Mites and Lice Question

[ecmetz]

Hey all!
I have had backyard chickens for many years and maybe I'm lucky it's taken this long- but I have my first case of poultry lice... I would like to get rid of them asap and will be doing a big spring clean out in the next few days. My budget cannot really handle $200 Elector PSP at the moment. I do have some dust and also plan to mix in some DE with the soil in their run... But does anyone know of another more cost effective treatment that doesn't require egg withdrawal?
Thanks!

 

[nuthatched]

Permethrine powder or spray. DE won't do a single thing.

 

[ecmetz]

Permethrine powder or spray. DE won't do a single thing.

I have read that lice can be immune to permethrine powder sometimes? Do you have experience with this?

Also- I will spray down the entire coop when I clean it- but when I do the weekly sprays after the initial clean out, can I spray it onto the bedding? (I used coffee grounds)

 

[nuthatched]

I have read that lice can be immune to permethrine powder sometimes? Do you have experience with this?

Also- I will spray down the entire coop when I clean it- but when I do the weekly sprays after the initial clean out, can I spray it onto the bedding? (I used coffee grounds)

They can be immune if you constantly treat the area over time, but you aren't do it shouldn't be a concern.
You can spray on bedding but in the corners, cracks and under roosts, nesting materials is a good method.

 

[Noraaaaa]

Okay so Elector PSP is amazing BUT it is pricey. So i would reccomend getting the smaller one, this should treat about 30-50 birds and its 20 bucks. I got it and it worked great! https://shopthechickenchick.com/products/elector-psp

 

[Debbie292d]

One person says DE won't do a thing, and here's another that's used it for over 20 years and wouldn't live without it. To each their own.

That said, if we ever had an outbreak, which we haven't because we've been using DE, then I'd use the Permethrin/garden powder, definitely!

 

[ecmetz]

Okay so Elector PSP is amazing BUT it is pricey. So i would reccomend getting the smaller one, this should treat about 30-50 birds and its 20 bucks. I got it and it worked great! https://shopthechickenchick.com/products/elector-psp

You have purchased from them? I'm always so warey of purchasing unlabeled chemicals that have been split up from a larger amount... If this treats 30-50, I wouldn't even need that much! This would laste awhile! I have 8 hens thanks for taking the time to help me!

 

[Noraaaaa]

You have purchased from them? I'm always so warey of purchasing unlabeled chemicals that have been split up from a larger amount... If this treats 30-50, I wouldn't even need that much! This would laste awhile! I have 8 hens thanks for taking the time to help me!

I did get this exact one, and it showed up and worked beautifully! I understand your concern, but it seems to be able to be split nicely!

 

[nuthatched]

One person says DE won't do a thing, and here's another that's used it for over 20 years and wouldn't live without it. To each their own.

That said, if we ever had an outbreak, which we haven't because we've been using DE, then I'd use the Permethrin/garden powder, definitely!

I've personally never seen it work and have done quite a bit of actual research on it's safety. I don't recommend it but I also don't recommend the respiratory equivalent of tending my flock while puffing a cigar.
To each their own.

 

[Debbie292d]

I've personally never seen it work and have done quite a bit of actual research on it's safety. I don't recommend it but I also don't recommend the respiratory equivalent of tending my flock while puffing a cigar.
To each their own.

Harris is a company in business older than I imagine you and I are put together. They don't stay in business selling DE for over a century for selling something unsafe. The way the U.S. government is, they'd have been shut down decades ago.

Those who have had issues are probably 1/100, and it's usually due to throwing it in the air. I wear a mask, kick the chickens out, use a Parmesan cheese container that I got the tip about from other users, sprinkle it around the coop and in the nest boxes once a month. We border a forest and they free range under wild bird feeders where varments forage as well. Their exposure to mites is a daily thing.

Our macaws have smaller lungs than chickens do and they've had it in their cages for coming on 25 years now. For them, it's to keep fruit flies from reproducing.

I have never, and would never, recommend it for an infestation; it's for prevention only, and it does its job.

Again, to each their own.