Fire Ants and darkling beetles have emerged as major pest problems in the Texas poultry industry, according to poultry operators surveyed in 1996. The survey found that about half of the market broiler producers reported economic losses from fire ants, and 40 percent of poultry producers reported losses from darkling beetles.
Under Texas' Pesticide Law, certain pesticides are restricted and can be purchased and used only by pesticide applicators and public operators who are licensed by the Texas Department of Agriculture.
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a system approach that combines a variety of livestock
production practices using both biological and chemical control methods. External and internal arthropod parasites of livestock and poultry are a constant menace. These pests lower the quality of animal products (hides, hair, wool) by physical feeding damage; reduce meat, milk and egg production by sucking blood from animals; transmit diseases; and cause energy loss. Suggested pesticides will aid in control of the major parasites where insecticide resistance has not developed. A special section addresses the management of insecticide-resistant pests.
Mite infestations on poultry vary from a nuisance to causing death depending on the severity of infestation. These ectoparasites reduce production of laying hens and cause decreased feed intake and weight loss. Other visible indications of mite infestations may include dirty feathers, scabs and pinkish combs. Any signs of mites on a show bird will usually result in disqualification by the judge.
Intestinal parasites (worms) are very common in chickens in the backyard type poultry flocks. The presence of a few parasites do not usually cause a problem. However, large numbers can have a devastating effect on growth, egg production, and over-all health. The concentration of parasite eggs in the chickens environment is one factor which plays a major role in determining the severity of the infection. The chickens pick up the parasite eggs directly by ingesting contaminated feed, water, or litter or by eating snails, earthworms, or other insects (intermediate hosts) which can carry the eggs.
Continuous external parasites spend all of their adult life on the host, in contrast to temporary parasites which feed on the host but don't live on the host.
In this fact sheet, we describe three intermittent external parasites: fowl ticks, chicken mites, and bed bugs. Although different in size, these pests are very similar in many other respects. All are blood feeders, and all but the larval stage of the fowl tick stay on the host briefly to feed. After feeding, they leave the host and conceal themselves in the floors and walls of the housing near to or some distance from the host. All are considered rare, at least in Florida, and all are nocturnal feeders.
Nematodes or roundworms are the most important group of helminth parasites of poultry. This is due to the large number of parasitic species (23) that cause damage to the host, especially in severe infections. Roundworms are elongated, cylindrical and unsegmented. They are covered with a tough, noncellular layer called the cuticle. Roundworms have a well-developed alimentary tract. Most roundworms are bisexual; that is, a single worm is both male and female.
A number of arthropod pests attack poultry in Mississippi by either sucking blood or by feeding on the skin, feathers, or scales on the skin. Mites and lice are the most destructive external parasites of the state's poultry. Occasionally other pests such as fleas, ticks, and bedbugs infest poultry and cause problems.
