Update for Birds kicking and scratching - very bothered - strange development - need more help

[Ccaplan]

You would add 1 and 1/4 teaspoons Elector per one gallon of water or if you have such a small area, you could mix 1/4 teaspoon Elector into one quart of water and put into a hand spray bottle.

Thank you so so much.

 

[Ccaplan]

Hi! I tried this and I think it worked ok, I may need to reapply as I still see mites on me - and now some stopped laying in their boxes (good grief) - maybe they're too clean? Question: Have you ever used the poultry dust they sell at feed stores or Ivomectin? Thanks!

 

[azygous]

I have used the permethrin poultry dusting powder. While effective and safe, it requires a couple of follow-up treatments to get the eggs that hatch after the first application. It's also incredibly messy and breathing the dust is not great for either the chickens or me. These are the main reasons I prefer Elector in spite of the price tag.

 

[Ccaplan]

Thank you! I think we're on the mend... and I hate to use something so harmful to both the chickens and I - I'm going to reapply Elector PSP this week and see if this will help get rid of all of them... appreciate this.

 

[oregonkat]

@azygous, I am thinking of investing in a bottle of the Elector PSP. Does the product have to be refrigerated after opening, and also when spraying the chickens does the product have to come into contact with the skin or is an 'over spray' advised? Thanks.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

No, I'm speaking of the wild kind that are capable of carrying harmful bacteria that can make a chicken sick if they eat them. My chickens happily eat the mealworms and dead meal worm beetles that I raise indoors.

I would like a clarification. To keep tame meal worms and their adult form darkling beetles from infected your chickens do you make the insects an offer that they can't refuse or do you just say "Pretty Please?"

 

[azygous]

@azygous, I am thinking of investing in a bottle of the Elector PSP. Does the product have to be refrigerated after opening, and also when spraying the chickens does the product have to come into contact with the skin or is an 'over spray' advised? Thanks.

No, you don't need to refrigerate Elector after opening, but it's sunlight sensitive, so storing it in a dark place is best. I've sprayed my chickens and also have dipped them. Either method seems to work effectively. I do try to spray the skin, especially around the vent and under the wings.

 

[azygous]

I would like a clarification. To keep tame meal worms and their adult form darkling beetles from infected your chickens do you make the insects an offer that they can't refuse or do you just say "Pretty Please?"

Our mealworm darkling beetles are only one of approximately 20,000 species of the family of beetles Coleoptera. Needless to say, our mealworm beetles are benign little creatures, and I'm probably not the only one to admit to a warm fondness for them.

 

[oregonkat]

I'm probably not the only one to admit to a warm fondness for them.

I think your chickens would probably admit to the warm fondness too! I farmed these guys a few years back and then it got to be too much added to the long list of other things to do but my hens LOVED them. Heck, it seems like there are fortunes to be made with these things, they are sooooo expensive to buy dried.

 

[azygous]

About eight years ago I bought 100 meal worms for a sick hen and they cost me $8. That breaks down to a whopping eight cents per worm. I fed a few to the hen, the hen died a day later, and I used the rest to start the meal worm colony I have today.

These meal worm darkling beetles are sneaky little buggers. They turn up in some of the strangest places. I found one in bed with me on a couple of occasions. I sometimes spot one speeding across the living room floor. Today, I discovered one under the coop where I was raking out the poop. It was vigorous and seemed none the worse for its time at large in the big world.

I guess these loose beetles have somehow snagged a ride on my sleeve when I'm cleaning out the dead beetles from the beetle tray. Or maybe the one today I had taken for dead but it was just playing dead. But it did manage to evade the chickens all this time. It's back in custody now.