Chicken mites can be a disgusting and problematic nuisance to the chicken keeper, but you don’t always have to buy harsh chemicals or costly wonder weapons to protect your flock. Instead you can try out some home remedies to take out those pesky insects. Before I start listing remedies, you should keep your coop clean and organized. Also, unlike chemical pesticide agents, these remedies are not guaranteed to work, but definitely can! Now, on to the list!
The red mites have also found my chickens in the summer heat, as they do, but haven’t managed to harm them for a number of reasons, the most techniques I have tried are listed below:
- The chickens have frequent dust-baths in holes they dig themselves in dry soil, this is their natural defense mechanism against parasites, aside from cleaning their feathers. Do make sure they have access to dust or sand baths in wet weather as well. One way to do this, is by building a small shelter with a roof and putting a laundry basket full of sand underneath.
2. Spray the mite clusters with cheap cooking oil, like canola, to simply suffocate them. I tried this with leftover oils from soapmaking and it worked very well, especially because the oils work like woodstain in a wooden coop.
3. Rub vinegar into your birds feathers, I did this, but cant tell if it did anything, as I used it preemptively, before I had the mites. It’s definitely worth a try though!
4. Alternatively, you can kill mites by spraying vinegar, or better, slightly diluted vinegar essence on them.
5. Add Walnut leaves to the bedding. I have done this and have had mixed results. I really couldn’t tell if that did anything. It smelled good though.
6. Strengthen your chicken’s immune system by adding a clove of garlic and a dash of apple cider vinegar per gallon of their drinking water.
Those are the things I have tried, I’ll update this post as I find and test more!
Thanks so much for reading!