Creosote and Red Mite - What do I do next?

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Margaid

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Help please!! Some of you will have read my posts about the 2nd hand wooden coop and run that had been (unknown to me) really badly infested with redmite.

I have dismantled it and also taken apart all the bits of T & G that formed the nest box. There were signs of a really heavy infestation everywhere - once I knew what I was looking at. I found two areas of live redmite - one under a drawing pin head, can't remember the other.

I have gradually been treating the sections with real creosote and this morning went to move the bits I did on Sunday in preparation for doing the last bits. I was initially horrified to see dead grey redmite on the section with the pophole door in it. Then I thought that it meant the creosote was doing it's work, driving them out of the T & G to die.

The 64,000 dollar question is How do I make sure I have got all the little b******s? I can give it more coats of creosote, but how many do I need? The coop apparently had not had hens in it for 2 months (if the seller can be believed!!) and I won't be using it for about 6 weeks but I've read that they can survive up to 6 months - they are still alive after three and a half.

Short of burning it, does anyone, particularly those who creosote their hen houses have any suggestions?

Thanks in anticipation
 
This is a good link re redmite REDMITE

Apparently 2-3 days from egg to hatch, then 24 hours and they are ready to feed

Will eat scales and feather debris as well as blood

7-10 day complete life cycle in ideal conditions

Can survive unfed for 8mths and have been know to be re-activated in old housing after 10 years :o

Can infest plastic houses as well as wood


I wish I didn't know all that :-)07

PS edited to add - And now I am itching :-)11
 
Thanks for taking the time to post. The mites I saw today were very definitely dead, but they were on the surface of the wood - as though they had literally crawled out of the woodwork after I'd flooded the grooves with creosote. I was under the impression that a coat of creosote would kill them, but I don't know the mechanism by which it kills them.

I'm working with sections of the coop in the open air so fumes aren't a problem for me, but I seem to remember (from my childhood) that creosote can burn or sting on your skin. I can imagine that this would be enough to drive them out and maybe the creosote damages their exoskeleton. The problem is what if I haven't got all the live ones yet - I don't mean newly hatched eggs, I mean live adults? They probably won't breed as there is nothing for them to feed on - I have never seen anything other than grey mites on the coop sections and I think I sqaushed all those that came out from under the drawing pin.

Maybe I'll just have to give it all another flood coat and see whether any more creep out. But does anyone know why creosote would normally keep the coop clear of redmite for approx 12 months?
 
I dont know the reason it works but I can only speak from experience my OH boss had a hen house at his work and it was infested with red mite they tried everything and still every time they went back to check their were still millions everywhere. The only thing that worked was traditonal creosote they took the house apart and coated it with cresote they flooded out in their millions and died. They now treat the houses once a year and have had no further problems.
I Lime Wash my houses and have had no problems touch wood up to present.
 
I had also thought of limewash - I'll probably use it inside the house I'm going to build so that it's light. This one had already been treated with a "wood preservative" - the sort of gingery coloured one so using limewash on top maybe wouldn't have worked. The creosote has just made it a darker shade.

At the rate I'm using creosote I'll have to get some more (we're a registered small farm so no probs there), especially as Chrismahon said he thought it was being phased out even for professional use.

I just want to make sure I've got them all before re-assembling and putting any birds in there, so it looks like I need to do another flood coat and see what happens.
 
You just need to give it another really good soak making sure to get into all the crevices as you're doing. Turn the wood upside down or on it's side to help flood any crevices and I'd do inside and out at the same time. I read in an old Poultry World Magazine from the 1930's a couple of years ago that it was common to mix the creosote with paraffin but didn't give the ratio so I use approx 1/3 paraffin to 2/3 creosote. It does help it soak into the wood and also keeps the wood from becoming too dark. It's good to wear rubber gloves when you're sloshing it on. Years ago, I used to get burned by the creosote but not any more which suggests perhaps that it's not as powerful as it used to be. It needs to be re-applied annually for safety as a routine, rather than wait for signs of infestation.
 
Thanks Chuck. Chrismahon dilutes his 50/50 if I remember correctly but I think 2:1 sounds better. I think something to help it flow more would help get it right into all the nooks and crannies. OH can't remember whether there is any paraffin in his chemical and oil store so I'll have to ferret around.

Yes, I've been turning the bits upside and back to front doing both sides together - easy when it's in bits. The coop was bought to be a spare/isolation unit sith the intention to creosote it every year. I don't know what the previous owner sprayed it with (he couldn't remember/wouldn't tell me "some mix I've got in the shed") but most of the surfaces were covered with what I now know to be dead red mite, which I brushed off before creosoting. It may be that his stuff caused them to crawl out and die, just a shame it wasn't 100% effective.

Intertesing that you also remember getting burnt - I thought that as the odd splash doesn't burn now that it was faulty memory!! I have a supply of Nitrile gloves, both thin blue ones and gauntlet style green ones (I've been wearing the green ones) and they are chemical proof.
 
They seek them here, they seek them there.
Margaid seeks them everywhere.
Are they in the coop, or on the site.
those damned elusive red mite

Apologies to Baroness Orczy. :lol:
 
At least the run won't be anywhere near where I'm working on it. The only problem will come when they free range - I'll have to hope the hens won't like th big expanse of concrete. I was all set up to give it another coat today but then it rained :-)06
 
I'm sure when you finish the second coat,they will be definitly dead.Remember to change the perches for new ones.You can dip both end in creosote but make sure that hens will not sit on treated wood.I'm using lino inside in nest boxes and on the floor and wood shawings or aubiose on top of this.Allow for plenty fresh air as it will stink for a while before you let girls inn.Mine was treated and i had never seen any red mite for a second year.
 
make a mixture up of poultry sheild but use more then that then you need to when you add it to water and really spray it in well , i have done that and its killed the mites outright .
i think it was last week that i found a mini nest in some dried on poo on one of the perches so i very carefully scrapped them of into a tub then i just poured pure poultry shield on them and they went yellowy green and melted :lol: :lol: .some things work for others and not for all i am trying the stop mite solution and i am still having probs in one of my houses :evil: :evil: and i am nearly at the end of the 10 day mark after this it goes down to them birds ahving it once a week but at present i am unsure if it works or not :-)05 :-)05 2 houses are pretty much clear of mites .
 
I'm replacing the perches anyway Tyg as there isn't room for two and I want to put them long ways otherwwise there isn't room for 4 Welsummers. I've also got rid of the droppings tray and will put in a new floor - exterior plywood with either wood shavings or Finacard. I'm asthmatic and the dust from even "dust free" shavings is a bit of a problem for me. Then I'm going to fit an external Chick Box as I did on the Solway plastic house - that is when I've put it back together. I'll probably leave it in bits for a while so all parts will get plenty of air to stop it stinking. I don't need to use it - I bought it as a spare/isolation coop/ breeding pen for a cockerel and 1 or 2 hens.

I haven't seen any live mite since I prised off the drawing pin Karminski. Everything has been scraped and brushed down - I used a brass wire brush, and then creosoted. The mites I saw after creosoting were killed by the creosote - I just need to give it all a second flood coat to make sure. Then before I put any birds in I'll use Poultry Shield or whatever it is my friend uses - she alternates the treatment each time she has to buy more stuff, and as we are both "farmers" some of the stuff we can buy is very potent and has to be used with care. Then it will be routine cleaning/spraying until it's time for another coat of creosote.
 
Ok, all the bits have had a second flood coat of creosote and a few more mites have crept out of the woodwork and died - about half a dozen on one panel and about a dozen on one of the others. Is it safe to assume they are all dead now or should I give the two panels with dead mite s another coat? Do I just keep creosoting until no more mites appear? I could try a bit more dismantling but I risk the tongue and groove falling apart if I do that.

The creosote is obvioulsy doing it's job - it's just a question of when do I stop?

Any suggestions ?
 
I'm am entirely confident that one coat at 50:50 will kill the lot in one go as it did our infested coops Margaid. All eight of them actually without re-occurrence. I burned my hands doing the first coop and now wear disposable PVC gloves as it eats through natural rubber.

Limewash is well tested but it flakes off wood with the natural movement in temperature and humidity.
 
I use creasote mixed with a bit of diesel, works just as well as parafin. I pour it in the nest box and use it as my paint pot. I have never had any red mite since using creasote, I tried every thing on the market including a spray from the vets at nearly £40.
 
I'd forgotten you could use diesel - thanks Sorrelsmum. We're out of paraffin and so far I haven't found anywhere that sells it, but we have some red diesel for the generator - I know what I'll be doing tomorrow!
 
wish i had some one of my houses is being attacked again i am finding about 6 mites a day and thats enoguh for me so yet again another battle :evil: thing is i dont have anywhere spare to house the girls will the coop is being treated with anything strong so i am stuck with the sprays for now :(
 
Can you borrow a large dog crate, I put mine in one overnight while the creasote id drying.
 
good idea i will ask around , i could also ask my local garage for some old diesel although they may laugh at me if i tell them what its for :lol: but if only i read this earlier as i was in there with a flat trye :evil:
 
A trio of questions after reading this post:
1) What's the issue with creosoting the perches? If creosote's OK in the coop, what's the problem with putting it on the perches, & would creosote on the wood of the nest box make the eggs taste bad?

2) Where can you buy <5 litres of creosote rather than an industrial size drum of the stuff?

3) Margaid: you say that dust-removed bedding sets off your asthma. What do you use instead? Does aubiose or hempcore set off your asthma?

Thanks, & apologies for piggybacking your thread,
Icemaiden
 
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