How does Finecto+ work for chickens with red mite?
The Finecto+ method consists of a combination of the red mite test, the Finecto+ Protect spray and Finecto+ Oral for mixing in with the feed. Only by combining both products can red mites be controlled both in the coop as on the chickens themselves. The Finecto+ method can be used to control red mite. It is not a pesticide however, so don’t expect all the red mites to be dead within a few days. This article explains how it works.
Why combining the products is crucial
The life cycle of red mites is characterised by three stages – the eggs, the freshly hatched larvae and the adult mites. The picture above clearly shows the differences. The white spots are the eggs, the white mites are the larvae and the red ones are the adult mites. In the coop, 35% are red mite eggs, 20% are larvae and 45% are adults. With the spray you only reach the larvae i.e. only 20% of all the mites. The feed supplement targets the adult mites (45%). Therefore, if you use only one of the two products, you only reach a small proportion of all the mites.
Finecto+ Red Mite test
In case you don’t have red mite, it’s recommended to hang up a red mite test under the perch in the chicken coop. This way you’ll know when mites appear and you’ll be able to start control measures on time. The sooner you can detect a mite problem, the quicker you’ll be able to get rid of it. But hanging up a red mite test is also useful if you already have red mites, as red mites are a persistent problem. To get rid of red mites, treatment has to be consistent and persistent. Unfortunately, no solutions exist that will eliminate the problem within a week’s time. Red mite eggs can still hatch up to a year after being laid, at which point the cycle starts again from the beginning. If you hang up a red mite test under the perch, you’ll know when new mite eggs have hatched and that you’ll have to restart treatment.
Finecto+ Oral – targets mites via the chickens
With Finecto+ Oral you can reach the red mites that suck the chickens’ blood. Finecto+ Oral is a feed supplement based on herbs and essential oils. It’s a powder that has to be spread into the chicken feed. The herbs and essential oils will be absorbed into the chicken’s bloodstream and excreted through the skin. The red mites are unable to utilise the blood with the herbs to make new eggs. The red mite’s life cycle is disrupted. However, only 45% of all red mites suck blood, while the freshly hatched larvae and eggs don’t (yet). This is why Finecto+ Oral should always be used in combination with the spray. The spray does target the juvenile mites, but not the eggs. The red mites eggs can be washed away using a high-pressure washer.
Finecto+ SOLUTION – drinking water application
Finecto+ SOLUTION is an application for drinking water based on various herbs such as echinacea, oregano, cynorrhodon and giseng. It should be combined with Finecto+ ORAL for best results. Chickens often do not get the right dosage if they are also fed vegetables or worms in addition to the food. Conversely, this also applies to drinking water, because many chickens drink not only from the water trough, but also from puddles of rainwater. That is why Finecto+ ORAL should be combined with Finecto+ SOLUTION for optimal protection.
Finecto+ Protect – targets juvenile mites in the chicken coop
Finecto+ Protect is a sticky spray containing small particles of silicon dioxide. When juvenile red mites walk over a sprayed surface, their abdomens are torn open and they dry out. This way, they are eliminated before they can reach the chickens and before they can lay eggs (red mites need to drink blood to be able to lay eggs). It’s important to spray down the red mites’ routes from their hiding places to the chickens. Make sure to spray down the perch as well as the chickens’ legs, as red mites always reach the chicken’s body by walking up its legs. If you have a relatively large chicken coop, you can add the Finecto+ mixture to a pressure washer (this will make spraying the coop down easier).
Finecto+ BATH – preventive against red mites
Finecto+ BATH is made of micro-minerals with a grain size of 0.09mm that are extracted from natural rock. The grain size is important if you want to use dust bath powder to repel red mites. What you want is that there is a uniform grain size and that it is not too large. The smaller, the better they attach between the feathers of the chickens. Finecto+ Bath has a drying effect on red mite. Finecto+ BATH and diatomaceous earth have the same effect, namely drying. However, the effect of the mineral powder is broader. The minerals in Finecto+ BATH are edible for chickens, especially with a calcium deficiency. Mineral powder also has a cleansing and caring effect on the feather base.
Action plan for controlling red mites with Finecto+
Finecto+ is one part of a more comprehensive approach to controlling red mites. Try to implement as many different measures as possible. The more red mites, the longer it will take before the problem is eliminated. Do not expect the problem to be resolved within a week. This is impossible, since red mite eggs can still hatch a week, month or even a year later.
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Step 1: Mix Finecto+ Oral into the chicken feed as soon as possible
Mix in 2 scoops of Finecto+ Oral per kilogram of feed. It’s best to prepare the feed on a daily basis instead of prepping it for a week. Give the supplement to your chickens for 14 days preventively, followed by 2 months curatively, depending on the red mite test. Only stop adding Finecto+ Oral when there are no more mites in the test kit.
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Step 2: add Finecto+ SOLUTION to the drinking water
Add Finecto+ SOLTUION to the drinking water as soon as possible. This not only ensures that the adult red mite is reached. It also helps the chickens recover.
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Step 3: Remove all items from the coop and spray everything down with a pressure washer
Red mite eggs can typically be found in places that are difficult to reach: behind the chickens’ nest boxes, behind the pillars of shelves, behind the glass of a window or in crevices in the wood. It is therefore important to take everything out of the coop, making sure to unscrew and remove anything detachable. Once empty, thoroughly spray down the coop with a pressure washer.
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Step 4: Spray the coop down with Finecto+ Protect
Spray the coop down with Finecto+ Protect as soon as the weather becomes dry again. It’s best to spray down the entire coop in the event of a large infestation of red mites. In any case, make sure to thoroughly spray down the perch and the wall panel to which the perch is attached. You can add the mixture to a pressure washer to make spraying down large areas easier. A coating of Finecto+ Protect will remain for a period of about 3 weeks. In the event of a large mite population, this period will be about a week.
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Step 5: Attach red mite trap cups under the perch
You can create an obstacle for mites trying to reach the chickens by attaching red mite traps under the perches and adding Finecto+ citronella oil to them. Mites are then forced to go through the oil on their way to the chickens. Make sure that there isn’t any debris or a layer of dust on top of the oil, as this can form a surface for the mites to walk on. Clean the debris from the cup as soon as you see it. Make sure that the perch is not attached too close to the wall, so the mites can’t still reach the perch via the wall.
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Step 6: Hang up red mite tests under the perches
A red mite test will tell you until when you have to mix Finecto+ Oral into the chicken feed. Did you know that red mite eggs can tolerate freezing temperatures? A red mite test will also allow you to take action much more quickly in the event that some eggs remained in the coop and hatch a year later. This will prevent a bad infestation.
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Step 7: Make a dust bath
Chickens just love to take dust baths. An added benefit is that dust bathing also has a repellent effect on red mites. You can use Finecto+ BATH, a mineral dust bath powder with a unique grain size of 0.09 mm.
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Step 8: Add Finendo Cox & Worm for chickens with low immunity
Chickens affected by red mites have a greater chance of decreased immunity and anaemia. Adding Finendo+ Cox & Worm into the drinking water will increase the chickens’ resistance from within and is also effective against intestinal parasites.
- Makes the blood and environment unattractive for mites
- 100% natural, does not contain poison
- No waiting time. The eggs can still be eaten during and after the treatment
- If ordered before 16.00, shipped the same day!
- 300 gram supplement and 1 Liter spray
- Test to check on red mites
- Tubes which you can place onto the perch
Result after 5 days Finecto+ Oral
At a chicken coop that had broken down from red mites, we first only applied Finecto+ Oral to show the effect. Above you can clearly see that there are less adult red mites after five days Finecto+ Oral through the feed. The dark red coloured mites are much less. That grayish, dusty-looking layer is the remaining larvae and eggs. These are not reached by Finecto+ Oral, because they do not suck blood in the chickens. That is why we always recommend combining Finecto+ Oral with the spray, so that the net hatched larvae are also reached.
The chicken coop in the photo had such a large red mite infestation that Finecto+ supplements alone were not enough. What we did after 5 days was cleaning everything with a high pressure cleaner. An important detail here is that we had unscrewed all parts in the chicken coop. Behind the laying nests and plexiglass windows (as you can see in the picture) there were many red mite nests. We could not have reached this without unscrewing it. We cleaned everything with a high pressure sprayer.
Why does it look like infestations keep coming back?
Adult red mites lay up to eight eggs a day. The eggs only hatch once conditions are optimal, which could be, for example, a year or two months later. While it may seem that none of the measures taken have had any effect, this is not the case. It is important to realise that the goal of treatment is to control the number of red mites. Eliminating 100% of all the red mites is virtually impossible.
Once red mites are established in the coop, you can assume that eggs will be hatching for the time being. And if you stop treatment at that point, those eggs will have free rein and the cycle will start again. This is why hanging up red mite tests is recommended. This way you’ll know when eggs have hatched; a signal that you must restart treatment.
Why it’s so important to remove all detachable elements from the coop
Red mites nest in dark places where the chickens can’t eat them. They typically go into crevices, for example behind laying nests. There are often shelves attached to the coop, in which case red mite will nest in the supports of the shelves. Make sure, therefore, to unscrew and remove all detachable elements from the coop. You can burn away the nests with a weed burner or alternatively remove them with a pressure washer.
The photos below show a red mite nest inside the crevices of detached shelf supports, behind an unscrewed nest box and underneath an empty feed can that hadn’t been touched for a long time.
