Leaving Home because of Red Mite? Photo: Tony The Misfit

Over the last five or six years, I have been dealing with the dreaded Red Mite in my own poultry houses and trying different control methods to get rid of them. Since posting “How to get rid of a serious red mite infestation” when I found a large number of mites in one of my hen houses last summer, the comments have come flooding in. It’s a popular post and hopefully it has helped people.

From the comments that were made, a few people were saying their own house had been infested with Red Mite and many people were asking whether Red Mite can bite / feed from us. From my own experience of dealing with red mite, I have found that they will crawl on me and make me itch but a shower gets rid of them and I didn’t believe that they could feed from us or other species. Unfortunately I was wrong…

Here are some extracts from a comment received from Laura in Ireland for example that really made me think I should investigate this further:

“We haven had a serious mite infestation for the last 6 weeks in our own house brought in probably by the dogs and ourselves, as we were all very scratchy all over and definitely getting bitten by them and no amount of scrubbing would remove them.”

and she went on to say

“…I would really like to know if there is anyone on this blog that has had their own home and body infested and how they dealt with it.  We are getting a steamer for the houses and are praying for a very cold winter to kill them off and going to keep our heating off, but so far vets and doctors have very little knowledge about these new breed of red mites that definitely reproduce on and bite humans. It is frightening if this strain of red mite really takes affect in the UK and Ireland, as it is very nasty, tough and reproduces at a bionic rate.”

So there does appear to be a problem here. Laura seemed to think that this was a different type of red mite that would bite humans so I decided to go to the experts at the University of Newcastle to find out more.

Dr George (now with the University of Lancaster) has been studying Red Mite and told me this:

“With regard to red mite feeding upon humans, it seems that this is actually more common than once thought. An increasing number of reports in the academic press are identifying cases of this, where red mite have also been found to infest other mammals (including rats and horses). In my opinion it’s likely that this has always been the case, but that such infestations have ‘traditionally’ been misdiagnosed. That said, I’ve never personally been bitten and I suspect that avian hosts are more preferred by the mites, where they may nevertheless take a meal on an alternative host if desperate. The ‘deserted birds nest in the attic’ is a classic case of this, where red mites (and other avian mites) are forced to leave the nest after the young birds have fledged – often encountering a human meal as they do so!”

Ideas for treating your house for Red Mite.

There are numerous products out there that will treat poultry houses but what can you use in your house?

Well, in commercial poultry houses, red mite are treated with pesticides, although there is growing concern that some mites are becoming resistant and different types of pesticide are used to try to prevent this from happening.

There are pesticide based products that are designed to be used in the home to remove common fleas that can infest the carpets and other areas of the home. These traditionally would have only been available from a vet but now are available from companies like Medicanimal. You spray it around the carpet /  edges and under skirting boards in cracks and then vacate the room, leaving the door closed for a couple of hours. Follow the manufacturers instructions and certainly don’t breathe the spray – ideally wear a mask. One I have used is Ardap Spray and another similar product is Indorex spray, available from Medicanimal.

There are pest control companies that will deal with fleas in a home. They will have access to knapsacks of pesticides that they can use so if things get too bad, it might be worth calling them in. I would still repeat the spray application every 3 to 4 days. The life cycle of a mite is 7 days – so treating before they have a chance to lay eggs will reduce numbers faster.

Chilling the mites, as suggested by Laura, leaving her heating off over the winter may stop them reproducing and feeding but I don’t believe it will kill them – they can survive in a poultry house outdoors over the winter.

Household pets such as dogs and cats should be treated with a flea treatment. When they are bitten, the red mite will die, further reducing numbers. Products such as Frontline ( for dogs) or Frontline (for cats) are very effective and easy to apply.

Newcastle University are testing different essential oils since these contain chemicals toxic to pests. For example, linalool from lavender is toxic to red mites. Their latest research shows that red mite mortality rates decrease with time – so the oils need to be fresh to work. My granddad used to hang fresh Lavender bunches in his pigeon loft and I thought it was to keep the loft smelling fresh!

The female red mite lays her eggs after a feed. There is also evidence though from Newcastle University that the acaricidal effect (killing power) of essential oils increases as mites are starved for longer periods of time so could covering yourself in an insect repellent  preventing them feeding for a few days whilst treating your house may help to knock down more mites?

Diatom is safe and can be used in the house – dust cracks and crevices – the good news is it will hoover up without leaving a mess afterwards.

Eat more garlic! The locals in Charente, France where I sometimes stay eat a lot of garlic and say it stops the mosquitos biting them (and Vampires?)… I give my birds crushed  garlic (2 or 3 cloves) in their water to keep them healthy and I am sure this is why I have had far fewer problems with red mite this year. I mentioned this to Dr. George and he replied:

“…some work has been going on there recently to control red mite using garlic in either feed or water, so the fact that this has worked well for you should be of particular interest to them.”

I look forward to finding out more about this and will share it with you when I do but it may help you to get less bites.

If sofas or chairs are infected, I would get rid of them. There are just too many places for them to hide.  (Sorry!)

I hope this gives you some ideas of things to try around the home, if I come across any more information, I will share it with you here.

Have you had Red Mite living in your house or biting you? Please leave a comment to help others who read this.

These are my top 4 Red Mite control products that I wouldn’t be without at this time of year. I have included some links to Amazon to the products which should show you the best current price in their market place. There are of course many products available but these are the ones that I have tried and tested myself and have had good results using them on a number of occasions.

The lifecycle of a red mite is 7 days. Make sure repeat treatments are done before this, ideally every 2 to 3 days or less at first to control numbers. If you only treat every couple of weeks, the numbers will have multiplied several times in warm weather.

1. Diatomaceous Earth.

Diatomaceous Earth or DE consists of the micro skeletons of fossilised remains of deceased diatoms, which are a type of algae found in both sea water and fresh water. I use this throughout the Red Mite season. It is organic, safe to use and can also be used at a rate of 5% in feed to help eliminate worms in poultry too. Don’t expect to sprinkle a little down and have instant results, you need to dust down the cracks where the mites hang out and rub it into the perches (so it’s dusty like a gymnasts bar). Keep applying every couple of days at first until the numbers of mites are reduced, then apply twice a week. It takes 48 hours or so for the mite to dry up but it does work if you are consistent. You can apply this to the birds too and in their dust baths although I tend to use Barrier Red Mite Powder for this as it has tea tree in it which works well as a repellent to insects such as lice and mites.

2. Poultry Shield.

Another ‘safe’ product, suitable for organic use that I wouldn’t be without. Poultry shield is a detergent that has the effect of washing the waxy coating off the red mites causing them to dry up and die.

I have heard many people say Poultry Shield does not work – but there is no miracle cure for Red Mite – just like DE above, it takes persistent regular use.
It only works if it comes into contact with the mites (you can see it turns a yellow-green colour after washing over the mites) and there will always be some mites hidden away out of reach. Re-wash the house every 2 to 3 days to prevent the mites from multiplying and keep a hand spray near the chicken house of a stronger solution that can be used to spray into cracks / perch ends daily where signs of red mite are spotted. Poultry Shield should be diluted in water at a rate of 20 parts water to one part Poultry shield for general use but this dilution can be increased to 10 to 1 for treating an infestation.

Poultry Shield gets my number 2 spot because it has been very successful, chicken houses are safe for children to go into after treatment and has been well tested by a number of poultry keepers over the years.

3. Barrier Red Mite Powder.

This Powder is especially designed for use on the birds. The main ingredient is Tea Tree and it is suitable for use in Organic production. The tub suggests it keeps working for up to 6 weeks but personally I dust the birds down every week when there is an infestation to give them some respite at night. I find this helps to fend off lice as well so is a really useful addition to the poultry supply cupboard!

Whilst diatom can be used to dust down the birds, I find Red Mite Powder better thanks to the tea tree which is a natural insect repellent as well as antibacterial disinfectant.

4. Durimitex.

This is a spray which I find very effective. I tend to keep a can handy and then if I find any mites during the week when I get home from work and don’t have time to do a full clean, I use this spray. It is a completely safe and natural treatment for the eradication of red mites, completely pesticide free. The 200ml can is easy to use, with minimal mess. The spray dries almost immediately and (they say…) will completely extradite red mites and eggs in one treatment. I agree with this statement if the mites come in contact with the area sprayed but there are usually a few that manage to hide away somewhere!

Durimitex is available (currently £9.40) from MedicAnimal. There is free shipping on your first order too.

Conclusions.

Red Mite is a serious problem and I seem to be writing frequently about them over the summer months. This is because it is so difficult to keep on top of them, but it can be done if you are persistent. Remember when treating, to break the breeding cycle of the mite, you must retreat no more than 7 days later. A female red mites in ideal (warm) conditions can lay 120’000 eggs. So it doesn’t take long to figure out how big the problem can become in just a few weeks!

I managed to get rid of a particularly bad infestation last year in a few weeks with just a pressure washer and diatom. You can read about this in my blog: How to Get Rid of a serious Red Mite Infestation. This year, I am using Poultry Shield and Diatom, again you can read about this in my other blog post: Poultry Shield Vs. Red Mite – The battle begins.

Finally, please leave a comment and share your experiences. You can subscribe to the poultrykeeper blog by RSS Feed too..

Good Luck!

Washing the Chicken House out after cleaning with Poultry Shield

The weather has been warm over the last few weeks and we haven’t had any significant rainfall over the last couple of months. I thought I would spring clean a few of my chicken houses with Poultry Shield before there is a hose pipe ban which is bound to be on the way.

Whilst dismantling some of the perches, I found the dreaded Red Mite so have waged war against them with Poultry Shield.

Red Mite multiply rapidly during warm weather and they are on the rise in backyard flocks. Red Mite never used to be a problem in days gone by because most chicken coops were traditionally coated in Creosote to protect them against the weather but it also had the effect of eradicating the mites as well. Creosote substitute was introduced a few years back and unfortunately this doesn’t provide any protection against the dreaded mites.

I was introduced to Poultry Shield about 4 years ago. It is one of the safer it is probably one of the best known products on the market, and has been really well tested by many fanciers

How does Poultry Shield Work?

Red Mites have a waxy coating on their bodies. Poultry Shield effectively dissolves this and over 24 to 48 hours, the mites dry up and die.

Poultry Shield is diluted down at a rate of 20 parts water to 1 part Poultry Shield for cleaning and protection but it is recommended to be used at twice the strength (10:1) when you are trying to eradicate a red mite infestation like this. Poultry Shield is available from various sources, expect to pay £20 for 5 litres but as a cleaner and Red Mite treatment, this should last a year or two for the average small flock.

Let the Red Mite battle begin!

So I have started battle with the Red Mite. I have washed down the house with Poultry Shield, inside and out and in every possible nook and cranny. I have concentrated my efforts around the perch ends where I could see clumps of mites and an hour later, I have hosed the house down before replacing bedding and straw in the nest boxes. I will rub diatom onto the perches tonight to catch any remaining mites that fancy a free lunch and will re-inspect (and probably re-wash) the house out again next weekend.

Mr. Fox looking for dinner.

Hopefully not “…Dinner time”. But then again seeing how foxes will break in and kill every bird, without taking a single bird to eat does make me wonder why nature behaves in such an irrational way.

Anyone who keeps chickens will of course fear a visit from Mr. Fox. I always used to think that my birds were most at risk during the cold winter months but now I really believe the summer months are more dangerous.

Looking through our poultry forum, nearly every week I see a post from someone who has had a fox get into their chicken run and kill their chickens. A popular ‘problem’ is chickens being safely locked up at night by VSB automatic door closers (without the additional timer module) but has opened up in the early hours around 4.30am at first light, letting the chickens out whilst the fox is still around. I have 3 of these automatic door closers now and every one has the additional timer module. An extra £30 to £40 but so worth while when you risk losing all of your birds in one go like this.

The second problem with this time of year is that foxes are feeding cubs and teaching them how to hunt on their own. Last year at 9am one morning I watched 2 young foxes walk up to one of my chicken runs casually without the fear that normally accompanies older foxes. They were hungry, learning how to hunt and looking for an easy meal. Thankfully, they didn’t get it.

Rest In Peace Quackers - These were the Abacot Ducks that the fox killed.

I wasn’t so lucky this year. A few weeks ago, I had 4 Abacot Ranger ducks in a run that had a 6ft high fence around it and an electric wire. It had been a very wet night and a tuft of wet grass had touched the electric fence, shorting it out. A fox got into the run around 5am (I know this because the bodies were still warm at 6am when I discovered them) and ripped the heads off the ducks, burrying the bodies in the run and leaving without taking anything.

Foxes always come back so I now house all of my birds at night to make sure this doesn’t happen again. It is the first time I have lost birds although I can still remember discovering my parents dead chickens when I was 7 years old after a visit from Mr. Fox.

After several late  nights looking for the fox, I failed to find him, then just as I was about to go to bed one night, I went to draw the curtains on the front of the house to see a fox walking along the white line of the main road. He was coming into the garden the one way I didn’t expect… via road.

They say as cunning as a fox don’t they…?

There are some ideas on how to keep your chickens safe from foxes in the poultrykeeper pests and predators section.

Ah the joys of keeping chickens! After moving most of my growers outside to their next accommodation in the field where they can free range on grass, I suddenly found myself rushing around running electric cables to the houses so that I could put a heater bulb in them at night that the almost fully feathered chicks could huddle under. I was using a standard 60W lightbulb, hanging on a pendant and had te wire hooked over a nail in the roof. One afternoon last week, to my horror, I spotted a wisp of smoke rising from one of my houses. I rushed over to find the bulb had fallen onto the straw, turning it black, as well as turning some of the wood of the house black and almost into charcoal on the surface.

The lesson has been learned and from now on, I will only use the metal brood lamps that have a wire guard on the front for this reason, as well as a metal chain to securely hang them. I will use a ceramic dull emitter element – these can be bought at lower wattage (like  40 or 60W) and do not give off light which is not required and will allow my birds to get into a normal lighting regime.

When I speak to people about this, there is usually no sense of urgency, but one thing I must say is if you leave the decision and keep them, they are costing you money to feed. If you keep them over the winter, they are costing you in feed but also grass and other resources that are best given to your hens. Ultimately, as spring approaches next year, they will start to fight unless they are kept in a large enough area with enough hens.

If you think you are going to have to dispatch them, it is usually better to do it sooner than later. The more a cockerel grows, the harder they become to dispatch by hand.

How to dispatch a chicken gives you a step by step guide of how to do this but ideally, ask someone to show you how to do this for your first time.

The official start to Spring and the clocks going forward also brings with it some renewed enthusiasm for me in the garden and in the field where my birds are kept. I have my first batch of chicks outside (under a heat lamp only at night) now that they are fully feathered and it won’t be long before my Abacot Ranger ducklings follow them.

This year, I have hatched 8 Abacot ducklings from the ducks I imported from Germany last year. I am hoping that they will be fairly uniform in type and I will be able to breed from some of them next year. I have arranged to swap a pair of ducks with Chris and Mike Ashton later on in the year since they also imported a pair of Abacot ducks from a different blood line. With this in mind, I hope to be able to introduce some new blood and introduce some vigour into my line.

I am looking forward to seeing the ducklings markings as they develop and if any are good enough, I might try my luck at the British Waterfowl Association show in November.

Ducklings are always messy after a few weeks in a brooding box so this year, I have decided to experiment with a wire floor over part of their brooding area. I will cut a hole in the existing box and staple some mesh to the floor, placing a large plastic garden plant tray underneath to catch the water and mess that falls through. Their food and water can go over this side of the box so at least they can have a bath without flooding themselves out. It always surprises me how moderately priced ducks are from breeders when they are far more work than chickens and eat much more food!

My Abacot Ranger Ducks have started laying and this year I have a German strain that I imported to breed from. I’m getting the odd egg from my Copper Black Marans and Cream Legbars and I know it won’t be long before my incubators are full again.

Last weekend I decided it was time to separate the breeds back out again, ready for the breeding season. I like to leave the cockerels in with the hens at least 3 weeks to settle in before I test for fertility. My guess is that most of my birds will be laying by the end of February which is in 5 weeks time, enough time for them all to settle into their new homes and runs. I will start them on breeding rations at the end of this month, they are more expensive but do result in healthier / stronger chicks.

This year, I have decided to sell a few surplus eggs on Ebay. I don’t normally do this since I hatch most of my own eggs and by word of mouth have sold on any surplus birds but I’m thinking of hatching a little less this year to allow me to spend more time concentrating on hatching some goslings.

I’m often asked how I manage to keep a run of cockerels together because cockerels will fight. It’s straight forward enough if you keep docile breeds and providing you don’t hurry things too much and follow a few simple rules.

• First of all, cockerels are territorial, they will protect their ‘territory’ (usually their run) from others. Secondly, they are competitive so if there are hens around, they will compete with one another. I remove the hens so that they are out of sight, then I decide which house and run the boys will end up in. This has to be a run that hasn’t had any of the boys in recently – in other words, it is neutral territory. I open the door to this run as well as the door to the boys runs. They can slowly leave their territory and go into the neutral territory and meet. There are usually a few squabbles but often, they will stay in their own territory and providing there is sufficient space, ignore one another in the neutral territory as they explore it, they are fine.
• They still get fed and watered and continue to sleep in their own house, but there is food in the new ‘neutral territory’ run too. After 3 or 4 weeks, I find they are tolerating one another and will come for food together in the new run and I stop feeding them in their own houses.
• After another couple of weeks, I transfer them at night into the new house together and shut their runs so they are now all together in the new territory. The next morning, I always make sure I am there at first light but more often than not, there aren’t many serious squabbles. This house is neutral territory so none of them feel they need to protect it as their own territory.

The smaller ‘summer’ runs now get to rest for a while and with luck, the frosty weather will kill off any worm eggs or larvae that are living in the ground. Hopefully before we get any frost, the grass will recover a little, ready for late winter / early spring when I re-populate the runs. That is if I can keep the rabbit numbers down but that’s another story!