Treating mites in cooler weather

[Shadrach]

I am battling lice now as well. I discovered them on my roo after he came back from the vet for an injury! Two vets didn't even notice! Ahh! That was over a month ago. I still am seeing eggs. Roo was pretty bad. I found them under his wings as well. It hasn't been warm enough to spray with Elector PSP, so I've been using the dust. I've already washed Mr. Roo and blow dried him....took forevvvvver! I will admit I went 2 1/2 weeks without re-dusting. I hope I can get all these little buggers. I have just been applying the dust directly under the vent and on back of the neck of the hens -did everybody's wings initially. Roo, I keep doing under his wings too. Should I just keep after them with the dust until weather warms up and I can douse them with Elector PSP?

You can also use your finger nails to scrape the base of the feathers where the louse eggs have been deposited and while not pleasant, it is quite effective.

The most important and rather brutal point to make is, the battle with mites and lice isn't over until they and their offspring are all dead. This means repeated examinations and repeated treatment.

 

[Erinnlyn]

Don't panic. Lice may be a little uncomfortable, but don't present a significant health issue that mites do. At most, as the lice munch on feather dander and dead skin, it may promote itchiness.

Two permethrin dustings a couple weeks apart should keep the lice under control until you can reassess come warmer weather.

Meanwhile, though nits cement themselves to the feather shafts, you may yank those feathers. This can be done mostly painlessly by grasping the base of the feather close to the skin and plucking it out quickly. New feathers grow in within a few weeks.

Oh my, I feel like my chickens would despise me if I yanked those feathers, lol! I will take a look though, and consider it. I'd love to see those clumps of eggs gone! Thank you for the info!

 

[Erinnlyn]

You can also use your finger nails to scrape the base of the feathers where the louse eggs have been deposited and while not pleasant, it is quite effective.

The most important and rather brutal point to make is, the battle with mites and lice isn't over until they and their offspring are all dead. This means repeated examinations and repeated treatment.

Yeah, I tried scraping on some. They are stuck really good! I will try scraping again. I have dusted the rooster 4 times and the hens 3 times. Roo was inside for 3 weeks addressing an injury so I thought maybe the hens didn't get them, but they finally showed up later on subsequent checks. They probably all just got them from the wild birds. Oh I also cleaned out their entire coop and sprayed it with Elector the day the roo got to go back outside. I will likely have to do that again and seal up the places the wild birds are getting in their run. Thanks!