How do you guys use this?

[CEO]

Do you use permethrin on chickens to control mites and lice? Do you guys wear masks or not and how much do you use?

 

[Thunder344]

@Eggcessive can explain it better than me.

 

[Folly's place]

Permethrin dust is fine, but doesn't do the walls well, and costs much more than the spray concentrate. It's also easier to spray the birds, at night, when they are roosting.
Gloves, long sleeves, and at least an N95 face mask no matter what you use! Then clothes in the wash, and a shower.
Mary

 

[MysteryChicken]

I put it in their dust bathing pits. I may add it to their coop during cleaning them out this time.

Bantam coop, & Mixed flock coop has the worst lice issue. They're almost nonexistent in my standard coop for some reason though. Haven't figured that one out.

 

[Folly's place]

We put a small amount of the dust under their bedding, and under the bedding in the nest boxes. Treat everyone! Some birds will have a heavy load, and some nearly none, but all need to be managed. retreat at least once, seven to ten days later, and maybe three times.
Lice or mites will kill birds!!! Happened here, long ago, before I knew what was happening.
Reinfestations happen often, from the wild songbirds who visit.
Mary

 

[MysteryChicken]

We put a small amount of the dust under their bedding, and under the bedding in the nest boxes. Treat everyone! Some birds will have a heavy load, and some nearly none, but all need to be managed. retreat at least once, seven to ten days later, and maybe three times.
Lice or mites will kill birds!!! Happened here, long ago, before I knew what was happening.
Reinfestations happen often, from the wild songbirds who visit.
Mary

I never lost a bird to lice.

I've lost one bird from a heart attack, 1 by heat stroke, 2 by another rooster, one incident with a complete stranger that wrung one of my birds neck, 1 by severe sour crop, 1 by severe constipation with fly strike, 1 by severe Brooder aspergillosis, 2 by mycotoxicosis(Consumption of moldy feed), 1 trampled, 5 by predators.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

Permethrin dust should only be used when signs of mites and lice are present on your birds and Permethrin spray should also be used in conjunction in your coop. Permethrin should not be used as a daily preventative measure as the lice and mites can build resistance to it.

 

[Eggcessive]

Permethrin spray 0.5 % is what most use for chickens, or the garden dust. Lice hatch out every 10 days, so the spray or dust may or may not need to be repeated again to get the newly hatched out lice before they reproduce. For mites, that would be 7 days.

A good bargain is the Gordons or Martins permethrin 10 concentrate that can be mixed with water according to the inside label instructions for chicken. TSC sells it here for $8 a pint, and that will mix with water to make many gallons for use in a spray bottle or garden sprayer. Just be sure to mix it correctly, and shake well. 15 ml of spray for a grown hen is about right. They also sell a premix spray usually for horses. The garden dust is found in most feed stores.