This Blitz Kit contains a semi residual organic spary to treat all the roosting sites, a fumigation smoke generator to treat the entire coop and a natural dusting powder to treat the birds and is ideal for the 'backyard keeper'.
How do you know if your chickens have Red Mite problems? You will notice two things; fi rstly your egg production will start to go down as the chickens need to replace the lost blood taken by the Red Mites (which means less energy to produce eggs) and secondly, the chickens will start to peck each other where they see the infestation usually just at the base of the birds tail feathers. At this point the problem is likely to be causing stress and is getting serious. Keep a close eye out for any pecking behaviour and also any bald, bloody patches appearing on your birds. Red Mite is a blood-feeding ecto-parasite (‘ecto’ means it attacks or feeds on the outside of the bird as opposed to worms (endo-parasite) that feed on the inside. It usually attacks resting birds, mainly during the night for a short (1-2 hours) blood meal. After feeding, the mites hide in cracks and crevices away from daylight. Here they mate and lay their eggs. Red mites are very small just visible without magnifi cation and may appear like moving specs of dirt the eggs are microscopically small (400 x 270u) oval and pearly white. Red mites are not species specific and will ‘attack’ any species or breed of bird. They do not fl y nor are they usually transmitted via clothing although if there is a bad infestation, mites have been known to ‘jump’ onto a person’s clothing and therefore could be transported this way to another location/aviary etc. Remember they are only usually out of their harbourage towards dusk/dark and would be unusual for them to be active during daylight hours. They are extremely mobile considering their microscopic size and can travel great distances relative to their size! They can be transferred from bird to bird or from wild birds landing on your aviaries, especially if there is an open area of roof.
Adults – are red when engorged with blood otherwise black, grey or white females about 1 mm long.
Life cycle (stages) -Female mites deposit eggs (after a blood meal) in crevices, under boards, at the ends of perches where they butt up to the back of the cage or in debris near roosts.
Proofing - Seal as many joints and crevices of your cages, aviaries, nest boxes and feeders as possible with silicon sealer. Red mites are able to survive rigorous cleaning and disinfection programmes.
