I need advice on how to get rid of chicken lice/bugs!!!!!

[mistycree]

I need help!!!! I cannot take the bites on my skin anymore. I have 27 chickens. I noticed some chickens with broken feathers, missing feathers on vent and back ( no roosters) I have been dealing with this all summer!!!!!
After research, I believe it started with chicken mites, I am not sure... it might of been chicken lice all along.
After researching, I treated all birds with Elector PSP. I did the correct dose in warm water, and dunked each chicken for at least 30 seconds, rubbing vent areas and under wings. Then I ripped apart my coop, threw out hemp shavings and nesting pads. Everything was gone, bare bones. I then vacuumed each corner, floors, nesting boxes, everything!! I then sprayed with elector psp in a spray bottle everywhere. I let it dry. I also treated roosting bars, even out in the run I sprayed it down. A week later, chickens still itching, like nothing changed. So I treated again, second time. Ripped coop apart again, etc. I went on vacation for 10 days, came back, same thing.... still itching and I am getting bug bites again!
Shoes, clothes come off in the garage. Floors are vacuumed regularly, sheets washed daily, showering twice a day..... it's a nightmare.
So I treated for a 3rd time the other day..... still same thing. All with elector psp.
I also have been putting garlic in their water, granulated garlic in their food. I spread garlic all over the run. I spread human grade DTE all over run and mixed it in sand. I created a bath area with wood ash and dte mixture.
I have looked at bug pictures online of mites and lice. These look like lice. Straw color and some are dark. I had seen pictures and people say they are a louse.
Are these lice biting me? Some people say online, lice don't bite. Some people say they do bite. They are small bumps, itchy and a nightmare.
So if these are lice, what else do I use to kill them? I read dawn dish soap soaking, then a dip with apple cider vinegar? Please give me you advice, I need to kill these little monsters once and for all, me and my chickens are suffering!!!!!!! I will include a couple pictures of the bugs I find, they do not fly!
Any advice would be appreciated!!!!!!!! I would say my infestation is pretty bad, whatever it is!!!

 

[Muser]

Ivermectin was gold for my chicken's lice problem, cleared up within a week of dosing them all and it was easy to apply. Take care if you do decide to use it for your birds since it's not licensed in poultry usage so you need to make sure you measure correctly because you can overdose if you aren't careful. There is an egg withdrawal period for laying hens of at least 10 days and meat birds should not be consumed within around 3 months (from memory, might need to double check that for yourself). Something to be aware of.


Lice can and do bite humans, but they cannot survive on us for long, they need the feather shaft to attach to and lay their eggs on. Thankfully, we do not have feathers

Lice like to live around their combs and by their vents, if you part the feathers, you should see them scuttle away, gross little things, making me itch thinking about it!

 

[1motorpsycho]

Ivermectin was gold for my chicken's lice problem, cleared up within a week of dosing them all and it was easy to apply. Take care if you do decide to use it for your birds since it's not licensed in poultry usage so you need to make sure you measure correctly because you can overdose if you aren't careful. There is an egg withdrawal period for laying hens of at least 10 days and meat birds should not be consumed within around 3 months (from memory, might need to double check that for yourself). Something to be aware of.


Lice can and do bite humans, but they cannot survive on us for long, they need the feather shaft to attach to and lay their eggs on. Thankfully, we do not have feathers

Lice like to live around their combs and by their vents, if you part the feathers, you should see them scuttle away, gross little things, making me itch thinking about it!

Interesting. I had a bin that I sed to put shavings in. I then noticed a crapload of lice? Or red mites? and freaked out, tossed it into the front yard (emptied out). It has been 3 weeks! I go to clean it to use for baby chicks and here are these little louse crawling on me! I am floored. Nice bin but going to the dump. What could they be living off of???

 

[Eggcessive]

Read this article below about the life cycle of both lice and mites. Most insecticides kill live lice or mites, but treatment must be repeated to get the eggs that hatch in 7 days (mites) or lice (10 days.) There is ready to use permethrin garden dust or horse spray, and be careful with mixing instructions when using permethrin 10 concentrate. I use 5 ml or 1 tsp in a quart or liter of water.
https://poultryhealthinspection.ucd...les/Lice & Mites of Poultry - McCrea 8162.pdf

 

[PopoMyers]

Read this article below about the life cycle of both lice and mites. Most insecticides kill live lice or mites, but treatment must be repeated to get the eggs that hatch in 7 days (mites) or lice (10 days.) There is ready to use permethrin garden dust or horse spray, and be careful with mixing instructions when using permethrin 10 concentrate. I use 5 ml or 1 tsp in a quart or liter of water.
https://poultryhealthinspection.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk6711/files/inline-files/Lice & Mites of Poultry - McCrea 8162.pdf

Permethrin helped me win the mite war last year after trying other things. Took months! Also deconstructing coop panels, and treating those, where they were breeding.

 

[Eggcessive]

A long time ago someone posted that they found mites inside the straw they were buying. It is also a good idea when bringing in a new chicken, to examine them for lice eggs or mites, because they can spread them to your whole flock. Once lice or mites are a problem, it is hard to completely rid a coop of them. Dust bathing is important to control parasites. A chicken who is not dust bathing may have long toenails, parasites, and scaly leg mites. Mites hatch out every 5-7 days, while lice eggs hatch about every 10 days. So treating those at intervals, with a coop clean out are needed. Mites can hide deep into the cracks and crevices of a wooden coop. If anyone uses ivermectin, there is a long egg withdrawal time. Here is a good article on what to look for:
https://poultryhealthinspection.ucd...les/Lice & Mites of Poultry - McCrea 8162.pdf

 

[1motorpsycho]

A long time ago someone posted that they found mites inside the straw they were buying. It is also a good idea when bringing in a new chicken, to examine them for lice eggs or mites, because they can spread them to your whole flock. Once lice or mites are a problem, it is hard to completely rid a coop of them. Dust bathing is important to control parasites. A chicken who is not dust bathing may have long toenails, parasites, and scaly leg mites. Mites hatch out every 5-7 days, while lice eggs hatch about every 10 days. So treating those at intervals, with a coop clean out are needed. Mites can hide deep into the cracks and crevices of a wooden coop. If anyone uses ivermectin, there is a long egg withdrawal time. Here is a good article on what to look for:
https://poultryhealthinspection.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk6711/files/inline-files/Lice & Mites of Poultry - McCrea 8162.pdf

Except red mites only get on them in the middle of the night. They are not on the hens during the day. In fact, I took all of my girls to a friend's during the day for 2 weeks and bought them back during the day into a treated coop. Red mites died off anyways. Now as far as I know (), none of the girls have red mites. In my opinion red mites are the worst!

 

[FunnyBunny89]

Hi! I'd like to contribute to this post and add a question:
1. Permethrin dust has been very effective at killing lice, but it's scary to handle. Have to be really careful about application. It definitely kills live lice.
2. What do I do when the chicken is covered in a thousand eggs???

This is my first full year now with chickens, and they were fine until winter came and the rain ruined their dust. I don't have an enclosed area for them so I don't have a way to give them a bin during the rainy months. Well, this time I let it go too long before I checked and a couple of my hens are COVERED in lice eggs along their bottoms. The dust isn't effective for that, so how do I remove the eggs??? I'm tempted to remove the feathers but I realize that's not a great idea.

Some of my hens have zero lice, thankfully, and it's the hens who seem to dust bathe most often. Now that the weather is dry again, they're all getting back to it and I added wood ash to the run for them to use.

I bombed the coop back in January, and I regularly add lime to the nests to prevent infestation there. But they free range a lot and our area has a lot of wild birds so I assume they pick it up in the environment. I also use sand floors so there's nowhere for lice to live except the nests and they're clear.

 

[Tellyegger]

What about diatomaceous earth? You would want the food grade one.

 

[Eggcessive]

Hi! I'd like to contribute to this post and add a question:
1. Permethrin dust has been very effective at killing lice, but it's scary to handle. Have to be really careful about application. It definitely kills live lice.
2. What do I do when the chicken is covered in a thousand eggs???

This is my first full year now with chickens, and they were fine until winter came and the rain ruined their dust. I don't have an enclosed area for them so I don't have a way to give them a bin during the rainy months. Well, this time I let it go too long before I checked and a couple of my hens are COVERED in lice eggs along their bottoms. The dust isn't effective for that, so how do I remove the eggs??? I'm tempted to remove the feathers but I realize that's not a great idea.

Some of my hens have zero lice, thankfully, and it's the hens who seem to dust bathe most often. Now that the weather is dry again, they're all getting back to it and I added wood ash to the run for them to use.

I bombed the coop back in January, and I regularly add lime to the nests to prevent infestation there. But they free range a lot and our area has a lot of wild birds so I assume they pick it up in the environment. I also use sand floors so there's nowhere for lice to live except the nests and they're clear.

You will need to treat the lice every 7-10 days, since they hatch at 10 day intervals. Once the eggs hatch, the louse will be killed by the permethrin garden dust. Apply it in a sock that is filled with the dust. Eventually the eggs will disappear, but you will also need to get some Gordons or Martins permethrin 10 concentrate, mix it with water 1 tsp per quart, and spray your roosts, nests, and coop AFTER bedding is removed.