Ethical pest control?

[Bewoulf]

Ethical pest control, .. just wondering which methods are suitable .. or succesful ( two different things ? or maybe the same ) in controlling or eradicating Red Mite in chicken houses other than the Pyretheum powder? answers would be appreciated

[Permaculturebella]

Ethical pest control, .. just wondering which methods are suitable .. or succesful ( two different things ? or maybe the same ) in controlling or eradicating Red Mite in chicken houses other than the Pyretheum powder? answers would be appreciated

Once you get red mite in it takes some getting rid of, they can last about six months I remember without a blood meal.

So from an ethical point of view, is the most ethical position not interferring in this situation? That the red mites have an equal right to live and the deaths of the chickens are just part of natural selection?

Once you actually try to apply ethics to situations people suddenly discover it is not as clear cut as they would like to believe it is. Would you let your own children suffer with red mite?

Then we start trying to find the least damaging method, so you could start feeding your chickens lots of garlic, rubbing raw garlic into all of the cracks in their coop, making a wash of it by mincing it and adding water and then washing out the entire coop weekly.

The red mites are supposed to hate the smell and taste of garlic, it is not trying to eliminate the red mites it is persuading them not to bite your chickens. To move out. Is displacing red mites ethical?

Along side the garlic you could increase the chucks accessibility to dust baths.

There are other natural remedies I understand, including using old fashioned creosote to paint the inside of their coop, although we are now in the realm of 'is it right to kill the red mites?''

If we are going down that route, then I would not use creosote but would get a household steamer, rehouse the chickens somewhere else and steam clean the coop, then fill any cracks with vaseline.

There is a form of powder that many people use, Diatomaceous Earth which works by scratching the red mite's protective coating and drying the individuals out. It is very common in organic chicken keeping.

It is up to you to decide where your ethics lie, from deciding if you should do nothing to killing the red mites and how. Let us know what you do and what your reasons were for chosing that method.

[PaulJ]

A blow torch can be used. It is always a good idea to have perches that you can lift out. You'll find the red mite hiding in crevices and corners......... a blow torch works nicely........ I can truly say that I have not suffered one moment of guilt after ridding chicken houses of red mite......... urghh! Horrible things!

On the preventative side, red mite usually come in, I believe, from wild bird populations, so stopping or reducing the ease with which wild birds come down and share your chickens' food is a good way to limit red mite infestation.

[Permaculturebella]

On the preventative side, red mite usually come in [...]

Good point PaulJ, I guess prevention is better than cure, perhaps it is a case of making a note on your calender and steam cleaning or whatever method the coop out and digging some new dustbaths on a regular basis. Maybe adding some fine builder's sand each time into the new dust bath? It can just be incorporated into the soil by digging in afterwards.

We used to have a traditional livestock market here in my local town. I used to go buy my veggies, but mainly to talk to the ole boys when they waiting around for the market to start. There was a community of people who bred Chickens to show, they always had glistening legs when they put them in auction, the chickens not the ole boys, so one day I asked what it was and why and the answer was that they smeared their legs in grease to prevent them getting a whole host of things. I know one of them definitely used vaseline, what the others used they would never tell me.... a competitive world Chicken Showing.

But, it might be another preventative measure, once the red mite has gone to check the chucks at night (when the red mite come out and bite) on a regular basis and smear vaseline on their legs. If you use a piece of white cloth to rub the chickens with you will be able to see the blood smears that indicates the red mite's presence even by torchlight.

[Bewoulf]

The solution to this years red mite problem came about in a round about way, but has worked in all eight chicken houses. I was servicing the tractor which badly needed the online fuel filter cleaned out ( it was full of gunk ). Obviously the fuel in the filter had to be drained aswell, which resulted in around a quarter pint of diesel and gunk. Wondering what on earth can i do with this made me try it on some red mite in one of the houses, which resulted in clearing all of them, Small paint brush and the fuel gunk mix and all the chicken houses are completly clear of red mite with no signs anywhere. worked wonders ethical probably not, but what could i have done with the fuel gunk mix?. There is no smell or lasting effects in the hen houses, .. Must say i have always built the hen houses out of plywood, far less places for mite to hide in. Using ship lap board has always created large populations of mite which are non to easy to get rid of. In the past i have seen hens and a cockeral die because of mite infestation , silkies seem the most vunerable.
You could argue create no waste, which was certainly the case.

[Permaculturebella]

Thanks for the update Bewoulf. I assume diesel is like engine oil and that you can recycle it yourself at home? I think there was a video or explanation on how to do it somewhere online, ehow? I will see if I can find it and post a link.

Always good to get feedback.

[gunther]

Hi All

how are permaculturists treating their livestock (cattle, sheep etc.) in case of worm infestation and other disease

regards guenther

[JohnB]

There was a programme on Radio 4 not long ago, but I can't remember which one, where they selected some listeners questions to do some further research on. I think one of those was about how far away you had to dump snails to stop them coming back. I think the person who raised the question had found it was quite a great distance. Sorry to be so vague as to be totally unhelpful, but the answer may come up in the next series of whatever programme it was!

Presumably they munch their way through all your neighbour's gardens on the way back to yours, and the ones dumped by the neighbours munch their way through your garden on the way back to theirs, so you might as well keep your own!

A 69-year-old amateur scientist has apparently discovered that her garden snails have a homing instinct.

The result has astonished some professionals who believe that snails are far too simple creatures to find their way home.

So with the help of BBC Radio 4's Material World Programme they have launched a national experiment to settle the question.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-10856523