when will the red mites DIE!!!!

[Glutton4...]

Looking good! I'm surprised, actually. I only found one mite moving, the rest were definitely dead. I went mental with the spray again, just in case.

[Suechooks]

Its amazing how the little b@$!@**s take a hold when your back's turned. Despite a few night frosts I'm still spraying most mornings.

[palomino]

Its amazing how the little b@$!@**s take a hold when your back's turned. Despite a few night frosts I'm still spraying most mornings.

Do you mean spraying the house only? Do you apply something direct to the birds daily? I generally do them with DE once a week.

[Suechooks]

Yes I spray under the perches and lift the perches and spray around the area they rest on. No point spraying the birds as the mites live in the house. However I do occasionally use Frontline spray and in between use Louse powder on the birds. Also have liberal amounts of Diatom in coop and in dust bath area.

[RichmondHens]

Permethrin - the chemical in Net-Tex Total Mite Kill products, and in most ant killer - will kill mites but can't be used on the bird, only the housing and perches. I have spent a king's ransom this year on these products, also Barrier Red Mite solution and powder (which is diatomaceous earth, like Diatom) to treat the birds. Problem is the Orpingtons are SO fluffy it's impossible to get down to the skin, the powder doesn't go through the fluff and as I've been treating them after they've gone to roost, it's far too cold to saturate them with a spray. And despite taking all shavings out at the weekend, spraying every surface and saturating the perches with permethrin before putting fresh wood shavings in, next week the shavings will be crawling with mites again. Three beautiful Orp chicks died this summer, two at 8 weeks and one at 15 weeks, and I'm sure it was mites that killed them.

I have Orps and yes they are fluffy but you can get down to the skin. But if it is red mite you are treating and not lice then the only way to beat them is to tackle the house. Find out where the main colony is - there will be one. Do you have a felt roof? It sounds like you have not found the nucleus of the infestation and are just treating stragglers.