"Christina Websell" wrote in message
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"FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote in message
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Vicki, I had a massive infestation of red mite last summer - and I do
mean MASSIVE. In the heat of summer the numbers seemed to explode
between one visit to the hen house and the next one.

Due to a fox attack, I was down on hen numbers and only had to treat a
couple of hens, but in response to the mite infestation those poor girls
abandoned both houses and were trying to sleep outside in thier night
yard on a perch I'd put there so they could sun themselves.

I went into the main house and felt all these things crawling on me -
they were falling from the rafters and I also had them on my trouser
legs. Yes, they are supposed to be nocturnal but that didn't stop the
nasty blighters getting on my during a hot sunny morning. I thought they
were baby spiders but they weren't. Talk about a case of the screaming
creeps! I walked straight into the shower fully clothed (and wearing my
watch) and stripped under the running water.

But to the hens and what I did there - I don't like using chemicals
anywhere on this farm but after extensive reading on the subject in my
poultry books and magazines, I did the following:
1) dismantled second house entirely - still not replaced but will be.
2) raked out both yards and then swept bare earth with a broom - all
sweepings went to tip - did not compost any of it.
3) borrowed coop and put this in the day yard (which is about a quarter
of an acre so I could put the coop a long way from the old house) then
took hens out of night yard/night house at night and treated them using
the light from a torch with Pestene Powder (active ingredients Suplhur
50g/kg and Rotenone 10g/kg). I'd also treated the hay in the nest of
this coop with the same powder and added fire ash in a big tub so they
could dust bath and added the Pestene Powder to that too. (Sally
mentioned diatomaceous earth and the ash acts like that, but for
diatomaceous earth to be effective, it has to be very fine and here it
costs a small fortuen to buy - ash seems to work). The hens went from
looking miserable to looking good.
4) Blasted the remaining hen house with a pressure washer and left it to
dry for a couple of days.
5) Sprayed hen house (nooks, crannies, roof (inside and out), perches and
floor) with Malaban Wash (active ingredient Maldison at 200g/L). Sprayed
once then left for recommended period and repeated spray. Left hens out
in day yard overnighting in their coop for a few weeks.

It worked, but it took a lot of effort and was a stinking rotten, filthy
job. Better a bit of effort than my poor hens looking miserable and me
feeling that crawling on the skin.

Overkill.

You wouldn't say that if you'd ever had a serious Red mite infestation.