What are the Best Products for Getting Rid of Red Mite?

It's that time of year once again, where the sun comes out, the birds sing in the trees and the tiny vampires known as red mite appear as if by magic, to plague the chicken keepers of Great Britain. This perennial pest strikes everyone eventually, regardless of if their coop is timber, plastic or metal and so the Flyte so Fancy chicken blog has dragged its attention away from the ducklings wending their way back and forth across the pond and looks instead at the best products for getting rid of red mite.

Prevention

Preventing red mite taking a hold in your coop is, of course, always better than trying to cure an infestation. It involves a little elbow grease and working within a weekly routine of cleaning. There are a few great products available for the weekly clean that will help keep your chicken coop mite free inside.

Poultry Shield and Diatom when used in conjunction are a very effective way of keeping red mite at bay. Poultry Shield is a multi purpose cleaner and sanitiser, widely recognised as the most powerful non-caustic cleaner on the market. When used liberally for cleaning inside the coop it will kill any red mite and remove any organic build up in the coop. Diatom is a 100% natural powder, which when used liberally inside the hen house will have residual red mite control, causing them to dehydrate as the microscopic shards cut their shells. It can equally be applied directly onto the birds for lice and even added to their feed for internal good health.

Smite liquids and powders have a similar effect when used as part of a regular weekly clean. The Smite powder has the great addition of being able to be mixed with water and painted on the areas needing treatment, as it dries it once again becomes effective and kills mites that crawl through it.

DE from Flyte so Fancy is also a natural diatomaceous powder that works by causing the red mites to dehydrate and die as they crawl through it. When applied liberally inside the coop, along perches and inside the nest box it acts as a great deterrent to red mite. As a 100% natural product it can also be applied directly to the bird to help prevent lice and fleas.

Cure

If, on a trip down to the hen house, you have seen some red mite, or suspect that there might be some inside your hen house, then it might be time to step up to the next level of red mite eradicators. Signs that you might have red mite are

• Your girls are reluctant to go in to the coop at night.
• A good tip to see if you have red mite is to put some Vaseline on the ends of the perches. As the mites crawl through they will become stuck and you will be able to see them in the morning. 
• Red mites are only red after they have fed and are filled with blood giving them their colour. They tend to feed at night so if you see little brown mites crawling around your hen house during the day, then they are more than likely to be red mite.

The Net-Tex Total Mite Kill Range, coming in both ready to use and concentrated formulas, is a purpose made red mite killer brilliant for eradicating red mite as it contains Permethrin. When used within the house it will kill red mite, lice, fleas and also bacteria, fungi, etc. As the product contains permethrin it not only kills the red mite but has a fantastic residual effect for the coop. 

Equally handy for curing the plague of red mite are the Poultry Keeper Chicken House Fumers. An insecticidal fume generator for amateur use it will kill flying and crawling insects inside the coop. Easy to use, you merely place the fumer inside, close the house up tight making sure that all animals and chickens are away, then ignite. The fumer will smoke for thirty seconds to a minute. Leave the house shut up tight for around two hours then open all the doors and windows to allow the fumes to disperse. Follow this up with a general clean. The fumer contains permethrin and is highly effective as a red mite killer. Coming in a twin pack, this is ideal for repeat use within a short time to break the mites breeding cycle to clear out any remaining eggs or adults. 

Infestation

Sometimes its possible that a swarm of red mite of biblical proportions might descend upon your hen house like a hoard of rampaging Visigoths. If that happens then it might be time to engage in chemical warfare to take the blighters down.

Ardap aerosol spray is an insecticide for amateur use, with immediate effect against crawling and flying insects, including red mite and with a residual action for up to six weeks. This should not be sprayed on to the birds nor near their feed and will effectively combat a severe infestation. An important note, this will kill all crawling insects, so do be careful not to harm the nice ones like bees and ladybugs.

Burn Your Hen House

A final option and truly the last resort. We once had a customer tell us that they moved their hen house to find a mass of crawling, writhing, wriggling red mite underneath which then began to work its way across their field. If your infestation of red mite has reached this apocalyptic level of terror, then its is worth considering if it wouldn't just be best to start afresh.

A FSF Team Member

Red Mite is a continual pest for the poultry keeper and one which must be faced with constant vigilance and a cupboard well stocked with effective red mite killers and poultry disinfectants and cleaners. With an organised cleaning regime and the correct use of red mite products the problem can easily be solved. As always, if you have any questions you can always call us on 01300 345229 or email info@flytesofancy.co.uk or leave a comment on the blog below.


Thanks for Reading
James