# Fleas on goats



## chrisarvor (Jul 6, 2017)

Help please 
this week we have found flea bites on our body,my wife an i,,
I have goats  but these black fleas are something i have never heard of or seen before 

Could they have come in on some Lucerne???
But i am now stripping off my clothes before coming back into the house,,not a pretty sight for the neighbors 
Dont have cats or dogs just  10 goats and 3 sheep 

i have ordered some stuff they use on dogs pestigon to try but need help please


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## Southern by choice (Jul 6, 2017)

Unusual for goats to have fleas. Lice would be more likely... either way do you see them on the goats and sheep?
Any of these can be found at your feedstore
~Permethrins 10% 
~Cylence
~Sevin Dust

Treat bedding areas with Diatomaceous Earth


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## Baymule (Jul 7, 2017)

Fleas? I hate fleas!


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## Wehner Homestead (Mar 10, 2018)

Southern by choice said:


> Unusual for goats to have fleas. Lice would be more likely... either way do you see them on the goats and sheep?
> Any of these can be found at your feedstore
> ~Permethrins 10%
> ~Cylence
> ...




I think my goats have lice. Looks very similar to a tiny flea, not see through like a human louse. Could be due to feeding though. About 1/4 size of pin head. Tried to get a pic but too small to see any detail. 

Goat signs are stomping erratically and we’ve noticed some scratching. There’s also some hair that’s been rubbed off where the ears connect to the head on two does. 

Are all of these treatments safe on pregnant and/or lactating does in your experience? Also, am I on the correct path of treatment based on my description? 

Note: I did check the dogs for fleas (no itching but wanted to check) and no evidence of fleas on any of the dogs. 

Note Two: Some of the cows do have lice. They’ve been treated with an ivomec pour-on.


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## Southern by choice (Mar 10, 2018)

Yes, these are safe according to the labeling.


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## Wehner Homestead (Mar 10, 2018)

Southern by choice said:


> Yes, these are safe according to the labeling.


Thank you! I wanted to make sure and not take a chance. Is there a milk withdrawal? (I’m assuming not since it’s topical.)


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## Southern by choice (Mar 10, 2018)

If it is cold there still which I am sure it is i WOULD RUB de INTO THEIR COATS AND THE KIDS COATS TOO. Freaking stupid caps lock... sorry not typing that all over again. 

I really like DE when it is cold.  Generally when we use the permethrins mix we basically bathe the animal - so that is nice in warm weather and even better when clipped. 
You can put the DE in the bedding too.  It takes some time but works great!


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## Southern by choice (Mar 10, 2018)

oops- we still always do a 12 hour (dump one) milking


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## Southern by choice (Mar 10, 2018)

of course with DE you don't have any.


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## Wehner Homestead (Mar 10, 2018)

Southern by choice said:


> oops- we still always do a 12 hour (dump one) milking



Thanks again! You know with DD2, I’m extra cautious!!


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## gcarmack2001 (Mar 10, 2018)

I don't know about fleas as I'm not sure that goats get them, but I have dealt with lice. They are species-specific so you don't have to worry about them getting on you. I use a dust similar to Sevin Dust on ours when they have lice but I'm in an FB group where a lot of people use Cylence or Ultra Boss (a pour-on.) I think the Cylence or Ultra Boss would be a lot easier than the dust (which you have to lather on every inch of their bodies) but we've never been able to afford those so we stick with the dust.


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## Southern by choice (Mar 10, 2018)

gcarmack2001 said:


> I don't know about fleas as I'm not sure that goats get them, but I have dealt with lice. They are species-specific so you don't have to worry about them getting on you. I use a dust similar to Sevin Dust on ours when they have lice but I'm in an FB group where a lot of people use Cylence or Ultra Boss (a pour-on.) I think the Cylence or Ultra Boss would be a lot easier than the dust (which you have to lather on every inch of their bodies) but we've never been able to afford those so we stick with the dust.


I like the cylence but the poster has young children and I really would worry they would get this on their hands and possibly by their mouth.  That would not be good.
Whenever we use straw we seem to get mites, not lice, but mites... ugh... of course that is always in the winter when we needed the extra bedding... to our surprise the DE did great, I can't say we got it over every inch of them but what we did do worked well.

For warm weather I still think the permethrins is the best way to go.


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## gcarmack2001 (Mar 13, 2018)

Southern by choice said:


> I like the cylence but the poster has young children and I really would worry they would get this on their hands and possibly by their mouth.  That would not be good.
> Whenever we use straw we seem to get mites, not lice, but mites... ugh... of course that is always in the winter when we needed the extra bedding... to our surprise the DE did great, I can't say we got it over every inch of them but what we did do worked well.
> 
> For warm weather I still think the permethrins is the best way to go.



I apologize, I didn't see the part about the young children. We use masks or cover our mouths with our shirts to keep from inhaling the dust, and my brother has asthma so he isn't allowed to touch the goats or breathe within a five-hundred feet radius close to them for a while, LOL.


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## Wehner Homestead (Mar 13, 2018)

gcarmack2001 said:


> I apologize, I didn't see the part about the young children. We use masks or cover our mouths with our shirts to keep from inhaling the dust, and my brother has asthma so he isn't allowed to touch the goats or breathe within a five-hundred feet radius close to them for a while, LOL.



Good to know about the asthma as DH has that too. You didn’t know but we have three young kids, 6,4,2 and the goats are like dogs. Our youngest also has extensive medical (and other) issues so we don’t take any chances with her. SBC knows her story.


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