Please help - stick tight flea I think???

[NeeleysAVLChicks]

You poor thing!! And those poor chickens!! That looks miserable!

I would agree with Chickenaddict, get ivermectin pour on (if you search for ivermectin on BYC you'll find a ton of good info about dosage, etc) as it will treat both mites AND any worms they may have. Considering the amount of mites, I'm willing to bet they also have worms. THEN treat the coop, bedding, dust bathes, etc. with poultry dust. You want those little buggies GONE and quick and Ivermectin works the best in my opinion.

Let me know if you have a hard time tracking down dosage info on Ivermectin and I can help you find some links.

Quote:

 

[Judy]

Please don't waste your money on DE for this infestation. It needs serious treatment. Ivermectin is a great place to start but you will have to treat and retreat, probably with Sevin, the environment as well. You can also use Sevin on the birds. I'd probably dab a bit on their faces with a wet rag, along with other treatments.

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

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=425486

 

[welasharon]

I used seven and then in 10 days used ivomec pour on. I have no more problems but mine were not that bad. Also check their legs to see if theyhave and crusty looking stuff on them or if their leg scales are raised....heck I would go ahead and cover their legs with cooking oil or something like that just in case.
sharon

 

[mypicklebird]

Sure looks like stick tight fleas. I am pretty sure ivermectin does not kill fleas of any type. It kills mites & lice & many types of worms though. Use pyrethrin or carbaryl to kill the stick tight fleas. You can cotton ball some spray on, if the powder doesn't stick....

 

[Camelot Farms]

You can also smother them with Petroleum Jelly. I would bath them, dust them with the Sevin and then apply the Petroleum Jelly to face and wattles.
When they die, they will remain stuck in the skin so have some tweezers ready.

Keep us posted.

 

[herefordlovinglady]

So what is your plan of attack. Please keep us posted. I really hate you are having to deal with this. You said 7 birds and all of them have it.

 

[picanins]

OK here is our plan of attack : We are using the sevin dust powder on the birds and in the pen as well . Around the eye area we will use the petroleum jelly. It seems like these things are listed as quite an unusual bug (I certainly have never seen anything like it before in my life) so there's not a lot out there in terms of reference, but it seems what comes up pretty consistently is that the ivermectin is not too successful in treating the stick tight flea and that even when these 'suckers' are dead they don't fall off, you actually have to tweezer them off, so in a week we will re=treat and continue to use the tweezers to pull off the dead bugs. I am going to try and post another close up of one of our hen's eyes so you can see how many of them there are and how they actually burrow into the skin. Will keep you posted on the results and would love any further advice if you think we're doing something wrong. Boy - what an introduction to poultry!!!! P.S By the way, one of the hens is getting very cross if you go near her little nest and over the last 2 days there are 9 eggs - clearly one hen has not laid them all - so they're still laying eggs

 

[Camelot Farms]

That is a great close up!

I also read that the females are the ones that are attached to the skin and that they lay their eggs in the bedding and on the ground so be sure to prevent the next wave.

Best of luck to you and the girls!

 

[welasharon]

Wow. Never in my life have I heard of these. I hope we don't have any here. Good luck to you in ridding yourself of them.
sharon

 

[txcarl1258]

I live in South Texas and we have them every where! They say that fleas are species specific, but not these! They even get on us if we are not careful. Believe me they are a PITA and you do not want them around. I battled them all summer. Luckily since it is getting colder I have not noticed them as much. I am going to treat the entire yard for them once it starts to warm up again. If you find something that works effectively be sure to let us know!