How to Get Rid of Chicken Mites and Lice – Naturally
Reading Time: 3 minutes
Chicken mites and lice are some of the worst pests you’ll ever come into contact with while poultry keeping. For years, people told me that there was no natural way to prevent or treat chicken mites and lice, but as an herbalist, I knew this just wasn’t true. I’ve put together a tried-and-true natural treatment that I’ve been using for years for how to get rid of chicken mites and lice. With just a few simple ingredients, you can prevent these creepy crawlies from happening. Or, you can treat an infestation within just a few weeks.
My chicken mite treatment spray works great on lice as well. But there are a few key things you should do as soon as you notice a mite or lice outbreak. The key to staying on top of external chicken parasites is consistency. If you don’t stay diligent about treating the chickens, the parasites will end up ruling the roost.
Here are some things to do when you see the first sign of mites of lice:
- Clean out the coop thoroughly, then spray down every part of the coop with the chicken mite spray. You may have to make a couple of bottles for this process.
- Douse each chicken with cooled wood ash directly on the skin to help kill any mites or lice currently on them. If you cannot do this, you can add wood ash to their dust bathing area. Once you get the mites and lice off of them, now you’re just treating any scavengers and their eggs. Diatomaceous earth (food grade) also works. Either way, wear a mask if you’re concerned about particles from dust getting into your lungs.
- That evening, directly spray the chicken mite spray onto the skin of the chicken. Concentrate on the neck, under the wings, and the vent area (again, directly on the skin). The spray will deter the mites and kill them as well. It’s best to spray down the chicken roosts as well.
- Spray your chickens every day for at least two weeks. After two weeks, you can spray them every other day for at least three more weeks. Continue adding wood ash to their bathing area when necessary. After six full weeks of treatment, you should be mite-free!
- I tend to leave bedding out of the coop for at least the first month if possible, so mites don’t live in the bedding before the chickens are efficiently treated. There’s nothing worse than getting rid of the mites on your chickens, only to find they are living in your coop bedding! Make sure you’re spraying down the roosts each day as well.
CHICKEN MITE TREATMENT SPRAY
- 25 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed (or 1 oz garlic extract)
- 45 drops eucalyptus essential oil
- 30 drops lavender essential oil
- 30 drops peppermint essential oil
- 20 drops cinnamon bark essential oil
- 2 tbs white vinegar or witch hazel (unless using garlic extract)
- Water
The essential oils are really optional, but they do maximize the efficiency of this spray.
Method:
- In a 16 oz. glass spray bottle, combine garlic (or extract) and essential oils. If using smashed garlic, allow it to sit for several hours before using.
- If using garlic extract, do not use white vinegar. Fill the rest of the bottle up with water ¾ of the way full. If using smashed garlic, add vinegar.
- Shake the bottle well before each spray. Spray directly on the skin of the chicken, concentrating only on the neck, the vent area, and the top of the tail where the oil gland is. I also spray their feet and the roosting bar base so that when they lay back down on their feet and roost, the mixture gets onto their bellies. Do this treatment at night after they’ve gone to roost.
- Continue this treatment for two weeks, then twice a week for two weeks, to rid your chickens of mites. You can continue to dust your chickens with wood ash once a week, but it may not be necessary.
This spray has worked wonders for many people, myself included. There’s a reason it’s one of the most popular sprays when it comes to chickens. It’s easy to make, versatile, and effective for how to get rid of chicken mites and lice!
RESOURCES:
Topical Application of Garlic Reduces Northern Fowl
Mite Infestation in Laying Hens1
G. P. Birrenkott, G. E. Brockenfelt, J. A. Greer, and M. D. Owens
Department of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina 29634-0361
https://goo.gl/uD9C5w
Organic parasite control for poultry and rabbits in British Columbia, Canada (essential oils)
Cheryl Lans and Nancy Turner
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3143080/
Originally published in the 2021 special issue of Backyard Poultry — A Natural and Sustainable Flock — and regularly vetted for accuracy.
Oh! Thank you so much.The internet is difficult to navigate, I ask the HOLY SPIRIT to lead guide and direct me and I found your page. It’s perfect, I even have most of the oils and all of the garlic. Score! Will mix and use tomorrow. Thanks again! I do have a sick chick question… 1 chick 2 weeks old has runny stools and a swollen abdomen, feels like a water balloon. How can I help it?
All great sound advice has been given, all but one fact, Bread my friend of a feather. Bread is the easiest source of calcium and your egg production, along with extremely strong shells, will intensify upon feeding it to them daily! No joke, man in moderation of course but I absolutely seen this happen for seven of us when we switched to bread as our main source of calcium they still get other nutrients/nutrition yet none of it had the results that bread has upon feeding it day to day and there are plenty of cheap bread stores and you can also freeze it until you use it!! Plus we all know they love bread LOL
The Egg yolks from the adult chickens will heal them no hard foods also u can grind there shell up to a fine powder as well for the best calcium they could have makes there eggs strong too. are a cure all for
Hello I’m new. I am reading you recipe for the mite spray. Do you mean to mix all of these oil together, including the garlic essentials oil , and then add water? Is that correct? Are these food grade oils? I’m not very knowledgeable with the oils. Can you still add apple cider to the water?
HEY
Who’s gonna run around trying to catch a bunch of flighty chickens that definitely don’t wanna be caught ????
All these concoctions to aid in elimination of chicken mites and lice require holding down a nervous screaming hen to apply these sprays. Multiple times on these bottles of chicken insecticide tells how highly toxic they are and DON’T GET ANY ON YOU !!!! .
So while wearing a full hazmat outfit in 110 degree temperature with humidity so thick you can’t breath. How in the world is this process even going to benefit my flock of 18 birds ?
I know….I know, catch them in the evening once there in the coop perched for the night.
HECK NO !!!!
In the evening I go check on my flock . Make sure there all in the coop and the main door is securely closed. That’s it !!! I just wanna get back into the house and call it a night. Not chase chickens all night trying to spray them with highly toxic chemicals that may kill me before the mites and lice….
There has gotta be an answer to treatment of our birds without trying to catch them and hold them down. There just not all that friendly chickens anyways.
Breathe dude, breathe It doesn’t matter their attitude, what matters is their attitude in the dark. Birds in general,, no matter the species, are very different in sleep compared to awake, Absolutely!(the main reason you NEED to have a Coop in my opinion..ie keep them safe while they do their weird sleep zombie crap it’s actually kind of freaky). Equipped with a hands-free red lamp strapped to my head, I can easily go from bird to bird simply spraying the areas mentioned above. If you are afraid of them hollering out you can have a small pillowcase or sheet in one hand and grab them firmly but gently by the head keeping their beak shut at the same time grabbing the body. It doesn’t matter if they holler out lil’ bit cuz surprisingly, chickens won’t run even if they’re sleeping buddy is being devoured beside them it’s like they turn to complete buffoons at night! In the daylight they’d NOT stand idly by, they’d run or they’d fight! Remember how they put the mask over a Hawke’s head? Well that’s to keep them calm & quiet on trip or voyage or before they hunt. Anyway maybe there’s something easier for you like a handheld duster and of course a dusting box with the said materials needed to kill the lights……
My experience is closer to Chuck’s than the zombie hens described by Myssi. If I go in the coop at night they alert and move. Are they easier to catch? Yes. But easy to catch? No.
Direct application is almost impossible on 4 of my 7. The other three are only slightly better. I’ve had to resort to treating whatever they’re going through via edibles (garlic and oregano regularly) and things I can do to their environment like dusting, spray. It’s also a practice in acceptance. I do the best I can.
I have discovered a very simple way of getting mites and lice to leave your chickens alone. Add 1tbsp of Flowers of Sulphur to their mash per 12 birds, and within a few days they are completely free of bugs. There’s no egg withhold and it does not make your eggs taste funny.
I recommend a thorough treatment of their coop to prevent reinfestation.