Sally Thompson wrote:
Well, Nick has dusted them and neem oiled them (my were the chickens unhappy
with that!) and we took the torch out to see what was going on.
As far as we can tell, there is definitely a cut in numbers, and there are a
lot of dead looking ones. But they are by no means gone.

Vicky, the point is that if you only dust the birds, it is only the mites
which land /on the birds/ which will be killed, you will do nothing to break
the breeding cycle. Not all mites will come out to feed every night, they
can live a long time away from food (ie your hens).

Oh, sorry, I in no way meant to imply that he was only doing the birds! he
has caked the house in dust, and has sprayed neem oil all over the place.

You really have to do the house thoroughly and frequently with an appropriate
insecticide; and I have also found that steam cleaning is brilliant /in
addition/ to the insecticide. That is why I originally said (rather
briefly!), steam clean first (borrow one if necessary), then pressure spray
with Poultry Shield (or try Tina's suggestion of Dettol, which I have no
personal experience with). Then when all is dry, add Diatom to the perches
and crannies, and dust the birds.

Yes, the plan is to take the whole thing apart and to steam clean and/or
dettol (I think Nick said Jeyes fluid, actually, but I guess they have the
same effect!) - it's just not been possible to do it so far due to various
things, which is unfortunate for the birds, but we are trying to make them
as comfortable as possible without having to totally rip their home apart
more than is necessary!


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