MITES ON MY BIRDS

[SLUGGO]

Any way to get mites off of the birds themselves ? Now that I know what they are,what is the best way to help the birds themselves ?
Found the mites this week on a nest check because I was not seeing my birds in the morning or evening.The heat is already high here,so that adds to it.I emptied all nest cavities and washed out the houses,which were all empty already.A few had eggs in them.Once that was done,I sprayed them down as best I could with alcohol and lined them with cedar shavings on the nesting trays.They are Coates Waters Edge 8 unit houses.There are also two gords that I tried out this year,which were covered with mites.The one that still has for nestlings in it was the one that was covered with mites.I removed all four bird and washed,sprayed with alcohol and lined with cedar shavings as well.Went out there yesterday to do a nest check and the houses are good,nut the gord with the birds in it had some mites on the outside.Once i pulled a bird out and actually examined him a bit.You could see the mites on them come out from under the feathers to take a look and go right back under the feathers.
There are still two birds actively feeding these four.All other birds are gone for awhile or for good.aNY HELP i can get would be much appreciated.Will lay my hands on some Sevin dust,but if I need anything else,I need to know now.
Thanks in Advance,
SLUGGO

[Davlyn]

Yes get some seven and put a little in the gourd about a half a teaspoon under nest and a dab at the entrance so the parents will get some on them . I have took a dab rubbed it on my hands and then rubbed it on my chickens I have never rubbed any on martin babies but maybe someone else here on the forum has and can help . Hope this helps !

[Peggy Riley]

Putting anything directly on the birds is not suggested. The sevin in the nest will take care of the mites, no need to do anything else!

[SLUGGO]

Just regular Sevin dust in and around the gord. Thanks for the quick reply. Will update as we go here.

SLUGGO

[H Key]

5% sevin dust and use less than 1/2 teaspoon. That will take care of your mites.

[Archer]

Yes get some seven and put a little in the gourd about a half a teaspoon under nest and a dab at the entrance so the parents will get some on them . I have took a dab rubbed it on my hands and then rubbed it on my chickens I have never rubbed any on martin babies but maybe someone else here on the forum has and can help . Hope this helps !

Please, for your own health, do not handle Sevin with your hands. The label on Sevin states that it is hazardous if swallowed, inhaled or absorbed through the skin.

[John Miller]

Sluggo

Please...foremost, do no harm, when managing your birds.

Washing down martin housing when there are active nests beyond briefly wiping with alcohol is too intrusive; will take too long and I fear may cause abandonment of nests with eggs. The female is very sensitive to the position of her egg bowl. Not sure what spray you used, but the fumes in enclosed boxes surely poses risk to tiny lungs.

A few mites on martins won't hurt them. You can do a nest change quickly when babies are 10 days old (not nests with eggs) and greatly reduce the mite load -- and changing the nest will reduce odds mites will get out of control because you are removing mite eggs and larva I assume --and wipe out the sides of the nest with alcohol if mites are numerous, or tap one-eighth teaspoon of powder five percent sevin into the sides of the nests..or work under, and mites will be gone in 24 hours. Sometimes I do a combination of both, but mostly I just use a little sevin..but always...I try to do the minimum necessary. (I have posted a few times in recent days about mites as a reminder -- it's a bad year for them here I think because heavy rains have left nests wet -- and hope I have not caused some folks to over react.)


....move deliberately but cautiously with mites, sparrows, and such..oh my!
John Miller

[SLUGGO]

Thank you to all who replied and tried to help me with the mite issue. I only had 4 little ones to deal with and three adults as well. The little ones were almost ready to fledge and after a couple of days of being handled so i could clean out the gourd they were in,they had enough.All bird are gone,no sign of any distress or mites,so I assume they fledged.

I believe the damage is already done to my colony.I had 5-6 pair return this year,down a few pair from the year before I might add,and the mite thing ran them out while I was out of town.The only little ones to survive were in a plastic gourd.There were mites in it as well,but the alcohol and Sevin dust did the trick.The adults did not stay with the young.They roosted somewhere else at night,but came and took care of the little ones.Now they have fledged and no sign of any of them.Too soon for Martins to leave for the season,so I have to assume they are somewhere else in the area.Will see what next spring brings as far as who returns on St.Patricks day.

[Dave Duit]

I believe that the avian insect liquidator spray should NOT go in mouth or eyes of martins.

[~Ray~Gingerich]

When I was a kid we had a martin jump out of an old style house with no access doors, my dad worked some sevin dust into it's feathers and put it back in the nest. Don't know if that was a good thing or not but it worked.