# Question about Sevin Dust



## tcby3922 (Mar 11, 2009)

Morning everyone,
I'm one of the new ladies on here and have a question. I gave my two Saanen milkers a hair cut yesterday and this morning I noticed they have lice ( I suppose). It's little, bitty, dinky black bugs. It's not fleas. I took a few off and they didn't jump. They were still and then started to slowly move. I've been reading in the archives about treatment and was wondering if the Sevin you all are talking about is the same stuff you use on gardens? Also, I noticed where some used Frontline Spray. Can you get that at any vet? Or TSC? 
I've just had a round with the "snots" in everyone, so have been giving shots off and on all week. If it weren't for my mentor, Will Pearson, I don't know what I would do. He is the one I purchased the Saanen milkers from. I think his place is called "Jug Tavern". Anyways, he doesn't live too far from me and helps out a good bit. I tried to call him this morning but can't reach him. If anyone has any advice, it would be greatly appreciated! 
Also, how do you get those little smiley faces to come down where you are writing? Gosh, I feel soooo dumb.


Tonya
"GRACEFUL ACRES FARM"


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## Sondra (Oct 25, 2007)

Welcome !! first the most important question here :biggrin the smileys you just click on it and it goes on you post. :crazy
yes sevin dust is the veggies stuff and you just dust it on but don't get it in their eyes and nose. I use DE I don't know anything abt the frontline stuff but am guessing you can get it at feed stores or TSC if not the order from Jeffers.


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## tcby3922 (Mar 11, 2009)

What is DE?


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## tcby3922 (Mar 11, 2009)

Hey, it worked! :biggrin


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## VickiLynne (Feb 8, 2008)

Welcome to the board Tonya!

Read Read Read all the great information on this site.

Vicki in NC


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## [email protected] (Sep 18, 2008)

DE is diatomaceous earth. It's a natural pest control. Lots of info if ya google it. I get mine at a nursury/farmer's market type place.

Sevin also makes a liquid (spray). Can this be used also instead of the powder?


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## Sondra (Oct 25, 2007)

I don't have a clue as I only use DE


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## Sheryl (Oct 27, 2007)

I personally wouldn't use Sevin because it is not organic and it does have some posinous parts to it. I wouldn't want my goats to start chewing on an itchy spot and get it in their mouth. But that is just me. I am all about organic as much as possible, except when it comes to wormers and health issues. I think one or two times of dusting with DE should do the trick. Do keep in mind that DE can be drying to the skin. But I have used it lots of times when I have seen or thought my goats had lice. Ivomec wormer given orally does wonders for lice, it just takes a little long to see results in the hair and skin. Just don't use the DE sold at/for pool supply places and pools. It has tiny particals of spun glass for the pool flitration systems and you don't want that on or around your goats. Welcome to the forum. :hi

Sheryl


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## catdance62 (Mar 2, 2009)

i use some kind of lice/flea/tick powder I got at the feed store. It's supposed to be for all kinds of livestock and seems to work well. It also controls red mites in the chicken coop.


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

Lice are like little flies, that lay nits at the end of the hair shaft near the root. Little black or red specks here are mites, like Sandy said. Any kid of dairy cattle stuff can be used on your goats you milk...any kind of dog stuff that you use can be used on goats you don't milk.

Seven is awful for my lungs, I can't use it. We may not be able to find alot of things in our feed stores, but stuff to keep bugs at bay? We could supply the world! Vicki in bug heaven.


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## buckrun (Mar 7, 2008)

Sulfur works great too and cheap and definitely organic.
And no it does not flavor the milk unless you put enough on that it falls into an open bucket. 
If you are milking by hand put the sulfur on as a light dusting after night milking and then brush them in the morning before milking. You can dust their bedding areas with it too because there will be more waiting to crawl up on them. We pull out the old bedding and dust the ground and then rebed. 
If I do this before I bed down the first time in fall we don't have any all winter! 
Lee


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## Sondra (Oct 25, 2007)

Yes that is a good idea Lee I had completely forgotten about sulfur used to use it years and years ago Where do you get yours?


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## buckrun (Mar 7, 2008)

Our feed mill stocks it in 50 pound bags but I think garden centers have it in smaller bags for plants that like acidic soils. 
Lee


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## Sondra (Oct 25, 2007)

AH OK will ck on it.


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## judyvansmith (Apr 2, 2008)

Regular garden Sulfur kills lice ? That would work well in my barn as I clean out my old bedding and compost it to go on my garden.


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## buckrun (Mar 7, 2008)

Yes it does kill lice and basically anything that is a fine enough powder that gets into the pores that they use to breathe with will kill them. You only have to consider what the powder is doing other wise. Ash works-baby powder works-kaolin works-cornstarch is ideal. Any fine powder to clog them up. It does not have to be toxic.
We also compost for the garden and actually compost between the rows and alternate planting back and forth so the compost is always a year old. The sulfur takes a long time to break down but helps with taking compost back from neutral to just a bit acidic which is ok with most plants.

We use sulfur in the inside barn stalls on the floor before bedding as it changes the ph enough to kill bacteria and discourages fly larvae.

One caution with the sulfur- try to be sure that the goats will not get wet while it is next to their skin. It can slightly burn the skin when wet and will cause peeling of the dead skin. This is not serious unless you really cake it on and they get wet. Try using a mitt for powdering- like the ole timey southern belles used to keep around! Or a very fine shaker or an old kitchen sifter. It does not take much at all to rid them of lice and mites. Think less is better- you can always do it again.
Lee


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## judyvansmith (Apr 2, 2008)

Thank you for that info. I did have a good crop of lice early this Spring. I used the Sevin dust and it did work but I prefer to use something nontoxic if I can. Baby powder would be a very nice thing on my buck :lol Freshen him up a bit and get rid of his lice. My lice problem happened before the weather warmed up so I could not bath and shave him.
I have put this info in my goat folder for next Spring. Maybe if I keep the sulfur on the floors each time I change the bedding I will not have trouble with the lice next Spring. They are nasty little things :twisted


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## SALTCREEK_Nubians_Linda (Nov 13, 2007)

Be careful with that sulfur too. I'd wear a dust mask. I've heard it can do lung damage if you breath in the dust.


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## Sondra (Oct 25, 2007)

Coral is a dust for animals


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## Bernice (Apr 2, 2009)

Just don't use Blue Coat. Many yrs ago, 1999, I think, we started showing goats ourselves after our youngest son had gown and gone, I was clipping my does for the NC spring show. Well.....as we all know, something usually goes wrong and with me it did. As I clipped my girls I noticed that under their shaggy Alpine coats something moving. Hmmm.....OK, I am seeing things. Never suspected goats could get lice. Then it moved again and I saw it kinda screw back into the fur. YIKKS! 

Wouldn't it figure, just 2 days before my first show without Josh. I called the vet, he is off for Memorial Day weekend. Had to call around and found a vet. I took one of the girls in and he said it was lice. The RX? Blue Coat. He gave me a can, said to spray it on. Well.......needless to say my girls turned blue. Still to this day I will never live down the, "Blue Smurf Goats" Cured the lice though!

I have had success using Ivomec pour on for lice. Who would have, "Thunk?" 

Will Pearson...now thats a, "Blast from the past!" I will always be indebted to him for bringing me my first, "real" Alpine buck from the Sweet Dreams herd in CA. We drove over Labor Day weekend that yr in Hurricane Dennis on the way back! I also remember the crappy shrimp at the Shooney's Resturant near him too. YIKKS! Will was such a gracious person, really enjoyed meeting him.


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## judyvansmith (Apr 2, 2008)

:rofl What a good story ! I can"t think of anything that would make your goats remembered more than showing them as "Blue Smurf Goats". I think I will pass on the Blue Coat spray. Thanks for that info :yes


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