Four silica-based acaricides were examined in laboratory tests for their effectiveness against poultry red mite, Dermanyssus gallinae. All acaricides resulted in 100% mite mortality. Two groups of active ingredients could be differentiated. The products Silicosec^® and Ewazid^®, based on naturally occurring diatomaceous earth (DE), killed 100% of adult D. gallinae within 48 h exposure time. The time to kill 50% of the mites (LT₅₀) was calculated to be 31.7 and 34.9 h, respectively. The other two products, containing aggregates and agglomerates of pyrogenic synthetic amorphous silicon dioxide as active ingredients, killed the mites in a significantly shorter time: LT₅₀ was 6.3 h for the liquid product Fossil Shield^® Instant White and 11.8 h for the powdery product Fossil Shield 90.0 White. This is more remarkable as the quantities of active ingredients used for the DE treatments were several folds higher. The effectiveness of all tested products was also shown in practical tests. A professional company treated five chicken houses on one farm in the Berlin–Brandenburg region with the test products, three houses with Fossil Shield Instant White and one each with Ewazid and Silicosec. Over a period of 46 weeks after stocking, the mite development in the houses was assessed. Only in one of the houses, treated with Fossil Shield Instant White, the mite population remained permanently low. In two houses treated with Fossil Shield Instant White, small mite colonies appeared in week 36, which were controlled by a follow-up spot treatment in week 41. In the houses treated with DE, the first mite colonies appeared 12 weeks after stocking. The number increased continuously over the experimental period and in week 31 after stocking there were clearly visible colonies (2–3 cm diameter) and the first mites could also be detected on the chicken eggs. At this time both houses were treated again with a follow-up spot-treatment, which only led to a slight improvement in one house and to a stabilization of the infestation in the other house. In week 41, large mite colonies were detected in both houses. A spot treatment at this point was ineffective in reducing the infestation. The tests showed faster acaricidal action of the products with the synthetic active ingredients compared to the natural DE-based products. This matches the shorter killing times under laboratory conditions. The experiments in a commercial chicken farm showed that it is possible to control the mite population for a period of 46 weeks by using physically effective SiO₂-based products. These products are therefore an effective alternative to the use of chemical acaricides.

实验室测试了四种二氧化硅基杀螨剂对家禽红螨（鸡皮螨）的有效性。所有杀螨剂均导致螨虫死亡率 100%。可以区分两组活性成分。基于天然硅藻土 (DE) 的产品 Silicosec ^®和 Ewazid ^{®能够在 48 小时的暴露时间内杀死 100% 的成虫鸡}D. gallinae。计算出杀死50%螨虫的时间（LT ₅₀）分别为31.7和34.9小时。另外两种产品含有热解合成无定形二氧化硅的聚集体和附聚物作为活性成分，可在显着更短的时间内杀死螨虫：液体产品 Fossil Shield ^{® Instant White 的 LT} ₅₀为 6.3 小时，粉末产品 Fossil 的 LT 50 为 11.8 小时盾牌 90.0 白色。由于用于 DE 治疗的活性成分的数量高出几倍，这一点更加引人注目。所有测试产品的有效性也在实际测试中得到了证明。一家专业公司使用测试产品对柏林-勃兰登堡地区一个农场的五间鸡舍进行了处理，其中三间鸡舍使用了 Fossil Shield Instant White，各一间鸡舍使用了 Ewazid 和 Silicosec。放养后 46 周内，对鸡舍内螨虫的生长情况进行了评估。只有其中一所经过 Fossil Shield Instant White 处理的房屋中，螨虫数量始终保持在较低水平。在用 Fossil Shield Instant White 处理的两间房屋中，第 36 周出现了小螨虫群体，并在第 41 周通过后续斑点处理得到控制。在用 DE 处理的房屋中，第一个螨虫群体在放养后 12 周出现。在实验期间，数量不断增加，在饲养后第 31 周，出现了清晰可见的菌落（直径 2-3 厘米），并且在鸡蛋上也可以检测到第一批螨虫。此时，对两栋房屋再次进行了后续现场处理，但仅使其中一栋房屋的情况略有改善，而另一栋房屋的虫害情况则趋于稳定。第 41 周，两间房屋均检测到大量螨虫群落。此时的局部处理对于减少感染是无效的。测试表明，与天然 DE 产品相比，含有合成活性成分的产品具有更快的杀螨作用。这与实验室条件下较短的杀死时间相匹配。_{在商业养鸡场进行的实验表明，通过使用物理有效的 SiO 2}基产品，可以在 46 周的时间内控制螨虫数量。因此，这些产品是化学杀螨剂的有效替代品。