Read this complete guide to learn all about red mites, how to spot them, and most importantly, how to get rid of them.
Red mites, or Dermamanyssus gallinae, are blood-feeding ectoparasites that live in small cracks inside chicken coops. During the warmer months, they come out at night to feed on the blood of chickens and turkeys. They are difficult to eradicate and have significant welfare and egg production implications in commercial and backyard flocks.
It doesn’t matter what kind of bird it is; red mites will eat it. However, ducks and geese are usually safe because they don’t roost and are usually pretty active, moving around their house at night.
Red mites, which are also known as chicken mites, roost mites, or poultry mites, will itch your skin, stress you out, and make your eggs lay less. In extreme cases, birds will become anaemic and can even die.
They are particularly resilient. Red mites live in the cracks in the bark of trees in the wild. They wait a long time between meals until a bird roosts nearby. They lived for almost 8 months without food in an experiment I did (more on this later). I kept red mites in jam jars.
Mites usually hide in cracks during the day and only come out to feed on birds for about an hour at night. However, some mites may stay on a bird (possibly by accident) and move to new places, like when birds are sold.
It is thought that wild birds can also bring red mite into a flock, though there isn’t much evidence to support this. Still, intermediate hosts like dogs or people (usually on their clothes) who visit poultry houses or handle birds can carry them.
Red mites are a common external parasite that can infest backyard chickens and cause major issues if left untreated. But what exactly do these tiny pests look like, and how can you identify them? This comprehensive guide covers everything you need to know about spotting and treating a red mite infestation.
What Are Red Mites?
Red mites scientifically known as Dermanyssus gallinae, are hematophagous parasites that feed on the blood of chickens and other birds. They are exoparasites meaning they live on the outside of their hosts.
During the day, red mites hide in cracks and crevices inside the chicken coop At night, they emerge to crawl onto roosting chickens and feed After taking a blood meal, the mites appear red or brown in color before crawling back into hiding.
Red mites can spread rapidly between backyard flocks, reproducing exponentially in warm environments. An infestation can escalate in just a few weeks
What Do Red Mites Look Like at Different Life Stages?
Red mites go through multiple life stages, each with a slightly different appearance:
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Eggs – Tiny, oval-shaped, and opaque white in color. Around 0.5mm long.
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Larvae – Six-legged, whitish-translucent in color. Smallest mobile stage.
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Protonymphs – Eight-legged, pale yellow-brown in color. Slightly larger than larvae.
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Deutonymphs – Eight-legged, darker brown in color. Larger than protonymphs.
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Adults – Eight-legged, red-brown in color after feeding. 0.7-1mm long. Females are larger than males.
The mites are very small, with even adults being less than 1mm in length. This makes them hard to spot with the naked eye.
Where Do Red Mites Hide During the Day?
Red mites are adept at hiding. During daylight hours, they conceal themselves in any cracks, crevices, or secluded areas inside the coop.
Common hiding places include:
- Cracks and gaps in wooden coops, especially in tongue and groove joints
- Undersides of perches
- Inside nesting boxes
- Between overlapping roof felt
- In litter or bedding
Anywhere that is dark, warm, and humid is an ideal refuge for red mites. Their flattened bodies allow them to squeeze into the narrowest spaces.
What Do Red Mites Look Like on Chickens?
At night, red mites crawl out of their hiding spots and onto roosting chickens. They usually begin feeding around the vent area, tails, and underneath wings.
On chickens, red mites appear as tiny moving specks clustered around the legs, vent, and feather shafts. They may crawl up to the breast and neck areas to feed as well.
Without magnification, red mites can be difficult to see because of their small size. Use a flashlight to spotlight roosting chickens at night and look for any signs of movement. Part the feathers gently to check the skin.
Early stage mites will appear pale or translucent. After feeding, red mites become engorged with blood, taking on a reddish-brown hue. Blood spots or scabs on the skin are also indicative of feeding mites.
How to Check for Red Mites
Here are some tips for monitoring your coop and chickens for red mites:
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Inspect at night – Check birds on the roost after dark when mites are active. Use a flashlight to part feathers and look closely at the skin.
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Check perches – Run a white cloth along the perches to pick up any red smears or moving mites.
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Use traps – Place cardboard rolls or tape inside PVC pipes mounted under perches. Check regularly for signs of mites.
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Coop spray test – Spray coop crevices with a warm water bottle. Attracted mites will crawl onto the bottle.
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Check for anemia – Part the feathers around the vent and look for pale combs and skin indicating blood loss.
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Weigh birds – Monitor for weight loss, decreased egg production, and low energy, all signs of heavy mite feeding.
Being vigilant and regularly checking for mites is key to getting rid of an infestation before it escalates.
How Do You Get Rid of Red Mites?
If you spot red mites in your coop, take action right away to eradicate them. Here are some effective treatment methods:
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Treat chickens – Apply commercial mite dusts or sprays to the vent area, under wings, and around legs. Follow product instructions carefully.
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Coop spray – Use pesticides labeled for red mite control to thoroughly spray cracks and gaps in housing. Force spray into all crevices.
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Clean coop – Remove all litter and scrub the coop with soap and hot water. Disinfect any wooden areas.
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Diatomaceous earth – Dust coop and chickens with food-grade DE to kill and desiccate mites.
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Raise temperatures – Heat empty coop over 113°F or freeze below 4°F to kill all life stages of mites.
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Pest-proof coop – Seal cracks, paint interior, and make coop inhospitable for future infestations.
With diligent monitoring and rapid treatment, red mites can be controlled before they seriously impact your flock’s health and egg production.
How to Prevent Red Mites
Prevention is the best medicine when it comes to red mite control. Here are some tips:
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Quarantine new chickens before adding to flock
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Keep coops clean – wash weekly and remove manure
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Seal cracks and gaps where mites can hide
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Use smooth, easily cleaned materials like plastic or metal
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Apply food-grade DE and wood ash in dust baths
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Hang sticky traps to monitor for early signs
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Exclude wild birds and rodents from coop area
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Check flock regularly for signs of infestation
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Treat at first sign of mites with proper pesticides
Keeping your coop inhospitable to mites with regular cleaning and maintenance is key. Also, inspect birds nightly to spot any infestations before they escalate.
Can Humans Get Red Mite Bites?s can also fall victim to red mite bites, especially when cleaning infested coops. The mites will bite exposed skin, causing small red welts that are intensely itchy.
To prevent mite bites, wear protective clothing and gloves when handling infested birds or cleaning coops. Thoroughly wash hands and exposed skin afterwards.
The irritating bites will subside within a few days. Topical creams can help reduce itching and inflammation. Monitor bites for any signs of infection.
The Bottom Line on Red Mites
Red mites are microscopic pests that can wreak havoc on backyard chickens. Learning how to identify them is the first step toward effective control and prevention.
Check your coop thoroughly day and night for any signs of infestation. Tenacious treatment of housing and birds is needed to fully eliminate red mites. With vigilance and biosecurity, you can keep these biting bugs from harming your flock.
Red mite life cycle
I based the diagram below on the work of Sparagano, et. al. 1 It shows the life cycle of the female red mite, Dermanyssus gallinae. To better understand how to treat red mites on chickens, it is important to know how they live. By breaking their life cycle, (e. g. More likely to get rid of red mites is to treat an infestation again before any adults stay and lay more eggs.
The timing shown assumes normal British summer temperature and humidity. The complete life cycle is shortest during hot, humid weather. A typical cycle during the summer is only 7-10 days long.
A blood feed takes 1 to 2 hours and usually takes place at night when birds are roosting.
- Eggs hatch into 6 legged Larvae in 2-3 days. They do not feed.
- Lures change into Protonymphs with eight legs in one to two days and begin to feed.
- In another one to two days, the protonymphs will get blood and change into deutonymphs.
- Deutetonymphs become adult red mites in two to three days and keep feeding on blood.
- A female red mite will mate after being fed, and within one to two days, she will start laying eggs.
- Females will routinely take a blood feed. Males feed less frequently.
- The cycle is of course repeated and numbers increase…
- Temperature: both temperature and humidity affect how fast red mites live their lives. You won’t see any red mites or their eggs below 9°C, so they’re usually only a problem for us in Europe from May to October.
- Life cycle: Their life cycle lasts a couple of weeks when the temperature is between 10 and 20°C, but it drops to less than a week when the temperature rises to 25 to 30°C and the humidity drops to 20 percent. This is why it’s important to treat houses again every 3 to 4 days before protonymphs and deuteronymphs that got away from the first treatment can become adults and lay eggs.
- Having babies: The female red mite needs to be fed blood before she can lay eggs. When the weather is good, she lays a clutch of about eight eggs, so red mites can multiply very quickly. When it’s warm outside, getting rid of red mites is a lot harder!
How to check your coop for red mite
Heres how to check if your chicken house has red mites:
- Red mite colonies and their waste, which looks like cigarette ash, should be found near where birds sleep at night. Check perch ends for evidence. It’s easier to find perches if they can be taken off. Mites, which look like red “blood spots,” will sometimes be crawling on chicken eggs when they are being collected.
- When it gets dark, red mites come out and crawl along perches to get to their hosts to feed on blood. With a flashlight, look for mites crawling along the walls and perches of the housing. Clean the bottom of the perch with a white paper towel and look for blood spots. Birds will be restless as they get bitten by mites. They might not want to roost in their house and might instead do it in the run.
- Birds will usually lay fewer eggs, and eventually they will stop. They may lay down outside or on the coop floor because sitting in nest boxes gets them bit. Egg yolks can be pale.
- Birds will start to lose condition. A lot of blood is being lost because the infestation is getting worse. They will have a pale comb and wattles. They will become anaemic and eventually they will die. The birds at the bottom of the food chain often have to roost near the most dangerous pests and are the first to die.
This short video clip shows some red mite I found in a plastic chicken house. Plastic coops don’t stop red mite but they can be easier to clean out.
Eradicating red mite completely is very difficult. Even when deep cleaning poultry housing and treating birds, it only takes a few red mites or eggs to escape and they will quickly multiply again. It is usually best to deep clean housing when you discover the problem, then have an ongoing regular checks and a treatment plan to stay on top of their numbers.
Red mites can live for six to eight months without feeding on blood, so leaving the coop empty for a short time won’t kill them. However, moving the birds to a different house and treating one house while the birds are in the other will help.
If your chicken coop has a felt roof, the red mite colonies that form under the felt can’t usually be killed without taking off the felt and putting it back on. Because of this, I think you should get rid of the felt roofs and put on roofs made of something else. Onduline in popular and available at most DIY stores. It’s easy to cut to size with a saw, and red mites can’t hide in it.
Here are some ways that people control red mites. Some I have used myself, some I haven’t, so I can’t say how successful they all are. Recently, I’ve been taking a more natural approach to managing my flock. Some of these methods use pretty strong chemicals, so be careful not to hurt yourself or your birds if you decide to give them a try!
- Creosote applied at least annually to the hen-house. Creosote from the “old days” (banned in 2003) would help. It’s too bad that creosote substitutes sold in home improvement stores don’t work as well. It is now against the law to sell or use creosote unless it is for business purposes. It can still usually be bought from agricultural suppliers.
- Paint Paraffin into cracks and crevices.
- Blowtorches can help with small holes and cracks, but be careful not to light your coop on fire! Also, don’t use one on a plastic coop because it will melt!
- Great job with this steamer, which was used to take down wallpaper and get into cracks.
- This kind of pressure washer is used to spray into cracks and get rid of mites.
- Putting a mixture of Vaseline and paraffin into cracks and holes Vaseline is used to get rid of scaly leg mites on chickens. It smothers the mites.
- tape or flypaper with two sides that stick together on the bottom of the perch and/or around the ends of perches
- With corrugated cardboard, you can make “traps” that fit on the bottom of perches. As these fill up, remove them and burn.
- Pouring any brand of Coke into cracks to wet the mites seems to work by breaking down their waxy outer covering, which then makes them lose water and die. Worth a try!.
- With mites and lice, a dust bath is a great way for birds to get rid of these external parasites. Diatomaceous Earth and other dusting powders are mixed into dust baths so that birds can spread the powder where you haven’t reached it. Mites will rub against the diatom when they jump on your birds at night.