PARASITIC INSECTS AND MITES 



241 



remedy. The absorption of a small amount of this drug does the 

 animal no harm, hut a larger quantity may salivate it. 



Sheep are treated hy dipping in a water solution of a reliahlc 

 coal tar disinfectant. This should not he practised during cold 

 weather, as the fleece does not dry out. Insect powder may he 

 dusted into the fleece when it is impossible to dip the animal. 



A very satisfactory treatment for lousiness in dogs and cats 

 is to wash them with earholized soap. We should wait a few 

 minutes before rinsing oft" the soapy lather and drying the coat. 



A number of different remedies are used for the treatment 

 of lousiness in poultry. Dust 

 baths and insect powder are 

 recommended. Ointments are 

 commonly used. One part sul- 

 fur and four parts vaseline, or 

 lard, may be made into an oint- 

 ment and applied to the head, 

 neck, under the wings and 

 around the vent. ^lercurial 

 ointment may be applied to the 

 margin of the vent. Xeither 

 of them should he used for de- 

 stroying lice on young chicks. Mercurial ointment should be 

 used very carefully because of its poisonous eft'ect. Lard may 

 be used for destroying lice on young chicks. Crude petroleum 

 may be sprayed among the feathers by a hand-sprayer, while 

 the fowls are suspended by the feet. 



Xone of the disinfectants and oils recommended for dipping 

 and washing lousy animals destroy the nits. This makes it 

 necessary to re-treat the animal in from eight to ten days after 

 the first treatment. 



The Sheep-tick. — This is not a true tick. It resembles a fiy 

 more than it does a tick, and its right name is Melophagus 

 ovinus (Fig. 66). Louse-fly is a better name for this parasite 

 16 



Fig. C6. — Sheep-tick. 



