Selfsufficientish.com

x-posted in desperation

Last week, I found that my henhouse was infested with red mites.

I cleared out all the bedding (wood shavings), sprinkled red mite powder all over, re-bedded and also dusted the hens, rubbing the powder into their feathers.

I have been in the coop again today and I can still see the mites, alive, in the bedding.

What can I do? My poor hens

Hi PurpleDragon,

What material is your henhouse made of ?

Because one of the best way to get rid of the buggars is the flamethrower !

You could also try to limewash the inside of the house .. making sure you remove the roosts and everything because that's were they like to hide ...

Camile

It is like a wooden shed that has had roosts and nesting boxes added inside. The roof is that roofing stuff you get on a roll - like thick black paper with stones - rough finish. Useless description sorry.

It's ok for the description ..

I believe you roof is made of "roofing felt" ....

Did you remove the roosts and nestboxes before applying the powder ?

I believe the flamethrower might be a bit dangerous to use ... unless you just do it quickly enough so you don't burn the wood.

Otherwise give it a good limewash .. it might do the trick ...

And I wouldn't compost the litter with the mites in . just burn it too !

Good luck.
Camile

No, I didn't remove them. They are attached to the walls and it would have been a major screwdriving job.

How soon after limewashing can you put the hens back in?

As soon as it's dry ...

I usualy do it in the morning ... leave everything open to dry faster .. and move them back at night ..

it's not harmful to any animals ...

and it looks so good when it's all white !

Camile wrote:As soon as it's dry ...

I usualy do it in the morning ... leave everything open to dry faster .. and move them back at night ..

it's not harmful to any animals ...

and it looks so good when it's all white !

The reflected light also keeps the hens in lay longer, but make sure the next boxes remain dark.

Thank guys.

So, next stupid question of the day - where do I get limewash?

Just buy some standard lime ..

mix it with water (make sure to wear the full protective equipement as it burns badly) ...

stir it and add water untill you have some kind of thick glossy paint.

Good luck ..
Camile

But where do I buy lime? Hardware store? Harbro? I've never bought lime before.

You should find it in any hardware shop indeed ...

that's were I buy mine ... it's a pretty coming product .... I get it in 25kg bag so I'm not sure if they have anything smaller than that ...

But really be carefull while mixing it .. don't inhale the smoke it makes .. it's bubbling when you had water ...

Thanks - I shall away to the hardware store this w/e and blight the buggers!

Your best bet is to spray with diesel! It's easy & cheap & really works. Empty the bedding out of the house & using a spray bottle spray inside & out - you will not beieve the amount of red mite that will come swarming out of every nook & cranny. You may have to repeat this 2 or three times over a period of a week or so, but it really works.
If you only have a few chickens also get some Frontline (for cats) & give each chicken 2 or 3 drops at the back of the neck.
This regime worked for the red mite infestation we had this summer.

Good luck!

PurpleDragon wrote:But where do I buy lime? Hardware store? Harbro? I've never bought lime before.

If you don't want the hassle of making limewash yourself, you can buy it ready made but it's not as cheap.

It's used on listed and conservation buildings.

Try:

http://www.lime.org.uk/lime_products/Limewash.asp

or

http://www.mikewye.co.uk/limewashprices.htm

I'm a big fan of limewash and prefer to make my own, but it can be convenient to have a 20-litre bucket of the stuff handy instead of making a fresh batch to do a small job.

chickenfeed wrote:Your best bet is to spray with diesel! It's easy & cheap & really works. Empty the bedding out of the house & using a spray bottle spray inside & out - you will not beieve the amount of red mite that will come swarming out of every nook & cranny. You may have to repeat this 2 or three times over a period of a week or so, but it really works.
If you only have a few chickens also get some Frontline (for cats) & give each chicken 2 or 3 drops at the back of the neck.
This regime worked for the red mite infestation we had this summer. Good luck!

Thanks for the tip, but I think my DH would divorce me if I started spraying his precious diesel. Seriously, though - how long would it be before you can put the chooks back in?

I only have 8 fowl so Frontline would probably work, yes. Good idea. I think I have some as well.