Mites wipe out 10 pair colony

[Condorman]

Over the summer I have been periodically checking on a nearby colony owned by some relatively new folks to purple martin management. They had an old T-14 house that had fallen into disrepair and was no longer used and when I said I would restore the house and get it back up on a proper pole, they became interested again in attracting martins. Until the older T-14 was restored they bought one of the newer plastic models from Tractor Supply complete with crescent shaped entrance holes. First year no birds, 2nd year one pair, 3rd year (no count) and this year 10 pairs in a 12 room house. Last week and dropped by for a check and immediately noticed a change in behavior, which from previous experience indicated a major problem.The birds were hovering around the box but wouldn't land on it. I immediately checked underneath on the ground and found several large dead (fully feathered) young. With help from one of the owners we lowered the house and opened up the doors. All the young were dead (10 nests) and swarming with mites. The young were all sizes, from just about to fledge to just several weeks old. In cases like this I imagine what really puts the young down, in addition to the mites, is the adults refusing to land on the box to feed the young because of the mites, and the young slowly starve to death. If I had dropped by two to three days earlier there is a good chance I could have saved the colony. Lesson learned here.

[Mstan]

Sorry you had to experience this.

[Les Frampton]

Mites! We had one gourd absolutely covered with mites, no other of 60 nests. Put in insecticide and check 2days later. One dead chick and all mites gone. Surprised how fast it worked. Dusted other nests .

[Condorman]

Thanks Les,

I wondered what insecticide you used? In the mid-1970's when I was first color banding martins as nestlings I used powdered Sevin dust mixed with water and sprayed that in the nesting material, and then put a handful of red cedar shavings in the nest cup. That really eliminated the mites. Both of those treatments are now however considered harmful in other ways. Then I switched DE, but that is now considered not good if airborne and inhaled by the birds. I would like something that would actually kill the mites, not just discourage them.

Jesse

[Conrad Baker]

Thanks Les,

I wondered what insecticide you used? In the mid-1970's when I was first color banding martins as nestlings I used powdered Sevin dust mixed with water and sprayed that in the nesting material, and then put a handful of red cedar shavings in the nest cup. That really eliminated the mites. Both of those treatments are now however considered harmful in other ways. Then I switched DE, but that is now considered not good if airborne and inhaled by the birds. I would like something that would actually kill the mites, not just discourage them.

Jesse

I would not mix the Sevin with water (I know you did that long ago). I have read many times that Sevin loses it's effectiveness if it gets wet or even damp. Sevin used to be available in liquid form, so I'm not sure how they accomplish that without diminishing it's effectiveness.

[Thomas Maddox]

Sometimes nature is cruel. You tried and thank you for it! The old ingredient in Sevin was carbaryl which was safe and effective for mites, but was removed from the product. As above, DE is effective, but supposedly bad for the bird's lungs. So what is the best option now? On a side note, I didn't realize that the mites could do that much damage. Crazy.

[rameye2]

What a terrible experience, for you and the martins, sorry to hear it. I've noticed in my colonies it's not uncommon to get one or two gourds all of a sudden overrun by massive numbers of mites. The mites crawl out, looking to get to other birds and gourds. I'm not sure why it's just one of many gourds where their population explodes. The good thing is, mites are pretty easy to clean off during nest checks, and I carry a jug of clean water with me to rinse the mites off. My neighbor has a wooden T-14 and claims he "never" has mites. I think he's just not seeing them, and in a T-14 they can hide and spread to other compartments easily, whereas with a radial-arm gourd colony it's harder, and the landlord can better control them. I already prefer gourds, maybe I'm just biased, but this story is further evidence in support of phasing out houses and hotels in favor of gourds. And practicing regular nest checks and replacements, of course.

[Mstan]

I have found in my two years of housing martins that nest checks can control the mite problems. On doing nest checks I look for mites and damp nest. If mites are found I remove nest and use rubbing alcohol on a rag to wipe the outslde and inside of the gourd. I then replace nest with new pine needles. If I find a damp nest without mites I go ahead and change out the nest with new pine needles. This method so far has been successful and to my knowledge have not had any jumpers. My housing consist of two Troyer gourd racks with 28 gourds. I have 12 verticals, 14 horizontal and 2 chirpy nest.

[Thomas Maddox]

I wonder if getting a spray bottle with diluted alcohol would be safe if sprayed on the nest and maybe even the PMs?

[Martintown33]

Very sorry to hear this. Just terrible.. 1/8 to 1/4 tsp sevin dust “under” the nest works great to keep mites down. And if put under the nests the martins never come in direct contact with it so it’s safe, when used this way. It works great. Haven’t had any jumpers or mites since using it this manner..
Good luck in the future
Rob

[C.C.Martins]

I wonder if getting a spray bottle with diluted alcohol would be safe if sprayed on the nest and maybe even the PMs?

Thomas,
I wouldn't spray alcohol even diluted alcohol on a martin or its nest. Just a bit of sevin.
Just checked one rack, 16 gourds. No mites in or on any gourds, despite the heavy rain and 80% humidity, none. I even went light on the sevin this year. Possibly because I dust as soon as they show but dunno for a fact.

[Mstan]

Yes I agree you wouldn’t want to spray the nest or martins. I use alcohol to wipe inside and outside of gourd to clean and get rid of any mites left in the gourd. The alcohol dries fast. Then replace with dry nesting material.

[Thomas Maddox]

Right. I was just thinking out loud. I definitely don't want to cause any harm.

[Mstan]

Yes,I appreciate all the advise and teachings. I haven’t tried the seven dust,but there are enough testimonies here that it works. Next season I may put some in as I am readying my gourds. I despise the mites. Thank you for all your comments.

[Dave Duit]

Avian Insect Liquidator. AIL. Bought in concentrate or ready to use spray. Simple, easy, extremely safe and very effective. Or sevin dust 5% around edges of nests.

[Martintown33]

Agree Dave.. . Avian insect eliminator works great! I sprayed ( it must be diluted according to directions) the compartments and gourds , let it dry, then pre nested at the beginning of the season.. that kept all mites away, then I used a little sevin dust, under the edges of the nest, after the nest was finished, and eggs were laid, then one more sevin treatment under the edges of the nest, when chicks developed their first feathers.. no mites at all… worked great! I try to avoid using sevin until the nest is finished so they can’t get it in their mouths… the avian insect liquidator works great for their first , pre nest treatment… as Dave said AIL is safe for all birds.. even direct contact, again as long as diluted correctly, although I wouldn’t spray directly on them or the nest, even though directions say it’s safe for direct contact.
Good luck
Rob

[Condorman]

Sounds like a good arsenal suggested for next year. I like the idea of spraying the housing with Liquidator first, then seven dust under the nest. A friend just found a large bag of the older seven dust in his mother's old greenhouse. That sounds like what I used to use. No question martins historically didn't nest 6" from each other in a wooden, plastic or aluminum nest site. I have only found mites in numbers to cause abandonment of a nest in Eastern Phoebe, House Sparrow, Barn Swallow, Starling, and Tree Swallow nests, all which use domestic poultry feathers as nest liner or would nest in a structure with those species that do use feathers. One has to wonder if some of the mite problems we see today are exacerbated by additional non-native parasites like various mite species that came in with domestic fowl. If so martins could have picked up additional species of parasites from House Sparrows or Tree Swallows nesting in martin boxes. I have never found any detailed information on whether there could be additional non-native mites (other parasites) that might have been introduced through domestic fowl, but you would have to ask the question "Why not"?

[C.C.Martins]

Hey thats good and your right, why not? Why wouldn't it happen. Sure could. Martins readily use open water sources, as do geese and ducks. Parasites galore. They roost with other bird species...mites galore.

[Condorman]

I lived in Corpus Christi from 1987-1990 at 325 Doddridge Street, a couple of blocks from the bay. Started a colony of martins there but it was the year, maybe 1989, when there was this real scarcity of insects. I drove from CC to Austin with no insects hitting my windshield. At the colony I started the adults stopped feeding the young. I waited a day and a half and never saw an adult come in to feed the chicks. Seemed to be concentrated along the coast. I eventually took the house down and rescued the chicks, took them to a colony west of town and fostered them into nests there.

[C.C.Martins]

I lived in Corpus Christi from 1987-1990 at 325 Doddridge Street, a couple of blocks from the bay. Started a colony of martins there but it was the year, maybe 1989, when there was this real scarcity of insects. I drove from CC to Austin with no insects hitting my windshield. At the colony I started the adults stopped feeding the young. I waited a day and a half and never saw an adult come in to feed the chicks. Seemed to be concentrated along the coast. I eventually took the house down and rescued the chicks, took them to a colony west of town and fostered them into nests there.

No kidding! I know doddridge! Thats pretty neat, very small world.
Man that must have been hard, deep summer is like that. No flying bugs. But to have that early on is heartbreaking. Wonder what the heck it was...maybe being that close to the bay, red tide maybe? I look for arrowheads on a beach on the bay, one year red tide was real bad, the sea breeze kicked it into the air, felt like an asthma attack and burning eyes for days after.
Glad they found homes, good of you. After that be tough to put back up.
I'm out near oso bay, right across from flour bluff. Lucky here, what passes for a lake here in corpus is just down the street.