I was just about to get Permethrin to treat my flock's infestation of lice, but I decided to punch it in a search engine out of curiosity. What I saw really made me have second thoughts! All the sites about it said that it was probably a carcinogen. Fine, I'll wear gloves and a mask. However, I saw this website: http://www.safe2use.com/poisons-pesticides/pesticides/permethrin/cox-report/cox.htm According to this, quote: "While permethrins acute toxicity to birds is low,50 it causes other ad-verse effects. Three-week dietary exposure of chickens reduced hemoglobin (oxygen carrying protein) levels, and red blood cell counts, while increasing the number of white blood cells.51 The reduction in hemoglobin occurred at the lowest dose tested, 33 mg/kg.51 Permethrin also caused decreased immune responses in chicks,52 and damaged mallard ovaries.53" Is this the stuff I'm supposed to be using, or is poultry dust different?
This stuff is deadly, 10 Xs more toxic than transisomers. Not only kills honey bees, but all the good useful bugs. All you younguns please don't read this, this stuff is some mean horse manure.
I used the liquid version to treat my flock this summer and had no ill effects. I even treated some 8 week old chicks. I sprayed the buildings, nest boxes and roost. It did say not to spray where you feed/water the birds.
