I need advice on how to get rid of chicken lice/bugs!!!!!

[nuthatched]

What about diatomaceous earth? You would want the food grade one.

Diotomaeceous Earth doesn't work for pests and is a harmful irritant to your and especially your birds lungs. It's not effective, safe or good for the environment.

 

[FunnyBunny89]

You will need to treat the lice every 7-10 days, since they hatch at 10 day intervals. Once the eggs hatch, the louse will be killed by the permethrin garden dust. Apply it in a sock that is filled with the dust. Eventually the eggs will disappear, but you will also need to get some Gordons or Martins permethrin 10 concentrate, mix it with water 1 tsp per quart, and spray your roosts, nests, and coop AFTER bedding is removed.

I'm just gonna bomb the coop again, it works well. I just wanted to know if I could remove the eggs or not. Thanks!

 

[Tellyegger]

You have a very valid point regarding the need for protective gear. There are different types of DE.

But please don't fool yourself into believing it is worse for the environment that pesticides, let alone the everyday products used in kitchen and bath everyday.

I have been to many facilities numerous times where consumer and industrial grade products are made. It is no picnic literally feeling you skin itch in under half an hour while on these properties. There are no pests. There isn't any wildlife nearby or in the sky near these plants.

So using DE for a lifetime isn't nearly as bad for the environment compared to all the soaps one would find in the typical house.

 

[Bergamot]

Hi! I'd like to contribute to this post and add a question:
1. Permethrin dust has been very effective at killing lice, but it's scary to handle. Have to be really careful about application. It definitely kills live lice.
2. What do I do when the chicken is covered in a thousand eggs???

This is my first full year now with chickens, and they were fine until winter came and the rain ruined their dust. I don't have an enclosed area for them so I don't have a way to give them a bin during the rainy months. Well, this time I let it go too long before I checked and a couple of my hens are COVERED in lice eggs along their bottoms. The dust isn't effective for that, so how do I remove the eggs??? I'm tempted to remove the feathers but I realize that's not a great idea.

Some of my hens have zero lice, thankfully, and it's the hens who seem to dust bathe most often. Now that the weather is dry again, they're all getting back to it and I added wood ash to the run for them to use.

I bombed the coop back in January, and I regularly add lime to the nests to prevent infestation there. But they free range a lot and our area has a lot of wild birds so I assume they pick it up in the environment. I also use sand floors so there's nowhere for lice to live except the nests and they're clear.

OKAY i had the same question about the eggs. Untreated twice for lice with Bronco horse spray, 7 days apart. I haven’t seen any live lice since the first application but there’s still egg clusters on the bird. We’re trying to integrate her with our flock so we don’t want to spread lice, of course. But how did you get rid of the eggs? Are they dead..

 

[Bergamot]

Hi! I'd like to contribute to this post and add a question:
1. Permethrin dust has been very effective at killing lice, but it's scary to handle. Have to be really careful about application. It definitely kills live lice.
2. What do I do when the chicken is covered in a thousand eggs???

This is my first full year now with chickens, and they were fine until winter came and the rain ruined their dust. I don't have an enclosed area for them so I don't have a way to give them a bin during the rainy months. Well, this time I let it go too long before I checked and a couple of my hens are COVERED in lice eggs along their bottoms. The dust isn't effective for that, so how do I remove the eggs??? I'm tempted to remove the feathers but I realize that's not a great idea.

Some of my hens have zero lice, thankfully, and it's the hens who seem to dust bathe most often. Now that the weather is dry again, they're all getting back to it and I added wood ash to the run for them to use.

I bombed the coop back in January, and I regularly add lime to the nests to prevent infestation there. But they free range a lot and our area has a lot of wild birds so I assume they pick it up in the environment. I also use sand floors so there's nowhere for lice to live except the nests and they're clear.

Did you figure out how to get rid of the eggs?

I haven’t seen any live lice since treating twice with bronco spray (permethrin) but my hen still has lice eggs in her feathers and I’d like to introduce her to my flock, but obviously don’t want them to get lice. Thanks in advance!

 

[Muser]

I've always used a few drops of Ivermectin for my girls for lice, mites or any nasties. Works wonders because it poisons the bloodsuckers via the blood. Its not technically certified for use in poultry if you plan to use them for meat birds and some people will refuse to consume the chicken eggs as a precaution, but I've always been fine with it.

 

[Slw]

Interesting. I had a bin that I sed to put shavings in. I then noticed a crapload of lice? Or red mites? and freaked out, tossed it into the front yard (emptied out). It has been 3 weeks! I go to clean it to use for baby chicks and here are these little louse crawling on me! I am floored. Nice bin but going to the dump. What could they be living off of???

I would burn any existing bedding including the bin. Treat your lawn and get rid of what you threw out on the lawn, burn that. It sounds extreme but if your birds are free range they could get reinfected if they come in contact with that bedding. Lice or mites might have to be treated at weekly intervals for awhile.

 

[Eggcessive]

Someone above mentioned “bombing the coop” but most bug bombs should never be used around chickens. The ingredients could be toxic to chickens. Permethrin garden dust or 10% spray, or Elector PSP are the most common products used in coops or on chickens.