Lice and DE

[RichtmanRanch]

I found lice on one of my seven hens this afternoon. Many are showing signs of feather loss. Has anyone used DE to treat it? I bought the food safe one. How successful is it? How often do you need to apply it? I plan to dust all of them and put out some free choice for dust bathing in the coop. I did a full clean of the coop on Wednesday. Shoveled out all the droppings, and lots of new bedding. Do I need to do that again for safe measures now that I am treating them? This is my first experience with lice, and I'm feeling a bit defeated at the moment. Thanks.

 

[Teila]

Howdy RichtmanRanch

Lice and Mites suck! [pardon the pun

]

I have been through a mite infestation compliments of a visiting bush Turkey and I now use Permethrin. However, Lice and Mites was a Topic of the Week and if you check out this thread you can see lots of tips and advice all in the one spot. DE is definitely mentioned.

Good luck!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1140730/topic-of-the-week-lice-and-mites-prevention-and-treatments

 

[Isaac 0]

I personally hate DE.If you want a fast killing/effective product use Garden Spray Poultry dust.Completely dust them and go hard on there butt and wings.Repeat in seven days to kill eggs.

 

[BantamLover21]

I've tried using DE in the past for mites, and it didn't work. At best, it can sometimes help prevent major outbreaks, not treat them. I would instead recommend Sevin dust (sold for gardens).

 

[lydiagirl99]

I have personally used DE for when I had an outbreak of mites. I'm not sure if there is a difference in mites and live and how they react to DE, but it worked wonderful for me. I cleaned out my entire coop. Then I put a thin layer of DE around and covered it with new bedding and then mixed it all around. That way It doesn't create to much dust for your birds but the DE should help keep the bugs away. I then applied DE all over all of my chickens (being careful with their eye and mouth area). I only did this once and have never seen mites again in my coop.

 

[azygous]

No. Really. DE does not cure a lice and mite infestation. At best, it is haphazard. It also does nothing to prevent parasites. It is a respiratory hazard for humans and chickens alike. The only thing it is good for is a a binder in feed and a deodorizer.

Simple poultry dust with permethrin is a cheap and easy and effective method of ridding birds and premises of lice and mites. Even better is a product called Elector PSP. It's pricey but highly concentrated and a small bottle lasts for years. The good thing is it's biological and non toxic and there is no egg withdrawal period if you spray it on your birds. Unlike dusting powder, it's much easier to apply and one treatment usually is all that is needed for birds and premises.

 

[RichtmanRanch]

I personally hate DE.If you want a fast killing/effective product use Garden Spray Poultry dust.Completely dust them and go hard on there butt and wings.Repeat in seven days to kill eggs.

Do I apply it to the hens as well as give a good dusting to all the coop like I would with DE? I will be careful around the eyes, but this product sounds pretty serious if I inhale it or get it in my own eyes. By the time I saw your post I had already done a DE treatment. But I'll give this stuff a try in a few days too. I plan to give the coop a deep clean again too in a week. Should I dust the floor before I put the bedding down? Thanks

 

[RichtmanRanch]

Howdy RichtmanRanch

Lice and Mites suck! [pardon the pun

]

I have been through a mite infestation compliments of a visiting bush Turkey and I now use Permethrin. However, Lice and Mites was a Topic of the Week and if you check out this thread you can see lots of tips and advice all in the one spot. DE is definitely mentioned.

Good luck!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1140730/topic-of-the-week-lice-and-mites-prevention-and-treatments

I know right! How do you apply it? Can I just manually spread/dust/rub it in on them? Do do you spread it in the coop too? Do we have to wait to eat the eggs?

 

[Teila]

I know right! How do you apply it? Can I just manually spread/dust/rub it in on them? Do do you spread it in the coop too? Do we have to wait to eat the eggs?

You can get a Permethrin spray or dust to use on the birds and their coop.

Unless I have an infestation, which I have not since using Permethrin on the coop, I do not dust my birds. They have 2 x large dust baths. I am working on prevention rather than cure and simply use a dust in the nest boxes and spray the coop and roosts. However, you can use the dust on the birds if they are infested.

There is no withholding required on the eggs.

 

[RichtmanRanch]

You can get a Permethrin spray or dust to use on the birds and their coop.

Unless I have an infestation, which I have not since using Permethrin on the coop, I do not dust my birds. They have 2 x large dust baths. I am working on prevention rather than cure and simply use a dust in the nest boxes and spray the coop and roosts. However, you can use the dust on the birds if they are infested.

There is no withholding required on the eggs.

For prevention how often do you apply it in the boxes and roosts?