8 



Farmers' Bulletin 801. 



not equal to those obtained by the use of crude oil or the wood pre- 

 server mentioned. Dry sulphur or lime will not control this mite. 



With any insecticide the results will depend largely on the thor- 

 oughness of the application. 



ROOSTS AND NESTS. 



After the firet spraying it is advisable to put in new roosts if the 

 old ones furnish many hiding places for mites. The roosts should 

 never be nailed to the side of the building but arranged so as to be 

 easily removable. A convenient form of roost is shown in figure 4. 

 The supports for the roost poles should consist of two 2 by 4's on 



edge in a horizontal 

 position. The ends 

 of these rest in 

 notches cut in the 

 ends of four up- 

 rights made of 2 by 

 6's and driven mto 

 the ground or nailed 

 to the floor. The 

 roosts should consist 

 of smooth 1 by 3's 

 or 2 by 2's, the ends 

 resting in notches 

 cut in the 2 by 4's. 

 If the notches fit 

 the poles closely, 

 it is unnecessary to 

 nail the latter. The 

 roosts thus are re- 

 moved easily when 

 the chicken house is 

 to be cleaned, and a 

 coat of one of the mite destroyers mentioned can be applied to the 

 ends of the roosts occasionally. If dropping boards are used they 

 can be made to fit up to the four posts. In larger houses the 

 horizontal 2 by 4's may be fastened to the back wall with hooks 

 or certain types of screen hangers. 



Another method of constructing the roosts, which is especially 

 applicable to the Southwestern States where the chicken tick occurs, 

 is to suspend a frame from the ceiling on baling wire and place the 

 roosts across this frame. None of the structure should be allowed to 

 come in contact with the walls, and there is then little opportunity 

 for mites to reach the chickens. The underside of the roosts must 

 be watched, however, to see that mites have not been introduced 

 accidentally, as they have been knowTi to breed on such roosts until 

 present in considerable numbers. 



Fig. 4.— Chicken roost, suggesting method of making treatment for 

 mites easy. (Original.) 



