The Poultry Keeper

cazjohn · Joined: 13 Apr 2007 Posts: 73

Now using poultry shield and diatom and blow torch!

The unfortunate thing is my other half built the most beautiful poultry house but gave the little buggers plenty of places to hide, we have now stripped back as much as we can without it completely collapsing! And with the blow torching it looks like its been on fire!

We've got ex-batts and were told that they would have been treated for everything. So we didn't start any treatments until we'd had them for six weeks. TOO late!

Still we know now.

nigel · Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2007 7:58 am Post subject:

The joints around my coups look a little scorched in places too, but I don't think the chickens notice, I tell them it's a design feature..

Kristal · Joined: 01 Apr 2007 Posts: 102 Location: Shrewsbury

horrible little buggers!!! I knew they'd returned, but I couldn't do anything til today as we were away for the weekend. When I opened the roof...I was nearly sick, there were so many mites it looked like some weird red fungus had grown all around the top of the house! My poor hens, I'm amazed they still seem healthy if they've been losing that much blood....
I very liberally soaked every inch of their house in poultry shield, using a jet spray on the mites themselves and into all the cracks, then used enough diatom powder to look like a heavy snowstorm, squirting it into every crevice I could find. I'm afraid if this doesn't seem to do the trick then I WILL be buying and using ficamW, however nasty and toxic it is Evil or Very Mad

Spana · Joined: 30 Apr 2005 Posts: 2029 Location: North Cornwall

Ive also been doing battle with the little suckers. Spent a fortune on Poultry Shield and powder and even after weeks of spraying, sprinkling and blow torchng I still had them.
But a tip given on another forum has reduced them the best of all the proper stuff and its vaseline. Smeared heavily on perch ends and underneath and in cracks where I know they gather it has greatly reduced the number. Buy an own brand tub from somewhere like Lloyds, mine was £1.70 for quite a big tub and try it. Do the cleaning and spray with Poultry Shield, I mix up some and scrub the perches, then when dry do the vaseline. The red mites get stuck in it Twisted Evil

and it not a nasty Very Happy

Welsh Duck · Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2007 8:36 pm Post subject:

Thanks for the tip Jan I will remember that if I ever get the little sods

Welsh Duck · Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2007 8:52 pm Post subject:

Forgot to mention.... Vaseline is good for scaley leg....drowns the mites and helps heal the legs.

Spana · Joined: 30 Apr 2005 Posts: 2029 Location: North Cornwall

So , kills two mites with one smear Laughing

Welsh Duck · Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2007 9:21 pm Post subject:

I very often put some on their legs when I buy birds just as a preventative measure.

skinnymuldoon · Joined: 26 Aug 2007 Posts: 1

Hi, We've just had our first, hideous invasion of these 'creatures'. We used jeyes and blow torch and so far so good....but was just wandering if it is the wood that is the problem? We keep our hens and ducks in a stone out house and have stripped out all of the wooden perches and replaced with metal poles (which they seem more than happy with). Does anyone know if they only like wood, or are they likely to appear again anyway?

CP · Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2007 1:51 am Post subject:

This makes interesting reading:-

http://www.theranger.co.uk/index.asp?show=newsArticle&id=340&country=

Difficult to try though. Confused

CP · Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2007 10:47 am Post subject:

Just had a check in the coop. Although there are still a few tiny pockets of them, I think we are on top of the infestation now, thank goodness. Very Happy

We'll have a real good clean out again this weekend & sprinkle like a snowstorm, just to be sure! Wink

(just the thought of them makes me feel itchy! Twisted Evil

)

cazjohn · Joined: 13 Apr 2007 Posts: 73

The light theory is an interesting one because apart from the few warm nights we've had during the summer?! We have had an infra red heat and light bulb on during the night.

poultry poofs · Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 12:39 am Post subject:

The mites hide away in daylight and crawl onto the birds at night.

We rarely had them when wood was treated with creosote, the proper stuff or diesel. Now we have this make believe stuff the wood is heaven for them.
Regular spraying and powdering with diatom works but leave it for a week because you think they have gone and they will be back 100 fold.

If you have roofing felt its a nightmare as the things live under the felt.
We got rid of all of ours and put corrugated bitumen roofing on.Also most houses have the design fault of having the frame on the inside-very aesthetically pleasing for us but a metropolis for mites.
Combinations of steam cleaning and burning had some effect but they come back unless you keep up the spraying-dont ever ever stop,or you will regret it.

Rich

poultry poofs · Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 12:53 am Post subject:

granty · Joined: 25 Mar 2008 Posts: 8 Location: gloucester