Poultry mite invasion in my garden and house

[Jaffa Cake]

Hey TweetiePie,

Thanks for your answer. I thought that a wind egg meant just really small. Will have to check if it has a yolk as it is sitting in my van ash tray. Thanks so much for all your help. I think that it was Rick who said that it might be springtails. I need to master this site so that I can send him a private message!

Good to know that your girls are also behaving differently!

Mandi

 

[LadyA]

My hens are hiding among the trees during the day too. I think all hens are. How would you like to be wearing a feather & down coat in this heat?! :shock: :shock: Depending on your space, it might be a good idea to put extra water out for them, around where they are taking shelter, as they may not be inclined to go back to the run for drinks during the heat of the day.
I've got bowls and trays of water dotted around my huge garden, for birds and other wildlife. 0

 

[Marigold]

Hey TweetiePie,

I think that it was Rick who said that it might be springtails. I need to master this site so that I can send him a private message!



Mandi

Two ways to send private messages;
1) find one of Rick's posts and click on the Message icon at the side, just below his name and avatar. Another type of grey message icon will appear. Click on that and you'll get a form with a link to the post you chose, and a message box for writing to your recipient.
or;
2) Click on your own 'person' icon in the dark grey top line of the page, then on User Control Panel. Click on Private Messages in the top line, then click on New P.M. Put the person's forum name in the box at the top, write your message, and press Send. It will sit in your Outbox (see column on the left) until the person reads it, and during this time you can edit what you wrote, if you wish.

 

[rick]

Do if you like Jaffa Cake - to try out PMs. Glad to be right, of course, but it wasn't through any entomological prowess, just image searching for bugs and trawling down the page till something looked right (and from fungi identification knowing that if its a choice between rare or common, its almost certainly common.) It was your photo that did it - pictures worth a thousand words etc.

 

[Jaffa Cake]

Hi guys,

Thought I would give you an update as been chatting to TweetiePie. Have now relocated my chickens to my dads and totally abandoned my house. After massive research and a horrid day yesterday I have discovered a horrid large area of springtails where the problem started which is under and around my old chicken coop where I had a massive mite infestation last year and moved them away. They are happily clucking down at my dads in their new run and I am having fun taking on the new challenge of foxes and trying to do everything to keep the girls safe!

I now know that I have a massive infestation of springtails. I know how they work and what they feed off and unfortunately how difficult they are to get rid of. Yesterday I pulled down the old chicken lean too and they were jumping in my face and everywhere.

I need to clear all the plant debris from the land and blitz everything. I haven't had time to deal with this until now and been hiding down my dads hoping the hot weather would sort them out as they need moisture and feed off of damp. As far as my reading goes it appears that it is the eucalypus tree that has caused the main problem as I pulled all the leaves away from the base of the tree it was alive and jumping. This is a contradiction in terms a eucalyptus oil is supposed to burn them and kill them but they seem to be feeding off the decaying leaves.

I have a massive job ahead as I have to try and resolve the damp problems with my house and land before anyone will spray the house.

Rick I can't find the post there you talked about an insecticide that a friend used to kill the redmite infestation. There was one pest control guy who said he would spray the house with it but only after I have resolved the damp problems. I just want to research it as I have read that people can't seem to find an insecticide that will kill them.

JaffaCake

 

[Jaffa Cake]

https://www.diy-pest-control.co.uk/pest-control-products/insect-control-products/synthetic-sprays/ficam-w/

Found this ... think was marigold that suggested this ... have just had a chat to DIY pest control and they have also suggested ficam ... so here goes!

Jaffa

 

[bigyetiman]

Good luck, you have been suffering with this for so long. It sounds ghastly, hope all goes well with ficam. Do keep us posted

 

[rick]

Rick I can't find the post there you talked about an insecticide that a friend used to kill the redmite infestation.

I don't think I did Mandi. The most thorough way of clearing them out that I know of is used by a friend of mine who has a farm and an agricultural sized steam cleaner. My own take on it (well not my own - quite common really) is to starve them to death by making getting at a roosting hen very difficult for them (by mite proofing the perch). That keeps the numbers very low all of the time rather than going through the cycle of population explosion and blitz.
Red Stop sounds like a good constant check on them too.
It sounds really awful with the springtails. Like they blew in on that cloud off the fields and found an ideal breeding ground in your damp house (with quite a bit of decaying woodwork, the old lean to and the like?) If you can fix that I think you may be well on the way to fixing everything - much easier said than done of course!
... Its been a very odd year and very good for insects (especially butterflies.) Winter should knock the springtails into line and what we get for next summer is anyones guess.

 

[Tweetypie]

Hi Mandi

I was thinking of something a few days ago, when reading your messages and googling about those horrific springtails.... Many years ago, I recall seeing my ex mother in law's window sill had little cups of salt. When I asked what they were for, she said to soak up any condensation. I read that springtails only like damp areas, so if you can somehow "dry out" your house, they won't want to stay. I'm not sure if pouring salt on window ledges etc will help, but worth a try. Also, what about dehumidifiers in your property?

I know you said you may have located their origin, so you will need to dry them out, somehow. You'd have thought this Summer would have been awful for them, with such dry heat. I am just sorry that none of the pest control "experts" can help :-(

 

[Jaffa Cake]

Hello Tweetie pie, I have only just seen your post. Thanks. I still haven't resolved this. I have been running dehumidifiers in the house and had it fumigated so pest free for the moment. I got a pest controller to come to the house this week as he was going to spray the outside but then he refused and did the inside. I don't really know what to do anymore as I have contacted so many different people. I either move or put up with it. One of my chickens has wry neck now and even though I have taken her to the vets I can't seem to resolve it and I am worried that she is going to die. She has been sleeping with me for the last few nights. I am going to try ad put a post on here. Jaffa