How dangerous are pyrethrins?

[BennieAnTheJets]

I have the powder and the liquid concentrate but after reading the label am hesitant to use it.

It says to wear long sleeves and rubber gloves and not get it on your skin - it is absorbed through the skin - so why would I powder my birds with it?

1. they will absorb and eat it preening

2. I will be covered in it - he he - I have yet to administer something to the birds that didn't end up on me or worse yet in me sometimes - I even stuck myself with a syringe once after injecting a medication - I certainly have had stuff flicked into my mouth and I cannot keep things off me (skin, clothes, hair) when applying it to a panicking bird by myself

I can't see myself with rubber gloves on getting anywhere near my Guineas - uh, uhh

Do you use this stuff? on the birds? on the coop? how?

Thanks, Bennie

 

[ChickNanny13]

What are you using it for?
What's the name of what you're using?
Is it for chickens?
If it's for mites/lice, go to the feed store, they have what you can use on chickens.

I use DE monthly as a prevention for mites/lice, during the Summer months I rotate with Poultry Dust & sometimes Sevin (which is no longer recommended for chickens). I just lay the chicken on it's back in my lap and dust (vent, under the wing & neck area). Guess I should use a dust mask I also dust (DE &PD) in the Chicken House/Run shavings.

I have used Permethrin Spray once when I had some mites, mixed & sprayed at night while the birds on the roost spraying/misted under them & the roost, sprayed in the cracks & the wood. Dusted the nest with Poultry Dust. I just changed out my clothes (left it outside) & took a shower. Then found out it wasn't bird mites, the guy at the Dept of Ag could not ID but wasn't biting me nor the birds. I did use gloves & mask, make sure you remove their feed & water.

 

[BennieAnTheJets]

Thank you, ChickNanny13

I have "no see ums" (can't see them, even with tape test and microscope) in the coop and nothing else has helped so far

birds are getting worn out by this, trying something else even without proper ID seems reasonable at this point

thanks for your answer - yes, I think permethrins are pretty toxic and neurotoxic - I have a bottle to spray camping clothes and it says to spray while not wearing and allow to dry before wearing - not something you want on your skin

 

[Folly's place]

If it kills insects, it's toxic! That's what it's for, and handling anything requires reading and following directions. Inhaling DE is really toxic!
Used as directed, permethrins are an excellent product for the chickens and their housing. There aren't 'non-toxic' insecticides!!!
Carbaryl is not approved for chickens in the USA, and it's 'more toxic' than permethrin anyway.
Cats don't manage pyrethrins well at all, so they need to be away from it until it's totally dry.
Mary

 

[ChickNanny13]

Yikes, No See Ums We learned about them when motor homing through Key West ... Not sure what will deal with them. Try calling your Dept of Ag, Health Dept or University, they may have know what you could use to repel them or what to look for as breeding grounds. Hope you find something that will help your chickens

 

[Shezadandy]

I don't know how many gallons of fly spray and whatever else I've absorbed through the years. Still here. Precautions are good, but at some point it's some legal requirement to make sure that any possible liability to their company is absolved ... because YOU didn't use it right- hey, they told you to get in a space suit first, then dust it on your chickens (LOL) Sigh.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

@BennieAnTheJets I have been following along with your other threads. I'm sorry you are having such difficulty. The other posters on the threads have given you good information, so I won't go back over those - treatment plans are a personal choice and you have to find what you feel is best for you and your G.Fowl

The stamping of feet is interesting - do you have a game camera or go pro that you can set up to record that?
Are you finding places on your birds where it seems that skin is irritated from the insects?

If no see-ums (gnats?) are possibly the problem - how about placing a fan in your coop to circulate air ? I use a fan in my coop 24-7 when the weather turns - we have a LOT of mosquitoes - the fan seems to do the trick for light winged critters - I watch my birds on camera, they sleep peacefully every night.

Another thought - by any chance do you have mice that are running across the feet. I know that sounds crazy, but weird things do happen.

I do understand you are working with your vet, but you may also want to contact your State Lab it looks like they have a Parasitology section - having a "third" set of eyes take a look might be worth a try.

I hope you can get this figured out - it sounds like you and your birds are
exhausted

 

[ChickNanny13]

Wasn't aware there were other posts (stomping) would never have thought of "mice running across their feet". Hate mosquitos, if there's one in the house, Hubby don't get to sleep until it's DEAD! Read somewhere there's a "trap" that can be made but it didn't work for me but with all the rain we've had this year, think I'll try again.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

I have the powder and the liquid concentrate but after reading the label am hesitant to use it.

It says to wear long sleeves and rubber gloves and not get it on your skin - it is absorbed through the skin - so why would I powder my birds with it?

1. they will absorb and eat it preening

2. I will be covered in it - he he - I have yet to administer something to the birds that didn't end up on me or worse yet in me sometimes - I even stuck myself with a syringe once after injecting a medication - I certainly have had stuff flicked into my mouth and I cannot keep things off me (skin, clothes, hair) when applying it to a panicking bird by myself

I can't see myself with rubber gloves on getting anywhere near my Guineas - uh, uhh

Do you use this stuff? on the birds? on the coop? how?

Thanks, Bennie

All the consumer warnings on Earth are written by lawyers and are intended to dot every I and cross every possible T to keep you from sewing the lawyers' client. I will therefore not be surprised some day when reading a user guide to see the following warning.

Warning.... using this product in anyway not specifically endorsed by or recommended by the manufacturer may result in all your babies being born naked.

For all the verbiage Pyrethroids are nothing but the dried and powdered flowers of the Cresamthium or Marigold flower and in South America these flowers are surreptitiously fed to chickens in order to fake or counterfeit so called Organic or Free Range eggs because the flower petals nicely darken up the egg yoke.
The outshoot is that some never-do-well actually sued because his or her children were born not wearing diapers.

 

[Kat C]

Wasn't aware there were other posts (stomping) would never have thought of "mice running across their feet". Hate mosquitos, if there's one in the house, Hubby don't get to sleep until it's DEAD! Read somewhere there's a "trap" that can be made but it didn't work for me but with all the rain we've had this year, think I'll try again.

Stomping is likely red roost mites. They don't live on the chickens, they live on the roost. They get on the chickens at night and the chickens feeling them come up their legs stomp. I use Raid® Flea Killer Plus Carpet & Room Spray on the roosts during the day when the chickens are out. Usually 2 treatments several days apart takes care of them.