Permethrin spray

chickmamato7 said:

I recently added *quite* a few new birds from two breeders who were down sizing. Both were NPIP certified and I was short on housing for all the different ages I acquired, so I took a chance & penned them separately within my very large main coop & run. One of the breeders warned me 2X to check regularly for lice *after* I housed them together. Now I'm feeling worried... I haven't noticed any lice or mites yet, but should I treat them all as if I did? Could I just add a small amount of Permethrin powder to their favorite dusting spots as a preventative & then spray directly if I see anything?

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Do not use insecticides prophylactically, can create resistance.

Have you looked closely?
Check them over real well for mites and/or lice.

Google images of lice/mites and their eggs before the inspection so you'll know what you're looking for.

Part the feathers right down to the skin around vent, head/neck and under wings.

Best done well after dark with a strong flashlight/headlight, easier to 'catch' bird and also to check for the mites that live in structure and only come out at night to feed off roosting birds.

Wipe a white paper towel along the underside of roost to look for red smears(smashed well fed mites).

Good post about mite ID by Lady McCamley:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/my-chicken-has-mites-now-what.1273674/page-2#post-20483008

Folly's place said:

For the first time ever, tonight we sprayed the birds and coop with spray, rather than powder. LOVE IT! I bought a half gallon sprayer, and permethrin liquid concentrate. Mixed it and treated the group and coop in a very short time. No muss, no fuss, no dust everywhere. If it works, never going to use the poultry dust again. Mary

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I use Permethrin spray & love it!(on the coop & the chickens)Neem oil is still my favorite.

Lesson learned-- I'm infested! My birds have never free-ranged and I never had any issues with lice or mites until adding new birds. Will never make that mistake again!

They are very tiny moving black dots, so I'm guessing it's mites. 2 Polish were pretty bad around the crest & vent area. I used what I had on hand for now, which is Manna Pro Poultry Protector. Gave the 2 that were badly infested a good spray down & bath, then fine combed the shafts/vent area clean of all eggs I could see. Blew them dry & resprayed. Going to the store now for Permethrin now. Hope I caught this early enough

chickmamato7 said:

Lesson learned-- I'm infested! My birds have never free-ranged and I never had any issues with lice or mites until adding new birds. Will never make that mistake again!

They are very tiny moving black dots, so I'm guessing it's mites. 2 Polish were pretty bad around the crest & vent area. I used what I had on hand for now, which is Manna Pro Poultry Protector. Gave the 2 that were badly infested a good spray down & bath, then fine combed the shafts/vent area clean of all eggs I could see. Blew them dry & resprayed. Going to the store now for Permethrin now. Hope I caught this early enough

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Did you read the poultry protector spray bottle?

Please go get some permethrin if you want to get rid of the bugs.

I know it's organic & worthless-- 99.9% inert ingredients & water is the 1st one listed. I bought it when I was new to chickens. No worries, I'm going to get the real stuff right now.

aart said:

Do not use insecticides prophylactically, can create resistance.

Have you looked closely?
Check them over real well for mites and/or lice.

Google images of lice/mites and their eggs before the inspection so you'll know what you're looking for.

Part the feathers right down to the skin around vent, head/neck and under wings.

Best done well after dark with a strong flashlight/headlight, easier to 'catch' bird and also to check for the mites that live in structure and only come out at night to feed off roosting birds.

Wipe a white paper towel along the underside of roost to look for red smears(smashed well fed mites).

Good post about mite ID by Lady McCamley:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/my-chicken-has-mites-now-what.1273674/page-2#post-20483008

Click to expand...

Permethrin is rated to be used as a prophylactic. It can actually be applied to soil in a mixer and that treated soil is used to backfill against the foundation of the house, making the soil untenable to termites, ants, etc. I buy a 26% concentrate and treat all my work uniforms with it. It is even effective against bedbugs.

enrgizerbunny said:

Permethrin is rated to be used as a prophylactic.

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By whom?
....and have 'they' proven it to never create resistance?

chickmamato7 said:

Lesson learned-- I'm infested! My birds have never free-ranged and I never had any issues with lice or mites until adding new birds. Will never make that mistake again!

They are very tiny moving black dots, so I'm guessing it's mites. 2 Polish were pretty bad around the crest & vent area. I used what I had on hand for now, which is Manna Pro Poultry Protector. Gave the 2 that were badly infested a good spray down & bath, then fine combed the shafts/vent area clean of all eggs I could see. Blew them dry & resprayed. Going to the store now for Permethrin now. Hope I caught this early enough

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You might have to keep your chicken in a temporary coop to get rid of them.Be sure you keep your chickens and coop both treated weekly.

aart said:

By whom?
....and have 'they' proven it to never create resistance?

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It is a labeled use. Technically any chemical could create resistance, but permethrin will work by the same method whether you apply it ahead of time or after infestation. It is persistent on clothing for up to 6 washes. I think the effectiveness for foundation protection was like 2 years after treatment. Works on contact with the target species.

Considering its a synthetic version of a chemical from a flower and it's been around for decades without any literature on permethrin resistant bugs, I'll keep using it as intended - before the bugs get on me or my buildings.

Edit: There are papers about resistant in scabies. Sorry that was arrogant of me.