One area where Poultry Shield is not effective is if you have damaged felt roof where red mites may have gotten underneath. The liquid would not be able to fully penetrate the area. If this is the case you should preplace the roof. Red mites find the space between the felt and the wood the most hospitable of homes. Carefully run your hand along the underside of perches, being mindful of splinters. If red mites are present you will find smears of blood on your hand and / or live mites.

A tip from reader Marykay Mendoza: Permethrin is available in a strip of plastic, online under the name of No Mite Strips. Strips of material permeated with medications and pesticides are not a new idea, and the bee keeping world has been using it for a long time, so it stands to reason that you can hang these strips near or on the roosts and let the bugs find them themselves. Marykay reports her birds are bug-free after 3 days of using the strips. I have yet to test them personally, but I plan to shortly. Then, give the coop’s dark nooks and crannies a generous sprinkle with some Absorbacide (a natural insecticide) or diatomaceous earth. Make sure that when you apply these, that they do not get wet - they will not be as effective. Wearing a set of gloves and also dust masks is advisable - these powders aren’t toxic, but it is a fine powder, so might give you a sneezing fit! Most people know that mites and lice are pesky little bugs. But what you probably didn’t know is that they are actually two different types of pests. Lice live on the skin and feast off the dead skin cells, while mites will feed off the blood. Diatom is made up of fossilised algae as such each minuscule particle has sharp edges and it is this that causes all the damage to the waxy coating that mites have on their bodies which means they dry up and die. It is a very safe product to use because it is purely natural. Red Mite Powder

Products for Use on Chicken Housing

DE powder can also be placed in a cat litter tray with some dry soil so your hens can self-treat themselves to a spa day and enjoy a dust bath. Rub as much into the perches as you can. Red mite will avoid the diatom and will crawl around it if they can, so make sure they have to crawl through it to get a feed. It also increases the digestibility of your feed when added at 1-2%, so in time Red Mite Powder could help save you a lot of money on food! Furthermore, it can be used as a mineral supplement for all animals and birds. In more temperate regions, where mother nature never helps you fight off the mites, you may need a stronger solution. Unfortunately, most chemical mite killers are also dangerous to other animals. The safest option is Permethrin. I’ve thought about having an Eglu for two years but this summer’s red mite infestation was too much. I hate using chemicals/insecticides around my hens so I took the plunge and I’m really pleased.” Sue

Clean out the coop- get rid of any bedding (dispose of it in a plastic bag in a bin as the red mites will happily find somewhere else to live). There are quite a few products you can use on your birds and they work in various ways which includes the following: Application rate: 30 - 50 g/m 2: Dust hiding places and breeding grounds of vermin or apply dust barrier of approx. 5 - 10 g/running metre around roosting areas. You may see many promotions stating that plastic henhouses prevent red mite, or cannot be infested, but we would have to say that in our experience this is not the case.

The Products Available

After dark, red mites will be active, crawling out and along perches to get to their hosts for a blood feed. Using a torch, look for mites crawling along perches and walls of housing. Wipe the underside of the perch with a white tissue and look for smears of blood. Birds will be restless as they get bitten by mites. They may not want to go in their house to roost / may roost in the run. Before depopulation of the unit, initially spray liberally with 6% solution of Smite Professional to equipment and nesting areas. This reduces the number of mite initially and gives a more comfortable environment for the workforce. Smite Professional is not licensed to be sprayed on the birds, but it is safe to spray the housing with the birds in situ and any overspray will not cause a problem. Dust the ends of the perches / nest boxes and where ever else you found concentrations of red mites when cleaning. Feeders and waterers, even the ones kept outdoors, are also potentially areas where mites may be found. Wash these thoroughly too and spray the surrounding area.