Sevin Dust and Spray: Is it safe?

[MeganSteffens]

Just today I recognized one of my chickens is infested with mites, I seemeded to have caught it much too late and it kills me to see him suffer now. I read that to somewhat kill the pests you can apply Sevin dust on the chickens, I have 2 questions:
1) Is it the regular Sevin dust I can buy from Walmart? If so are there precautions I should take when applying it
2) to decontaminate the coop I would use the spray and completely clean the coop, can the chickens sleep in the coop the day I use the spray?

 

[eggbert420]

I put the powder directly on them.

 

[MeganSteffens]

Thank you!

 

[Folly's place]

Sevin (carbaryl) is not approved for use on chickens, so use permethrin instead. AND the permethrin spray is the best; cheap, fast, easy, and one treatment is usually enough. Mary

 

[Ridgerunner]

Permethrin works too and is approved for use on chickens. That’s probably your best way to go.

Sevin was approved for use with chickens, the 5% stuff, until a couple of years ago. It’s now considered off-label. It’s not that they learned anything new about it, their main research on it is from the 1970’s and 1980’s. They’ve changed the way they look at whether something is recommended or not. It used to be “does it do harm”. Now it’s whether or not there is any residue after a time period.

Poison is poison. If it is meant to kill, it is meant to kill. No matter which one you use try hard to not breathe the fumes or dust. A face mask is a good idea. Treat the chickens in an open well-ventilated place. Of course, wash up and change clothes after you treat. That’s normal precautions anytime you us a poison. I’d suggest you treat the chickens and the coop fairly early in the day and open the coop up so it can air out. Even if it were late in the day when you treat I’d still keep them in the coop overnight.

I spoke to a poultry medical expert a few years back about using Sevin to treat mites and lice, back when it was on-label. He said there was no withdrawal period for the eggs if you treated with Sevin. That means you do not have to wait a day or two before you can eat the eggs after treatment. I’m not familiar with using permethrin to treat chickens for mites or lice, if there is a withdrawal period on the eggs or not. I suspect there is not but I have not checked into it. If your product is recommended for use on chickens (on-label) read the label and see if it says anything about withdrawal periods. If there are any concerns it should say something. If it doesn’t say anything about withdrawal periods I would not be concerned about it.

You probably know this. If one chicken has them they all do so treat them all. Treatment will not kill the eggs so treat again in a week to 10 days to get the ones that hatch out. Good luck on getting rid of them.

 

[casportpony]

In some areas the Northern Fowl Mite is resistant to Sevin, so it a permethrin dust or spray would be a better choice. It's labeled for use in all poultry, so there is a zero day egg withdrawal.

 

[casportpony]

@MeganSteffens, you should be able to find a permethrin product at any feed store.

 

[wcbpolish]

I used to use Sevin Dust on my chickens when I was a kid, with good results. I just moved back to the farm last summer, and the lice have been present, but not a problem, so I have not treated. I had a sick rooster (droopy) so I caught him to take a look at him. He had a REALLY bad lice load... so I went and found some old Sevin dust in the Garage. Dusted him just like I used to do back when I was a kid. I set him down, and he could not walk. Then he did a tumble/backflip. I went to wash my hands, and by the time I got back, he was dead.

I feel/felt awful. He wasn't all that important of a rooster for my breeding program... but still... I think I poisoned the poor bird to death.
He WAS sick also (ruffled feathers, nasal discharge) but not on his deathbed. This must have put him over the edge.

So... I guess I'd better quit using sevin "off label"

Just a word of experience.

 

[casportpony]

I used to use Sevin Dust on my chickens when I was a kid, with good results. I just moved back to the farm last summer, and the lice have been present, but not a problem, so I have not treated. I had a sick rooster (droopy) so I caught him to take a look at him. He had a REALLY bad lice load... so I went and found some old Sevin dust in the Garage. Dusted him just like I used to do back when I was a kid. I set him down, and he could not walk. Then he did a tumble/backflip. I went to wash my hands, and by the time I got back, he was dead.

I feel/felt awful. He wasn't all that important of a rooster for my breeding program... but still... I think I poisoned the poor bird to death.
He WAS sick also (ruffled feathers, nasal discharge) but not on his deathbed. This must have put him over the edge.

So... I guess I'd better quit using sevin "off label"

Just a word of experience.

Sorry for your loss, but don't feel bad, the Sevin did *not* poison him. One would still be better off to use Sevin "off label" than to wait until they could get permethrin. FYI. carbaryl (Sevin) dust is still used in Canada and other countires. It is no longer approved for use in livestock and some types of veggies due do to a label change, not because it's toxic.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Sorry for your loss, but don't feel bad, the Sevin did *not* poison him. One would still be better off to use Sevin "off label" than to wait until they could get permethrin. FYI. carbaryl (Sevin) dust is still used in Canada and other countires. It is no longer approved for use in livestock and some types of veggies due do to a label change, not because it's toxic.

What veggies is it no longer on-label that used to be on-label use? I had not heard of any changes for plant use, just on chickens.