— POULTRY MITES 
how to control them 
Poultry mites retard the growth of poultry, 
lower vitality, damage plumage, and reduce egg 
production. Fowls heavily infested by mites 
sometimes die. 
Mites reproduce rapidly, especially in summer, 
when tremendous numbers may occur. They are 
spread from yard to yard in infested crates and 
coops, and by poultry and wild birds. Persons 
who work with infested poultry may carry mites 
on their clothing. 
Mites most commonly found on poultry are the 
chicken mite (or roost mite),’ the northern fow] 
mite,’ the scaly-leg mite,’ the depluming mite,‘ 
and chiggers.° The adult mites are 49 to 4 inch 
long. 
Several insecticides are used in controlling 
poultry mites. They are used in dusts, sprays, 
roost paints, dips, and ointments. A dust is ready 
for use when purchased. A spray, roost paint, or 
dip is made by mixing an emulsifiable concentrate 
or wettable powder with water. 
Apply sprays with a small power sprayer or a 
garden-type compressed-air sprayer. If you 
apply a wettable-powder spray with a compressed- 
air sprayer, agitate the liquid frequently to keep 
the powder in suspension in the spray mixture. 
. . . For treating small surfaces, such as a roost, 
use a paintbrush and a can. .. . Use a rotary- 
type hand duster for dusting an entire flock. 
The insecticide to use, its strength, and the 
method of applying it depend on the kind of mite 
to be controlled. 
Do not depend on an insecticide to do the whole 
job. Eliminate hiding places by removing loose 
boards and rubbish. Use roosts and nests of the 
‘ Knemidokoptes gallinae. 
* BEutrombicula alfreddugesi. 
* Dermanyssus gallinae. 
* Bdellonyssus sylviarum. 
* Knemidokoptes mutans. 
yY 
knock-down type: they are easy to clean and easy 
to treat with an insecticide. Provide good venti- 
lation in the poultry house. 
CHICKEN MITE 
Chicken mites attach themselves to poultry 
during the night and suck blood. During the day 
they hide in cracks of poultry houses and coops. 
Their excrement looks like a salt-and-pepper mix- 
ture. If you examine cracks, you may see masses 
of mites, their eggs, and the silvery skins cast by 
the immature mites, 
Females require a blood meal before laying eggs. 
Under favorable conditions, eggs hatch and mites 
mature in about 10 days. Several generations a 
month are produced in the summer. In winter 
the mites develop more slowly, and may be dor- 
mant in northern regions that are exceptionally 
cold. 
In heavily infested coops, fowls have pale combs 
and wattles. They become droopy and weak and 
are more susceptible to other parasites and to 
diseases. Some fowls die. 
Control 
Apply a 0.5- or 1-percent malathion spray, or a 
0.5-percent Sevin spray, to roosts, nests, and in- 
Pay particular attention to 
A second application 
side wall surfaces. 
cracks and rough spots. 
may be necessary in 10 to 14 days. 
Malathion at 3-percent strength can be used as a 
roost paint. One pint covers about 150 feet of 
roost. The insecticide on the roosts kills mites 
crawling to the chickens, the fumes kill mites 
already on the chickens. 
Treat. poultry house floor litter with 4- or 5- 
percent malathion dust, or 5-percent Sevin dust, 
