Do chickens get fleas?

[backyardfarmfamily]

In the past month we have started to get a real flea problem in our house - but we have no indoor pets - only some backyard chickens. Could that be the problem? We moved into our house only three months ago and I wonder if the fleas were already here and just more dormant until the warmer months(right now in Texas) or if the chickens are the problem. If it is the chickens that seems pretty hard to solve....any suggestions?

 

[beekybuzzard]

Yes, they can get fleas but it is usually not bad too quickly. Could be from a field close by perhaps? We had that happen before and had to burn off a field and the yard to get rid of them along with treating inside the house and trucks. No fun at all. Good luck.

 

[ole-crone]

Sounds more like the people who lived in your house first had indoor pets. They had fleas which laid eggs in the carpets or floor cracks and now that it's warmer out, the eggs are hatching.

I doubt your chickens have anything to do with it.

We lived in a house once that had fleas so bad, you could sit on the floor and watch them climb all over the carpeting. We tried everything to get rid of them - even flea bombed the house - all that did was make the dog go blind and make the kids sick. We eventually ripped out the carpeting - we figured the eggs were all down in the padding.

I'm so glad we don't have fleas where we live now. Not just our house - our whole valley doesn't have fleas.

 

[Cetawin]

They were there before you got there but they are dormant in the cold weather and when it warms up...BAM they are everywhere.

Dust the chickens with a good poultry dust and spray your entire yard with Liquid diazinon (sp?)...do it on a warm day and let it dry before you let pets walk on the yard...that is a must! If they lick the stuff they will get sick. But it will kill the fleas and the eggs.

It comes in a crystal formula you can water in but the same thing applies...keep pets off of it when it is wet...do not spray on the chickens or in the coop.

 

[Oblio13]

Quote:
That's one of those cures that's worse than the disease.

We've found that if we simply vacuum the house a lot and keep our dogs treated, the fleas eventually die out.

 

[LynneP]

Two things- vacuum a little flea powder into your machine, and hang a no-pest strip in the room(s) where you've noticed fleas. These strips last 3 months and are made by Vapona and Black Flag. Contain pyrethins. No more fleas. Just don't hang them over food preparation areas or bedroom pillows.

.

 

[rebecca10782]

Don't they make Advantix for chickens?

 

[Miltonchix]

Diazanon was banned a couple years ago. Probably because it worked.

 

[debakadeb]

I would begin by vacuuming your carpet and furniture (fleas will lay eggs in your upholstery also) and then cleaning the carpet and furniture. I personally hate using the bombs because of all the precautions you have to take before using one of the pest bombs and then all the washing/cleaning that is necessary to do afterwards. They can be effective but I tend to look at them as a last resort.

 

[Miltonchix]

If you have a crawl space under your house you may want to set off a flea bomb or 10. OR call a proffesional exterminator. We have one out every quarter and have NO bug problems inside. It costs about $300 a year for the service. Also exterminators have safe pesticides for use around your birds/animals. Just ask them.