Producers have been searching for a solution to treat this problem. In the past, they've only had pesticides and a few natural treatments that offer short term solutions but quickly build resistance.

MSD Animal Health has a solution. EXZOLT is a new treatment recently launched in the EU for the treatment for poultry red mites (Dermanyssus gallinae), according to Bill Vaughn, director of global marketing with MSD Animal Health.

"It is a fantastic breakthrough new product that offers a lot of different benefits for the producers that use it because up to this time, there has not been a product that has been really effective over the long term for treating red mites and controlling the problem until Exzolt," said Vaughn. "It is extremely effective; it works in a very short period of time. It's also very easy to use for the producer and easy on the chickens as well."

The product is delivered through the water system, then repeated seven days later. The treatment is delivered twice to cover the full lifecycle of the mites and to completely eliminate mites from the poultry barn.

"The mites will start to die almost immediately," he said. "Our representatives work with the producers and their veterinarians to make sure they have good biosecurity measures in place to maintain that control."

The product is also welfare friendly, eliminating the pain and discomfort caused by blood-sucking mites.

"If we can control this problem completely, which has not been possible up to this point, the birds are in a much better welfare situation in their environment," Vaughn explained.

MSD has reported excellent feedback from producers using Exzolt since its launch last fall. One example was from Italy, and a producer and his son ran the operation. They were at their wit's end with a red mite problem, Vaughn explained.

"They really couldn't leave the farm, because they had to collect eggs three times per day in order to keep the eggs from getting blood-spotted from the mites. And they were at the point they were going to quit the business," he said. "They found out we had Exzolt available. They tried it and it solved their mite problem completely. They basically said, it was a miracle. It's the most amazing product that I've ever worked with in my whole career, as far as how quickly you can see the benefits and how quickly the producers see the benefits."

Exzolt is currently registered and available in Europe, and it is also available in a number of other countries in Latin America and Asia.