Ivory soap/mite Q

[Alphagamchick]

I'm having a hard time getting rid of mites. I have done the cleaning/dusting and it's time to do it again. I'm setting a fire today to provide more wood ashes. I have used the Ivermectin, too. I'm giving the Ivory soap bath a shot now with the next coop cleaning/dusting. I have read those posts but I have a few more questions about that.

Do I do this at night when the mites are on the birds or is during the day fine?


I'm going to use a plastic basin. It holds probably three-four gallons. How much Ivory do I add to this?

And no rinsing, eh? Does the soap irritate their skin?

Anything else I need to know about this method?

Thanks All

 

[Alphagamchick]

I'm trying this post again since there were no responses.

 

[Judy]

What Ivory soap method?

At least one type of lice/mites are on the birds only at night when they roost. And Sevin is the experts' recommended treatment.

http://ohioline.osu.edu/vme-fact/0018.html

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

I'm skeptical as to whether any plain dish or laundry detergent will do more than wash bugs off the birds. Yes, some of the bugs may drown, and the bird will be a lot better off with many washed away, but that merely delays the problem (unless you plan to give them baths at least daily). I prefer using a dog flea/tick shampoo if I am going to bathe the birds, or flea/tick spray if I am not. I have a lot more confidence in getting the insecticide evenly distributed than with using a dust on the birds. In either case, I use products that contain an insect growth regulator so that it keeps on working for awhile afterwards, not just killing the adult bugs currently present on the bird.

You also need to thoroughly spray the coop with an insecticide suitable for animal housing. Replace all bedding, and this is where I use sevin or permethrin dust--underneath and well mixed into the bedding.

If you are treating both birds and housing, it really does not matter what time of day/night you choose.

 

[Grand-hen-ma]

I battled mites it seems like forever. I treated every 7 to 10 days with 7. I scrubbed every inch of the pens, I treated out side around the pens. I treated the chickens and I even hand picked any mites I saw on the girls. In 2 to 3 days, I would see mites again. I had such an infestation I even lost a Roo. Then I got to reading up on mites and figured I might have a rat/mouse issue, which are big carriers of mites. So my husband and I declared war, tore the barn apart. We emptied everything, cut out the bottom inside wood and found nests upon nests of rats! I tell you honestly that in 2 days we killed 88 rats of various ages. That was 3 weeks ago. We put out rat/mouse poison, in those little house things that you need a key to get into to change the poison. Since we did that, and I treated once again with 7 and killed about 30 more rats, then treated the girls twice with Ivermec, the mite issue is over. THANK GOD!!! I know we still have a few more rats and I will get them too, but I believe the Ivermec was one of the biggest helps of all. I keep my pens cleaned and only use sand for their floor. That helps with cleanup.

Hope this helps Good luck!

 

[welasharon]

ETA: Ah we typed at the same time. Well I am so glad you figured it out.

 

[KYGramma]

How did you get rid of the rats? We have lots of mice and are going through buckets and buckets of poison. Also found what looks like roaches in next boxes?

 

[Grand-hen-ma]

We took everything out of the barn, cut out about 12 inches of the wood inside the bottom of the barn to expose any nests. We took out our weapons and did a bit of target practice then burned the bodies. We refilled the poison many times and also used the bucket/water method. We hung fish line down to the middle of the darn, (a deep one) then tied a cotton ball to the end and plastered peanutbutter on the cotton ball. The rats try to get to the peanutbutter, fall into the water and drown. But the guns were faster.

Good luck

 

[Alphagamchick]

Hi All,

I have read numerous posts on getting rid of mites. A few of them talk about dipping in an Ivory soap bath. Today will be day 7-so that means cleaning, disinfecting, dusting the coop again. I am using Sevin and this last time I dusted I used Pyrth....(off the top of my head I don't remember the spelling)I was sure to dust very thoroughly under wings, vent area, neck. I have been checking nightly and saw mites last night. Two weeks ago or so I did the Ivermectin pour on. I put Seven in their dusting spot.

My coop is only a nice shed so it's not like I'm dealing with a big barn. The first time I power washed it, sprayed with Seven and dusted floor, corners, boxes. Waited 10 days. 2nd time-cleaned and sprayed with Seven, dusted whole thing. Third time- waited 7 days and now I will clean again tonight. I think I will try the flea/tick shampoo this time.

I don't understand why the Ivermectin didn't seem to work. I'm a bit frustrated at this point.

I don't think we have anything like rats underneath. Like I said, it's a simple shed, only 4 years old and I don't ever see anything scurrying by.

Check the posts on Ivory soap and mites.

Any other words of wisdom?

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Not sure how long ivermectin is effective, and some say that as it is used more, bugs are becoming resistant.

I think you need to use a longer acting product than you have been using, and it would not hurt to repeat sooner. Once my vet told me that he prefers to treat every third day, at least three times: so you would treat on days 1, 4, 7 and possibly 10.

How many birds do you have? Do wild birds have access to their coop and/or run? Wild bird often have lice or mites. I use Sentry Gold dog flea/tick shampoo from Petsmart; it claims to be effective for 30 days.