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Lice and Mites

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DeWayne Edgin:
No i did not. I never had a lice or mite problem here and i hope i never do so i didn`t have a reason to try it. I do have an outside woodstove that still has ashes in it though from this past winter. I just heard that ashes worked and i was wondering if anyone else has heard of it. I figured if it was true then i would have a cheap fix if i ever needed it. I can`t spell very good but i thought that ashes would probably be similar to Dimactiousearth. I need to get my spell check back on my phone. But i will check my birds and see and if i see any, i will try the ashes. I do use hartz flea spray for dogs and cats on them about once a month.

Cesar “CJ”:
DE earth or Ash is useless in my opinion. It wont really work in the short run. I spray the pens with a spray pump of permethrin diluted with water. It kills on contact. I also mix in the poultry dust with peremethrin in their dust bathing spots, nest boxes and all over the coop. For serious bug infestation on a bird. I dip them in water with permethrin. It gets everywhere and kills every critter on them instantly

3.25 oz of permethrin concentrate for every 5 gallons of water.

Susan Mouw:
I agree with Cesar that ashes or DE probably won't do much good if you already have an infestation. That would be the time to get aggressive with permethrin. But I've found DE to be quite effective in warding off problems before they start.

I use DE on the coop floors, dust the ground in the runs, and sprinkle it in all the nest boxes.  It also repels the ants that, down here in the deep south, are a problem in and around feeders and even the nest boxes.

I haven't tried the ashes, though - might have to start saving the ashes from our fireplace each winter.

Don:
Thanks for the responses and the information.  I also saw a post on the internet where a breeder swears by home made orange oil and white vinegar.  I am going to give them a dust bath with the ashes and try some of the other approaches.  Its good to have options and the greener the better in my mind.  We used to get a product called Black Leaf 40, basically concentrated nicotine. But it is no longer on the market.  I wish I knew someone that was still raising their own tobacco and could let me have some tobacco stems.  It does smell nice and the bugs don't seem to like it.  Think we could learn something from them?  One of my first Bosses told me that without tobacco, there would be no North Carolina.  Probably a lot of truth for periods of time in the past.       

Sarah Meaders:
There have been two different times I found crawlies on some of my chickens over the past two years. Both times, I dusted all of them, whether they had them or not, with DE, as well as the floors of the coops, their nesting boxes, and their favorite dust bathing spots. Both times, the crawlies were gone in a couple days. I checked them frequently for a couple weeks after just to make sure.

Now, I sprinkle DE in their coop floors since I use sand as the coop bedding and dust each bird at the start of winter and again at the start of summer for prevention. I just now checked all of the chickens since I sold my Australorps, and I didn't see a single crawly on any of them.

I have never had a full blown infestation, so I can't attest to how well DE would work in that situation, but the two times I had a small problem, it fixed it very quickly. I try to stay as natural as possible, so DE is my first choice. They consume a little, too, since they eat off the sand in their coop, and that is said to be good for internal parasites and cleansing, too, so even better.

Be careful with DE, though, for two things. You don't want to breathe it in, and you don't want them to breathe a bunch in either. Also, don't use it around gardens or flowers. It will kill bees just like it does other bugs, and we need bees! I won't use it for pest control of the garden for that reason.

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