Mosquito spraying! Want to protect the flock.

[TexasChickenUnv]

We're in DFW, constant monitoring of mosquitoes for West Nile virus. Hit the lottery tonight with a reverse-911 from my city. City will be spraying my neighborhood tomorrow night. I'll call our city & our county extension office tomorrow morning but I'm also trying to prepare. Do I need to bring the flock inside?

I've got 2 boys in freezer camp, a broody hen ready to hatch any day, not to mention the main flock of two roos, about 14 hens, 2 other boys waiting for their chance to go to freezer camp, and a momma and older chick. And two cat boxes and one small dog kennel, and a regular attached 2 car(but not AC) garage. This might not be very pretty Friday morning.

 

[hotrodflash]

I think I would use plastic lawn/garbage bags split open to cover the vents loosely. Just duct tape the bags over windows, vents and pop door. Just make sure you get outside early so that you can remove the bags. The spray may not be harmful but I wouldn't take the chance.

 

[TexasChickenUnv]

Oh, good idea on the garbage bags. That's one thing I'm hoping the AgEx agent can help me with--if I can close them up rather than move them. Luckily, too, we have a huge yard. I wonder just how far into the back yard this stuff will come.

We have a full walk-in coop with a good sized run. The "windows"(chicken wire) on 2 sides have shutters but the south ones do not and are bigger. Winter we usually hang an old sleeping bag on that side, but we're nowhere near winter--or fall--yet. It's shelter but not air-tight.

Freezer camp is more problematic, it's a 4x8 rectangle tractor that is fully open on three sides of half of it plus the top is wire only, too, with the coop enclosed on the other half. But I can stick them in the dog kennel in the garage.

This stuff gives me the creeps. I remember the trucks spraying in Houston when I was a kid. Over 35 years ago and I can still recall that pesticide-y smell. I'm guessing it's "mostly harmless", after all I don't think every wild bird in a half-mile radius is going to croak. But still.

 

[foreverlearning]

They thought agent orange, cocaine, and LSD were harmless, then they found out the truth. Long ago they found there to be some harm to these sprays but it is less than the deadly illnesses that Texas has related to mosquito bites. It's really a lesser of two evil's thing. I say wrap them up good like the above poster said, get fowl pox vaccine for your girls if they haven't had it already (spread in part by mosquitoes), find out what is in the spray this year (they change it often for effectiveness), research it for next time and make your decision how much you want to keep it away from them for the next time they spray.

 

[dawg53]

You also might want to find out how long the residue will be on the soil/grass. You'll need to cover feeders and waterers too.

 

[Eggcessive]

If you call the city they can tell you the chemical they are using. If it is something permethrin, you would know it would probably be safe once it dries, since many of us use it in our coops for mite prevention.

 

[TexasChickenUnv]

Just heard back from the city: Permanone in the product being used. Google and I are having a lunchtime conversation...

 

[TexasChickenUnv]

Apparently it's permethrin, so we should be OK. Looks like from the info sheet it's a good thing we don't keep bees. Yikes! We are due for quite a bit of rain tonight & tomorrow, so if they get the spraying in, I won't have to worry too much about residue, either. Most of the flock stays in the run, but I do have a few free range banties.