How can I rid my flock of mites/lice?

[Crax]

So I have a few serama we got a few days ago but upon close inspection I noticed small white bugs crawling around one of theirs face, I don’t think any of my other flock members have gotten these bugs yet but I do believe they are mites, so.. how can I get rid of them?

so far I’ve tried a spray on the coop that uses dawn dish soap, water and I believe vegetable oil/cooking oil, and for the chickens I’ve been using a spray made from I believe garlic juice, a small amount of lavender essential oil and water, I found these recipes online but so far haven’t noticed the bugs not appearing on the ones infected although it’s been a few days only so I suppose it needs more time, I’ve also been giving them garlic in hopes it’d turn them away

but does anyone know a surefire way of killing mites/lice on chickens without the use of chemicals and other things?

or am I doing what can be done here in terms of natural treatment?

 

[roosterhavoc]

Nope not without the use of chemicals. That’s lice though mites are brownish or reddish brown.

 

[Crax]

Nope not without the use of chemicals. That’s lice though mites are brownish or reddish brown.

Oh dear! Then I suppose they must have lice.. that honestly sounds even worse than mites although they’re probably equally as worse!

 

[roosterhavoc]

Oh dear! Then I suppose they must have lice.. that honestly sounds even worse than mites although they’re probably equally as worse!

Nah mites are usually worse but both are an issue.
Most people will recommend Permethrin but I use frontline and sevin dust. They both will work but what I use works in 24 hrs but both frontline and sevin dust *aren’t approved for use with poultry*. Good luck.

 

[Crax]

Even though I’m pretty sure if one has lice they all do I’m still considering giving the one rooster a bath since he’s the only one I’ve seen the creepy crawlies on, they’ve only been in the coop for a few days and haven’t really slept anywhere near the others, now this probably doesn’t mean that the others haven’t gotten the lice but I think it’s worth trying to give the ones infected baths.

 

[cmom]

I use permethrin. It has worked well for me. I have posted this before. I used poultry dust on the birds and in their nest boxes and sprayed inside of the coops, every crack and crevice, on and under the roosts, ceiling, walls, floors, anywhere the pests can hide. It's best to clean out the coop before you spray. I use pine shavings in my coops. I wear special clothing including a mask and gloves. I do weekly sprayings for awhile and put permethrin dust in the nest boxes, originally I sprayed the birds getting under the wings and worked it through their feathers with gloves which you can also do with the dust. Permethrin only kill live pests, not the pests eggs. TSC and Amazon carries the permethrin powder, premixed spray bottles and the concentrate. I use the concentrate. It did not affect the birds but I did keep them out of the coops while it dried. I spray my coops as needed and when I spray I do weekly spraying for 3 or 4 weeks then stop as I don't want the pests to develop a resistance to the permethrin. Repeated weekly spraying is necessary because again, it does not kill the pests eggs and as an added benefit is there is no egg withdrawal period. There are other products available but much more expensive, and in my opinion the permethrin works great. Good luck...

 

[cmom]

Lice live on the birds. I'm sure if one bird has them the others probably do too. I would treat them all. Again, good luck...

 

[Crax]

I use permethrin. It has worked well for me. I have posted this before. I used poultry dust on the birds and in their nest boxes and sprayed inside of the coops, every crack and crevice, on and under the roosts, ceiling, walls, floors, anywhere the pests can hide. It's best to clean out the coop before you spray. I use pine shavings in my coops. I wear special clothing including a mask and gloves. I do weekly sprayings for awhile and put permethrin dust in the nest boxes, originally I sprayed the birds getting under the wings and worked it through their feathers with gloves which you can also do with the dust. Permethrin only kill live pests, not the pests eggs. TSC and Amazon carries the permethrin powder, premixed spray bottles and the concentrate. I use the concentrate. It did not affect the birds but I did keep them out of the coops while it dried. I spray my coops as needed and when I spray I do weekly spraying for 3 or 4 weeks then stop as I don't want the pests to develop a resistance to the permethrin. Repeated weekly spraying is necessary because again, it does not kill the pests eggs and as an added benefit is there is no egg withdrawal period. There are other products available but much more expensive, and in my opinion the permethrin works great. Good luck...View attachment 2462014View attachment 2462015

Yeah I was thinking of trying permethrin since luckily it seems my local tsc has it, if one bird has them likely they all do but I’ve been thoroughly checking and haven’t noticed any eggs or lice on any of the birds minus the one serama we got, I’ll be sure to treat everyone as it’s probably necessary.

 

[cmom]

I have had mites or lice at one time or another. I used permethrin. When I service the nest boxes, I usually put poultry dust in shavings. One bonus was when I had discovered mites in one coop, I treated all of the coops. It was also fly season and there were getting quite a few flies. The permethrin took care of the flies too. How nice it was going into the coops without flies buzzing around. I bought a backpack sprayer. It has a nice long wand to reach in the hard to reach areas. There were many years with no issues, but the past few years have dealt with it more. Good luck again...