The Poultry Keeper

Bradders · Posted: Sun Sep 30, 2007 5:00 pm Post subject:

Hi Nan
B****y things.
I see what you mean by there getting out of hand

Bhindi · Posted: Sun Sep 30, 2007 9:12 pm Post subject:

Jan, thats a shame, but pleased you've narrowed the source down..... its funny though that you mentioned that,because as I was cleaning out my girls today, I was thinking about your red mite problem, and was wondering if the bedding material we use, increases or decreases the probability of them setting up home...

Sorry the vinegar hasn't helped .. I will still continue to use it as It does kill most bacteria and it cleans my roosts bars well.

Spana · Joined: 30 Apr 2005 Posts: 2074 Location: North Cornwall

I think it is helping in the hen houses Bhindi. Where there is any sign of them after Ive cleaned out I wipe down with vinegar, and I do the perches every day.

Only thing is, its not white vinegar I'm useing.

The things that get left most in my holiday cottages are bread, feed that to my fish Very Happy

cooking oil by the gallon, throw loads away so if anyone has got any ideas what to do with it, please say Confused

and vinegar, usually wine or cider, so I have quite a few half bottles that Im useing up Laughing

Suppose thats ok Wink

poultry poofs · Posted: Sun Sep 30, 2007 9:54 pm Post subject:

Some Diesel cars will run on Cooking oil theres a website somewhere if I can find it again.....

there you go theres two to start with Laughing

http://www.veggiepower.org.uk/page701a.htm

http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_svo.html

Itsybitsy · Joined: 11 Feb 2006 Posts: 1327 Location: Leicestershire

I decided - a few days ago that I was going to do something about this, I had read Bhindis post re white vinegar, (but not your posts Jan till now) and thought I would do a "controlled" experiment. I know I have red mite in several huts, it's not horrendous but it is there and I usually spray the areas with, at the moment Decimite, I have also creosoted but found that although it does kill the mite (Kated thought it didn't as she has seen them swimming in it, but creosote penetrates their hard coat so it may take a while but it does kill them) it doesn't stop them being back again next week.

So on Monday I cleaned out all huts, they are:-

Big Hut Red mite present (quite a lot) in their favourite spots on and around the perch ends and where the perches rest, there are 4 perches going up in height, most red mite are found on the top two perches.

Ark Red mite present, not in huge numbers on the perch ends.

Female growers hut Red mite present on the end opening (they sleep that end and there is no perch)

Signal box hut Red mite present on the perch ends, with a red mite factory behind the wood that supports the perch, also found some on the felt in the nest box. Got the vinegar cloth poked through the gap and gave it a good rubbing

I don't think that vingar on its own will kill red mite, but wiping them vigorously with a cloth soaked in it won't do them any good at all, so that's what they all got. I used cider vingar as that's what I have the most of.

Tuesday, went over them all again, mites found in much smaller amounts on perch ends in big hut, in the growers and in the nest box of the signal box hut. They all got thoroughly wiped.

Wednesday. Same as Tueday.

Today. Ran out of time as the signalman got talking to me but I did do the big hut (found mites) and the growers (ditto)

I have also been rooting around Google:-

Eggs hatch in 2 - 3 days, the protonymph matures for 24 hours then feeds then continues to mature into an adult, 7 days from egg to adult in favourable conditions. Adults live approx 90 days, but they will live for up to 8 months without feeding and sucessfully resist drying out.

Experiments have been made with mite traps made simply from corrugated cardboard and placed in strategic spots in the hen house, the results are too complicated to repeat here, but something similar would be worth trying to see if there is an infestation, ordinary 3mm thick corrugated cardboard cut into 140 x 100mm pieces and placed against the walls near the perch ends, remove after 2, 4, 6, 8 & 10 days. In the experiment the longer the trap was there the more mite it attracted, presumably they are creatures of habit and a new hidey hole will take them a while to find.

For this experiment to work I will have to do it consistently for - well the adult lifespan is 90 days + 7 for any hatchlings - eek. Actually it doesn't take long as I'm not doing the whole hut, just where they cluster.

By the way for anybody who was asking in other posts I have found red mite living quite happily in straw, hay and wood shavings, they love new wood, old creosoted wood is quite acceptable, they don't seem too keen on factory treated wood (green preservative). Apparently since the ban on organophosphates the population has had somewhat of an explosion in the commercial sector.

Itsybitsy

Bhindi · Posted: Fri Oct 12, 2007 11:03 am Post subject:

Ive known all a long that vinegar doesn't kill, but I do believe it makes the environment less desirable to occupy. I have not had to flea treat my pets with costly chemicals since discovering this use of vinegar. I just run a flea comb soaked in a solution of vinegar and water and its worked for me totally.I only have bothered to do this when I see my pets scratching, and then i go on the attack, I'm to lazy to do it regularly. But I promise you my two cats have not been treated with a proprietary flea treatment for years, and they are flea less.

Good luck with the experiments Itsybitsy.

Itsybitsy · Joined: 11 Feb 2006 Posts: 1327 Location: Leicestershire

Thanks, I had some time this morning - and it was sunny which helps to spot them as they shine quite nicely, I thoroughly went over all the usual places, including what I missed last night, The back board of the growers pen had quite a few in the joins, hadn't seen them there before, so I gave them a thorough wiping and put it back, half an hour later I went back to it, removed it and lay it in the sun and killed with my finger 37 individual mite which were crawling around it, they don't like the sun so soon start moving. Will keep anybody who is interested up to date with how it's going (not every day though)

Itsybitsy

Welsh Duck · Posted: Fri Oct 12, 2007 6:36 pm Post subject:

Its very interesting. I have just read in a magazine that they can survive for 10 months in a shed without a feed.

I think input on these things will be to to everyone's benefit.

Magpie · Joined: 28 Aug 2007 Posts: 541 Location: Norfolk

Spana · Joined: 30 Apr 2005 Posts: 2074 Location: North Cornwall

Im still checking mine every day and i have found that the ones to get are the tiny tiny white ones. These are sooo difficult to kill, they wont squash, but I keep a sprayer filled with Poultry Shield and do them at the first sign, but sometimes you need a magnifying glass to see them. If you can get them at this stage before they feed, it makes a big difference to the number of full grown breeding reds.
Also i think if they are reacuring there is a breeding place that hasn't been found. Find that and you're getting there. I know this all sounds so obvious, but I just couldn't get on top of them in one house and thought I would undo the 9 screws of the nest box roof and see if there were any there and there were thousands. Now i've got the little biters sussed. Have also found like Itsy, that they dont like sun, and Im still wiping down with vinegar and feel I'm winning, but have been wondering if its because the summer is ending rather than what Im doing.
Anyone know what the winter program is for red mites.

Edited to add, have found that a jug of vinegar and water does help to get them off your person when just bath or showering doesn't.

Itsybitsy · Joined: 11 Feb 2006 Posts: 1327 Location: Leicestershire

Spana · Joined: 30 Apr 2005 Posts: 2074 Location: North Cornwall

I am convinced now that the way the beat redmite is to get them at the tiny white stage.

Get a good light and a magnifying glass and go over the house and mark the places were you see these youngsters. They are so small you wouldn't think they are there, they are smaller than dust. One day theres nothing, look at the same place next day and a hatch explosion has happened. Good news is they dont seem to cluster in cracks like the adults, but once hatched spread out together over the surface of the wood, like second pic in my first post. The adults have their favourite egg laying places in cracks,timber joins and knots in the wood, but if you have these marked and keep a watch for these babies and get them at this stage Im finding this is the best controll. Just squash the red adults and hit their babies with the chemicals.
If you look at the second pic in my first post, each one of those tiny white specks is a live baby mite, and that was taken with the lense almost touching the wood

Bradders · Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2007 8:17 am Post subject:

Hi nan
It's only 4 more days and i'll be abe to use my super sonic eye site. Laughing

kated · Joined: 01 Nov 2006 Posts: 1745 Location: norfolk

I am finally now able to offer a trial of a completely herbal defence against red mite, lice and fleas. I was approached by the developer of this remedy when I emailed him to ask if he offered smaller amounts of the stuff for "backyard" chicken keepers (his website only offered amounts sufficient for 1000 birds plus!) I quote what is on his website www.redmitecure.com

Poultry ProtectorTM...

...is for chickens, turkeys and pigeons

...is a natural based treatment to counter red mite, fleas and lice

...is not an insecticide or biocide and does not directly kill parasites. It reduces the feeding of the parasite and therefore acts as a deterrent

...decreases infestation of mites, fleas and lice

which results in calmer birds...

Calmer birds tend to have

increased egg-laying capacity!

The liquid is added to the drinking water and is a permanent fixture. ie if you change the water or top up it will be with this mixture. The dilution is one 5ml teaspoon to 50 litres of water. I have been told that if the red mite infestation is severe it would do no harm to add a "little" more to the water. I have divided up the mixture into 50ml bottles (they come in 150ml bottles) as I felt that was a more manageable amount.

They ask that you make a note of the following information:

could each user include
Location:
Number and type of bird:
Parasites: Known type, (or) do not know type
Date started using mixture:
Observable results: eg - Increased egg production, happier birds, reduction in
observable parasites etc

I have to ask £1.75 p&p for this (I have bought padded bags and plastic bottles and postage will be £1.09)

I have no idea if this works folks! I just thought it might be something to try and Jay Carson (you'll see his name on the website) asked me directly if I would do it.

I have enough for 15 people. PM me your address if you would like to try it. I have a paypal account.

woollylegs · Joined: 17 Jan 2007 Posts: 84 Location: North Kent

I put a few drops of cedar wood oil on the ends of perches and flooring/corners of penthouse. I read that redmites hate cedar wood and that years ago in other countries, coops were made of cedar wood to repel bugs. Opinion upon this gratefully received.