338 INSECTS AFFECTING STOCK AND POULTRY 



the mites congregate under the ends of the roosts, and in cracks 

 and crevices near the roosts. Feeding is done entirely at night, 

 and one infested bird may be the cause of the pest spreading 

 through the entire poultry yard. The inside of the house should 

 be regularly sprayed with crude petroleum, kerosene emulsion, 

 pure kerosene, or some tobacco extract. Since the eggs laid in 

 crevices and cracks may not be reached by the spray, a second 

 spraying should be given a week after the first, in order to catch 



Fio. 341. Chicken scab on head of fowl. (Lugger.) 



the young lice that hatch from the same. Hundreds of these 

 mites (Fig. 343), congregated on the under side of roosts may be 

 burned in the daytime by passing the flame from a lighted paper 

 rapidly from one end of the roost to the other. Or brush the roosts 

 with a liberal application of crude oil. Occasional whitewashing 

 of the interior of the house is another help. 



Feather Lice of Fowls. There are a number of " biting-lice "- 

 not true lice, which belong to an order of insects known as Mallo- 

 phaga. Different forms of these occur not only on chickens, 



