Mites?

[mickey328]

Please forgive such a newbie question, but I really AM a newbie!

When I was sitting in the pen yesterday, I noticed a couple of small (pepper granule sized) black bugs crawling on my arms and also a couple on the girls. Are these mites? And if so, do they affect other critters (me...the dogs)?

And, what would you recommend to treat?

Thanks,
Mickey!

 

[kitten6566]

they are either mites or lice. it could affect you and the diogs. i believe. i would get in the shower right away even if you rinsed them off. put vegeetable oil on their legs. if it doesnt go away look it up.

 

[Ntsees]

Sevin dust.

 

[mickey328]

Sevin won't affect them or the dogs adversely?

 

[welasharon]

Just dusted mine tonight. You can feel them creepy crawly on your skin but they are hunting a chicken....LOL You can shower them off of yourself. I use seven dust on mine normally or sometimes I have used pour on ivomec. You can do a search for ways to treat them. I like the seven because it kills them immediately. Use it sparingly and treat the birds and the coop and nests again in 10 days. It does kill bees though so be careful. I don't sling it around everywhere.

 

[mickey328]

Thanks everyone! Appreciate the input.

 

[chanty]

Here is what I read about Sevin (carbaryl):
Health Effects

Acute effects of carbaryl exposure in humans includes malaise, muscle weakness, dizziness, sweating, headache, salivation, nausea, diarrhea, incoordination, slurred speech and a depression of breathing combined with excess fluid in the lungs. With high exposure the most common cause of death is the pulmonary edema, the combination of too much lung fluid and not enough air.

Chronic effects of very small doses, less than one one-thousandth of the LD0, include decreasing the kidney’s ability of adsorb amino acids, the links on protein chains, and abdominal cramping.[5] Similar doses have been shown to cause kidney abnormalities in rats and dogs,[6] reduced heart rates,[7] liver pathologies and reduced blood clotting in rats[8]. Children, pregnant women, older persons and individuals with compromised immune system are more prone to the effects of carbaryl.

Synergystic Effects

Carbaryl reacts with a striking number of other products which make its use all the more dangerous. Carbaryl reacts with many other pesticides including phenoxy herbicides like 2,4-D,[9] the wood preservative Pentachlorophenol, the anti-ulcer drug Tagamet (cimetidine),[10] and the histosomiasis drug Niridazole[11].

Effects to the Environment and Wildlife

Carbaryl has deleterious effects on a variety of wildlife including beneficial arthropods, birds, fish, earthworms, plants and bacteria.

Because it is a broad spectrum insecticide with a mode of action common to the majority of living organisms, its target insects (mites) are not the only organism killed by its use, but numerous beneficial insects. This has been found in both agricultural and non-agricultural systems.[12]

Toxicity to fish is varied but can cause death in concentrations as low as 2-16ppm in water.[13] Sublethal effects such as damage to gill and liver cells, kidney lesions were visible at concentrations less than 1ppm.[14] Synergistic effects with other pesticides such as 2,4-D, rotenone, or pentachlorophenol increased toxicity in fish.

I used it once but will NOT again...This is a scary chemical!

 

[welasharon]

All chemicals are scary and should be used with great caution but mites will kill chickens so I choose to intervene and usually use the seven although I have used ivomec pour on which has its own list of precautions as well. I use it sparingly and only as needed. Some people use frontline (spray of some kind) although I have not. DE did not work for me.

 

[mickey328]

That IS a scary list, but then when you look at possible side effects from regular medicines, it's pretty scary too. Think I'll start with some DE and see how that goes; its got fewer side issues. I don't think it's a really heavy infestation at this point; the girls are eating well and laying well and seem quite fit. I know it'll only get worse though, if left untreated.

For those who've used DE...can you share some pointers regarding application? I know breathing the stuff is bad, so DH and I will wear masks and will cover the chickens' heads. Do you have to dust them all over? Do you need to get it down to the skin, or just on top of the feathers? I was thinking one of us would hold the bird and the other would dab some around the shoulder area as close to the skin as we can get.

Mickey

 

[tropicaljo]

Food grade DE is harmless to mammels, deadly to bugs of all kinds except earthworms. You can eat a handful of it and it won't hurt you. I mix a bit in with the egg pellets for my chickens because it is almost pure calcium. For applying to the garden or my animals, I save empty parmesian cheese shaker bottles. They have large holes and work great for all kinds of applications. When I want to dust the birds and the coop, I just go in there after they get settled for the night and go to town shaking it on them, the poop board, the ground, heck, I even sling it on the walls and ceiling.