Jump to content
Fly Tying
Sign in to follow this  
eandlfishing

Killing Lice on Birds

Recommended Posts

My experience when I was raising chickens is that once dead and cold they (in my case, mites, I believe) will leave and look for something warm (e.g., you). So, I killed them and just set them outside for a bit before I skinned them.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Bird lice typically don't want to infest mammals (you). Dusting the skins with borax for a few days then shaking out the excess has always worked for me. I've only ever seen a few bird lice on bigger birds such as turkeys and grouse.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I have not tried this yet, but was thinking of washing using flea and tick shampoo that I have for my dog. Soon the gray squirrels will be dead on the road and I wanted to get a roadkill tail or two to dye. I need to wash with soap before using the dye anyways so thought this might be the way to go. I believe the active ingredients are deadly to insects in general, so should get lice and any other bug also . Then you could go to drying/storing with Borax.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

you guys are making it way too complicated. on hundreds of squirrels I have never seen anything on their tails.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Since I need to wash them in a soap before dying anyways, how complicated is it to pick up one bottle rather than another? Even if I freeze it I will still have to wash with soap.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

You may know that the squirrels where you live have no problems. Where I live we have periodic outbreaks of plague in squirrels (carried by the fleas found on them). It is usually during a series of drought years and is more common in ground dwelling squirrels than tree squirrels but why chance it over tail?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

For live chickens, food grade diatomasceous earth works on their bedding, bodies, nest boxes even in the food at 2% as a wormer. Kills nearly all tiny critters, ants, spiders, lice, mites, ticks etc.

I dust my drawers with a small amount before storing materials and it keeps moths and critters out the draws as it kills them.

But I do agree, a lot of invertebrates will crawl off a dead animal in search of blood

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I'll tell you this. I asked John McLain of feathersmc.com the same question. Now this guy has Indian crow, Blue Chatterrer, Quetzal, Bustard, all the super expensive stuff. He told me to store in plastic containers with a 1" section of a No-Pest-Strip. Rip open the No-Pest-Strip, take out the yellow strip, cut into pieces, and throw a piece in your container. If he depends on it to protect his expensive feathers, thats good enough for me.

 

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Raising hackle birds can be alot of fun but very frustrating as you are finding out with the lice. There is a product out on the market called " Seven Dust"
It is used for killing afids on rose bushes. I've used it for years and have great success and it does not hurt your birds. It's alot cheaper then the lice and mite bug dust you get from the Vet's office. Lice and mites can take a lot of the energy out of your birds, so when they get infested, through in a little extra vitamins and electrolites into their water. It'll help bring them back faster. Good Luck

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I have been using a spray called "Mite & Lice Bird & Cage Spray" by Four Paws (most pet shops) on all of my feather and hair collection for years The Pyrethrins in it that kill some bugs and drive almost all others away will last about 6 months or up to a year on stuff that is stored well sealed and seldom used. I keep each skin in it's own sealed zip-lock and store those bags in a box with several moth balls. This seams to keep most of the moth-ball smell out and has kept out everything crawling so far.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I have not tried this yet, but was thinking of washing using flea and tick shampoo that I have for my dog. Soon the gray squirrels will be dead on the road and I wanted to get a roadkill tail or two to dye. I need to wash with soap before using the dye anyways so thought this might be the way to go. I believe the active ingredients are deadly to insects in general, so should get lice and any other bug also . Then you could go to drying/storing with Borax.

I have used that for years with all my salvaged road kill. As you said, the skin needs to be washed anyway.

 

After washing, thoroughly, with dog shampoo, I soak the skins in a borax solution for a couple of day, and then, usually, tan them.

 

After tanning, I store them in plastic bins with chunks of No Pest Strips. No point in taking chances when prevention is so cheap.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
Sign in to follow this  

×
×
  • Create New...