Tiny White Bugs on butt — HELP!

[NewYorkMama]

Thank you I do appreciate the perspective here. I think it’s mostly an anxiety about *****!!chemicals!!*****. The cats *usually* stay away as well as our dog.

With regards to completely cleaning the coop. I did do this shortly after initially posting. Used a natural bug spray, tea tree oil, clove oil, soap, vinegar, water, then diatomaceous earth. I understand the DE is controversial. So if I understand correctly should do this again and then apply the permethrin. Do you recommend a spray or powder? The powder seems more icky lung-wise. But what about their run? It’s completely covered ( we did this when avian influenza became a real worry) but the one side is open to the air. It has sand, woodchips, dirt, gravel base, and a little grass. Anyway I guess maybe I’m wondering is this all a lost cause like… even if I treat their coop correctly how can I get the whole run when it’s partially open to the outside won’t the bugs just get right back in??

I’m grateful to you all for your help. This whole thing has me more than a little creeped out.

 

[NewYorkMama]

Maybe read up more about lice and how gross they are until you are more skeeved out by the vile grossness

This is a good paradigm shift, thank you.

 

[Chipmunk Chicks]

Thank you I do appreciate the perspective here. I think it’s mostly an anxiety about *****!!chemicals!!*****. The cats *usually* stay away as well as our dog.

With regards to completely cleaning the coop. I did do this shortly after initially posting. Used a natural bug spray, tea tree oil, clove oil, soap, vinegar, water, then diatomaceous earth. I understand the DE is controversial. So if I understand correctly should do this again and then apply the permethrin. Do you recommend a spray or powder? The powder seems more icky lung-wise. But what about their run? It’s completely covered ( we did this when avian influenza became a real worry) but the one side is open to the air. It has sand, woodchips, dirt, gravel base, and a little grass. Anyway I guess maybe I’m wondering is this all a lost cause like… even if I treat their coop correctly how can I get the whole run when it’s partially open to the outside won’t the bugs just get right back in??

I’m grateful to you all for your help. This whole thing has me more than a little creeped out.

I think @Wyorp Rock mentioned using the powder in a sock to apply it to the birds themselves, and the liquid for the coop area. I think you just have to do the best you can, and then retreat everything in 5-7 days, maybe repeat if the infestation is really persistent. I'm sorry you're facing this, but if you DO face it, I think there's hope

 

[DonyaQuick]

Thank you. Ugh I know I feel so badly for the girls and I don’t want to bring the babies into a coop with mites or whatever! But… if this is a dust that I have to keep applying to the girls and the coop over & over how will I ever feel comfortable enough knowing that the remnants of the pesticide is out of my coop & run? And I have kids and other animals… like do you fully change your clothes after applying this or going into the coop & run? Sorry I’m being a ninny about this but pesticides really freak me out.

I had to treat a quarantined bird once for fowl lice with permethrin. It was exactly two treatments spaced in time to the bird and bedding, that's all - not an over and over again sorry of thing. If you're thorough and careful applying it to birds and their environment you can limit the usag more than if you just throw some around here and there. I don't like pesticides either and don't just fling the stuff around casually, but if you let a problem like lice or mites get out of hand, you will stress the birds more if alternatives don't work and may end up with a worse situation. Change clothes after usage and keep pets/children away during treatment. Permethrin gets broken down in the environment after a while.

Only other time I've had to use permethrin was against a terrible grain mite infestation that got going in run my run substrate and there I definitely made my situation a lot worse by trying to avoid using pesticides at first.

 

[BastyPutt]

Thank you I do appreciate the perspective here. I think it’s mostly an anxiety about *****!!chemicals!!*****. The cats *usually* stay away as well as our dog.

With regards to completely cleaning the coop. I did do this shortly after initially posting. Used a natural bug spray, tea tree oil, clove oil, soap, vinegar, water, then diatomaceous earth. I understand the DE is controversial. So if I understand correctly should do this again and then apply the permethrin. Do you recommend a spray or powder? The powder seems more icky lung-wise. But what about their run? It’s completely covered ( we did this when avian influenza became a real worry) but the one side is open to the air. It has sand, woodchips, dirt, gravel base, and a little grass. Anyway I guess maybe I’m wondering is this all a lost cause like… even if I treat their coop correctly how can I get the whole run when it’s partially open to the outside won’t the bugs just get right back in??

I’m grateful to you all for your help. This whole thing has me more than a little creeped out.

Folks on here are very quick to look down in and disparage natural remedies as is being done on this thread. We try to treat our flock as you are and I commend you for it. There is a lot of trial and error and patience required.

Crystalline silica is a derivative from the earths crust, found in DE and is harmful if large amounts are inhaled. HOWEVER, food grade DE is purified, free of silica AND is very effective for pest prevention.

The goal with the lice is to suffocate them and prevent the eggs from hatching. The eggs part is the part that is tricky, and will usually take a few rounds take out the subsequent hatching. Olive oil, shea and coconut butter are all safe for your chickens, and can all work to smother the lice. If you're committed, you can certainly make it work. Fortunately with lice, and especially in this case, you should see pretty quickly if you are making any progress.

And if it doesn't seem to be working, you can always dust with chemicals.

 

[NewYorkMama]

Folks on here are very quick to look down in and disparage natural remedies as is being done on this thread. We try to treat our flock as you are and I commend you for it. There is a lot of trial and error and patience required.

Crystalline silica is a derivative from the earths crust, found in DE and is harmful if large amounts are inhaled. HOWEVER, food grade DE is purified, free of silica AND is very effective for pest prevention.

The goal with the lice is to suffocate them and prevent the eggs from hatching. The eggs part is the part that is tricky, and will usually take a few rounds take out the subsequent hatching. Olive oil, shea and coconut butter are all safe for your chickens, and can all work to smother the lice. If you're committed, you can certainly make it work. Fortunately with lice, and especially in this case, you should see pretty quickly if you are making any progress.

And if it doesn't seem to be working, you can always dust with chemicals.

Thank you so much for this info and your compassion. I think I didn’t really internalize some of the things being posted were in a sarcastic or derogatory manner. I just assumed anyone on a chicken keeping website offering help to fellow chicken keepers would be doing so in earnest.

I only have 2 grown chickens left in my flock so I think trying your method shouldn’t be too much of a challenge, especially now as the weather is getting warmer.

I will try the coconut oil tip - thanks! The DE I’ve been using is food grade; I saw more positives than negatives with its usage in reading about it. I also started supplementing their diet with garlic & brewers yeast which I understand makes the host less appealing to lice. I will also add wood ash from our fireplace to their run.

I think it’s odd to roundly assume natural methods won’t work. Surely chicken keeping and lice have been around longer than permethrin. Actually in googling, looks like I am even older than that pesticide!

Thanks again for your help.

 

[NewYorkMama]

I suppose there are plenty of hippies who have lice, too, and don't seem to mind. But I personally wouldn't want my children handling an infested bird, tbh, and I would just discourage them from picking up the birds until you have run the course of treatment.

I’ve never dealt with human lice on my hippie self or my children, but it is my understanding from reading that the lice that feed on chickens are not transferable to humans.

 

[nuthatched]

Thank you so much for this info and your compassion. I think I didn’t really internalize some of the things being posted were in a sarcastic or derogatory manner. I just assumed anyone on a chicken keeping website offering help to fellow chicken keepers would be doing so in earnest.

I only have 2 grown chickens left in my flock so I think trying your method shouldn’t be too much of a challenge, especially now as the weather is getting warmer.

I will try the coconut oil tip - thanks! The DE I’ve been using is food grade; I saw more positives than negatives with its usage in reading about it. I also started supplementing their diet with garlic & brewers yeast which I understand makes the host less appealing to lice. I will also add wood ash from our fireplace to their run.

I think it’s odd to roundly assume natural methods won’t work. Surely chicken keeping and lice have been around longer than permethrin. Actually in googling, looks like I am even older than that pesticide!

Thanks again for your help.

I assure you that neither I nor anyone else offering you advice was being derogatory or sarcastic.
I personally, am offering advice based on 20 years of experience and months of research. I tried doing everything naturally at first as that how I was raised. It rarely was effective.
If there was natural ways to cure something, we certainly would tell you, but not everything can and some homeopathic remedies can harmful if not deadly to chickens.
When people kept chickens before modern practices, and even more recently then that, unless they were particularly good roosters or brooding hens, females were were raised until about 18 months to 2 years then processed and eaten. Cocks had lifespans of a few months.
Very few people gave a second thought to their care aside from protection from predators, they were were easy to grow livestock as they'd eat whatever the other animals left. They rarely received any type of treatment and most of those treatments, natural or otherwise, would make your hair stand on end.

 

[BastyPutt]

Thank you so much for this info and your compassion. I think I didn’t really internalize some of the things being posted were in a sarcastic or derogatory manner. I just assumed anyone on a chicken keeping website offering help to fellow chicken keepers would be doing so in earnest.

I only have 2 grown chickens left in my flock so I think trying your method shouldn’t be too much of a challenge, especially now as the weather is getting warmer.

I will try the coconut oil tip - thanks! The DE I’ve been using is food grade; I saw more positives than negatives with its usage in reading about it. I also started supplementing their diet with garlic & brewers yeast which I understand makes the host less appealing to lice. I will also add wood ash from our fireplace to their run.

I think it’s odd to roundly assume natural methods won’t work. Surely chicken keeping and lice have been around longer than permethrin. Actually in googling, looks like I am even older than that pesticide!

Thanks again for your help.

We have been at this for awhile, trying to keep everything processed out of our systems and carrying that over to the flock. And sadly, a lot of the time I don't share my experience on here because of the disregard for the approach and the fallout (me getting upset) unless I see someone like you who is obviously committed to the same healthy lifestyle.

We have ran into it all, and been successful and also have not. If you ever need a different, more natural approach, I'm happy to help.

 

[Chipmunk Chicks]

I’ve never dealt with human lice on my hippie self or my children, but it is my understanding from reading that the lice that feed on chickens are not transferable to humans.

I didn't say that chicken lice were transferrable to humans. I said they were gross.