# Recurring Pigeon Lice



## PidgieEv (Jun 27, 2018)

I am looking for advice on getting rid of pigeon lice for good. Here's the story - Iggy showed up last September on my doorstep hungry and thirsty and wanting to come in. No tags, but obviously a pet.

Exactly two weeks after he arrived (we had him in quarantine in the garage) he developed LICE!

After several vet visits and experimenting with oral Ivermectin and 8-in-1 Mite and Lice Spray, they seemed to have gone. The vet checked him over and did not see anything on him, nor did we. This was in January.

In the midst of his treatment, it became too cold (in my opinion) for him to remain outside and we brought him in the house and set him up in a completely clean and different cage.

I thought we did a pretty good job of de-lousing his environment. We spent the next couple of months getting to know each other and getting used to handling him without having to give medicine or other treatments. He seemed fine.

Then one day in the spring (sometime in March or April) I decided to turn him over on his back just to double-check him. And I saw two lice! Where in the world did they come from?

So, I began treating with the lice spray once a week again as I still had some on hand. I treated the cage as well. 

The last two weeks we found 0 lice, but treated anyway just-in-case. We checked him yesterday expecting to find nothing, but there were a whole bunch of them on his wings all of a sudden!

I'm hoping to avoid another vet visit, but I think I'll have to take him in. This is really "bugging" me! (pun intended).

Does anyone out there have any advice after reading my tale of woe?


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## bootface (Jun 29, 2017)

Are you sure they’re lice and not mites? Lice live on the bird for their entire life cycle, so if you don’t have any other birds you’ve never removed all the lice. It’s possible they’ve evolved immunity to the pesticide you’re using. You’ll need to use a different product. I’ve always used a permethrin based dust. 

If they’re mites they live in the environment.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Either a permethrin dust or Sevin garden dust 5% works great. You can use a couple of cotton balls or powder puff to powder well under the wings and tail, then get the back and stomach, but keep it out of his face.


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## PidgieEv (Jun 27, 2018)

Thank you both for the replies! Yes, I'm fairly certain it's lice. They are long, skinny brownish things that I see mainly on the wings.

I will give the sevin dust a try. I also have posted my question on a Facebook page relating to pigeons, and was told about an organic pesticide for birds called KG Pet Spray.

Someone else had suggested a somewhat strongly brewed chamomile tea to spray or wipe on the bird. I'm curious what you think about that as a remedy?


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

The Sevin or Permethrin dust always works for me, so haven't had to try other things. If they didn't work, then I would use Permectrin II as a dip or spray.


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