# Lice



## pigeonsnz (Apr 19, 2003)

What do you use to get lice away? Can you use Cat Flea Powder??


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## maryco (Apr 1, 2002)

Hello,

You can use an anti-parasite spray for birds from a pet shop or you can use Sevin's dusting powder that is found at hardware/garden stores.

Cover the beak, nose and eyes of the bird and dust him with the powder all over, under the wings, around the tail area and the chest (except the head)

You could also get a spray from a pigeon supply store online. I use it and the lice die in 10 minutes!

Mary


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Hello,

I would not use the cat flea powder as it is for fleas, and designed for cats.

You can use a lice and mite spray for small birds, and you can pick that up at any pet store. It is quite economical if you only have a few pigeons. I use it for my smaller pigeons, like my Rollers, and Satinettes.

If you have lots of pigeons, you can get this spray called anti-sect 2000, it kills anything cold blooded, like lice, mites, pigeon flies, etc. It has perethrin in it.
There are lots of ectoparasite products on the market, you can find them at Globas Pigeon Supplies, Foys', Siegels, and Jedds, they all have websites.
Treesa


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## screamingeagle (Oct 16, 2002)

I would let the bird take a bath in some warm water too, maybe an hour after you use a lice spray. The stuff is toxic (so is Sevin dust, but being a powder, it tends to come off faster after it's done it's job) and the water will wash it off before the bird grooms himself too much. I had bought some and used it on my bird, it told me to wear gloves while applying it, which made me nervous. But it killed all the bugs.

You might have to re-apply the stuff again a week to 3 weeks later because from what I've heard, it doesn't kill any lice eggs. But giving the bird a bath once a week or more encourages the bird to groom himself, and thus remove and bugs or eggs.

Doesn't borax work too when put into the bath water?? I don't know the mixing directions. I don't think that's nearly as toxic as the other two solutions for killing bugs. Maybe do a "search" through old topics for "borax" if you'd rather use that, to find the right mixing directions.

Suzanne


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## screamingeagle (Oct 16, 2002)

ok, I searched, and found this:

"Karen, my pigeons get a bath at least once per week even when the temperature is in the mid 30's. They need to have clean feathers to get the proper insulation from the cold.
I also use 1 tablespoon ("20 mule team" is the label) borax per 1 gallon water in the bath every other week to eliminate lice and mites."

Personally, I'd try that first since Lice Spray and Sevin dust are extremely toxic to animals and people. I don't personally know of anyone having problems, but because the stuff kills the nervous system of the bugs, I am too afraid to use it on an animal without getting some side effects. Maybe try the borax first. Its also safe for the bird to drink. If it doesn't work, then I'd try the other ways.

Suzanne


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## JGregg (Jul 28, 2003)

I beg to differ, I would recommed flea powder. I've used it on assorted birds (from zebra finches to crows and phesants) for the past 19 yrs without a problem, vets even recommend it. I've even used it on my 11 yr old pigeon for his entire life! The great thing about flea powder is that it isn't too toxic. The main ingredient in flea powder that kills insects is diatomacious earth, it clogs the insects trachioles (breathing tubes). If you're still leary about putting poision on yuor birds you can buy straight diatomacious earth from a store (like a community store). Anyways if you bother to look at the back of a "bird spray" you'll find that the amount and type toxins is the same (or more than)the amount found in flea powder. With the sprays they want you to spray the entire bird (which I won't do)I don't let anything get into my babies' faces. Enough of my rant...Pah! Time to get back to work.


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## Birdmom4ever (Jan 14, 2003)

JGregg made a very good point about diatomacious earth. We have a pigeon in our loft (Jacques) who barely survived organophosphate poisoning from ingesting pesticides while he was lost. Because of the ordeal his system is fragile and I don't dare expose him to ANY pesticides, no matter how "safe." I have been using Worm-Out from Pet Medicine Chest (see link below) which is diatomacious earth ground extremely fine for use on birds. My husband was suspicious and worried that D.E. would cause breathing problems. But I've been using this product for months now and have had no problems whatsoever. The best thing is, I've seen far fewer mites and lice on my birds than when I used insecticide spray designed for pigeons. I never did like using insecticides on them. The product is also supposed to kill internal parasites when the birds ingest it. I haven't actually tested this because my pigeons didn't have worms before, but they sure don't have any now, either. 

After seeing firsthand the effects of pesticides on a bird, I've banned them from our home for good. This may seem drastic, but I'd rather live with a few bugs (and do) than harm a human or pet. And everything you use ends up in the environment. Ok, off my soapbox now. 
http://www.petmedicinechest.com/avianchest/featherMitesLice.asp


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## Guest (Oct 28, 2003)

This is valuable information to know. Is anybody cataloging it so we can find it later?


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Great information about the borax! 

I agree that prevention is the key to the control of pests, and my birds rarely have lice or mites because they bathe weekly. I don't use the lice and mite spray hardly at all. I keep it on hand for emergencies.

When someone asks for products to kill lice, I recommended the parakeet spray, as it is the least toxic. I feel if it is an epidemic of lice, or mites, whatever, sometimes you have to get rid of the problem immediately, with spray. But once it's under control you can pretty much prevent a reoccurance, with allowing the birds to bathe, and keeping the coop clean. 

I would not recommend it to anyone with pigeons who have a compromised immune system.

Also, the use of garlic for building their immune system, as well as purifying their blood, has the added bonus of keeping pests away! Treesa


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## maryco (Apr 1, 2002)

Hello,

I never tried Sevin dust.. I don't like things that are toxic/not environmentally friendly so I bought what I thought was best from Siegel pigeon supply store online.
It said it was a natural anti-parasite spray, it works great but I can't read the label because it's german, I made my mom read it though but it doens't say anything about what is inside.

Mary


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## Birdmom4ever (Jan 14, 2003)

I think most of the sprays designed for birds contain perethrin, which is less toxic than other pesticides. For healthy birds, it's probably not a problem. But I always wonder about long term effects. 

I used Worm-Out on the three abandoned pigeons we adopted. They were seriously infested with lice and the product killed the bugs more efficiently than the pigeon spray I'd used before, and without the nasty odor. 

I also allow my pigeons to bathe once a week, usually with pigeon bath salts in the water, sometimes Borax. This really seems to help keep lice and mites away.


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## ernie (May 3, 2003)

"Karen, my pigeons get a bath at least once per week even when the temperature is in the mid 30's. They need to have clean feathers to get the proper insulation from the cold."

You can let them bathe even when it is THAT cold? 
I was kinda wondering about that. I stopped letting them have baths when the temp hit 50's. Yet they still run out into the rain to shower.


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## JGregg (Jul 28, 2003)

And the pesticide in flea powder is perethrin (I think it's about 3%)!


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## ness (Oct 24, 2003)

I am very new to pigeons and was wondering if people can get lice from pigeons or is that a different kind of lice? I know with dogs or cats that fleas will bite humans but not survive for long on them but are pesky and can be challenging to rid them. I don't know anything about deworming or delousing?? pigeons, is there other care that I should know about as well?
Thanks,
ness


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