How Long Till Ivermectin Takes Effect on Mites 'n' Lice?

[GardenerGal]

This year the northern fowl mites and lice have been just horrible. Most of my birds dust bathe and are doing fine, but a handful of bantams refuse to go outside the barn, and while I give them fireplace ashes and sand mix to dust-bathe inside, they never seem to do enough to keep themselves free of pests. I decided to apply Ivermectin a couple days ago, but wonder how long it usually takes to start killing the varmints?

 

[roosters4sale]

It works right away. Its a strong product. I've used it on cattle and goats.

 

[GardenerGal]

Thanks, R4S. Maybe I didn't use enough on one roo as he still had a lot of mites today and they had fed. I ended up "dust bathing" him by hand to remove most of them. Is it safe to do an additional dosing this soon?

 

[roosters4sale]

If they are still feeding on him in the morning I would mist him again.

 

[GardenerGal]

I'll try it. I'm using 5% "blue" Ivermectin, which I applied to the skin on the back of the neck with a glass eyedropper. Probably should have dosed him 3 drops (average size bantam rooster).

Thanks again.

 

[mypicklebird]

Unless you have some sort of depo type product (I am not familiar with blue ivermectin)- it is metabolized quickly. If the mites you are dealing with live ON or IN the bird like NFM & Scaly leg, your dose (if you gave enough) should be sufficient for now, but you will want to redose in a week or so to catch the next round as they hatch. If you are dealing with coop mites/red roost mites, they do not live on the bird- and giving ivermectin is not very effective- as they might not have chosen to feed that day. Better to use surface powders on the bird and treat the coop.

 

[GardenerGal]

Thanks. It's the pour-on Ivermectin, used for cattle, sheep, etc. and permissable to use on fowl. They have a "fine blend" of NFM and lice, and the dosage I used yesterday clearned out all of the lice, but there were still NFM though not anywhere near as bad as they had been on some of the birds that refuse to go outside to dust-bathe. I'll have to re-dose anyway when the nits hatch (anyone have any suggestions for nit removal or things that can be applied to them to kill the eggs?) but for now the situation is under control.

I plan to dust and/or spray the barn with Sevin to complete the de-bugging before the cold weather.

 

[pips&peeps]

The Northern Fowl Mites are getting immune to Ivermection...... just an FYI.

The only thing that I have found the works is the frontline. I brought in a cock bird with mites a couple years ago and the darn things went from box to box in my rooster area for over a year. I think I have finally killed them all!!!!

 

[Mahonri]

Jean do you have a link for the frontline product.

I've got a pen where I need to use it.

 

[Germaine_11.20]

pips&peeps :

The Northern Fowl Mites are getting immune to Ivermection...... just an FYI.

The only thing that I have found the works is the frontline. I brought in a cock bird with mites a couple years ago and the darn things went from box to box in my rooster area for over a year. I think I have finally killed them all!!!!

Thanks for the heads up. How frustrating.​