Red mites, also known as the chicken mite or poultry mite, are small white insects that shelter during the day in holes and cracks in poultry houses. They are active at night and invade the chickens en masse, climbing onto them and sucking blood. That is what gives them their red colour. Red mite causes a lot of suffering for chickens, e.g. itching and anaemia and they spread a variety of diseases.

Controlling red mite is not easy. But with the right approach, implemented consistently and well, you can get control of them and the problem becomes manageable. It is very important to clean the house thoroughly and give it a pre-treatment before setting up a flock. That will create the right living environment and the problem will be manageable. Then you can keep the problem under control with regular repeat treatments.

Natural predators

Natural predators are biological control media for a pest, in this case the red mite. When you release the natural predators of red mite in the poultry house, they become tough red mite hunters and pressure in the house from the pest becomes minimal. For more information about the red mite concept, please contact us.