Help, I spotted red mites on the chickens. What can I do best now?

Know the behavior of red mites

We often see that chicken lovers do not know exactly what the behavior of red mites is with the result that the method of treatment is misapplied. For example, people forget to treat the chickens themselves and only treat the chicken coop.

We always say “The treatment depends on the accessibility of the red mites”. The total red mite population consists of 5 different groups/stages. The eggs, larvae and protonimph (together 55% of the population) do not suck blood yet and can be reached in the chicken coop. The deutonimphs and adult red mites (together 45% of the population) suck blood and therefore we know for sure that they can be reached through the chicken. So to reach the total population you need to treat both the coop and the chickens themselves. This is the only way to interrupt the life cycle.

Step-by-step plan for the total approach

1. Clean the chicken coop with a high pressure hose

With a high pressure hose, you can flush out many eggs. This will prevent these eggs from hatching. Afterwards, let the coop dry thoroughly.

1. Treat the chickens – Mix a supplement with the feed/water

Mix a supplement with the chickens’ feed as soon as possible. This will reach the deutonimphs and adult red mites. Give this through the feed for at least 14 days. Then you can be sure that all adult red mites have come by once to suck blood. A supplement based on herbs and essential oils makes the blood indigestible, preventing the red mite from reproducing. There is also a liquid version that can be added to drinking water.

1. Treat the environment – Spray a coop spray in the chicken coop

Spray a silica-based coop spray on the route the red mites take to the chickens. This is from all cracks and seams all the way to the perch. This will reach the just-hatched eggs, larvae and protonimphs. Repeat this every three weeks. This is because there are many red mite eggs in the coop. Did you know that red mite eggs themselves can still hatch after a year? And you don’t reach these eggs until they hatch. Therefore, spray the cage every 3 weeks and prevent a newly hatched egg from becoming an adult aphid and laying new eggs.

1. Attach a red mite test

This way, you will be aware of an infestation sooner next time and prevent an explosive growth of red mites by reacting in time.

Expectation

We are often asked how long it takes to get rid of red mites. This question is difficult to answer, as it depends on the number of red mites in the coop. The more red mites, the longer it takes to get rid of them all. And we know from experience that without the use of a red mite test you don’t see the red mites until hundreds are already there. Because red mites hide during the day and start sucking blood from the chickens once every six days. So it is very unlikely that you will see the red mites if there are only a few in the coop.

So don’t expect to see no red mites within a few days by following the above step-by-step plan. In fact, you will actually start seeing more of them first. Because they panic by the treatment and suddenly do show up during the day. This is a good sign because it means the treatment is working. And when the chicken sees the red mite, it will eat them too. In addition, when there is an infestation, there are many eggs in the coop. And these eggs decide for themselves when they will hatch. So it is possible that these eggs will hatch a month later. So this does not mean that the treatment does not work, because you can only reach the eggs when they have just hatched. Therefore, it is important to keep treating the coop throughout the red mite season (March to October), both in case of a small and large infestation.

Due to laws and regulations, we are not allowed to mention here which products are involved. For questions, you can always contact us.