Dusting of birds, their houses and pens etc with Diatomaceous Earth has been found to be very effective. Mites and other pests do not become immuned to Diatomaceous Earth as it kills by dehydration of the pest. This can take a few days for them to die. Breaking the breeding cycle of the pest is essential to the success of irradication of the pest.

Diatomaceous Earth will not harm birds or the owners. It will only affect small pests and parasites.

Other benefits for Poultry;

• Egg rate production improves while the death rate and egg breakage went down.
• Reduced flies in the chicken coup.
• Stronger egg shells.
• Stronger and happier birds
• Healthier and stronger feathers
• Longer laying period
• More contented birds

Dust every 5 days until irradication has been successful.

Dust until you have stopped the breeding cycle of the pest.

Make sure to dust the nests as these are the favourite breeding places for most of these pests.

Make a dust bath so they can enjoy it themselves.

Should the poultry red mite Dermanyssus gallinae be of wider concern for veterinary and medical science and human health?

In cases of human infestation, positive identification of species (or at least functionally similar groups based on life-history patterns) and recommendation of suitable treatment requires an understanding of mite taxonomy and ecology that many healthcare professionals and pest control organisations do not currently possess. Diagnosing infestations based on presenting symptoms (as is often undertaken) is inadequate and a suspected cause of large-scale misdiagnosis for similarly-presenting parasitoses such as scabies and pediculosis, general dermatitis or physiological conditions including delusional ectoparasitosis.
It is widely known from poultry research that resistance to pyrethroids, as well as other standard acaricides (chemicals), is now commonplace in D. gallinae, and the effect of DIATOMACEOUSE EARTH on these mites may be highly affective. Thus, alternative treatment by novel or bio-pesticides may be more successful in targeting D. gallinae and perhaps better accepted in a domestic setting for use by either humans or companion animals.
Reference – https://parasitesandvectors.biomedcentral.com/…/s13071-015-…

As an avian mite recorded from numerous bird hosts it is of little surprise that D. gallinae may pose a threat to domestic fowl other than poultry. Companion birds, such as hobby pigeons and budgerigars are also at risk and in canaries D. gallinae has even been linked to infection with the bacteria Chlamydia psittaci

The rapid life cycle of D. gallinae undoubtedly contributes to its status as a pest. Complete development from egg to adult typically occurs over two weeks, though may take place in less than half this time. Temperatures of 10-35°C and high relative humidity (>70%) facilitate D. gallinae reproduction and development and weekly doubling of populations is possible in egg-laying facilities where these conditions are often met. Resulting D. gallinae densities typically reach 50,000 mites per bird in caged systems, though can escalate to 500,000 mites per bird in severe cases.

In egg-laying facilities D. gallinae are notoriously difficult to control for multiple reasons, one of these being the tendency of mites to seek refuge in poultry house sub-structures when not feeding. The majority of the D. gallinae lifecycle is spent off the host where mites aggregate together in response to both thigmokinesis and pheromone cues From these refugia D. gallinae locate their hosts using a combination of temperature stimuli, chemical signals and responses to vibration and carbon dioxide Once upon a host, mites feed for short periods of up to an hour, doing so every 2–4 days and typically (though not exclusively) during periods of darkness Larvae do not feed and though adult males may, they are thought to do so only intermittently Though feeding is required to permit reproduction and development of some stages, D. gallinae may survive for extended periods without a blood meal, permitting survival for up to 9 months when hosts are absent. The development of pesticide resistance in D. gallinae also makes control challenging. Resistance to carbamates and pyrethroids has been widely reported and observed in many countries. In a survey of British farms published in 2004, more than 60% had experienced acaricide-resistant infestations and figures have likely worsened since.

Go organic with Diatomaceous Earth.