Does red mite affect people?

Red mite Of the mite species, it is one of the most harmful and invasive parasites that attack any birds, animals and even humans. It is a parasite found both on industrial poultry farms and in small backyard poultry houses. They are most abundant in the summer periods from July to September, while in winter it appears in heated livestock rooms.Four pairs of legs allow parasites to move quickly, while their high reproduction means that females lay 8 eggs a day for several weeks. From the eggs hatch larvae of the chicken tarantula, from which after 7 days adult individuals can be formed. They feed on the blood of birds, and after eating , the mite takes on an almost spherical shape . Such an offensive development of the chicken bird population poses a serious threat to the entire breeding herd, so every effort and measures should be made to quickly combat the tarantula. An important emphasis should be placed on prevention, especially during the periods of its most intense occurrence.

Poultry plague

The invasion of chicken tarantulas is dangerous for animals, and especially for poultry. In an offensive way, they attack sleeping birds: chickens, turkeys, guinea fowls, pheasants, pigeons, ornamental birds and even wild birds. Chicken bird poses a threat to birds at every stage of rearing, from chicks to adults. Chicken bird feeds only at night, causing insomnia of birds. During the day it is difficult to catch it, because with dawn it hides in hard-to-reach places, in the deepest crevices of livestock rooms, cracks in the wall and floors, in the crevices of laying nests and everywhere where the human eye does not reach. They come out of hiding at night, during the rest of the birds, to feed on their blood, and then begin the breeding stage. One hen can be a host for up to 500,000 adult individuals. Attacking tarantulas by puncturing the skin of birds introduce toxic saliva, which has properties that dissolve skin tissue, which makes it easier for daggers to reach the tiny blood vessels from which parasites take blood. Thanks to the jaws, the birds cut the skin of a bird like scissors, freely draw blood, and at the same time spread pathogenic germs of poultry. Parasites by puncturing the skin, sucking blood and introducing saliva provoke anemia, itching, anxiety and insomnia of birds. 

In poultry houses heavily affected by the parasite, there is often a mass death of young chicks, attacks of aggression and cannibalism among adult birds, and there is a general deterioration in the condition of the breeding flock. The skin of strongly affected birds by numerous mites is wounded, contaminated with bacteria, and feathers are frayed or plucked. Poor birds, after the introduction of toxic saliva of the tarantula, scratch, nibble and peck each other's feathers. The skin in these places becomes thickened, serous exudate appears, and birds lose feathers in these places. Older and larger birds weaken, lose weight and their laying rate drops sharply, in extreme cases by up to 30%. Birds are often found in the cracks of the ears, in the nostrils or in the beak of infested birds, but the blood of the host is the most important food for them conditioning further reproduction. It usually takes a few months for a breeder to notice a chicken bird in his kennel, which gives him time to multiply on a large scale. The chicken bird, a specialist in a parasitic lifestyle, can be recognized by the high mortality of young birds, the decrease in poultry laying, the weight loss and weakening of birds,  the injury of the skin of birds and the high aggression in the herd. Like most ectoparasites, chicken flies are resistant to hunger and without food can survive up to 8 months, living in hiding. Therefore, with each exchange of the herd, after the introduction of new animals into livestock buildings, breeders need to pay a lot of attention to fighting parasites.

Does the chicken bird pass to humans?

Combating chicken tarantula is a very important element in poultry farming. Birds are not only annoying parasites of birds, they also pose a great threat to other animal species, e.g. horses, cattle, pigs. They can also disturb domestic animals and, of course, people, by inhabiting various corners of living quarters. Most often they enter the apartments through the livestock farmers themselves or people who perform daily rites in poultry houses or other livestock buildings. Very often they switch from poultry to clothing and the surface of the skin of the hands and  legs of people working in chicken coops. This species of mite can go to domestic premises from bird nests located in residential buildings, i.e. nests of sparrows, pigeons or swallows.

Diseases communicable by poultry to humans

Tarantulas spread various pathogenic germs, including cholera germs and poultry leukemia, as well as toxoplasmosis and poultry plague. Mites overlapping people, as in the case of birds, cause unpleasant, most often during sleep. Bites of parasites resulting in the introduction of toxic saliva by chicken tarantula, which can cause dangerous diseases among humans, including  myelitis and cause encephalitis. Birdie can transmit group A viruses , and is  often the cause of bronchial asthma among poultry farm workers. Toxoplasmosis is one of the diseases spread by tarantulas. It is mainly a threat to pregnant women because it can lead to fetal damage or miscarriage. The most common reaction to a bite by an tarantula, however, is allergic skin manifestations that disappear after about 2-3 days. After 36-40 hours after the bite, a purulent follicle appears, and the lymph nodes also grind locally. The of the tarantula are very unpleasant, especially for children and adults with hypersensitivity to saliva, prone to any allergies. They usually cause inflammatory changes in the skin, passing from the stage of erythema to deep ulcers. The resulting inflammation of the skin is accompanied by severe unpleasant itching.

How to protect yourself from poultryborne diseases?

To protect against poultry diseases spread by chicken tarantula, it is first necessary to get rid of pests through appropriate destructive and dezakarization preparations dosed in the form of mechanical spraying. Treatments should be repeated 2-3 times every 7-10 days. For this purpose, acaricides from different chemical groups should be used alternately or simultaneously to increase effectiveness.

Chicken bird is a parasite difficult to detect, and its rapid stage of development means that a livestock farm affected by the plague of chicken lice undergoes a real invasion, posing a threat to the health of birds and humans. Various methods of combating chicken tarantula can be used, but the greatest emphasis should be placed on prevention, using, for example, dry disinfection in the form of diatomaceous earth. In the event of the appearance of the first symptoms of the plague of chicken tarantula in the herd, immediate intervention with the use of disinfestation agents is indicated. People performing treatments to combat chicken lice in livestock rooms, must put a lot of emphasis on protecting their own body and clothing. Diseases transmitted by poultry to humans can lead to serious complications, so everyone should follow the basic rules of personal hygiene. After each visit to the chicken coop or other livestock building, you should wash your hands thoroughly. It is also recommended to use different clothing to work with animals than the one we are used to at home. A good solution may be to use protective outerwear, e.g. overalls, which will tightly protect the body of a farm worker or the breeder himself from the transfer of parasites, bacteria and viruses to residential buildings. Prophylactic disinfection activities are a priority nowadays.

Viruses, bacteria and parasites spread rapidly and pose a great threat to both breeders and animals. Only regular disinfection procedures and the use of the so-called dry disinfection will protect the breeding farm against the plague of chicken tarantula and the spread of zoonotic diseases by them. It is also important to observe hygiene when preparing dishes from animal products (raw stale meat, raw eggs can be a carrier of salmonella), the use of hot water and detergents in the form of dishwashing liquid, will help free the kitchen from unnecessary bacteria or viruses.