Why now!

[chris]

Argh.

Put my hands in to collect the eggs last night (bearing in mind I cleaned my cooks out on Saturday just gone), got in felt something crawling on my hand...

Red Mite. Bloody loads of them all over my hand. I can't believe it - clear last weekend, now it's infested with them. Have squashed as many as I can see - lifted up the newspaper and it was like a thick layer of dust.

No wonder they're down on the eggs - I just thought it was the cold weather. Feel a bit bad, but can't believe how fast their population can explode like that.

[Feral007]

B*gger. Hope it's short lived.

[elizajay]

Horrors! Poor chooks, if only they could tell us before the population explosion.

[Bill HH]

I always wondered why chickens dont eat fleas and mites, its what they were designed to do. Too small I guess. We used to spray the pen and nests with parrafin, it seemed to work very well. May need a repeat application when more hatch out.

[Mikey]

Is there something sticky you could paint on the ends of the perches to stop them joining the birds at night. like the sticky band around an apple tree.

[chris]

Ive creocoted the ends of the perches - they're not there - it's underneath the newspaper lining the floor and in nest boxes.

I thought they'd be dieing off now due to the cold weather!

I feel kind of bad

[ancee]

Not looking forward to this at all. We have chicken plans for next year...

[Glutton4...]

Bummocks, matey - I've only ever heard of infestations in the humid weather.

[Verinda]

Ugh they sound horrible, I hope you manage to get rid of them soon!

[chris]

checked last night - I've a hen that lays late at night, and she had some mites crawling over her. Gah!

Found another little population of them outside the nestbox (bizzare!). This weekend I'm going to tackle the issue - by the time I'm home it's too dark to really do anything (though easier to spot with a torch).

[RichmondHens]

Remove all newspaper and just use a tiny amount of shavings underneath the perches to stop poo sticking to the house floor. There is no need to use anything else in the house. As you have discovered, red mite will inhabit any crack or crevice it can find, and they breed very fast. The mild autumn hasn't helped either, with them sticking around for much longer. I suspect you have had them hidden in your house for a while for the amount you describe to be present, you might have mistaken their droppings for just ordinary dust. Invest in a massive tub of Diatom and shake a load over everything, puffing into all the corners and cracks, and dust the birds very thoroughly with it too. At this time of year you will struggle to get creosote to dry although this would kill the mites straightaway.

[chris]

I did that last night RH. I dusted my birds - they were *completely* grey. My white one actually looked more buff in colour after I'd finished with her.

I filled the house with it last night, and will give everything a good clean later. I think I found where they started - I've a heat gun so am planning on creosoting the house again early in the morning and drying it out with that. I might have to put them in the garage overnight (or my GH) to ensure they're not gassed out with the fumes!

[lettucegrow!]

What a pain, I thought they were a summer bug too. Sounds like you have it covered though!

[Nicos]

I'm just waiting for my turn.
...better than having a fox attack I suppose!

Good luck chris.

[RichmondHens]

They breed most prolifically during warm weather, but live all year round and can go without a feed for up to a year too. They are a real PITA. Sounds like you are on top of them though Chris, good luck!