When to treat for lice and mites

Okay, here's my last post for the night then off to bed. It was suggested to me to not treat my birds for lice and mites unless they had them but I'm wondering if taking a more preventative measure is also a healthy option. I kind of like to avoid the higher maintenance route of having to get rid of them and also save my birds from being unwell from them.

Would love to hear what others do.......wait for the signs of annoying little creatures or just treat once or twice a year to prevent?

I would hang one of those No Pest Strips in your coop. They are great for keeping the crawlies at bay. That way you don't have to treat each bird if they don't have mites or lice.

You can get No Pest Strips at Canadian Tire. People use them in cabins and campers during the off season to keep bugs out of them.

You could also give them a box of peat moss with DE mixed in it to dust bathe in. They will love it.

I do both in my coop.

SB - You can buy the no pest strips at CT??? I asked last year and they looked at me sideways when I told them what they were for haha. But good to know. Is it called something different there?

Jaclyn

Thanks Silkie,

I have those strips and have not used them yet. Again, understood only to use them if it was an issue, so will go hang one today in my 8X10 coop. I already have the DE thing going but based on my friend's experience with DE and her chickens, it wasn't enough to prevent lice and mites and she's now pulling out the 'big guns'.

silkiebantam wrote:I would hang one of those No Pest Strips in your coop. They are great for keeping the crawlies at bay. That way you don't have to treat each bird if they don't have mites or lice.

You can get No Pest Strips at Canadian Tire. People use them in cabins and campers during the off season to keep bugs out of them.

You could also give them a box of peat moss with DE mixed in it to dust bathe in. They will love it.

I do both in my coop.

I agree with the Nopest strip. If you don't have a problem, thank your lucky stars and lock the door...with a Nopest strip.

I battled for years with rotenone powder and DE..the crawlers won. Eprinex got things under control, but the NoPest strip keeps things under control. I bought mine at Home Hardware. Vapona I think was the brand name.

Mine lasted a year and recently I saw a mite. Eeek! New pest strip went up and all is well.

HiddenAcresBC wrote:SB - You can buy the no pest strips at CT??? I asked last year and they looked at me sideways when I told them what they were for haha. But good to know. Is it called something different there?

Jaclyn

Jaclyn, I asked and they just showed me all the Raid and stuff like that. I accidentally found mine hanging at the end of an isle. (Last Fall). If you ask for them to hang in your camper or cabin, you might have better luck. Although it is fun confusing people by throwing the word 'chicken' in there. I hope I can find more this spring.

Chicory Farm, No problem. I would rather use it and keep them at bay, then have to deal with the bugs.