Help, red mite spotted in the chickens. What is the best thing I can do now?
Often we see that chicken enthusiasts do not exactly understand the behavior of red mites, resulting in incorrect treatment methods. For example, they forget to treat the chickens themselves and only treat the chicken coop. We always say, "The treatment depends on the accessibility of the red mite." The total red mite population consists of 5 different groups/stages. The eggs, larvae, and protonymphs (together 55% of the population) do not suck blood and can be reached in the chicken coop. The deutonymphs and adult red mites (together 45% of the population) do suck blood, and therefore we are sure they can be reached via the chickens. To reach the total population, you need to treat both the coop and the chickens themselves against red mites. Only in this way will the life cycle be interrupted.
Red mites
15 April '22 • 2 min reading time
Step-by-step total approach
Clean the chicken coop with a pressure washer. With a pressure washer, you can wash away many eggs. This prevents these eggs from hatching. Then let the coop dry thoroughly. Treat the chickens – Mix a supplement into the feed/water. Mix a supplement into the chickens' feed as soon as possible. This will reach the deutonymphs and adult red mites. Administer this for at least 14 days through the feed. Then you can be sure that all adult red mites have had a chance to feed on blood. A supplement based on herbs and essential oils makes the blood indigestible, preventing the red mite from reproducing. There is also a liquid variant for the drinking water. Treat the environment – Spray a coop spray in the chicken coop. Spray a silicon dioxide-based coop spray along the route that the red mite takes to the chickens. This includes all cracks and crevices up to the perch. This will target the newly hatched eggs, larvae, and protonymphs. Repeat this every three weeks. This is necessary because there are many red mite eggs in the coop. Did you know that red mite eggs can hatch even after a year? And you can only reach these eggs once they hatch. Therefore, spray the coop every 3 weeks to prevent a newly hatched egg from becoming an adult mite and laying new eggs. Hang up a red mite test. This way, you will be alerted to an infestation earlier next time and prevent an explosive growth of red mites by responding in time.
Expectation
We often receive the question of how long it takes to get rid of the red mites. This question is difficult to answer, as it depends on the number of red mites in the coop. The more red mites there are, the longer it takes to reach them all. From experience, we know that without using a red mite test, one only sees the red mites when there are already hundreds present. Red mites hide during the day and only feed on the chickens once every six days. It is very unlikely that you will see the red mite if there are only a few in the coop. So do not expect that by following the above steps, you will not see any red mites within a few days. On the contrary, you will actually see more at first. They panic due to the treatment and suddenly appear during the day. This is a good sign, as it means the treatment is working. And if the chicken sees the red mite, it will also eat them. Additionally, a contamination has many eggs in the coop. These eggs determine for themselves when they hatch. So it may be that these eggs only hatch a month later. This does not mean that the treatment is not working, as you can only reach the eggs when they have just hatched. Therefore, it is important to continue treating the coop throughout the entire red mite season (March to October), regardless of whether there is a small or large infestation.
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