DIATOMACEOUS not working on lice

[getchickens]

Hi,

My chickens have had lice for about a week now, and it has been 4 days since I dusted them with DE (food grade). I checked them this morning and there are still lice wondering around on them. Am I doing it wrong? Am I even supposed to use DE for lice?
I have completely dusted them all over and under their feathers and I have put it in their dust bath.

Can I do something else? I currently have my flock divided as I don't want it to spread and I would really like to put them back together as soon as possible.

 

[sheila3935]

I have found that DE works as a preventitive but when you have an infestation it takes to long to work well. Then I use seven dust.

 

[Speckled01]

Is there an option other than sevin dust? I have heard it kills off honey bees

 

[ChickensRDinos]

Have you only treated once? No matter what you use you will need to do multiple treatments to get rid of the bugs. Any dust only kills live bugs so you need to keep repeating the treatment as the eggs hatch.

Are you absolutely sure it is lice and not mites? If it is mites then you need to clean out all of your coop and bedding really really well as these bugs live in wood and straw and pine shavings so dusting the birds only will not solve the problem.

I also prefer to use DE and avoid sevin. (I have an open aquaponics system in my yard and carbaryl (sevin) is very toxic to aquatic life as well as healthy insects). DE does not work as well but is not nearly as hard on the environment. You will need to dust more times and more often with DE and dust very very well all the way down to the skin including under the wings and around the vent. I would do it every 5 days until you do not see any bugs after several checks.

You can also look into other kinds of poultry dust that do not have carbaryl (Sevin). Most poultry dusts have Permethrin which also has it's downsides but based on my reading seems less toxic than sevin and is at least approved for use on humans and animals. If the infestation is bad enough you may need something stronger than DE. Sevin in very commonly used in the US and does work extremely well but I always recommend people read about Carbaryl before deciding or use it or not.

edited: I have also heard of people using flea shampoos. Adams? I have not tried this or read anything about it but it may be worth looking into.

 

[4 the Birds]

As far as lice or other insects.... I use Python Dust. You can find it at Tractor Supply. It is a livestock powder that is ideal to use on chickens and any other livestock. I use DE to help keep the poop board dry and also dust the floor bedding and nests. This along with the DE pretty much keeps things dry and void of pests.

 

[getchickens]

Thanks guys. So aside from Sevin and the Python Dust. Is there any other things I should use? Some kind of medication perhaps? They already have garlic apple cider vinegar in their drinks.

 

[ICPonies]

Ashes from a fire place work. I have never had any critters on my chickens while I had ashes to put out for them to dust bathe in. We just moved and I am infested with red mites And no ashes to use since I no longer have a fireplace.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Is there an option other than sevin dust? I have heard it kills off honey bees

Concern for the environment is good. But before we act we need to take the time to think if someone is yanking us around or stampeding us like cattle with environmental ignorance or falsehoods.

The only time I have ever seen a honey bee around my chickens was during the early spring when pollen was in short supply and honey bees were gathering corn dust from an empty feed barrel to stretch the pollen supply until the flowers came into bloom.

If you are concerned about the fate of honey bees may I suggest that you don't keep chickens because chickens kill and eat foraging honey bees, at least mine do..

Perhaps that is why I have never seen a honey bee foraging on a chicken but I have seen foraging chickens eat honey bees, so may I ask how will a bee get exposed to Sevin dust on the feathers of and in the down of a chicken?

 

[BurtonsBirds]

Will Sevin work on the eggs too? Not all of my chickens get the mites, but several of them, including the rooster have them on a repeat basis. We cleaned the complete coop in the fall and changed all bedding. Sprayed with Permethicin. No some of my birds seem to have fowl pox as well. Are they related? Do mice or rates bring in mites or lice? What is the difference in mites and lice in chickens?