Sevin Dust and Spray: Is it safe?

[casportpony]

Okay, so if any of you ever find a sick bird with lice or mites and all you have to use is Sevin, please use it, do not wait until you can get permethrin, but also get your bird in a warm room (80-85 degrees) because it is almost certainly hypothermic. Once warm you can try to get some fluids into it.

 

[JaeG]

One thing with mites - treat the roost bars. Mites love to hide out there on the underside during the day. There and my nestboxes were my hot spots (could've been due to the 4 broody chickens at the time though). I battled mites most of summer and now we are coming into winter (we've had a couple of frosts already) and I just found evidence of mites again, only under the roost bars. I've made it a habit to run my hand under there every now and then, just to check.

 

[adrikeen]

Because of mite issues with the wooden house (I live by woods and wetlands so mites galore) I switched to those Snaplock houses....great to clean and I thought would be mite free. I have them raised off the ground too. To my shock one evening....mites came out from between the dropping catch trays and the bottom of house and were swarming the door frame. They didn't appear to be going up the plastic walls to the wood roost bars but I wasn't taking any chances and EVERYTHING got dusted....chickens, plastic house, etc. (and of course myself)

 

[adrikeen]

OOOOOh thank you all for the help! I finally got rid of the "new egg"... I have had that one for too many years!

 

[casportpony]

OOOOOh thank you all for the help! I finally got rid of the "new egg"... I have had that one for too many years!

 

[wcbpolish]

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.

Are their different forms of Sevin dust?
Does the age matter? This was in the garage from the previous owners (my in-laws) and may have been quite old.
I'm pretty sure it DID poison him, but I'm willing to acknowledge that there may have been other factors (contamination with other chemicals? age of chemicals? health condition of bird previous to treating?, etc)

 

[Ridgerunner]

Yeah, I apologize, we got a little off track on your post. I was thinking about that last night and came on here to try to recover. You've mentioned most of what I was thinking of and added another possibility.

I don't know how much age matters but it being really old might make a difference. I was thinking possible contamination too but you mention you did not buy it. Are you sure it was even Sevin and not something else they put in that container?

An unhealthy bird can't handle stress very well, I'd think his health played a big part. How did you apply it? Did you really lay it on thick in an enclosed area? Something about that may have stressed him.

One of the problems with Sevin or any poison is that we tend to overuse them. it shouldn't take much to do the job. In the garden when we overuse Sevin it can kill a lot of the stuff living in your soil. A good garden soil should be full of living organisms from microbe size on up. Over-applying any poison can have unintended consequences, like killing those organisms.

I don't know what was wrong with that rooster or how weak he really was. Parasites like lice and mites tend to really attack weaker animals. I don't doubt that the treatment contributed to his death, not sure exactly how. Sevin if applied properly, mainly out of doors so it and you are not breathing the dust that much, should not harm an otherwise reasonably healthy chicken. I agree, you should wear a dust mask when applying it, even if you are out of doors.

The studies that led to Sevin becoming off-label for chickens are not new. The ones referenced in the justification for the change were from the late 20th century, centered around the 1970's. What's changed is the standard for judging them. It used to be that if something was not known to cause harm it was OK to use. The current standard is that if there is any detectable residue after a certain time period it becomes off-label, whether that caused harm or not. Sevin can still be used legally to treat chickens for mites and lice. You need a prescription form a veterinarian.

 

[azygous]

No one so far as mentioned spinosad as an approved treatment of lice and mites in poultry. You can purchase it under the name of Elector PSP. No egg withdrawal, and it doesn't require a mask to apply it - no respiratory risks to humans or chickens.

However, it's not very popular with the BYC population because it's on the pricey side. I use it and have found it extremely satisfactory and effective. The cost balances out in the long run since it's highly concentrated and one bottle will last years and make gallons and gallons of spray or dipping soilution. You can also use it to liberally wet down the premises to kill mite infestations.

 

[DwayneNLiz]

No one so far as mentioned spinosad as an approved treatment of lice and mites in poultry. You can purchase it under the name of Elector PSP. No egg withdrawal, and it doesn't require a mask to apply it - no respiratory risks to humans or chickens.

However, it's not very popular with the BYC population because it's on the pricey side. I use it and have found it extremely satisfactory and effective. The cost balances out in the long run since it's highly concentrated and one bottle will last years and make gallons and gallons of spray or dipping soilution. You can also use it to liberally wet down the premises to kill mite infestations.

http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/spinosadgen.html

What happens to spinosad in the environment?
Spinosad is broken down rapidly by sunlight. In the presence of sunlight, half-lives on leaves are 2 to 16 days and less than one day in water. When applied to leaves, some spinosad can be absorbed. However, it does not readily spread from leaves to the rest of the plant. In the absence of sunlight, spinosad breaks down very slowly in water. Half-lives of more than 30 days to 259 days have been reported. However, it binds rapidly to sediment. The halflife in sediment, where no oxygen is available, ranges from 161 to 250 days.

Spinosad also sticks to soil and has a very low potential to move through soil towards ground water. In field studies, no break down products of spinosad were found below a soil depth of two feet. In the top layers of soil, spinosad is rapidly broken down by microbes. Soil half-lives of 9 to 17 days have been reported. After it is applied, spinosad is not likely to become airborne.

Can spinosad affect birds, fish, or other wildlife?
Spinosad is practically non-toxic to moderately toxic to fish depending on the species. It is slightly to moderately toxic to aquatic invertebrates. However, spinosad is very highly toxic to eastern oysters. Spinosad is practically non-toxic to slightly toxic to birds, based on studies with bobwhite quail and mallard ducks. It is moderately toxic to earthworms. Spinosad is very highly toxic to bees. However, evidence suggests that spinosad has little or no effect on honey bees and other beneficial insects after sprays have dried.

 

[casportpony]

No one so far as mentioned spinosad as an approved treatment of lice and mites in poultry. You can purchase it under the name of Elector PSP. No egg withdrawal, and it doesn't require a mask to apply it - no respiratory risks to humans or chickens.

However, it's not very popular with the BYC population because it's on the pricey side. I use it and have found it extremely satisfactory and effective. The cost balances out in the long run since it's highly concentrated and one bottle will last years and make gallons and gallons of spray or dipping soilution. You can also use it to liberally wet down the premises to kill mite infestations.

You're right, I haven't mentioned it because of the price tag (~$140 plus shipping), though it *is* something people should consider if permethrin fails to treat mites.