# lice on feeder mice breeders



## xdow (Mar 26, 2010)

first post, so hi! lol

question i have is, is there any safe products i can use to treat my breeder mice so they can still produce young for my, and my friends, snake feed?

got them out the other day to clean them out & found them with blummin lice crawling on 'em

i have a bottle of johnsons stuff from when my guinea pigs had lice the other year
i also have ivermectin drops

i know ivermectin can't really be used on animals that are going to be used for foodstuffs

and permethrin in the Johnsons i'm not so sure about

the mice i have at the moment won't be going for food though, if that would make a difference?
just the young they produce which would be raised on and knocked on the head when they got big enough for the snakes

not had any off them yet as they're only young hoppers
am i likely to have to treat them, give them away and get new stock to be sure?


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## Shiver (Apr 6, 2009)

*Solution - cure and prevention !*

I use this stuff.. Available on Ebay..

*Hot Shot Prod No Pest Strip
*









​

*Description: Kills flying and crawling insects with penetrating odorless vapor. One unit will treat a 12ft x 12ft room with 8ft ceiling for up to 4 months. Hang or stand up in basements, attics, garages, and storage areas. Not for use in areas of the home where people will be present for extended periods of time. Great for keeping insects out of boats, rv s and cabins when not in use. 

Ingredients:18.6% Dichlorvos. 1.4% Related Compounds. *​


Down side is.... product can not be brought in the uk.....
Apparently the chemical ingredient in these cannot be sold in the uk as prolonged useage can?? cause cancer..... So can ciggarettes but we're all allowed to by these... So its online from the states..


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## oakelm (Jan 14, 2009)

Are you sure they are lice and not mites?
Lice being larger and harder to get rid off, you often need to go for the invermectin treatment if it is lice but then not use any of the treated rodents for food stuff for at least 4 weeks as this is how long it is said to be effective for. And you can get the spot on designed for small animals made by beaphar, this is the one Beaphar Anti-Parasite Spot-On Hamsters Gerbils & Mice on eBay (end time 05-Apr-10 22:03:58 BST) 

But if it is mites which are more common then a super cheap and old fashioned way to get rid of the little blitters is tea tree oil. Just put some in a spray bottle diluted with water and go mad with it, of course clean and disinfect the tubs too. If you are using hay as bedding this is often where they come in from.

EDIT - Just read the adults are not going to be used as food just the offspring, I would go for the beaphar spot on option then to cover all bases, treatment didnt seem to have an effect on production of my lot when I got mites on my mice a couple of summers ago. No snakes suffered any ill effects either from eating the rodents and offspring, but I did wait a few weeks before using them.


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## xdow (Mar 26, 2010)

yeah, they're lice, with having kept guinea pigs for a good 5 years now they're easy to spot and the hay is a very common vector for the damned things

as for the mice, they were in a self built wooden box on shavings, but i've trashed that now, bought different shavings and they're in a bucket until i can clear them and sort out another tub for them

i've got ivermectin in all the time because of the guineas so i'll give that a go

we've had not litters off the mice as of yet (only had them a couple of weeks)so there's no real chance of feeding any before whatever i use will have passed through them, which is a plus
plenty in the freezer to use up first 

many thanks for the reply


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