are mites a problem in winter?

[elmdene]

Can someone advise whether mites and lice are still a problem in this very cold weather. I am worried about cleaning out the whole of my ark and spraying it with Total Mite Kill as I do the rest of the year because it is impossible get it dry again. At the moment I am just cleaning the poo out each day and topping up with wood shavings with some louse powder and diatom sprinkled into it - is this sufficient?

 

[ncotb]

They shouldnt be a problem, but could appear any time. They can come in on bedding & quite often if an animal is poorly they will be more susceptible to lice/mites. Wild birds are carriers.

Id use permethrin 0.5% once a month this time of year - a bit more if I thought there was a problem, daily use of powder would only be necesssary if you actually had a red mite infestation.

 

[victorias poultry]

Mites don;t tend to be a problem this time of year, but you can get lice and scaley mite anytime. Lice love the warmth of a chickens body. I tend to dust the girls in the winter every 2 weeks with louse powder.

 

[true-bantam-mad]

i say that mites are a problem all year round, but they are less active in the winter months.
Dan

 

[Tim]

My Red Mites are freezing their waxy little coverings off in this weather!

As soon as the temperature drops, I don't see any activity but I know the little buggers are just storing up their energy to give me a hard time in May as the weather warms up!

There is an excellent picture of Red Mite on this page, you can see them before / after a feed and the eggs too...