by Susan S. Flaherty

Created on: June 09, 2009   Last Updated: June 11, 2009

One of the most affordable and effective treatments for mites and other creepy crawlies pestering your chickens is carbaryl dust, commonly sold as SevinTM Dust in the United States. It is available in garden and feed stores in varying concentrations. A solution that is comprised of 5% active ingredients (often labeled Sevin-5) is generally recommended for animal care.

Carbaryl is a wide-spectrum carbonate insecticide that controls over 100 species of insects on citrus, fruit, cotton, forests, lawns, nuts, ornamentals, shade trees, and other crops, as well as on poultry, livestock, and pets. It is also used as a molluscicide and an acaricide. Carbaryl works whether it is ingested into the stomach of the pest or absorbed through direct contact. It is available as bait, dusts, wettable powders, granules, dispersions and suspensions.

In most countries, including the United States, carbaryl may be applied directly to poultry to control fowl mites, chicken mites, lice and fleas. It is believed to be safe for poultry and other animals. According to the World Health Organization, hens fed carbaryl at 500 parts per million for 36 weeks, no effects on hens or progeny were observed, except a slight weight loss and growth depression. Administration of carbaryl to male leghorns resulted in no effect on reproduction. Similarly, carbaryl is virtually non-toxic to wild birds, according to the USDA funded Extension Toxicology Network (http://extoxnet.orst.edu/). However, carbaryl is highly toxic to many insects, including bees and other beneficial insects.

In the United States, five percent carbaryl dust may be applied at the rate of 500 grams per 199 birds. It may be used in dust baths at the rate of one kilogram per dust box for every fifty birds. There is a seven day interval between the last application and day of slaughter.

Many people recommend treating infected birds at night, when they are calmer and will allow the carbaryl dust to remain on their skin longer. Using a small shaker or your hands, cover each chicken lightly with the dust, working the powder down to the bird's skin. Carbaryl is moderately toxic to humans, so be sure to wear a dust mask, safety goggles and gloves to limit your exposure to the chemical. If you notice that in a week or so mites remain on your chickens, you may retreat.

You may also want to treat feed and shelter areas occasionally with carbaryl dust. Simply follow label instructions and poultry pests should become a thing of the past.

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