Frontline for mites and/or lice

[Mike Gilbert]

Beth, I use the pour on Ivermectin for cattle and administer it with an eye dropper on the skin.   For a large fowl I place 2 or 3 drops above the vent and the same amount below the vent on the bare skin.  For bantams maybe 2 drops above and below.  I suppose it would be just as effective under the wing or on the back of the neck since it is absorbed into the system, but the vent area is where mites congregate, at least the ones we deal with here.

[Sharon Yorks]

Is this the product you are referring to, Mike? (The blue bottle?) And am I understanding that both this and Frontline would be administered the same...just open the bottle and put some in an eyedropper, then squeeze out a few drops per bird? What is the difference in products as far as why one would be preferred over the other. Is it price, ingredient, how often you have to use it, availability...?

How fast does this product work, how often do you use it, and where do you buy it?

[Tailfeathers]

Keep us up to date on that Royce.  It's good to know.   But the information they gave you about ivermectin was baloney.  I don't use the eprinex  - is that the variation where there is no withdrawal period?  If so it stands to reason it wouldn't be as effective.

Will do, Mike.  it's been over a week now and still no sign of mites.  I am REALLY hoping and praying this will finally get rid of them potlickers once and for all.  I can say without a doubt this has been the most effective treatment yet. 

I'm not sure now whether what I read referred to the Ivermectin Pour-On or the Eprinex.  A Google search would probably turn it up again without much effort.  I can tell you from personal experience that after paying $50+ bucks for a bottle of Eprinex, I was disappointed as it did not do the trick at all.

And btw, Beth one of the things I tried was getting the Permethrin that's like 10%, if I remember right, and mixing it myself.  I was finally mixing like one ounce of the stuff to a gallon of water and that still didn't do the trick.  That's a whole lot stronger than the strongest stuff you can buy pre-mixed.

God Bless,

[Mike Gilbert]

Is this the product you are referring to, Mike? (The blue bottle?) And am I understanding that both this and Frontline would be administered the same...just open the bottle and put some in an eyedropper, then squeeze out a few drops per bird? What is the difference in products as far as why one would be preferred over the other. Is it price, ingredient, how often you have to use it, availability...?

How fast does this product work, how often do you use it, and where do you buy it?

That looks like it, but I purchase it in much larger containers as we use it for the red deer several times a year.    From all reports Frontline works great too.   I use this because we keep it on hand anyway, and it works fast.  After a proper application you shouldn't see any live mites within 24 hours, and probably less.

[Tailfeathers]

Update on my post...

Two weeks as of yesterday and still NO sign of any mites!  I'm elated!  I have NEVER had this kind of success in the past.  Prior to using the Pronyl (same as Frontline only much cheaper), I was never able to get rid of all the mites.  Even treating them on a weekly basis with all the aforementioned.

I will continue to check periodically but I'm jus tickled to death that it looks like I finally got the problem licked!

God Bless,

Royce

[Beth C]

Great news, Royce! I remember what a nightmare it was trying to get rid of those little beasts.

[Schroeder]

Do mites and lice take the winter off if the chickens are regularly exposed to freezing temperatures, or are infestations consistent throughout the year?

[Mike Gilbert]

I found mites on a couple of my hens a week ago, so no, they don't take the winter off.   Duane, I sent you a private message regarding a meet placement.

[vanalpaca]

I used tea tree oil drops in vaseline then dusted with a mixture of sevin dust and diatomateous earth, but that was for 5 hens that I originally had in town that came with a mite problem. They disappeared and never came back?

The ivermectin pour on for cattle is available at the farm/feed stores usually and at our Tractor Supply stores. It does come in a smaller $20 bottle or so. I use it a lot for worming the alpacas and preventative for menengeal worm carried by whitetail deer. It is also suggested for mild cases of mites in the alpacas which are fiber animals.....so it makes sense it would work for chickens.

[Tailfeathers]

No, mites definitely don't take the winter off - even with subfreezing temps for a period.  Moreover, I read somewhere that they can go for like 6-9 months without even eating and make a come back!

Quick update:  Two and a half weeks gone by now.  Still no sign of any return!      

Now where is that jumpin' around Smiley?

God Bless,

[Tailfeathers]

Almost FIVE weeks now and still no sign of any bugs at all.  I am elated!   

God Bless,

[Sharon Yorks]

I actually have a negative report, but it could have been a fault of mine. On February 5th, I treated all of my birds with Frontline, putting a drop directly on the skin at the base of the neck, one at the base of the tail, and one around the vent area. After rereading John's post again, I realized he said 4 drops for LF. My rooster Thor had them pretty bad so I actually DID give him 4 drops the first time.

I was looking him over a couple of days ago (3 weeks after treatment) and found he had a lot of little red mites on his right shoulder again. An even larger area than before. We retreated again, this time making sure everyone got 4 drops directly on the skin and Thor and a couple of my larger birds got 5 drops. We also made sure to gently shake the bottle around before putting it into the eye dropper, just in case I didn't have it mixed up well enough the first time. I just now checked for an expiration date and can't find one, but it was a brand new bottle that I had just ordered so that shouldn't be an issue.

Any ideas?

[Birdcrazy]

Sharon, You aroused my curiosity, I looked on my bottle of frontline that I just bought. there was no expiration date that I can find on it.

[Sharon Yorks]

I'm wanting to think I saw one somewhere, maybe on the clear plastic that was wrapped around it before I opened it, but I can't remember. I'm usually good about checking for things like that. I probably did, just don't remember. I'll check a new bottle at the pet store or at the poultry show this weekend to see if that's where it is...although that would be a stupid place to put one because you would never know when it was outdated after you opened it and forgot what it said. I'm sure I...okay, no I'm not. I'll find out where they put it and let you know.

[Tailfeathers]

I didn't use the bottle type but rather the stuff that comes in a box and a pack of 3 "tubes" for dogs.  I got the "Pronyl" which is a knoeck off of Frontline but has exactly the same ingredients and percentages.  I also got the dosage for the largest dogs.  Over 100 pounds if I remember right.  So my dosage was probably stronger.

Still no mites.   

God Bless,