I have red mite under control

I wanted to give this post a positive title rather than a negative title because happily I feel completely in control of red mite at this stage of chicken keeping.

I didn’t really want to write this post because I have dealt with red mite before and been through the highs and lows of it all and didn’t want to go on about it again but during a recent visit my son Steve, a former chicken keeper, said that he felt I should do a blog post because it could help other chicken keepers. He said even if it just showed that any one with red mite isn’t doing anything wrong, it is a part of chicken keeping that will rear its ugly head at some stage.

When we had a conventional wooden coop we had the dreaded infestation of red mite after the first couple of years. I did all the things advised to get rid of it. I battled long and hard with it and eventually got it under control. In fact I thought that I got rid of it, even though I had read that you never really get rid of it, you just keep it under control.

Last year we changed over to the chicken shed. When we broke up the old coop to dispose of it we realised that there were still red mite in the overlapping panels which we couldn’t reach with treatments. We realised we would never have eradicated it from the old coop.

I had hoped that the new shed wouldn’t get red mite. Steve visited to see the new shed and said that there was no reason that the new shed wouldn’t get red mite too. I had to admit that I had spotted some straight away. Not so surprising really as we as we used some bits from the old coop in the new shed. We used the same perches and the automatic door. They could have been transported from these items or from the girls themselves.

From the very start with the new shed I checked every morning and any red mite I saw were squashed. I then scrubbed the perches with soapy water and dried them with kitchen towel.

Luckily they have only ever appeared on the perches and I have never found them anywhere else. They must need to be close to the girls, which was anywhere in the small coop, but in the chicken shed is just on the perches. There are not many places to hide but I did notice that they gathered around the wooden brackets which supported the perches. We removed the wooden brackets and replaced them with metal brackets a few months ago.

New metal brackets for the perches

We sealed the brackets with silicon and also the joins in the shed corners. Still each day I would find them around the brackets. They were pin prick sized so probably newly hatched and only needed a pin prick sized hole to hide in.

I smeared vaseline around the brackets and on the ends of the perches. This really helped and caught any that were on the brackets and stopped them from being able to hide behind the brackets. Then I had my best light bulb moment. Instead of cleaning the perches with soapy water and drying them I bought some wet wipes and now keep them in the chicken store cabinet. Every morning when I poop pick the chicken shed I then use the wet wipes to clean the perches. I rub the perches all round and this gets rid of any red mite and the blood from them and also any mud from the chicken’s feet or poop or general dust and dirt.

It is quick and easy and means the perches are not wet. I also use them to clean the walls of the shed without making them wet. The perches are now clean all the time and the mites have dropped in numbers from finding twenty to fifty at worst (in this shed) to finding ten, then single numbers until now when I am finding three or four.

This is why I say that I have it under control. I am now finding such a small number that anyone not as well tuned to looking for them as I am would think that they had gone. I check the perches three times a day but only find a few in the mornings and they are really tiny. I will continue to clean the perches every morning with the wet wipes as it only takes a few minutes and I feel this is really getting rid of the mites and is keeping the numbers down to next to nothing.

When I clean out the chicken shed I always hoover every surface in the shed to get rid of dust and cob webs.

Henry goes in to clean the shed

The girls carry out an inspection

Emerald joins them to make sure it’s up to standard

Speckles is first to inspect the new shavings

The girls are inspecting

Toffee joins them

Butterscotch is otherwise engaged

After a long post about the tedium of red mite I thought that the girls “helping me” clean out the chicken shed would be a bit of light relief. I am happy that I have red mite under control and the wet wipes make keeping the perches clean really easy. This is one of the best ideas that has occurred to me recently so if it helps anyone else that is a good job done. I am all for finding easier ways to clean and keep the dreaded red mite at bay.