Blood lice in horses? Is it possile?

Irritating, not dangerous for horses

In case of a severe blood lice infestation, blood lice may also spread to the horses. Usually this is only the case when both species are stabled together and the chickens spend a lot of time with the horses. It can then indeed happen that the blood lice also end up on the horses.

There are horses that are not affected at all, but there are also horses that get itchy or bumps. But blood lice need bird blood to reproduce, if blood lice suck blood from horses then this is irritating for the horse but the blood louse cannot lay new eggs from this blood. The blood louse will then still seek blood from chickens or birds. So blood lice are not dangerous for horses, but they can cause irritation. It is therefore important to take measures, because blood lice are an irritation to both chickens and horses.

How do I remove blood lice from horses?

To prevent blood lice in horses, it is important to house chickens and horses separately as much as possible. But also be critical of bird nests, as wild birds are also a source of blood lice infestation! Should there still be blood lice on the horses, it is important to treat especially the chickens and remove the source of infection there. Place the chicken coop further away from the horse stable and then treat the chicken coop. You do this by: Start treating the chickens themselves as soon as possible by putting an herbal supplement through the feed and drinking water. This will ensure that the adult blood lice sucking blood from the chickens are reached.

Next, screw as many parts into the chicken coop as possible and go through all the cracks and seams with a weed or créme brûlee torch. Then spray the chicken coop out well with a high-pressure sprayer. Spray the chicken coop with silica spray when the coop is dry and repeat every two to three weeks. Check for bird nests in or around the horse stalls. To be safe, give the stables a thorough cleaning with the pressure washer.

You will find that once the blood lice in the chickens (or birds) are under control, the problem in the horses will soon be gone as well. However, you can give the horses extra support by giving liquid nettle. This gives the horse a resistance boost and has a blood-purifying function that makes itching go away faster. You can possibly give horses a supplement that also works against mites to support against the blood lice and any other mites. Should the horse have scouring spots, spray them with a coat spray (same as pen spray) or possibly a skin spray based on effective microorganisms.

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