Why the blood louse test is extra important in the autumn
Chicken lovers who face a red mite outbreak in the summer are happy when autumn approaches. Finally, the red mites become less active. But is this really the case? Only with a red mite test in the coop can you be sure that the red mites are no longer active. In this blog, we explain why it is important to hang a red mite test in the autumn.
Red mites
Housing
22 April '22 • 1 min reading time
How a blood mite test works
A blood mite test is a tube that can be hung under the perch or placed in the nesting box. When a blood mite has fed on blood, it looks for the nearest place to lay eggs. Usually, these are crevices and seams behind the nesting box or between the end of the perch and the wall. By using the blood mite test, you create a hiding place for the blood mite that is even closer and will be used first. Inside the tube, there is a stick. By pulling this stick out of the tube, you can check daily or weekly for the presence of active blood mites in the chicken coop. This way, you know when to start treatment and prevent being too late and having hundreds already.
Red mite active in autumn / winter
What many people do not know is that red mites are active at temperatures above 5 degrees Celsius. At these lower temperatures, they continue to lay eggs. However, these eggs only hatch once the temperature starts to rise again in spring. Therefore, it is very important to keep checking the chicken coop for red mites in autumn and winter. This way, you can prevent a sudden large outbreak in spring when all the eggs decide to hatch at once.
Red Mites and Freezing Cold
Unfortunately, the red mite eggs can withstand freezing temperatures. The already laid red mite eggs will therefore simply hatch as soon as the temperature starts to rise again in the spring. The adult red mites cannot survive freezing cold. But unfortunately, this is not enough to prevent a red mite outbreak. So do not assume that freezing cold will kill all the red mites in the chicken coop.
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