How do I treat mites and lice in the coop?

[Alyasbackyardfriends]

Hey guys. I was cleaning my coop out when my worst nightmare was under the sawdust, MITES AND LICE. I don't have any spray at the moment. Does anyone know any home made remidies to get rid of them?

 

[azygous]

Gasoline. Burn down the coop. Just kidding!

But that would be the only homemade treatment that has any chance of working.

You need permethrin or spinosad. Both are natural insecticides safe for poultry that work on mites and lice, and can also be used directly on your chickens, which is a good idea, especially if they carry lice, which live on the chickens.

When shopping, read the ingredients labels to be sure petroleum distillates haven't been mixed in, which, even in tiny amounts, can harm chickens.

 

[Alyasbackyardfriends]

Gasoline. Burn down the coop. Just kidding!

But that would be the only homemade treatment that has any chance of working.

You need permethrin or spinosad. Both are natural insecticides safe for poultry that work on mites and lice, and can also be used directly on your chickens, which is a good idea, especially if they carry lice, which live on the chickens.

When shopping, read the ingredients labels to be sure petroleum distillates haven't been mixed in, which, even in tiny amounts, can harm chickens.

Thanks so much. But I won't be able to shop for a while so what do I do right now

 

[RLockhart68]

Thanks so much. But I won't be able to shop for a while so what do I do right now

Amazon? Tractor supply might deliver, though I've never had anything I need have that as an option.

 

[cmom]

I have posted this before, the best product to get rid of the mites and lice in my opinion is permethrin which is very cost effective. The first thing I tried was DE. My birds weren't improving and still had mites. No improvement after treating them for a couple of weeks. Next I did use some sevin dust that I had but it was almost gone but it did help. I researched and came up with permethrin. Wild birds or rodent can be the cause. I used the 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 mites can hide. It's best to clean out the coop before you spray. I use pine shavings in my coops. Wear special clothing including a mask and gloves. I did a weekly spraying 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. I think if I hadn't treated my birds with the permethrin when I did I probably would have lost some birds to the mites. 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...

 

[CluckerFamily]

Amazon? Tractor supply might deliver, though I've never had anything I need have that as an option.

This is great advice! My local farm stores also have where you can order online and either have it shipped to you or allows free pickup.

 

[Al Gerhart]

Plenty of solid advice but everyone left out one thing; how you got the vermin in the first place. Bio security, quarantine all new incoming chickens for a couple of weeks and get your coop tight enough to keep the wild birds and rodents from coming in spreading the mites and lice. If you cannot keep the wild birds away due to free range at least secure the feed in a good treadle feeder so the birds are not drawn to the coop and have to forage for wild food.

 

[cmom]

Sometimes it happens and the birds will pick up mites or lice. I have had it happen a few times. There have been years when I had no issues then I discover the birds have mites so then I treat for 3 or 4 weeks then stop.