Frontline for mites

[John W Blehm]

Frontline is the best product I've found to rid chickens of mites.  You can buy it many places, but Peter Brown of First State Veterinary Supply was the first to tell me about it so I bought from him.  He even included directions for use on chickens and may still do that.  He offers it in both 8 and 17 oz bottles.

[Mike Gilbert]

John, is it true Frontline can cause sterility in males if you get in their vents?

[Beth Curran]

I don't use it in the vent, but I'll admit I'm not particularly careful spraying mine and I haven't noticed any fertility issues. I've heard some people say they have gone to the little packets (a few drops per bird) instead of the spray, particularly the generic Wal-Mart sells. I haven't tried it, but it has some appeal, considering I bought a big bottle of the spray and I didn't notice it on it's side until it had all leaked out...

[Mike Gilbert]

A month or two ago I did buy a can of spray at Walmart, but have not used it yet.   The active ingredient is Fipronil (0.29%).   Is that the same concentration as the Frontline product?    I remember when I bought it thinking that the ivermectin products had to be more economical.   The thing with ivermectin is you need to do the entire flock at the same time, or the mites come back.   I did that last fall and don't remember seeing a mite since.

[Stan Alder]

I've been using Ivomac pour on twice a year...would Frontline be a good, full spectrum product to alternate with??

[Lee G]

I've had good results alternating between Frontline, ivermectin and Safeguard. 

[Denise Baker]

And it's safe to process the chicken and eat it?

[Mike Gilbert]

There is a waiting period after using ivermectin - can't recall offhand the number of days, but the containers are labeled.   Don't know about the others.

[Lee G]

I skin all my birds too. Makes processing much easier…and faster!

As for safety...ivermectin and Safeguard are both broad spectrum dewormers used in livestock industry, and have appropriate slaughter wait times to be followed. Frontline is the first (and only medication) I've found that will totally decimate northern fowl mite. Ivermectin would set the population back, but never completely eradicate it. So I consider Frontline the big guns, and a welcome addition to my arsenal. I do restrict its use to my breeding birds though, and only if absolutely necessary at certain times of the year.

I like John's 21 day rule. Good for switching out cock birds too! 

[Tailfeathers]

Some may remember that I previously posted about a mite infestation that I fought for over 3yrs after having one of my best Buckeyes die.  I had never had a bug on my place and evidently brought some home from a show.  Saw "Bucky" looking a little punky and taking on a wet look to him.  Told him to hang on another day until I could take him in, bathe him, look him over good, and try to figure out what was wrong.  He was dead the next day.  Less than a week after bring him home from the show.  Then one of the girls started showing the same signs so I immediately took her in that night and I am not kidding when I say she was literally infested with them.  Thousands and thousands. 

That started me on a 3yr ordeal where I tried Ivermectin Eprinex, Permethrins, Pyrethrins, other Spidercides, weekly episodes of dunking the birds in DE, and all to no avail.  Sometimes in dosages way over the recommended.  I'd knock the population down only to have it explode again.   And I am absolutely convinced that those mites developed a resistance to
each of those.

Then I stumbled across a post while Googling one night.  It was from some kind of Scientist or something and he was talking about Fipronil - the active ingredient in Frontline.  He was answering someone's concern about being poisoned by it from the chickens.  He actually broke down the dosage into percentages that would be ingested by a human if they ate the bird or eggs and basically showed that it's a non-issue.

So I went down to Walmart and bought some ProNyl.  Same exact stuff as Frontline but about $20 cheaper.  Got the biggest dose for the 135+ lb dogs.  Took a few hours and treated the whole flock (over 100 birds) one night with 3-4 drops of it by the vent and I might've put a drop or two on the back of the neck.  Don't remember for sure about that.  Anyways, the next night I went out and saw very few mites.  By the third night I saw no mites!  And I ain't had one on the place since.  That was back in 2012 I think.  Contrast that with watching the stupid bugs swim around and laugh at me in the aforementioned above.  Needless to day, I know what I'll turn to should I ever see another mite.

[Beth Curran]

I remember that. I had an infestation around the same time, and I had dusted my birds on a regular basis, so when they started dying it was a shock - they were literally crawling with mites. I dusted them again and the next day the mites were crawling around in it like it was cool. I read about the Frontline, and also Absorbine Ultrashield EX, which I use on my horse. I hit them with both, repeated in a week, then once a month for a while and, knock on wood, I haven't seen them again, either. But I still put it on them spring & fall as a precaution.