mite problem

When I was cleaning out my girls coop, I noticed lots of tiny tiny moving black dots, all around their nesting boxes.
I assume these are the mites I have read about.
I have ordered some products fromm the internet to clean the coop and also some other stuff to powder the girls with.
is this a normal problem??
We live in austria and the summers are very very hot, so I'm thinking the mites have got out of control very quickly.
Also conversely, in the winter it will be very cold, with minus temperatures for much of the time.
Will the cold, help keep the mites away in the winter months??
The girls have a big area with lots of dust baths to wallow in,
Any advice gladlt rec.
Also any particularly good products recomendations would be helpful too.
Many thanks

Hey Berniepage!

Red mite appear almost black but if you squish them they leave a red streak (which is the blood from your chooks). Red mite don't tend to move much when uncovered and usually reside in the nooks and crannies in the coop. Do you think they could be fleas?

Yes it is a normal problem especially when we experience hot weather and they will disappear in the cold months.

I use Poultry shield to clean the coop and to dust the coop, perches and nest boxes I use Diatom which I've found extremely effective and would highly recommend every hen keeper should own a tub of the stuff. It's natural and can be used in the feed to worm the hens, applied to the chickens directly and applied inside the coop to fight red mite infestation.

Garlic is supposed to be effective against red mite. You can rub cloves along the perches and in the nooks and crannies. You can also add garlic powder or Respite to the chooks drink and this is supposed to make the chooks blood taste nasty to parasites without tainting the eggs.

Hope this has been helpful and I hope you get your parasite problem under control soon!

I find garlic powder really helpful. I actually chuck it all over the coop, and have yet to see any pests appear.