Getting rid of red mites

I was scraping droppings from my coop the other day when I noticed a single bright red mite. This is enough to set off the alarm bells for me as an infestation can be hard to get rid of and, left untreated, will lead to a loss of condition in the hens, a reduction in egg production and, eventually, death. Luckily I always have this 'OMG - get rid of them NOW' response and I've never had any problems with them affecting my chooks. My methods are a little time-consuming, but worth it.

First, I take all the parts that aren't screwed together out of coop - roosting bars, droppings tray, nesting box floor and nesting box dividers. This ensures that many of the nooks and crannies that mites can hide in are revealed for cleaning.

I pressure-wash each item and leave it to dry. I then attack the coop house with the pressure washer and make sure the entire inside is thoroughly cleaned. I tip the coop up to clean the inside of the roof and leave the little buggers no place to hide.

Once the coop and parts have dried, I then rub DiatomX into the roosting bars (the mites run along the bars and get to the chickens by running up their legs and infesting the arse region!) and liberally spread the powder on all the parts.

Before putting the coop back together, I also treat the earth beneath the coop with DiatomX.

When I've done this, all the parts are re-assembled and I puff more DiatomX in the coop, making sure it gets into all the areas that are prone to hide the nasty crawling killers.

Once the coop is clean and treated, I check each chicken for infestation. Just pick the chicken up (maybe by taking them out of the coop one by one at night if they are tough to catch) and check their feathers around their bum. mites love this area and it's obvious to see if they are there. DiatomX can be dusted onto the chicken itself to stop the mites.

Finally, the chickens dust bath is dusted with DiatomX. It's the easiest way to get the chickens to douse themselves, and it's proved to be a winner for me. Fingers crossed, no infestations so far, and all I use are water and DiatomX, both totally natural and low-cost. And my coop also gets a well-needed wash!