182 PRACTICAL POULTRY PRODUCTION 



runs, especially an earth floor in the poultry house or the 

 ground beneath the poultry house, when the floor is raised 

 above the ground, with a solution of salt and water. This 

 keeps the ground moist and prevents the fleas from breeding. 

 POULTRY TICKS, OR BLUE BUGS 

 These insect pests are likewise common in some of the 

 southwestern and southern states and are extremely harm- 

 ful to poultry and pigeons. The habits of these insects are 

 much the same as those of red, or gray mites, as the adult 

 insect feeds on the body of the birds at night and during 



the day hides in the 

 cracks and crevices 

 of the house. 



The eggs of the 

 blue bug are laid in 

 the cracks and crevi- 

 ces of the poultry 

 house and after 

 hatching the young 

 bugs crawl out and 



Figure 182.— Blue Bug. (Greatly enlarged.) attach themSclveS tO 



the fowl where they remain until they become full of blood. 

 They then drop off and develop to adult size, after which 

 they attack the fowls only at night, spending the day in 

 the cracks and other hiding places about the house. "Blue 

 bugs" are about the size of a bed bug and are much more 

 harmful and more difficult to kill than either lice or mites. 



Remedy. Various means may be employed in the 

 extermination of this pest. 



Change of quarters. When the poultry house or coops 

 become infested, move the birds to other quarters for a 

 week or ten days. During this period the young bugs on 

 the birds become filled with blood and fall off. The fowls 

 should then be returned to their former house. 



