is it red mite?

[DJ]

   hi  ive noticed something that looks like a line of black dust which is falling  onto a nestbox floor    ive cleaned it away a couple of times now but its always back the next day when i scrape out again :-/  im sure i read somewhere that this could be a sisn that red mite are in the loft and would appreciate any advice anyone could give me as to what it could be and also what to treat it with?       debbie  

[pjc]

Red mite are easy to see, look under nest bowls, feeders etc and you will see them running around.

It does sound like you've got something living in the joints of your boxes so I would give them a thorough spray out with something like duramitex.

 

Phil

[redhill]

it definitely sounds like it although I would describe the dust more grey in colour.The mites do not live on the birds  but live in cracks and crevises and feed of the birds at night.There are various sprays and powders you can buy but unless you iradicate them from the loft they will reappear.Poultry shield is good you dilute it and spray into all their hiding places,it seems to dissolve them and you will see a green stain where this happens.If the birds are then treated with the drops or one spot type treatments you should be able to keep on top of it.

[Guest strapper]

red mite are infact black , then change to red when they have sucked the blood from their hosts.

best treatment ive used (for dipping birds too)..is chlorcarb...use this as its designed for red mite.

[DJ]

thanks 4 the advice phil,redhill and paul  ive managed to get some duramitex from somebody so i will give that a try and see if it does the trick      thanks again   debbie  

 

 

[john niko]

are yu sure its not mice?

[john niko]

are yu sure its not mice?

[DJ]

no its not mice droppings john as i know what they look like from when i had problems with them before   i now always keep mice poison hidden away under the loft as a precaution but well out of the pigeons reach    debbie :-/

[Guest IB]

Strange that it is just one nest box, and the roof of the box, and nightly? Do red might feed every night - blurb says its 2 - 4 days between feeds.

 

Never seen them, but I understand that they are 'see-through white' until they have had a blood feast when they appear red or black, depending on light. Old Hand tells us you would hear the birds stamping and moving about during darkness; mornings, if you have a neat pile of droppings in the one place on each perch that's a sign you don't have them.

 

I know that the advice is to use duramitex or chlorocarb to clear them, but I've often wondered just how long that 'clearance' lasts .. a day, a week, a year? For that reason I rely on a 24/7  floor dressing on my perch and box floors. If its an insect it breathes thro a waxy skin - Stalosan sticks to that, breaks it down and insect no-more. Does same to larvae and eggs. Being a dust it gets into all the nooks and crannies too - and stays there..

 

Was also reading a bit about a mite that is a red mite predator. Also eats flies and flies eggs. Seems it lives in droppings?

[redhill]

One of the main problems with eradicating red mite is although  they are more prevalent in the warm weather they can live for approx 36 weeks without feeding.