Are unwelcomed mites living in your chicken coop and on your chickens? If you’re battling these pesky intruders, you’re in the right place! In this post, I’ll share how to get rid of chicken mites and provide easy practices to prevent them from returning.
In this post you will learn about chicken mites, how can you tell if your chickens have mites, the best natural treatments I’ve used that will eliminate mites from your chickens, and the steps I have taken to keep them away.
After you have finished reading you will be ready to get rid of those chicken mites and keep them away!
This post is all about how to get rid of chicken mites from your coop and your chickens.
This post contains affiliate links, meaning if you purchase something through one of these Amazon links, I may receive a commission (and if so, thank you for the support!). The opinions expressed in this review are solely based on my personal experiences and observations as a small backyard chicken keeper. I encourage readers to conduct their research and consider their individual circumstances before making any purchasing decisions. You can view my full private policy for more details.
What Are Chicken Mites
Chicken mites, scientifically known as Dermanyssus gallinae, are very tiny external parasites that pose a threat to the health and well-being of your flock. These small mites thrive in the tiny cracks of chicken coops, waiting for the opportune moment to feed on the blood of chickens. Despite their small size, the impact of chicken mites can be significant, even causing death in some cases.
Chicken Mites Symptoms
Mites cause your chickens stress among many other issues. Some of the things to be on the lookout for when suspecting a parasite infestation are:
- Weight loss
- Anemia
- Decrease in egg production
- Pale comb
- Lethargy
- Poopy butts
- Reluctance to go into the coop at night
- Excessive preening
Finding Chicken Mites
Spotting chicken mites can be difficult. They love to hide in cracks and crevices of your chicken coop and will then come out at night to feed on your chickens. Although some mites may stay on them during the day. When I found chicken mites I had two broody hens that I was removing from their nest boxes multiple times a day. For a few days leading up to when I discovered my chickens had mites, I had started to see little itty bitty crawling bugs on my phone after visiting the chickens (ick!). At first, I thought maybe the barn cats had fleas, however, these bugs never jumped and were easily squished.
One night after dark I had moved one of my broody hens onto the roost from the nest box and noticed my hands were covered with these tiny crawling bugs. After I washed off the bugs I grabbed some disposable gloves and started to pick up shavings from my nest boxes to see if I could see any additional bugs. Even though looking at the shavings I couldn’t see bugs, when I picked up the shavings and sifted them I could see tons of little bugs crawling all over my gloved hands. Besides being absolutely grossed out at the bugs crawling all over my hands I knew I needed to quickly eliminate the mites before they could take over my entire chicken coop.
Transmission
Transmission can happen through direct contact with infected chickens and wild birds. This is another reason why you will want to quarantine new chickens before adding them to your flock, so that you can ensure they are mite-free.
How to Get Rid of Chicken Mites
Maintaining a happy and healthy flock is a priority for me, and as part of this is opting for more natural remedies that are nontoxic, yet effective whenever possible. I prefer to steer clear of harsh chemical treatments and exploring natural alternatives for all my animals.
Elector PSP for Mites and Lice
What is Elector PSP: This is a one-and-done treatment that will effectively kill both mites and chicken lice. There is no need for a follow-up application after the initial application like a lot of the other products. Because it is natural, there is no egg withdrawal period.
While it is labeled as an insecticide, it works by utilizing a bacterium called Spinosad. It is safe to spray directly on your chickens and in your chicken coop. Please note that Elector PSP must be diluted with water before spraying your coop or your chickens.
After much research on the best natural ways to effectively treat chicken mites, I decided to use Elector PSP for my flock. While there’s plenty of other natural treatments, everything I found needs multiple applications and multiple coop clean outs. I really like knowing this isn’t going to harm myself, my chickens, horses, or my barn cats.
Elector PSP Packet Inset On Poultry Application
Types of Mites: This will treat both Northern Fowl Mites and Poultry Red Mites.
How to Use Elector PSP in Your Coop: Following the manufacturers instructions as shown above, Elector PSP is to be sprayed pretty much everywhere inside of the coop. All cracks and crevices of the coop itself, your roost bars (including all spaces where a surface meets another), and of course your nest boxes.
Remove and toss all bedding before spraying. I sprayed my coop after my chickens went out in the morning and then shut them out while it dried. The same went for the nest boxes, so I set up a couple of containers with fresh bedding outside of the coop so they could still lay their eggs in a comfortable spot.
How to Use Elector PSP on Chickens: Chickens may be sprayed directly with the diluted solution as directed in the packet insert above. I would recommend having a helper, and headlamp, and waiting until the evening after your chickens have roosted for the night. Remove each chicken and give them a thorough spray, really lifting their feathers and getting the spray down to their skin.
How Long Does Elector PSP Take to Be Effective: When I first sprayed my chickens and coop I was surprised to learn it doesn’t work instantly. It takes about 48 hours for it to take full effect.
Elector PSP Precautions: Elector PSP is highly toxic to Molluscs, which is why this should only be used within your chicken coop and directly on your chickens. It should be kept away from water sources.
Elector PSP Cost: It is on the pricier side for a 8oz bottle, however it is concentrated and the amount you mix into a gallon is very small. If you have a chicken keeper friend it would certainly be worth splitting a bottle! Or ordering the smaller size listed below which is much cheaper.
You can find smaller amounts available for sale online like this one here available in 9ML (to mix in with a gallon of water) for around $20. For me a gallon was plenty to treat my entire chicken coop (a 12X12 converted horse stall), my 5 nesting boxes, and 15 chickens.
Buy Elector PSP Online – Full Size
Buy Elector PSP Smaller Size for Gallon of Water
Read the Elector PSP Full Packet Insert
Read the Product Information on Elector PSP
Deep Clean the Chicken Coop
No matter what method you decide to use, doing a deep clean of your entire chicken coop is a must. This means removing all bedding, cleaning the roost bars, and giving the nest boxes a through cleaning. Don’t forget to wear a mask and some safety goggles while cleaning like I forgot to do in my video below (whoops!).
Supplies for Spraying your Chicken Coop
Here’s everything you will need to treat your coop and chickens for mites!
- Mite Treatment Solution (this small size is for one gallon of water)
- 1 Gallon Sprayer
- Small Spray Bottle (optional – I like to use the smaller sprayer for spraying the chickens themselves)
- Goggles
- Gloves
- Face mask
- Headlamp
How to Treat the Coop and Chickens for Mites
Here’s a video breakdown of everything I do when spraying my coop and chickens for mites.
Best Natural Practices for Chicken Mite Prevention
The saying goes “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”. These are some of my favorite best practices you can implement for your chickens to help prevent them from getting mites or to prevent them from returning after you have thoroughly treated your flock.
Chicken Dust Bath
One of the most important things you can give your chickens in defense against mites and other external parasites is a chicken dust bath. Chickens love dust bathing, where they roll around in the dirt to clean their feathers. It really is the best way for them to keep themselves parasite-free.
Chickens will make their dust bath area if allowed to free range outside or if your run has dirt available. It’s important however to provide additional options if there isn’t a good space for them to dust bath in rainy weather. If your dirt turns to mud they will stop using it and that can give mites the upper hand to move in on your birds if they are not able to rid themselves properly.
To make the dust bath I used a hard plastic kid pool you can find at Walmart or PetSmart and filled it with plain organic soil from the store, peat moss, First Saturday Lime, and sprinkled in MitesBGone Herbal Blend to add some extra mite repellent. If you need to buy soil make sure it does not contain vermiculite, perlite, pesticides, or fertilizers. You can also use plain old dirt from your yard (my soil here is very difficult to dig into, otherwise I would use it!).
Some other options are using food grade diatomaceous earth (DE) or wood ash in their dust baths. I personally don’t use DE in their dust baths anymore as I found it to be very dusty and DE can cause issues for both you and your chickens respiratory systems. Especially when it’s kicked up.
Feed Garlic
Garlic acts as a natural deterrent for a variety of pests, and its effectiveness extends to the chicken mite. Garlic contains compounds like allicin, which possess strong anti-parasitic and anti-microbial properties. When added into a chicken’s diet these tiny parasites are repelled by the scent of garlic. Additionally, garlic is known for its immune-boosting properties, enhancing the overall health of your flock and fortifying their defenses against potential infestations.
You can either feed your chickens garlic by adding finely chopped garlic into their food, smashing a garlic clove and adding it to their water, or by feeding a supplement with garlic. I like to feed my chickens the Fresh Eggs Daily Brewer’s Yeast with Garlic Powder and Niacin mixed in with their food.
MitesBGone Herbal Blend
I love to sprinkle these all-natural herbs all around my chicken coop. Once a week I sprinkle some around my chicken coop and in the nest boxes when I add fresh bedding. They really do make the coop smell peaceful!
I also like to add a few handfuls to the covered dust bath so that way my chickens get to roll around in them.
MitesBGone Herbal Blend For Nesting Boxes Or Dust Baths To Repel Mites
Cleaning the Coop and Nest Boxes Regularly
Keeping the coop clean really goes along way in preventing disease. Cleaning up old feathers found around the coop can also help prevent any mite knits or eggs that might be hiding out. Once a feather has fallen, they are not being preened off by your chickens or being removed through a dust bath.
Nesting box bedding should be changed weekly. Not only to remove old bedding that could have mites but also in case any chickens have pooped. This helps keep your eggs as clean as possible. I like the sprinkle the MitesBGone blend or the Roosty’s Nesting Box Herbs in the nest boxes as well. When I found mites, that’s where they were hiding! Below is a video of how I do a full cleaning of my nest boxes (I don’t always hose them out but someone had broken an egg and pooped!).
Biosecurity
Good biosecurity measures in chicken keeping help prevent the introduction and spread of infectious diseases among flocks. By implementing a few practices you can safeguard your flock from a multitude of potential threats, including viruses, bacteria, and parasites. Biosecurity includes controlling who can access the coop, keeping the coop and run clean, quarantine protocols for new birds, and limiting exposure to wild birds or contaminated equipment.
Health Checks
Frequent flock inspections help in catching potential issues early on. When looking for signs of mites and lice, start by looking through the base of the feathers, vent area, and neck. If you have chickens with feathered feet, crested, or fluffy beard muffs, it’s a good idea to check those areas as well. Mites are sneaky and like to come out at night to feed on your chickens so I like to take a flash light and periodically do checks on everyone. Some mites will stay on them during the day, so I also look around in their feathers from time to time when they hang out with me in the evening.
Even though I had been checking my chickens for mites I never saw any mites crawling on them until the night where I removed my broody hen from her box. I only ever ended up seeing mites on two of my chickens and of course all of the mites in the nest box bedding. Even though I only saw them on those two individual birds, I treated the entire flock.
Proactive health checks allow you to catch potential issues early on, allowing for prompt intervention and maintaining happy and healthy chickens.
Remember that because mites can come in anytime on wild birds, your chickens can still end up with mites or lice, even if you follow all of the best practices. So if your flock does happen to get mites, know you aren’t doing anything wrong or keeping things clean enough, it happens!
This was my experience treating chicken mites naturally and how I am preventing them from returning. I hope that it helps you on your chicken-keeping journey!
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This post was all about how to get rid of chicken mites and prevent them from returning with natural practices and products. With this knowledge, you’ll be well-prepared to help your backyard flock!
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Hi there! I’m Jess, a backyard chicken keeper living on the beautiful island of Puerto Rico. With my flock of 15 friendly chickens, my mission is to help others feel confident about raising happy, healthy, and super friendly chickens. My dream is that everyone gets to know the love of a chicken and experience the joy they bring to your life.
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