What is this bug?

[Spike0567]

It jumps and it looks like a flea, but it's easy to squish. It's in my nesting boxes. All of the bedding is spotted with I think droppings. I have not found a single bug on my chickens.

 

[Debbie292d]

There's a bug similar to fruit flies that we get here that jumps around like a flea, yet we can swat it with our hand pretty easily. We get those in our parrot cages. I sprinkle diatomaceous earth in the bottom of their cages and that seems to control them. I've done that for around 20 years since I've had them.

The other thing that works somewhat is the fruit fly trap. That's a little vinegar in a small dish, then cover with saran wrap and poke a few holes in it. For your coop, maybe you'd have to have like a baby jar with the metal lid and drill a few very small holes in the lid.

Probably the best thing to do though is get some Permethrin/garden powder, kick the chickens out, and dust your coop and nest boxes.

 

[Northof26]

There's a bug similar to fruit flies that we get here that jumps around like a flea, yet we can swat it with our hand pretty easily. We get those in our parrot cages. I sprinkle diatomaceous earth in the bottom of their cages and that seems to control them. I've done that for around 20 years since I've had them.

The other thing that works somewhat is the fruit fly trap. That's a little vinegar in a small dish, then cover with saran wrap and poke a few holes in it. For your coop, maybe you'd have to have like a baby jar with the metal lid and drill a few very small holes in the lid.

Probably the best thing to do though is get some Permethrin/garden powder, kick the chickens out, and dust your coop and nest boxes.

I found some in my nesting boxes. I hope you were able to get rid of yours! We don’t have Sevin dust here so I will have to try the diatomaceous earth.