is 7 dust dangerous?

[EAST TEXAROO]

I use it never had a problem with it. I just dust the vent area directly and put a good amount in the dust bath areas.

 

[codybird]

I use Bayer Complete Insect Killer for Gardens Dust.

O.25 % Permethrin.

I use it instead of DE. Just seems to work better.

I use it in the garden and you could use it on cats and dogs.

I have decided I can use it on chickens also.

Permethrin also kills chiggers (aka redbugs). I like it.

 

[darkmatter]

Quote:
A old tractor tire filled with sand and wood ashes for their dust baths. Fresh cedar sprigs in the nest boxes. I've never used any chemical and never had any lice/mite problem. I use the deep litter method, I think the composting provides natural anti-microbial and anti-pests compounds. Plenty of fresh air and greens with no crowding will prevent the kind of problems with crowded, unsanitary coops. I've visited people who had such a ammonia smell in the coop that the chickens got real sickly looking----I can't imagine eating eggs or meat from such a source being healthy.

 

[Laurie's Silkies]

When I clean my chickan coop, I shovel out all the shavings into a wheelbarrow, then use the shop vac to get Lice and Mites and remaining shavings and cobwebs sucked out. Now in the completly cleaned coop I sprinkel Sevin 5% garden dust all over the floor,cracks and crevices and up the walls a little bit. Then it's time for fresh shavings (pine) to be spread all around. The Silkies love when their coop is cleaned. They can tell just by looking at the shavings, LOL.I used to get my shavings at fleet farm, but they quit carrying the kind I liked, so I now buy the huge bags of kiln dried pine at Tractor Supply Company. They sell for $5.25 (approximatly). I also use the same shavings for my guinea pigs.So I never see any bugs in the chicken coop anymore.

 

[Renee]

If you are unconcerned about the toxic effects of pesticides, Sevin is fine. Especially if you and your family are the only ones eating the eggs and meat.

If you are concerned about toxic effects of pesticides, you should know that permethrin is safer than Sevin and is just as effective at controlling mites and lice on poultry. It is not, however, perfectly safe.

DE has no proven effect on lice and mites, but if you like to keep the coop dry, it will help do that. If you believe it helps with lice and mites as well and want to use it for that purpose, be sure you read the label and do not breathe in the DE. It is like little glass shards made from ground-up diatom (a microscopic sea animal) skeletons. Little glass shards are tough on lungs.

 

[lavacaw]

The following web site discusses all the studies, tests, etc. for carbaryl which is the main ingredient in Sevin. It is well worth the read.

http://www.safe2use.com/poisons-pesticides/pesticides/misc/sevin-carbaryl-old.htm

 

[Renee]

Excellent reference, lavacaw.

The author is a well-known expert on pesticides at the University of Pennsylvania. I can't tell if he gets big grant money from pesticide manufacturers, but he seems to be well thought of by the EPA, the University, and pesticide manufacturers. He's not a biologist or environmental scientist, so his focus is narrow, but it appears to be objective.

For those of you who have not read it, here's a few items you may want to consider:

Sevin (carbaryl) is toxic to humans, but no one has ever died from exposure to it, and people who work at factories that produce the chemical don't have kids with three heads.
However, it has only been manufactured since the late 1950s, so we may not know its cumulative effects.

Sevin has serious effects on dogs, honeybees, other members of the bee family, and aquatic creatures.

Sevin degrades into non-toxic compounds in the environment.

Like everything in life, there are pros and cons. Sometimes I wish things were more black and white!

 

[stethomps]

I know Seven picked up a bad rap a few years back, but I use Seven dust around my coops (in the Spring and 1 or twice during the summer when I treat my fruit trees just as a precaution). I have also used it directly on my birds if I have mites pop up. I have had mites twice in the last 5 years. The first time they just poped up, and I treated with Seven. The second time was with some birds I purchased. I bought some DE off of the internet to treat them, and it did nothing for the mites. So I would agree with the anti DE group. Dont waste your money.

I've been hearing more people using frontline on their chickens...any thoughts on this.

 

[NotTheMomma]

Be forewarned if you're looking to buy Sevin right now. The feed store told me that Sevin is being sold only in the shaker cans, and the price for 2lbs will be close to $10 in this area of VA!!! I have a full bag of 10%, and a partial bag of 5%. If I can find another bag of the 5% before it's all gone, I'll be getting one.