B&B Happy Goats....journal

[Baymule]

I hope your neighbor gets to hang around for a long time. But just in case he doesn't, take him cookies, pie, brownies, butter him up and get him to sell that acre. Yeah, I know, I'm awful.....but I am realistic.

 

[Baymule]

Only partially kidding..
There are hundreds of different types (species) of mites, maybe thousands.
Most do have a "preferred" host, but all except dust mites will bite humans. Some common sources/preferred hosts are bird and poultry, dogs and cats, grasses and hay.
Some just bite, others, like mange mites (the most common type human infestation) (Sarcoptes scabiei) burrow but almost all mites cause itching and red spots. Common source hosts of what is generally called scabie mites are poultry, cats/dogs, fur & hair bearing farm animals such as rabbits, equines, bovines and other ruminants...and contact with humans already having them. Scabies used to be so common that schools would do inspections of kids' hands.,,between the fingers especially where the skin is thin and soft. They may still do.

Many mites live on and in the soil, but few of those ever infest humans.
Others that live close to the ground DO infest humans and other mammals and birds, the most common usually being called Chiggers. Chigger are the larval stage of Adult trombiculid mites..there are several sub species of this family of mite. We've all gotten chiggers at one time or another.
Adult trombiculid mites are about 1-2 mm in length, bright red or reddish-brown in colour, and of velvety appearance. The nymph is similar but smaller. The larvae, also called chiggers, are very small, being only 0.15-0.3 mm in length (Fig. 4.30). Neither the adults nor the nymphs bite animals or humans; they live in the soil and feed on other mites, small insects and their eggs. The larvae, however, feed on skin tissue.
After emerging from the eggs the larvae crawl onto grasses or low-lying vegetation and leaf litter to wait for an animal or human host. They attach themselves to the skin of reptiles, birds, mammals and humans walking or resting in the habitat. On humans they seek out areas where clothing is tight against the skin, the waist and ankles being the parts most commonly attacked.
The larvae remain attached to the skin of the host for between two days and a month, depending on the species. They then drop to the ground and enter the soil to develop into the harmless nymphal and adult stages.
Mites have a very patchy distribution over small areas because of their special requirements. The nymphs and adults need certain soil conditions for their survival and development while the larvae require host animals, such as wild rats, other small rodents and birds. Suitable habitats are found in grassy fields, shrubby areas, forests, abandoned rice fields and cleared forests. The mites are also found in parks, gardens, lawns and moist areas alongside lakes and streams.

Another common source of biting mites on a farmstead is hay. They aren't attracted to the hay itself but to the dust and mold spores that are in all hay to some extent, and of course, in colder weather, to the warmth the hay provided. Animals graze the hay, mites transfer from animal to hay then to humans when the hay is broken apart and fed by hand. Getting mites from hay used to be much more common when people handled hay more than they do now..round bales greatly reduced the exposure to that type of mite.

I am MITE-Y educated on mites now. Thanks for the information!

 

[Bruce]

gonna try to get brakes on the truck in the morning....have tried since monday, but each time I try it....it begins to rain

Maybe clean out a few feet of the carport, just enough to get whichever end of the truck that needs brakes under cover?

 

[Baymule]

That's too bad about goat noise neighbor. Even for a jerk, don't like to see anybody suffer like that.

You are a good neighbor and friend. Your neighbors are blessed to have you in their corner, helping out.

 

[Bruce]

X2 on that Bay.

 

[CntryBoy777]

Maybe clean out a few feet of the carport, just enough to get whichever end of the truck that needs brakes under cover?

Oh, there is plenty of room in the carport, but we use that as a sitting area/patio and don't want to spot it all up with brake fluid, oil, and anything else that I might drop, knock over, or bust when a wrench slips.....if I absolutely had to get it done to go to "work", I would do it and would endure the skeeters even at nite....but, I don't....just have to be done by tuesday this next week, so Joyce can go to the daughter's house....and it won't be much longer for another trip north....about 80miles or so.....

I know it is difficult to lessen the numbers, but it may be worth the break to be able to concentrate on the "parasite control" and increasing the forage quality....I have a few things to discuss on our next trip up....ya may find it fairly interesting....

 

[Bruce]

Fred, to words - sheet plastic

 

[Bruce]

you know that saying " Do unto others as you would have them do unto you "

And here I thought it was "Do unto others before they do unto you"

 

[AmberLops]

I am MITE-Y educated on mites now. Thanks for the information!

I Mite have to research more about them

 

[Baymule]

It has gone from fun to hard work. A few are great, a whole bunch is just too much. Time to downsize so it goes back to being fun. You are smart to recognize that as being true and act on it.

I compare that to us having 40 Cornish Cross chickens. Feed twice a day, water 3 times a day, move the tractor every other day. They are pretty intensive and a lot of work. I sure am glad we only keep them a couple of months! If that turned into 12 months, I’d run away from home!

Then The ingrates have the nerve to drop dead before I can slaughter them. 17 more to go and we’ll be back to our level of abnormal around here.

That’s what you need too—your level of abnormal.