CHAPTER VIII 

 ENEMIES OF THE SQUAB PLANT 



LICE, MITES AND OTHER VERMIN 



The same lice or mites that get on chickens will also bother 

 pigeons. Then there is a pigeon louse and a feather louse, but 

 if pigeons are kept in a clean place, that is whitewashed two 

 or three times a year, and tobacco stems are used for nesting 

 material they will not be bothered by lice or vermin of any kind. 

 Whitewash and lime is not only a good preventative, but it will 

 destroy the lice if the house and nest are sprayed with it. 



The feather louse as a rule is harmless and does not bother 

 the birds except certain times of the year. 



Mites that get in the nest and on the eggs and young ones are 

 probably the most destructive and birds are apt to be bothered 

 with mites some time before detecting it for the reason that 

 you cannot see them on the old birds like lice, but if you examine 

 your squabs you can find the mites under their wings and, as 

 a rule, on the side of the head. 



If mites are discovered on small squabs the best thing to do 

 is to change the nests, sprinkle the squabs with Lambert's Death 

 to Lice or Persian Insect Powder. The former, however, is much 

 more economical and just as effective. It can be obtained from 

 almost any drug store. Dip your nest bottoms in crude oil and 

 all vermin will stay out of the nests for a year or more. 



A good plan is to put a small amount of crude carbolic acid 

 and a small amount of crude petroleum into the whitewash 

 before using. By sprinkling dry lime on the floor of the nest 

 room the birds will fly from place to place, scatter the lime all 

 over the room, in fact, every little crevice will be filled with 

 lime dust. Air slacked lime is the best to use, as it will not 

 burn the pigeons' feet if they get it on them and then get their 

 feet wet in any way. Yet it is just as strong and powerful as the 

 other kind. 



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