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wayland · Joined: 14 Dec 2006 Posts: 1171 Location: Campile. Wexford

I just got a great idea off Ebay. My good lady wants a domestic steam cleaner so looking on ebay etc, I got some consumers comments on them. Apparently they are very good at cleaning and disinfecting stock houses. Especially hen houses as the steam at 130 deg C killes mites and viruses. No chemicals or nasty stuff needed. Good A. Very Happy

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wayoutwest · Joined: 28 Dec 2006 Posts: 184 Location: west clare

tick VG

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Rebecca · Posted: Sun Sep 02, 2007 11:54 am Post subject:

Thats a great tip.

The other way to do it chemical free is to use organically approved products which are natural based, for example essential oils and diatomous earth. I got louse powder and mite powder treatments for our hens from p&t poultry in the uk.

http://pandtpoultry.co.uk.de3.cli...54bd4d7a2ac6412cdc1e8fc8dabce32c1
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Camile · Posted: Sun Sep 02, 2007 1:31 pm Post subject:

Smoke the place up then limewash it does the trick too !

if you can get some dry horse/cow pow, and some cayenne pepper . burn it and fumigate the hen houses, it will go in every cracks like steam does ..

and did paint it with some limewash .. it will fill the cracks and prevents any other nasties from breathing ..

once that's done, I hang a cloth with some tee tree oil on it .. so that the air is nice and fresh for the birds . .

Camile

wayland · Joined: 14 Dec 2006 Posts: 1171 Location: Campile. Wexford

I like the idea of Cow Poo and cayenne pepper. I only wounder how this was first discovered Confused

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David · Joined: 03 Jan 2007 Posts: 180 Location: Co. Clare

hahaha

Can't wait to try that burning cowshit solution!

My neighbours are relocated townies who moan about the sound of cockerals, cows, and the smell of dung (I'm a townie too originally, so I'm allowed to call em that). I think I'll try the dung smokeout just to see their faces...("what are they doing NOW??")

As Camile says, filling the cracks is the way to go, because they live in the cracks, only coming out to feed at night. Fascinating to watch, but disgusting. Getting itchy just thinking about it.

We have a wooden boarded shed (big mistake, because the red mites love all the gaps)..so we paint on veggie oil once or twice a year using an old roller. OK, it works, but what a nasty job...you come out alive with mites, and i usually need to be hosed down with the garden hose. We also bung up gaps in the ply boards with vaseline. Both gum up the spiracles of the mites and kills them. Even with this treatment, they are coming back, and i've had enough of the itchy hosepipe dance for one year, so will have a go at the smoking solution. Then I'm getting rid of the boards in favour of bare corrugated sheets.

How do you use the diatomaceous earth? Heard of this, and i'd like to give it a go...do you dust on every bird, or can you stick it in a dust bath/nest boxes?

D

Camile · Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2007 9:55 am Post subject:

I don't think I have had red mites yet .. and I do that treatment once, maybe twice a year ...

but there was other bugs like lice and all I think ..

but one thing about hen houses, you know the way you make a wooden frame and then put some plyboard or other stuff on the outside . .

when the next one I'm gonna do will have the frame on the outside .. so most of the gaps are on the outside ..

plus I'm using brackets to fix the roosts .. I believe there is less space for them to hide when it's a tight fit ..

Camile

greentree · Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2007 3:18 pm Post subject:

I have two hen houses, keep one vacant and switch them every few months. I think this does the trick as it breaks whatever cycle the insects have...

Mike

Camile · Posted: Tue Sep 04, 2007 4:37 pm Post subject:

Everytime I make a new henhouse I seem to fill it up very quickly ,.,.

I'm at 3 henhouses and 5 broody coops now ! and counting !

blowin · Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2007 11:49 pm Post subject:

We have recently suffered an explosion of the things . Ironically they had built up behind a curtain of very fine spiders' webs which I had deliberately left hanging in the corners to catch the midges Embarassed

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I like the steam-cleaning idea . I have an old wallpaper stripper and will give it a go with that . It certainly "blew" the plaster off the walls so it should blow the little b*ggers out of their holes ! Laughing

What about the mites on the birds themselves ? I know that most of them are only there for the night but a significant number seem to stay on . The dusting powder we were able to buy last year appears to have been discontinued .
If it isn't a very silly question , could you put vaseline under their wings and around their bums or would that just bung up their feathers or something ?