Why red mite deserves your full attention

If you keep chickens in a small garden, red mite is the pest you will eventually meet. It is not a sign that you are a bad keeper — the mite arrives on wild birds, on second-hand coops, on bedding, even on your own clothes after visiting a friend's run. What matters is how quickly you spot it and how thoroughly you deal with it.

The mite (Dermanyssus gallinae) is a blood feeder, not a permanent resident on the bird. It lives in the timber, the joints and the felt of your coop, creeping out at night to feed on roosting hens and retreating into cracks by morning. That behaviour is exactly why so many keepers miss an infestation for weeks. You will not find them on a sunny afternoon inspection because they simply are not there.

Left alone, a small population can explode in warm weather. The life cycle can complete in as little as seven days in summer, meaning a handful of mites in June can become thousands by August. Hens lose condition, laying drops, and in severe cases birds become anaemic. Catching it early is far kinder and far cheaper than fighting a full-blown infestation.

Spotting the signs before you see a single mite

Mites are easier to detect by their consequences than by direct sighting during the day. Watch for a cluster of these symptoms, especially through spring and summer:

• Hens reluctant to go to roost, or perching on the floor or in the nest box instead
• Pale, washed-out combs and wattles in normally healthy birds
• A sudden drop in laying, or thin-shelled eggs
• Tiny specks of blood smeared along perches or on eggshells
• Restlessness at night, with birds pecking and preening constantly
• Greyish, ash-like dust in the corners of the coop — this is often mite waste and cast skins
• You itch after cleaning the coop, particularly on your forearms and neck

If two or three of those apply, assume mites are present and inspect properly. Do not wait for a confirmed sighting.

The night inspection that never fails

This is the single most reliable test, and it takes five minutes. Wait until at least an hour after dark, ideally when the hens have settled. Take a torch and a piece of white kitchen roll.

Approach quietly, lift a hen gently and look underneath her — around the vent, under the wings, along the belly. Then run the kitchen roll along the underside of perches, around perch brackets, into the corner joints of the coop and along the edges of any felt or roofing. Mites are greyish-white when hungry and dark red after feeding, and they move. On white paper they are unmistakable.

In a bad infestation you may see them swarming around the birds as you lift them. Do not panic, but do start treatment the same week.

Cleaning the coop properly: it is about crevices, not surfaces

A quick sweep and a spray of disinfectant will not touch a mite problem. The mites are not on the surfaces — they are in the gaps. Your cleaning needs to reach the same places the night inspection did.

• Empty the coop completely, including nest box bedding and any loose felt or insulation.
• Scrape out every joint with a thin scraper or old screwdriver, working along perch ends, roof edges, floor-to-wall joins and any knot holes.
• Wash with hot water and a poultry-safe detergent, then apply a licensed poultry disinfectant at the correct dilution.
• Use steam if you have a steamer — it penetrates timber joints far better than a spray and kills eggs as well as adults.
• For metal fittings, a careful pass with a blowtorch is effective, but keep it away from timber and felt entirely.
• Let the coop dry fully before returning birds. Damp bedding encourages a whole different set of problems.

Throw away contaminated bedding; do not compost it near the run. If the coop is badly infested and made of rough, untreated timber with dozens of hiding places, replacing it may be more sensible than months of battle.

Treatments that actually break the life cycle

No single application will solve the problem, because mites in egg form are not affected by most treatments. The goal is to kill each new generation before it can lay. That means repeating treatment at five to seven day intervals for at least three rounds, sometimes four in warm weather.

Only use products licensed for poultry in the UK. Diatomaceous earth is widely used as a physical barrier in dust baths and crevices, but it works only when dry and is slow-acting, so treat it as a support rather than a cure. Speak to your vet about licensed acaricides or a prescription treatment if the infestation is stubborn — some products have egg withdrawal periods that you need to know about before you use them.

Treat the birds as well as the housing. A poultry-safe powder applied to the vent area and under the wings helps reduce the mites feeding on the hens while the coop treatment takes effect. Always follow the label, and never apply more often than the manufacturer states.

Keeping them from coming back

Once you have won the battle, prevention is mostly about vigilance. Inspect perches with white paper every fortnight through spring and summer. Keep wild birds away from feeders and drinkers where you can. Quarantine any new birds for a few weeks before they join the flock, and be cautious with second-hand coops — treat them thoroughly before anything goes in.

Give your hens a dry dust bath with a little diatomaceous earth mixed in. Keep bedding fresh. Replace rough timber where you notice deep cracks forming. Do all of that, and red mite becomes something you deal with quickly rather than something that ruins your summer.