripping gun to hand,but shall remain on a hunt for them whilst searching for a suitable new broody coop...don't tell Andi but I think he may be building one at the weekend!

Bang goes a relaxed hatch!!!

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the fates lead him who will;him who won't they drag.

Happiness is not having what you want,but wanting what you have.xx

Going to get DD to check my coop for me, as I'm feeling a total twit with this flu, and can't do much (in less than 12 hours!)

We found two sort of lines of mites on one perch. Cleaned everything, sprayed the girls with the spray that DD uses for the BOPs although we couldn't see anything on them.

I went out this morning with my magnifying glass and couldn't see anything, but I'm not convinced so DD will continue checking and hopefully with scrub out the henhouse tomorrow. We gloss painted the entire insides of out coop & house so they are easier to spot and there are less crevices hopefully.

Andi & Di and Lizzy, ((((((HOOGEST HUGS)))) you'll get there, keep your chins up!

Jules

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www.appletreecraftfairs.com
www.whatthechook.blogspot.com/

Thanks Jules!xx
Hope you're feeling better soon & that you/DD manage to get on top of yours before they become a problem!{{{x}}}

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the fates lead him who will;him who won't they drag.

Happiness is not having what you want,but wanting what you have.xx

Let us know how you get on - Andi&di - have you considered moving Marigold into a cat carrier? The plastic ones are faily cheap and easy to clean - you can leave the swinging door off and put it in the run at the end away from the coop. If you are worried your other birds might pick on her then close the gate and shut her in!

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The weeks and the years are fine. It's the days I can't cope with!

Hi All

it would be good to post some pictures of these little critters, perhaps on this post or another, so as a newbie I can see what I'm looking for....

I've seen a tick on a dog, but lice and fleas....thats another thing

I find alsorts of little bugs as we live next to fields, but I never know what they are

Being as tiny as they are,not sure you'd be able to get a particularly good pic?...definately not with our camera!

Before a feast they are a brownish grey like speck...but when there's lots it'll look like a pile of moving dust.
When they've had a feast they turn red,this is when you may notice little squashed raspberry like patches.
Another way of finding out if you have them is to run a white cloth along your perches...if there's any red stains,chances are you have them.
They really are very tiny & mostly only come out at night,however with our broody I noticed them,during the day,when I slightly lifted her nest box to have a peep underneath(as you do!)...there were several grey patches,which I'm guessing were eggs & also a couple of red blobs...moving!I guess that as she keeps the nest warm & dark all day they don't much care whether it's day or night.Horrible things!

Hope that's been of a little help...maybe someone with a decent camera will be able to do better?

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the fates lead him who will;him who won't they drag.

Happiness is not having what you want,but wanting what you have.xx

To add to that...lice are perfectly visible to the human eye...if you look under your girls wings you'll see if they have them,they attatch themselves to the feathers.
They live on the bird as opposed to the surroundings.
They look pretty similar to any other lice...long skinny things...far easier to rid than mites!...the Barrier mite powder works on lice as well...not really sure why they have two different products on the market?

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the fates lead him who will;him who won't they drag.

Happiness is not having what you want,but wanting what you have.xx

As it was a nice day here (for a change) and Number 1 daughter and 2 of her daughters were going to put the new shed/coop up for me, I decided to give the coops their weekly "bottoming" and scrub a few days early. O M G!!!!!!!!! Took the perches out of Basils coop and HUGE red patches of mites on each end of both of them!! Honestly, if I'd seen it on anyone elses coop I'd have thought it hadn't been cleaned for months let alone treated! The ex-batts coop and perches were fine, no sign of mites in there. Anyway, both coops have been stripped out completely, scrubbed with Jeyes fluid, blow-torched on every surface, nook, cranny, join, screw head etc, drenched thoroughly with double strength red mite stuff, powdered all over with louse powder and all fresh new bedding put in. I can understand now why people are feeling ashamed that they've got an infestaion - I'm shocked and horrified with myself even though I know I'm good at looking after my girls and boys. So, PLEASE don't beat yourselves up about it, it happens to us all unfortunately.

By the way, the perches will be scrubbed with Jeyes fluid again in the morning and another liberal dosing of the red mite stuff each day till I go away, then go through the whole procedure again when I get back. My poor babies having to put up with all that lot!!

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My girls found their way into my heart and now they nest there

Oh Maureen,I feel you pain!!!{{{x}}}
We've only just eaten dinner having got in at 9:30 from an afternoon of mite blasting!
Dandelion was fine...not a sign of the critters back...yet
However,the big Girls had only laid four eggs,yesterday only four.
I've been so meticulous with their coop since the last lot & as well as a regular all over spray,zap the perches/nestbox far more...sometimes daily.
Went to take what I thought was a poop out of their nestbox,only for it to fall apart & crawl!!!double eek(cos I think I may run out of my five allowed scary smileys!)
Sprayed the coop from top to bottom with poultry shield & washed/soaked the floor with it.Followed by a scrub with Jeyes & finished with another spray.Then had the brainwave of unhinging the "table" their nestboxes sit on...triple wammy eeks with horns!!!
*yuk!...I just found one crawling on my boob!!!
Sorry!
Needless to say,zapped them,burnt their nestbox & found them a new one...dusted liberally with powder...just hoping they have a more comfortable night!I feel so bad for them.
Andi wonders if we can use a smoke bomb?(like you can get for greenhouses)...would it kill them & how long before it would be safe for the girls to go back in?
BTW...ten perfect eggs were found in their toy tyre!Not sure how old they are,but I shall do the float test before using them...poor little girls having to lay their eggs in an outside tyre!

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the fates lead him who will;him who won't they drag.

Happiness is not having what you want,but wanting what you have.xx

At least you have found the main hiding place for the little creeps.

Just keep going - it's a long haul

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The weeks and the years are fine. It's the days I can't cope with!

I took all the perches out of the coops this morning and there's no signs at all of any nasties. I'm not going to be complacent though, they'll be getting another scrub and spray today.

I think that going over all the surfaces, nooks, crannies, joints etc with the blow torch helped enormously. It's only a little blow-torch, the one I use for scorching the tops of creme brulees

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My girls found their way into my heart and now they nest there

None of you have roofing felt on your houses by any chance do you? It is the WORST thing for harbouring red mite. Just a thought. You could clean and clean the inside of the house, but if they are living in the roof, it won't make a scrap of difference.

By the way, I'm really sorry for all the trouble you are having with the mites. Hope you get rid soon.

If you have a house made of pieces of wood, filling all the 'joins' and crevices will risk rot getting into the stuff, and creating new (and harder to cope with) crevices. The creosote-type treatment is far better.
If you have a house with a roofing-felt 'top' the felt will need renewing from time to time anyway, so "creosote" heavily before putting the new layer on, alternatively stick it down all over with bitumen, like they do on flat house roofs. I can't imagine mites getting under there!
I would be inclined to use 'marine grade' plywood for a roof, apply boat varnish to the outside and 'creosote' inside (and to all the rest of the house).
When I had chooks, I never saw any sign of mites, but then mine were totally free range most of the time, and slept wherever they liked, often on some metal cages we had (previous owner of the big shed kept rabbits that way)!

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Flowers come in too many colours to see the world in black-and-white.

Quick up date for you all. Hope your own personal battles are coming along nicely....

I jet washed inside and outside the coop today. Very interesting for me was watching the outside when spraying inside. The mites that got blasted out were pretty numerous, so I will be filling inside and outside again, just because it makes sense to me.

The stuff I've been using, interestingly is the same, only stronger version of head lice killer. How do I know? Well I used the water from the hose to dilute the liquid in a sprayer, DD then put the hose in her mouth. FFS - some else was supposed to be watching over her!!!

Off to the local A&E (who were fab btw). I took the bottle and they checked out all the chemicals and yes, confirmed they are pretty nasty. Luckily I'd done the right thing by blasting her face and mouth with water and she didn't seem to ingest enough (any perhaps) to warrant keeping her in for obs. THANK GOODNESS

Goodness me Lizzy, eek what a fright for you! Glad she's okay now though and no harm done
Tina
x

Oh Lizzy Hun!Pleased DD is OK!xxx

Life seems so easy for some don't it!....any consolation,yours seems pretty similar to mine!{{{x}}}

We'll get them bu@@ars!!!

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the fates lead him who will;him who won't they drag.

Happiness is not having what you want,but wanting what you have.xx

I try very hard not to rock lifes boat but some times it doesn't matter how still or quite I keep, that bad luck tracks me down. I think it's because I've been hoovering spiders up just lately. Someone once told me it was bad luck to kill them, and I'm beginning to wonder if there's something in it after all

DD is fine today, had breakfast and mid day snooze, so everything normal.

Thanks for your kind words. {{{{}}}}}}

I know what red mite looks like now

Having found a load of the blighters on the perch......

No-where else and the boards look clean...so have dusted them, the house and removed the perch and thats going on the bonfire

but the perch was on the paper which I put in the run last night where I had the food kept, only to find the bag of food had little mites in it!

So i've rang the place this morning and told them

I've even used red mite powder since I had the ark, no problems....

blooming stuff stinks, i've had my head in the arc all morning and now all I can taste is red mite powder

Trouble in they were in the shed, where I ssat the dog this morning, so off to the vets to get him checked, going any way but still... he has had to have some strong hold just in case

Any more advice???

I really would get hold of some Poultry shield...or use one of the other methods people have suggested,to actually kill them.The mite powder is just something they don't much like,it doesn't kill them.If there were some on the perch,even though you can't see any others,chances are a few have gone into hiding elsewhere.(sorry!)
Sounds like maybe you've caught them early,so with a bit of luck & a few sprays,you'll be on top of them!
Out of interest,are you thinking you brought them in with the feed???It's interesting,as my dad works for a warehouse that used to store grain.He was telling me that when they had to either walk in it or handle it,he would be covered in mites!But I would have thought after all the processes of turning it into pellets/mash any mites would be eliminated???
No ideas about whether they attack dogs,but if you're going to the vets anyway,I'm sure they'll be able to tell you.

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the fates lead him who will;him who won't they drag.

Happiness is not having what you want,but wanting what you have.xx

Bizarre, I was having this conversation with the guy at the farm shop, he told me they do gets mites from time to time, if they catch them early they can stop it, but over the cause of a night, it can infest the whole pallett - to be honest this isnt the place I normally get my food from.

Having had the perch out yesterday prior to putting in the paper, it was clear. I dusted it then. There was no mistaking the perch this morning it was covered in them....

So i've not even bothered with it, binned it and the OH is making another this morning

My OH is at our normal farmers shop today, he's just rang as they dont have pultry shield so it may be an internet purchase

I annot find poultry sheild anywhere, so he has bought what they stock, apparently it is a spray foam type thing, he said its pink but the chucks cannot be near the spray in placed into the house for 30 minutes

I think he has brought: Mite Kill Spray

Has anyone had any experience of this?

I did a google for poultry shield and found this site - seems reasonable to me:

Treatments to remove Lice and red Mites from chickens and their housing

does life with chickens get any easier???

cause i just want to cry!!!

You'll get on top of them!!!
Then it's a case of incorporating staying on top of them into your daily/weekly routine.
Ours get a quick clean out everyday...once you get into the swing of it,it really doesn't take long.I also now daily check for mites,if I see any zap them...and sometimes if I don't!
Then weekly their coops get a good clean out & wash and routinely sprayed,regardless of whether I think it needs it.
I think this is a particularly bad year for mite and I'm sure I'm not going to be 100% rid of them,but if I can keep their numbers down to an absolute minimum & try to keep them away from my girls,then I'll settle for that!Each time I find a new hiding place for them,I want to have a good cry...noticed some hiding under the floor of the coop door yesterday!
But I know I'm doing my best and also know the girls are far happier now,laying all their eggs in the nestbox & being able to roost in comfort...it seemed a never ending battle to get on top of them & I'm under no illusion that I can let my guard down in the battle...but now that it's part of my general routine,it is easier!
{{{x}}}

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the fates lead him who will;him who won't they drag.

Happiness is not having what you want,but wanting what you have.xx

Oh you poor thing tick9. I have sat and cried too when I lost 3 ex-batts in quick succession. Thought it was me and perhaps I ought to give up. However I've battled on and it does get easier. I'm almost fearful to say I haven't battled red mite yet (touch wood) but all these posts have made me paranoid. I now check the coop every night to see if I can see any and run a wet tissue along the perches to check for blood. The girls are getting used to my nocturnal visits and watch me with interest. OK so no red mite yet but don't get me started about tape worm.

i'm thinking that a wooden arc was not a good idea.

i clean them out but how do people do this in the winter, being wooden i would imagine its hard to dry....

even this morning its been a nightmare to dry and even then I've had to leave it with the bare minimum in the nest box and the rest to dry

Tlck9, I also have a wooden coop with felt roof! No way I can get rid of roof and replace with another covering
Although, I haven't seen any since I lit the sulphur candle Saturday night, apart from millions dead on the floor once the candle had gone out! I then sprayed once again everywhere with the poultry shield, then once dried I powdered the diatom everywhere too and on the girls. I am spraying again today due to any mite eggs hatching and every 3 days after for a while then once weekly.

Seriously thinking of getting the plastic garden store that Wendy on forum has though, although that will scupper any plans of me buying a auto pop hole opener for the bleak winter time! Plus, I also have to think of how I will keep it cooler in the summer months.
Tina
x

Hi All

I am feeling more positive about tackling this problem....I spoke with Di and she has made me realise that although I have a problem, I have caught it in its early stages

I have re-powdered the arc, and left it clean of bedding, as I plan to spray again tonight just in case, then I can check the next few days and spray again on Thursday/Friday

Although popped up there this lunch to find one of the chucks had somehow got behind the pen and was stuck, i've no idea how she did this little trick...but....so now I need to replan the run and coup - I dont want to think if I hadnt done a check on them!

You'll find that this population explosion is due to the weather. Once the frosts start, the population will naturally drop anyway and you will probably hardly notice any in the ark at all. Then next year you'll be able to keep the numbers right down with your new regime.

Make sure you aren't over bedding your girls too, just some sheets of newspaper under the perch which you can remove daily and either burn or compost, and in the nest boxes just use wood shavings (not wood chip btw). If you are using hay or straw, the mites will live in the 'tubes' during the day so its not a good idea, and using too much bedding will make it hot in there at night - again perfect conditions for red mite to multiply, so don't put any shavings or hay under the perch area - your girls don't need it and the red mite love it!!

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Head of D M-T Sales and Marketing and Management Support.
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A Dremel Multi-Tool is for life, not just for Christmas.

Chickadee Be careful even if you get a plastic hut the mites will still come. They just have less places to hide and will stay on hens. They also get down the joins in plastic - I used a plastic carrying box instead of the wood nest box and the little b.ggers got down the holes where the plugs go to join top and bottom together! I've been reading on another forum about someone who has one of the well-known plastic coops and has had major problems because she thought the plastic wouldn't host them and also was poorly herself so missed checking for a couple of days and they were heaving under the roosting bars.
We've all just got to be meticulous in checking/spraying/treating huts and girls.

This is good to know, as I put wood shavings on the floor of the arc, usually over paper. and some wood shavings and I'm not sure what its called but its like elephant grass, which the poultry supplier said was best....

So to summarise I need to remove the shavings i'm putting under the perches and just use it in the nest box...sounds cheaper and easier

I had another spray tonight and a quick puff of powder on each chuck before bed time

so fingers crossed