Looking for organic methods to treat lice/scaley leg mite

[LynneP]

A friend of mine uses baby oil that he puts in an oil sprayer, the kind you get at the hardware store...I haven't any experience with it but he is an established poultryman.

 

[SueNH]

Bag balm works too. Any thick oil, olive oil, vegetable oil.

Ivermectin in the drinking water. Ivermectin is considered ok by organic standards. You can buy a small water soluble bottle for home flocks from Cutlers Supply.

http://www.cutlersupply.com/store/

 

[Flufnstuffs~FluffySilkies]

I use Dog Flea Shampoo But I mix it 50/50 in a bottle of cheap people Shampoo.

I don't think you need to cut the feathers off either. Any oil is good, The mites are under the scles and its hard to get bug killers to them to be effective.

As for Mite Control I bought a new product IT WAS VERY POTENT though,
when I opened the bottle the smell would knock you out,
So I mixed it with some food grade DE and have been using it.

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I bought a new Powder product and was wondering what you
all think?? I wanted to use it on my birds for Lice & Mites on My Silkies
I thought Being all natural it may be better than the other Products we
all use.
b]

Nature's Guardian by Sergeant"s
Natural Flea & Tick Powder for Dogs & Puppies
Kills and repels Fleas and Ticks with Natural Ingredients.
Kills Fleas and Ticks on Contact
Safe for use ariund Children and Pets
Veterinarian Tested.

Active Ingredients:
Pepperment Oil 1.00%
Cinnamon Oil 1.50%
Lemon Grass Oil 1.50%
Clove Oil 1.70%
Thyme Oil 1.70%
OTHER INGREDIENTS:
Vanillin, Silicic Acid, Calcium Salt, Calcium Carbonate 92.60%

 

[chickenannie]

I do not want to use Sevin Dust and would like to try the NEEM oil or other oil treatment on one of my chickens for lice or mites... does anyone know if this works, or if there are any other Organic methods for treating lice/mites? (not scaley leg mite).

Also, I've read up a lot on Sevin as well as Diatomaceous Earth, and really don't want to use it, so I'd like this to be a discussion of non-Sevin, non-DE possibilities. I did try straight wood ashes once in the past, but I didn't know how to apply it correctly for treatment, so I'm still not sure if that would work.

 

[chickenannie]

anyone familiar with this oil treatment?

 

[chickenkate]

I would use Diatomaceous Earth. It's an all natural mite, flea, roach, and other stuff killer. It's made of ground up fossils of prehistoric diatoms, and 100% safe for people, pets, chickens, and plants. It's used for livestock, gardens, and regular house needs. Get it in Food Grade, because it is milder.

See:

www.yardlover.com/products.php?pid=193

 

[chickenannie]

Thanks, Kate.

I also just found this study which looks promising, but I have no idea how much neem oil to use on the hen:

Azadirachtin-impregnated traps for the control of Dermanyssus gallinae

Jenny Lundha, b, d, Daniel Wikteliusa, c and Jan Chirico

Abstract
The effect of neem oil (azadirachtin), originating from the tree Azadirachta indica, was investigated as a potential compound to control the poultry red mite, Dermanyssus gallinae. In vitro tests were performed to determine the most appropriate formulation of neem extracts and concentration of the substance to be used. Cardboard traps containing 20% neem oil were placed at the mites’ aggregation sites, out of reach of the hens, in a floor system for layers containing approximately 2400 birds. Treated traps were replaced every week for 4 weeks. Throughout the study, the parasite population was monitored by collections of mites with untreated plastic traps. A 92% reduction of D. gallinae was recorded.

Keywords: Dermanyssus gallinae; Control methods-arthropoda; Traps; Azadirachtin

Article Outline
1. Introduction
2. Materials and methods
2.1. In vitro test I, acaricidal effect of neem on D. gallinae (Ivt1)
2.2. In vitro test 2, determination of neem concentration (Ivt2)
2.3. Experimental sites and animals
2.4. Impregnated traps and monitoring traps
2.5. Statistical methods
3. Results
3.1. Acaricidal effects of neem on D. gallinae (Ivt1)
3.2. Determination of neem concentration (Ivt2)
3.3. Reduction of mites under field conditions
4. Discussion
Acknowledgements
References

http://www.sciencedirect.com/scienc...serid=10&md5=8c0c5159f439c7ba681d61108e7fc8e7

 

[chickenannie]

I realize I'm having this conversation with myself, but I wanted to keep posting the info that I find in case it helps others.
I just read about this method of ridding a bird of mites and lice on an another forum. I will post again it works for my hen.


"If you want to be truely safe, wash the birds in liquid dishwashing soap. The soap kills mites & lice immediately. I have used washing as a method of eliminating a heavy infestation that I overlooked until the bird showed "signs" of distress. It worked very well, the bird recovered mach faster than just using Poultry Dust, but you still have to stop re-contamimation."

 

[CTChickenMom]

Get some food grade DE and put it in their dusting spot and they will dust themselves regularly. For now I'd dust them with it being sure to get around the vent and under the wings. This type of DE is safe to put in their food and will protect against worms.

Use a duster and put it on the under side of roosts and in nest boxes too. Sprinkle it in the shavings too. Its all totally safe. Here's a site with lots of info: http://www.shadowridgedonkeys.com/perma_food_grade.htm

 

[chickenannie]

CT chicken mom, there have been debates on here about the safety of DE too. It is not good for humans or chickens to inhale DE dust.
I am looking for non-Sevin, non-DE, non-chemical methods for treating lice and mites.

I just read about another method of getting rid of lice -- soaking the hen in Salt Water for a time. I am trying to find out how long and how frequently this would be done. It makes sense to me that it may work, because that's how I get rid of bugs on my vegetables too... i soak them in salt water for 5-10 minutes and any critters fall off and float to the top.