Termite control and chickens

I'm fairly certain we have termites in at least one of our barns. We need to treat it with something, but is there anything safe for the chickens to be around? Or should I keep them penned for....how long?

Unfortunately, the hen house is between the two barns. For all I know it has termites, too. We discovered some (or something small carrying it's larva around) while moving rotting wood in the barn. We haven't inspected the rest and don't really know what to look for, anyway.

I'd be careful with termite poisons - chickens LOVE termites, and are bound to get into them. Of course, you might be able to reduce the termite population by pointing it out to your girls - they scratch, termites come running, termites get eaten! It's great.

But seriously, the chickens alone can't wipe out a colony. You'll have to do something, and I would definitely keep the chickens penned. And move them if you do the hen house.

Good luck! Let us know what you decide to do and how it worked out!

Thanks. My husband bought some of those things you poke in the ground so the animals can't get into them directly. Trying to figure out what to do with the chickens, though. Maybe we'll have to wait until we get the fencing done, but I hate to just let termites go.

But now I'm wondering if that's why the chickens spend so much time by the corner of the barn. Maybe they know where the main nest is!

Alot of the termite companies use traps that they set in the ground. They are made of hard plastic and contain soft wood in them for termites. When the termite tech returns to inspect each trap to see if there's termites in them, he scans the upc label on the trap with the results. If there's termites in the trap eating the soft wood, he replaces the soft wood with another type of soft wood treated with a chemical so that the worker termites take it back to the colony and queen deep in the ground. The queen eats the poisoned wood and dies,the colony also dies off. I had termites around the base of my wooden shed. My chickens pecked the rotten wood off to get to the termites. I eventually replaced the wood and there were no termites to be found anywhere in the rotten wood nor surrounding wood. The chickens wiped them out lol. Termite companies charge alot for initial treatment and have you sign yearly maintenance agreements. Their prices go up yearly and can be expensive. gottsegnet, try applying DE in and on the termites and the wood that they are eating, or anywhere for that matter. It wont hurt the chickens at all, just make sure it's food grade DE. I've heard of people here on BYC using it for control of fire ants.

Just saw this and had to bump this up. recently discovered termites under our only little chicken coop, probably due to some scrap wood hubby used to prop up the end - I tried DE and sevin, even though I know sevin's not really supposed to kill termites - but it's ok to dust chickens with it, so.. The DE didn't seem to do much, not sure on the sevin yet.

Moving the chickens isn't an option at the moment, but we are going to try jacking up the shed to see if we can find the bad wood next weekend. So chickens and guineas WILL eat termites? I know they don''t care for ants, but if they'll eat termites I'm less worried that I can't fix it until at least next weekend.. Termite companies out here want megabux and they don't do weekends, it seems.

Wondering if it's like everything else and that some will go for them and some won't. Some of mine are keen on baby mice and others don't care. We never really did anything since we're considering tearing down the one barn anyway, but the chickens do spend a lot of time scratching at that corner where we originally found....whatever it was we found.

If anybody knows of a bug that a chicken won't it, let me know!

If chickens are molting give them the biggest worms et al., you can find.

Chickens are insect lovers and they even love to eat termite. So as long as you have not used any poison for eliminating termites, its totally safe for chickens, However if you have used any termite toxic then it can be dangerous for hens to go nearby that area. If you are looking for some safe way to eliminate termite without making any harm to your chicks, you can use natural remdies are termite treatment. There are lots of natural products which can be use as termite toxic and the plus point is they are 100% safe for animals

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Antitermite

Hi all

Been a bit busy with the building of the new house so haven't been on here a while. Builder 'termite proofed' the soil before laying the foundation (well, he said he did, getting paperwork from him is like pulling hen's teeth). Anyway, now hubby has seen termite trails in the concrete, he's not happy. Want to know what's everyone preferred method of treatment. The doors and windows are to be hung soon, the frames are already in, he used Camphor, the frames are fine (been in 3 months), but hubby keeps seeing the little brown termite trails up the outside walls and not happy. We expect to be moving in into the home in about 3 months and the builder said he will treat all the wood as well.


Any opinions welcome.

One of the most important steps in termite control is termite inspection. Since it is well known that termites are a common pest in the Sydney area, having regular Syeny termite inspections on your home and property is always important so as to develop a long-term strategy for the prevention of future termite problems. Even when you already know that your home has a termite problem, it is still a very good idea to have a professional termite inspector visit your home before the process of treatment begins. This is because the extent of the termite infestation in your home can greatly help the professional to decide the best way to deal with your termite problem. Termite inspections always reveal the experience and professionalism of the termite technician. After the inspection, he or she should provide you with a well detailed written estimate of the problem.
Thanks

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