Mites or Lice, transfer to humans?

[red reaper]

My kids have been around the chickens this week, and we have found little brown bugs crawling on the eggs in the nests. I have assumed were mites. Very tiny. Last night and today I have found a couple little bugs similar in size, but light green or white in color crawling on my cloth desk chair, and myself. They do not bite like a flea, just itch when they crawl. Aren't lice bigger? I've never had lice, or the kids, so I don't know which they are.

Now, what do I spray or dust the coop with? and will regular human lice shampoo get rid of these things in the house?

Thanks for any help.

 

[onthespot]

I had those and was allergic like CRAZY to them!!! The bit me and I had scabs on my legs and arms. Plain old poultry dust got rid of them. I used ProZap poultry dust twice at week intervals on the hens, pulled all the old bedding out of the nest boxes and replaced it with new, and liberally sprinkled the new bedding and have not seen them in about two weeks. I have more dust ready and waiting if they show up again though. I personally had a NASTY reaction to them. The seemed to bloom like crazy overnight. From just a few, to suddenly billions of them in about two week's time. Now that I know they do that I will dust all my birds and boxes the second I see ONE of those bugs! They seem to bloom best in the nest boxes when there are broodies and just take over from there. From now on, any time some hen goes broody, she gets a SERIOUS dusting over from me with ProZap! Good luck getting rid of yours. I think they are only accidental pests on humans and will bail after tasting the wrong blood. I did nothing to treat my house or bedroom where I saw one on my computer screen, and none have cropped up since. I know I must have tracked some home with me but they just never seemed to take hold once they got home.

 

[red reaper]

Were the ones on you brown or greenish white? I am wondering if I can mix 7 up in a hand held sprayer so I can spray the whole area down better than dusting. Then again, dusting like the three stooges did would get dust everywhere, nyuk nyuk nyuk.

 

[onthespot]

They were sort of beige brown tan colored. I would look for a spray with Permethrin as the active ingredient and just buy that and use it rather than trying to concoct my own from scratch. Why reinvent the wheel?

 

[red reaper]

The ones I have found on me and my chair, are white or greenish white, wonder if they are the same?

 

[onthespot]

might not have the same scientific name, but I bet they all die the same.

 

[CMV]

Lice are usually species specific. So, bird lice that end up crawling on a human cannot live on a human and once they take a nibble they fall off and die unless a new avian food source is found. If you have lice crawling all over your furniture after you deal with your chickens then you have a serious infestation that needs to be dealt with. Bird lice is light tan/brown/opaque white in color. Any one of those terms could apply. I have never seen lice described as light green in color. Maybe you have something else crawling on your furniture?

Good luck anyways. Lice is such a nuisance! And so disgusting. Doesn't the word "lice" just make your skin start crawling.

 

[deerman]

Bird lice are known as FEATHER LICE they feed off the feather, so unless you have feather, they will not stay on you, will come off in the shower.

For all those that love their chicken and growing feathers to fit in the flock. Then you better dust yourself.

 

[red reaper]

Has anyone had human lice? what do they look like? my experience with lice on pigs were large, these things are tiny, and I just spotted one crawling across the lens of my glasses, whitish in color, not brown at all. Eck! Gawd, I hate even admitting to having these things! feel like a scumbag!

 

[Brunty_Farms]

Human lice are white.... yours seems to be something different. I think they stay in your hair and don't really travel too much. However mites come in many different colors and sizes.

I just checked a hen last night that was brooder and was candeling her eggs and found myself scratching my arm as hundreds of little tiny brown mites engulfed my arm.

This explains why I'm 'lurking' in this part of BYC as I need to find away to clean this up. I have about 300 Golden comet egg layers and they need to be mite free asap!

Any sugestions on what to use? I'm going to be stripping the bedding and nest boxes this evening so I can put down some kind of dust and new bedding.

Good luck with your bugs!!! I'm going to work hard at getting rid of mine!!