Sevin Dust Being Pulled?

[Chickmate]

I just dusted all my chickens today with 5% Sevin for chewing lice. I used all I had so went online to find the best price on a large bag. Several months ago when I looked for it all I could find was the 1 lb. shaker can or the 10 lb. granules. I wondered why the big bag of dust was so hard to find, then I came across a post on a gardening site. Is this old news to all of you?

Apparently the company itself petitioned the FDA to disallow Sevin for use on pets, poultry, etc. The main ingredient is Carbaryl.
This link is their petition to the FDA: Carbaryl; Amending Product Registrations to Terminate Uses and Eliminate Certain Application Methods | Federal Register Environmental Documents | USEPA

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Yes, it is no longer approved for poultry.

But a lot of websites with older dates on them still have that sevin information on them, so people don't realize. There are many on BYC that recommend sevin because it works quite well but unfortunately it isn't labeled for chickens anymore.

You can get poultry dust at the feed store (permethrin). Also permethrin dilutable spray.

Make sure you retreat every week until bugs are gone and unrefined coconut oil will dissolve the nits over time I have read. I haven't dealt with lice myself- only mites. So what I am telling you is from googling and reading.

here is a thread I participated in with some current info.-says users must obtain permit from commissioner but maybe that is just in that state...dunno

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/696700/use-of-sevin-dust-in-managing-pests

 

[Chickmate]

Thanks. I'm so confused. Lots of people use Sevin and say to retreat in 10 days because after the adults are killed in the first treatment, the eggs that are left will hatch out in 10 days. Now I'm afraid to keep using Sevin. Then the link in the other thread you attached said to only treat every 4 weeks until bugs are gone. If I started with Sevin can I now switch to poultry dust and retreat in 10 days?

 

[Fred's Hens]

Yes, you can follow up with Garden/poultry dust that uses permethrin. We find it very effective.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Thanks. I'm so confused. Lots of people use Sevin and say to retreat in 10 days because after the adults are killed in the first treatment, the eggs that are left will hatch out in 10 days. Now I'm afraid to keep using Sevin. Then the link in the other thread you attached said to only treat every 4 weeks until bugs are gone. If I started with Sevin can I now switch to poultry dust and retreat in 10 days?

Well the life cycle for lice is such that yes you can go longer than every 7 days but I have read that it is *safest* to keep treating every 7 days if you want them to definitely be killed off. I forget which website it was on...one of those educational ones though. They mentioned that the bugs might miss being killed somehow by the dusting- and to play it safe just keep treating.

Another example is mites- many websites say the life cycle is 7-10 days. But other websites claim that the life cycle can be as short as 4 days. If you waited 10 days, that is two life cycles. But you are dealing with lice.

So I just tell everyone to go every 7 days. Yes, like Fred's Hen's says you can just switch to another product, no worries.

Heheh sorry about the convoluted post. You're good, just keep a going and never give up!

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

http://animalscience.ucdavis.edu/phi/PHI/Lice & Mites of Poultry.pdf
OK I found one that says 7-10 day intervals. This may be the one that I remember the advice from.

 

[Mattemma]

I got a 3 pack from Lowes for $12. Guess I better stock up.

 

[Fred's Hens]

Sevin isn't being pulled, that is, no longer being sold, AFAIK. It has merely being no longer recommended as a pet dust.

 

[redneckrabbitry]

We use Permethrin insectrin dust its a general purpose livestock and poultry dust we use it like seven dust

 

[Chickmate]

Thanks so much for all the helpful replies. I'm going to get poultry dust and keep doing them every 7 days until I feel the lice are gone. My poor birds. I thought they were moulting (well, some are) until I saw the new feathers that were just coming in falling out as well. I kept looking for mites because I have dealt with them once before. I checked under the wings and at the vent but didn't see anything. Then I noticed the frayed and worn feathers and the light bulb finally went on. Duh. This dusting is stressful for them but they will feel so much better when I get this under control. I also bomb the coop with Zodiac, air it out real good and dust the nest boxes and roosts with Sevin. I did not clean out the pine shavings because I had just added three new bales and didn't want to throw it all out. I'm hoping the Zodiac will kill anything on the floor. I'm also adding a very large dust bath box filled with DE, ash and sand. Hopfully that will be a more proactive approach to this problem. Wish me luck!