3 tips to prevent red mites on chickens and birds
Mites like warmth, which is a well-known fact. It is advisable to take preventative measures to make sure that red mites stay outside, particularly in the spring and summer. Because once they have come in, it is more difficult to get rid of them. You can use these 3 tips and make sure that the mites don’t get in!
Tips to prevent mites:
We all fear problems with red mites. Like you, also the birds and chickens fear mites. Imagine how it feels for the chickens/birds. You can compare it with sleeping in a hotel room which has 80,000 buzzing flies buzz around your bed at night. We make this comparison because mites are active at night, when the chickens and birds are resting.
Therefore it is advisable to start early with mite prevention. The 3 tips below can ensure that you handle mite prevention right and natural.
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Start the treatment before the first mite arrives
Once the mites are indoors the problem can escalate very quickly. An adult mite lays 8 eggs per day. These eggs hatch after 2 to 3 days and a few days later they will lay eggs themselves. The number of mites grows exponentially. Before you know it the whole henhouse is full of eggs and adult mites. Therefore it is sensible to start the treatment before the first mites get in. The start of spring is the ideal moment to start with the treatment, because mites like warmth!
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Check the cages regularly for signs of mites
It is advisable to check the cages for mites once a week. But how can you see if there are mites inside? In addition to the usual symptoms such as agitated animals that do no longer want to roost at night you can try the following trick:
Mites hide during the day. So by fastening a homemade hiding place under the perch you can easily check if there are mites and how many there are. You put a piece of cardboard such as the corrugated cardboard from a packet of rusks in a little piece of plastic tube. You roll up the piece of cardboard and put it in the tube. Then you fasten the tube below the perch. As soon as it gets light the mites will hide here; they like the nooks and crannies that are formed by the corrugation. It is easy to check this tube each week and you will know immediately when you have to s extra treatment.
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Do not use insecticides, but natural products
When you use insecticides the mites will become immune to these chemical pesticides. Initially they work, but you will never be able to get rid of all the mites. This because these chemical products have no effect on the larvae, only on the mature red mites. So there will always be the mites egss in the cage and as described above, a mite reproduces exponentially. So in no time the cage will be full of mites again, which now are immune to the chemical insecticides. Use therefore products that consist of natural components. Herbs ensure that the blood of your animals becomes unattractive and without feed (blood), a mite cannot live or reproduce. Finecto+ is a good natural solution for this.
Treating mites is difficult, but certainly not impossible. Start your treatment in time, because preventing a mite problem is easier than solving it!
