GUIDE FOR PREPARING SPRAYS 





Amount of product to mix with 5 gallons of water 



Amount of product to mix with 1 gallon of water 



Purchased product 



Lindane, toxaphene, or 

 chlordane 



DDT 



Lindane, toxaphene, or 

 chlordane 



DDT 



Wettable powder: 



20-percent... ... ... ... ... ... 



25-percent 



1 pound 1 ounce 



13 ounces 



Wz ounces 



4% ounces 



2 cupfuls ... 



IVz cupfuls 



% cupful... .. 



V2 cupful 



10 pounds 7 ounces 



8 pounds 6 ounces 



4 pounds 3 ounces 



2 pounds 13 ounces... 



5 quarts 



4 quarts... .. 

 2 quarts... . 

 1V3 quarts 



3% ounces 



2Y2 ounces... .. 



2 pounds 1 ounce. 

 1 pound 11 ounces. 

 13 ounces. 



9 ounces. 



4 cupfuls. 



3 cupfuls. 

 IY2 cupfuls. 

 1 cupful. 



50-percent 



75-percent 



Emulsifiable concentrate: 

 20-percent 



lVs ounces 



1 ounce 



6Y2 tablespoonfuls.... 

 5 tablespoonfuls... 



2% tablespoonfuls 



IY2 tablespoonfuls.... 



25-percent 



50-percent 



75-percent 



HOW TO DETECT THEM 



Fowl ticks are not easily noticed because they 

 hide during the day in the cracks and crevices 

 of poultry nouses and come out only at night to 

 suck blood from poultry. 



Usually you don't know they are around until 

 your flock shows marked symptoms of attack. 



It is easier to discover ticks by looking for 

 masses of them in cracks and rough spots, or 

 under loose pieces of bark or boards about the 

 roosts, than it is to find them on the fowls. You 

 can sometimes see them as small, dark objects 

 attached to the skin of the fowls, but only in 

 their first stage of life. 



Spots of black excrement near cracks where 

 ticks are hiding is another clue to their presence. 



CONTROL METHODS 



Once established in a poultry house, fowl ticks 

 are difficult to control. Removal of fowls from 

 infested areas is not a practicable way to get 

 rid of the ticks, which can live as long as 2 years 

 without feeding. 



Spraying With Insecticides 



A spray containing 0.5 percent of lindane, 

 toxaphene, or chlordane, or 5 percent of DDT, 

 will control fowl ticks. Apply it to roosts and to 

 the interior of poultry houses and coops. .Pay 

 particular attention to cracks, crevices, and 

 rough spots where the ticks may be hiding. 



Make a spray by mixing a wettable powder or 

 an emulsifiable concentrate with water. (An 

 emulsifiable concentrate is preferred if you use 

 DDT.) The chart above shows how to make 

 sprays from wettable powders and emulsifiable 

 concentrates containing varying percentages of 

 insecticide. 



The amount of spray that you will need de- 

 pends on the size of the poultry house. Thorough 

 coverage with the spray is essential. Repeated 

 treatments may be necessary. 



A small power sprayer is the most effective 

 device for applying sprays. You may use a 

 garden-type compressed-air sprayer ; but if you 

 are applying a wettable-powder spray, agitate 

 the liquid frequently to keep the powder in 

 suspension in the spray mixture. 



Creosote oil, anthracene oils (also known as 

 carbolineums), and crude oil are also effective 

 against fowl ticks when sprayed into their hid- 

 ing places. 



Sanitation and Management Practices 



Use roosts and nests of the knock-down type 

 for easier cleaning and spraying. 



Eliminate hiding places of ticks by removing 

 loose boards and rubbish. 



Do not permit fowls to roost in trees, livestock 

 sheds, and similar unsuitable places. 'Provide a 

 modern, well-ventilated poultry house and keep 

 it clean. 



PRECAUTIONS 



Most insecticides are poisonous to people and to 

 animals. Handle insecticides with care. 



Label insecticide containers and store them where 

 children, pets, and livestock cannot reach them. 



Wash off any insecticide material spilled on the skin. 



Do not contaminate feed and water troughs with 

 insecticide. 



Do not use insecticides in greater strengths than those 

 recommended. 



Insecticides recommended for spraying the interior of 

 poultry houses may be harmful if applied to the fowls. 

 Do not spray fowls with one of those insecticides or dip 

 them in it. 



This leaflet was prepared by the Entomology 

 Research Branch, Agricultural Research Serv- 

 ice. It supersedes Farmers' Bulletin 1070, The 

 Fowl Tick and How Premises May Be Freed 

 From It. 



Washington, D. C. 



Issued February 1955 



For aale by the Superintendent of Documents, U. S. Government 

 Printing Office, Washington 25, D. C. — Price 5 cents. 



