Red mite

[roitelet]

Has anyone got a remedy for these little pests?

Out here it is impossible to buy and insecticide as they are all banned. I am a bit reluctant to scrub out the house at the moment as the weather is not warm enough for it to dry out properly. The Chooks don't seem to be bothered much by them but I don't want them to get out of hand.

Looking forward to replys

[milliebecks]

You could try a blow torch - although have a water spray to hand just in case! It's the best thing for getting into the nooks and crannies anyway. Direct it along and under the perch/roost and right into the corners and joints.
I do this fairly regularly, whether I see mites or not, as I would imagine it works on all the nasties - scaley mites, etc

[Sue]

Roitelet
Judging from the poultry forums, leaving them alone is not an option, although I don't know if cold weather affects them.
Once they're established they cause real problems feeding off the chickens at night apparently.
The remedies - none of which seem to be cast iron include the "poisons" but also diatemaceous earth which dessicates them so you should be able to get that also Poultry Shield which is a disinfectant, creosoting - although the reformulated one isn't so effective and blow torching as suggested. From what I've read most people employ more than one method to get rid of them.
best wishes
Sue

[roitelet]

Thanks for the advice.

Haven't got a blow torch so will have to try a hot air gun. Hope it keeps them at bay.

[roitelet]

Here's a new remedy, told to me by one of the locals. His Mother used to use it eaons ago.

Spray the inside of the house with HOT vinegar.

Going to try that this afternoon followed by the hot air gun in the hope that it will 'do for them' . They will certainly be well cooked!

A new recipie? Poux Rouge au vinaigre

[TPeers]

Vinegar is acetic acid - so I would suppose that hot vinegar 'burns', would that mean that any household acid, such as lemon juice could also be used in this way?

[yoanbob]

look on the omlet web site, we used to use a powder suitable for organic chooks but i dont know what was in it you could also get a spray made of citrus.

[Sug]

I was told yesterday that ***** Fluid sprayed in the crevices of the hut helps. Also as advised on here, we took the roof of the shed off and covered it with corrugated see through plastic, that seemed to work, the mites don't like the light. Only problem now is having to insulate for the winter.

[roitelet]

When I took the roof off the house the infestation was really bad

Blasted the main colonies with the hot air gun and fried them. You could hear them popping Then sprayed the hot vinegar, which burnt my hands never mind the mites, followed with another good going over with the heat. It's not a very big house but it used a lot of vinegar and I could have used more if I had had it.

I have also made some adjustments to the house so that it is more easy to take the roof off in future. It is still firmly fixed against Mr Fox.

Just hoped it worked and I will keep a closer eye on it in future.

[scooby]

i tried all sorts as i had a really bad infestation over the summer none of the reccomended lotions and potions seemed to work, i ha d poultry shield and diamataceous earth everywhere. a s alast resort i bought some creosote from a farm supplier and literarlly soaked the house inside and out and repeated this twice at fortnightly intervals. i went from heaving masses of mites to zero

[minskey]

Hi Roitelet,
You can get all sorts of products for keeping Poultry on Ebay, maybe they will send to France. Hope this helps. Minskey

[roitelet]

Thanks minskey, I think that the vinegar and heat worked. I haven't tried Ebay but there could be a problem with the import of chemicals. The vets have told me that the product that deals with red mite is forbidden in France and therefore no longer available from any source.

[Birdie Wife]

Painting creosote (the real stuff) in the nooks and crannies is also supposed to work quite well - you might still be able to buy this in France. Make sure you let it dry very thoroughly before letting your hens back in the house, it's nasty stuff!

[roitelet]

Cresote, Birdiewife? I haven't been able to find it here. Lots of posh wood preservitaves but no ordinary Cresote, or maybe I havent found the correct French name for it.