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SELECTED ARTICLES
NICOTINE IN THE CONTROL OF ECTO-PARASITES OF
POULTRY.
BY
F.C. BISHOP AND R. D. WAGNER,
Division of Insects Affecting Man and Animals, Bureau of Entomology,
U. S. Department of Agriculture.
(Reprinted from the Journal of Economic Entomohgy, Vol. 24, No. 1, February 1931.)
[Abstract.—The results obtained with nicotine sulphate in controlling the feather mite, Liponyssus
silviarum, and the common chicken mite, Dermanyssus gallinac, are summarized. A series of tests
are detailed. The treatment is effective for the fowl tick, Argas miniatus. With reasonable care, there
are no serious effects on the fowls.]
Since the discovery in 1928 by a poultryman in California that nicotine sul-
phate when applied to the roosts of chicken houses would destroy chicken lice,
much attention has been directed to this method of combating these troublesome
pests. The simplicity of the treatment and the presence of large numbers of dead
lice beneath the roosts following the application have made a strong appeal to the
poultry owner, and as a result the method has come into rather wide use. The
poultry departments of a number of experiment stations, notably those of New
Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, California, and others, have conducted practical tests
of nicotine sulphate against lice, but very little work has been done by entomo-
logists to truly evaluate and analyze the method, and compare the results with
those obtained from the now well-established sodium fluoride treatment for poultry
lice. Furthermore, practically no information has been published with reference to
the use of nicotine products against ecto-parasites of poultry other than lice and the
feather mite, Liponyssus silviarum Can. and Fanz.
While our own work is far from complete, the widespread interest in nicotine
sulphate in the control of external parasites of poultry makes it desirable to present
some of the data thus far secured.
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NICOTINE IN THE CONTROL OF ECTO-PARASITES OF POULTRY
171
NICOTINE SULPHATE AGAINST THE FEATHER MITE AND COMMON CHICKEN MITE.
In 1929 Mr. C. R. Outright 1 published a note on the use of nicotine sulphate
against the feather mite, Liponyssus silviarum. Some tests of nicotine sulphate
against this mite have also been reported by Professor L. F. Payne, 2 and Mr. E. L.
Taylor 3 states that an infestation of this mite in a poultry house in Dorchester,
England, disappeared as a result of two treatments of the perches with nicotine
sulphate and paraffin.
Our experience with the feather mite indicates that a single treatment of the
roosts with nicotine sulphate cannot be relied on to clear out an infestation. The
number of treatments necessary for eradication depends on the extent of infestation
and whether supplemental control steps, such as removing the litter, and spraying
or dusting the house and nests, are carried out at the same time the roosts are
treated.
Nicotine sulphate was found to be very effective against the common chicken
mite, Dermanyssus gallinae L., when applied pure or diluted with 9 parts of water.
Tests carried out by the senior author several years ago showed that nicotine sul-
phate when used as a spray in mite-infested chicken houses in such strengths as are
usually employed against insects on plants was ineffective. W. M. Davidson 4 made
tests against mites with aqueous solutions containing 0.07 and 0.12 per cent. free
nicotine with the addition of 4 pounds of whale oil soap to 100 gallons. He con-
cludes that these sprays 'were of some value, especially the stronger solution'.
Most of our practical tests with mites consisted of thoroughly spraying infested
chicken houses with 1 part of 40 per cent. nicotine sulphate in 9 parts of water;
then closing the houses up for about eight hours. These tests were carried out in
July when the temperatures were high. On the day following the application it was
noted that the mites were greatly reduced in numbers and by the end of the third
day no live mites could be found and there was no recurrence of the infestation.
One similar test of 40 per cent. nicotine sulphate diluted 1 to 50, with 1 ounce of
soap per gallon added, gave satisfactory control.
That the mites are killed by the fumigating effect of the nicotine as well as by
direct contact is shown by a test in which small double wooden strips were painted
with nicotine sulphate; then the mites were put between these on the unpainted
1 Cutright, C. R. A valuable aid in the control of the feather mite, Liponyssus silviarum. Jour.
Econ. Ent., V. 22. p. 422. Apr., 1929.
2 Payne, Loyal F. A new method of controlling feather mites. Jour. Econ. Ent., V. 22. pp 819-
820. Oct., 1929.
3 Taylor, E. L. Liponyssus silviarum injuring poultry in this country. Parasitology, V. 22, No. 3,
p. 313. June, 1930.
4 Davidson, W. M. Results of experiments with miscellaneous substances against the chicken mite.
Dept. Bull. No. 1228, U. S. Dept. Agr., p. 10, 1924.
172 THE INDIAN JOURNAL OF VETERINARY SCIENCE AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY [ II, II
surfaces. All those introduced 24 hours after the application died in a few hours,
of those introduced 48 hours after the application, 50 per cent. died and none of
those were killed which were put on 96 hours after the treatment. Other tests also
clearly indicate that mites are slowly killed if confined in boxes the floors of which
have been lightly treated with nicotine sulphate. The mites in these tests had no
contact with the treated surfaces.
TEST AGAINST THE FOWL TICK AND STICKTIGHT FLEA.
Two tests of 40 per cent. nicotine sulphate, 1 part to 9 parts of water, were
made against the fowl tick, Argas miniatus Koch. The material was applied to the
infested poultry houses with a sprayer. Satisfactory control resulted. Even those
ticks which were protected from the direct application of the spray were killed,
apparently by the vapor. The treatment, however, is more expensive and the
effects less lasting than when anthracene oil is used.
In experiments with nicotine sulphate against the sticktight flea, Echidnophaga
gallinae Westw., it was found that the application of nicotine sulphate to the
perches did not destroy the adult fleas attached to the heads of the fowls. Spraying
the floors of infested poultry houses with 40 per cent. nicotine sulphate diluted with
from 4 to 9 parts of water and making a moderate but thorough application
destroyed all adults present.
EXPERIMENTS IN CONTROL OF CHICKEN LICE.
The method of treatment generally used against lice consists of making a
light application of 40 per cent. nicotine sulphate to the upper surface of the
perches about half an hour before the fowls go to roost.
There is little opportunity for the material to come into direct contact with the
lice and evidently their destruction is brought about largely by fumigation. The
feathers cover a considerable part of the roost beneath the fowl, and body heat
hastens volatilization; and evidently the fumes pass upward through the feathers
and.hence rather promptly reach the lice on the legs, bodies, and wings. If there
is any nicotine sulphate which has not thoroughly dried into the perches when the
fowls go to roost it is distributed through the feathers to some extent by the
scratching of the fowls, and some of it gets smeared on the feathers by contact.
The lice may begin to crawl to the surface of the feathers in about half an
hour after the fowls go to roost and some begin dropping off practically dead soon
after they appear. Free nicotine is rather more rapid in its action, as lice may
begin to drop off fifteen minutes after exposure to it.
NICOTINE IN THE CONTROL OF ECTO-PARASITES OF POULTRY
173
Most of our experiments were carried out under practical poultry farm condi-
tions in the vicinity of Washington, D. C. The houses used were built of lumber,
and the construction was fairly tight with ample ventilation secured through the
open fronts. The nicotine sulphate or free nicotine was applied lightly with a
brush to the entire upper surface of the perches from one-half an hour before to
immediately prior to the roosting of the fowls. In each test a number of fowls
were leg-banded and examined prior to treatment, and a record made of the
species of lice found and degree of infestation of each. Papers were spread on
the dropping boards under some of the fowls, and the dead lice were collected the
following morning, counted, and the species determined. The leg-banded chickens
and others were then examined the day following the treatment and at intervals
for weeks or months thereafter. Other tests were made on groups of heavily in-
fested fowls kept in coops in the laboratory yard. Mr. Harold S. Peters carried
out one of these tests in the fall of 1928, and the others were made in 1930.
The temperature in the hen houses at the time of application ranged in
different tests from 60° F. to 91° F., and the minimum temperatures during the
night following the treatments ranged from 43° F. to 85° F.
In most of these tests the flocks were very lightly to heavily infested with
five species of lice: the body louse, Eomenacanthus stramineum (Nitzsch); the
shaft louse, Menopon gallinae (L.) ; the fluff louse, Goniocotes hologaster (Nitzsch);
the wing louse, Lipeurus caponis (L.) ; and the head louse, Lipeurus helerographus
(Nitzsch).
A large percentage of the lice were killed during the first night following an
application, some were killed the second night, and a few the third night. The
eggs were not all killed; in fact, the precise effect on the eggs was not determined.
Although some of the lice which dropped off the fowls were found to be alive, these
were noticeably affected by the treatment and soon died.
In all tests the treatment was more effective against the body, shaft, and fluff
lice than against the wing louse, and the head louse was least effectually controlled.
Doubtless the location of the last named species on the birds, mainly on the head
and neck, exposes it less to the concentrated vapor of the nicotine, especially if
the head is not kept under the wing. In no case were all head lice killed except
in laboratory tests, in which the fowls were kept in rather tightly closed boxes.
A series of tests was conducted to determine the interval between applications
which would be most effective and the possibility of completely destroying lice
by repeated treatments. These tests were not conclusive owing to the practical
difficulty in keeping all fowls on the roosts the night following each treatment and
174 THE INDIAN JOURNAL OF VETERINARY SCIENCE AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY [ II, II
in making sure that no mixing of fowls from different pens took place during the
long period required for the tests. It was evident, however, that an interval
of six days was too short. Many eggs were observed to hatch after the second
treatment. Intervals of 12 and 20 days apparently gave an opportunity for some
of the lice to mature and lay eggs between the treatments. The 8-day interval
gave best results, as with this interval no hatching was observed after the second
treatment.
Tests were made of different methods of application, such as: tacking a strip
of cloth soaked in nicotine sulphate to the top of the perches; applying the
nicotine with an oil can; applying the material with a brush to the bottom sides of
the perches; and making general applications to the roosts, dropping boards, and
walls with a sprayer, as would be the case in treating for mites. The even distri-
bution of the material with a brush over the entire upper surface of 2-inch perches
seemed to be as effective as any of the other methods. Painting the dropping
boards or bottoms of the perches only was effective.
The results secured by the use of free nicotine were practically identical.
with those obtained by use of nicotine sulphate, but the application of the former
is more disagreeable, and its greater volatility makes it necessary that more ventila-
tion be provided for the fowls than when nicotine sulphate is used.
EFFECT OF NICOTINE ON POULTRY.
Numerous tests of nicotine sulphate by poultry departments of several
experiment stations and by practical poultry owners as well as those conducted by
us, indicate that no noticeable injury to the fowls results if the applications are
properly made and there is sufficient ventilation. Some reports of injury or death
of fowls have reached us, these being due apparently to excessively heavy applica-
tions or poor ventilation or a combination of the two. No reports appear to have
been published on the effect of the treatment on egg production. In our ex-
perience, a drop in the number of eggs produced the day following an application
was observed in some cases, but the next day the decrease was usually made up,
and then normal production was resumed. Free nicotine has produced no
markedly injurious effects in our tests, but it is certain that its use is fraught
with some danger. The toxic effects of the fumes when fowls are kept in close
confinement are much more quickly apparent than in the case of nicotine
sulphate. This also suggests the need for caution when nicotine sulphate is
applied to poultry houses which have been whitewashed or limed, since lime in
combination with nicotine sulphate releases free nicotine.
NICOTINE IN THE CONTROL OF ECTO-PARASITES OF POULTRY
175
SOME ADVANTGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF THE USE OF NICOTINE SULPHATE
AGAINST LICE.
The short time required for the application of nicotine sulphate to the perches
as compared with the individual treatment of the fowls with sodium fluoride or
sodium fluosilicate is a distinct advantage, as is also the fact that the fowls are
less agitated by the nicotine treatment than when handled individually. The cost
of a single application of nicotine sulphate is also less than a treatment with
sodium fluoride owing to the saving in labour. Certainly many poultry owners
would carry out this simple treatment when they would not take the time to dip
or dust the fowls individually.
There are several disadvantages to the nicotine sulphate treatment as
compared with that of sodium fluoride. The principal one is that eradication of
all lice is not accomplished, by one treatment; in fact, even with many repetitions
of the treatment some head lice may persist. It is difficult to get poultry owners
to apply a second treatment at the proper time, if at all. If all fowls do not
roost on the treated perches, the infestation will soon spread from those fowls
which are not subjected to the fumes. Moreover, effective control with nicotine
sulphate is dependent upon having the flock in a comparatively tight house,
free from strong drafts, yet with proper ventilation to protect the fowls from
injury. In very open houses, such as are commonly used in the South, still
nights must be selected for treatment. There is a valid argument in favour of
individual treatment of fowls over mass treatment, especially when it is only
required once or twice a year or even less frequently; this is that the flock
owner has to handle every bird and can do culling and become familiar with his
stock at the same time he treats for lice.
Mr. C. R. Cutright.—We located a very severe infestation of the feather
mite about two years ago in Wooster, Ohio. It was so severe that frequently 5
to 50 mites per day would be found on the eggs when gathered from the nests.
There were about 2,500 birds on this farm and all were infested.
The houses were treated with one application of nicotine painted on the
roosts. Within 24 hours after application not a single mite could be found on the
birds. Application was repeated two weeks later, and I have watched the place
for two years since that time and none of these mites have been observed, although
no additional treatment has been applied.
N-BUTYLIDENE CHLORIDE, A NEW DRUG FOR THE
TREATMENT OF EQUINE STRONGYLIDOSIS.
BY
WILLARD H. WRIGHT, Associate Veterinarian, H. B. RAFFENSPERGER,
Associate Veterinarian, JOHN BOZICEVICH, Junior Zoologist, and PAUL
C. UNDERWOOD,. Junior Veterinarian, Zoological Division, and JACOB
M. SCHAFFER, Chemist, Biochemic Division, Bureau of Animal Industry,
United States Department of Agriculture.
(Reprinted from the Journal of Agricultural Research, Vol. 43, No. 4, August 15, 1931.)
PREVIOUS INVESTIGATIONS.
In critical tests made with a large number of chlorinated alkyl hydrocarbons
for the purpose of studying the relationship between their anthelmintic efficacy
and their chemical structure, Wright and Schaffer (14) found that n-butylidene
chloride was 100 per cent. effective for the removal of ascarids and 95 per cent.
effective for the removal of hookworms from dogs.
Normal butylidene chloride, CH 3 . CH 2 . CH 2 . CHCl 2 , is obtained by the action
of phosphorus pentachloride on n-butyric aldehyde. For the present experiments
a high-grade, commercially prepared product was washed first with a 2 per cent.
sodium bicarbonate solution and then with water, after which it was dried and
distilled. Thus purified, the n-butylidene chloride was a clear, colourless, sweet-
tasting liquid with a pleasant odour and possessed the following constants : Boil-
ing point, 115° to 116.5° C. (760 mm.); specific gravity, 1.084 (25°/25°); solubi-
lity, 1 gm. in 2,000 gm. of water.
Normal butylidene chloride was found by Wright and Schaffer (14) to be well
tolerated by dogs in doses up to 10 c.c. per kilogram of body weight. It produced
only salivation and a slight muscular trembling, the animals returning to normal
within a few hours. In dogs, n-butylidene chloride does not produce the central
necrosis of the liver which commonly follows the administration of chlorinated
hydrocarbons such as carbon tetra-chloride and some of those investigated by
Wright and Schaffer.
From the results obtained with n-butylidene chloride on dogs, there was reason
to believe that the use of this compound might prove to be an effective treatment
for strongylidosis of horses perhaps better than chenopodium, the drug most com-
monly used but which has been objected to because of its toxicity. Because of the
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N-BUTYLIDENE CHLORIDE
177
fact that n-butylidene chloride is less soluble than carbon tetrachloride (solubility
1; 1,250), it was believed that a greater proportion of the n-butylidene chloride
might possibly be carried into the cæcum and colon, the site of strongyle infesta-
tion in horses. The fact that n-butylidene chloride in large doses is well tolerated
by dogs and is not followed by severe liver lesions in such animals indicated the
possibility that it might safely be administered to horses, in relatively large doses.
Accordingly in the tests reported in this paper doses of 0.207 to 0.333 c.c. per kilo-
gram of body weight were given. These were followed by no deleterious effects.
Of the chlorinated alkyl hydrocarbons, only two, carbon tetrachloride and
tetrachlorethylene, have been tested on horses. Hall (4) tested carbon tetrachloride
alone and also a mixture of carbon tetrachloride and carbon disulphide. He found
that carbon tetrachloride alone in doses of 25 to 50 c.c. was partially effective in
removing bots, entirely effective in removing the ascarids present in the two test
animals that had these parasites, entirely effective in removing strongyles. and
partially effective against cylicostomes.
De Blieck and Baudet (1), using somewhat larger doses than those employed
by Hall, confirmed Hall's results with carbon tetrachloride. Demnitz (2), using a
dose of 100 gm., carried out tests with carbon tetrachloride on six horses. One of
the animals died after treatment and the others were severely intoxicated. Dem-
nitz concluded that carbon tetrachloride was effective but unsafe for horses. How-
ever, he administered the drug by passing the stomach tube only one-third the
length of the esophagus; the fatality and the intoxications may possibly have
resulted from aspiration of the carbon tetrachloride into the trachea and lungs.
Shul'ts and Raevskaia (12) reported a series of experiments with carbon tetra-
chloride on horses. They recommended a routine dose of 150 to 200 c.c. for strong
mature animals and stated that the smaller doses recommended by American inves-
tigators are not sufficiently effective. They concluded that at best the treatment
with carbon tetrachloride can be expected only to lower the degree of infestation
and that complete elimination of the strongyles cannot be accomplished with this
drug.
After treating a considerable number of animals in the clinic of the Berlin
Veterinary College, Neumann-Kleinpaul and Pelckmann (8) gave, as symptoms
produced by the administration of carbon tetrachloride, the following: Apathy,
anorexia, increased thirst, colicky symptoms, tremor, bloating, evidences of pain,
fluctuating temperature, variation in the pulse and respiration rates, cough, diar-
rhœa, icterus, and the appearance of albumin in the urine. These investigators
found that the degree of toxicity is not always in proportion to the size of the
dose of carbon tetrachloride. Furthermore, they demonstrated that the blood-
178 THE INDIAN JOURNAL OF VETERINARY SCIENCE AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY [ II, II
calcium level, computed from the daily average, sank from 4 to 14.56 per cent.
below its original level after treatment with carbon tetrachloride in doses of 0.15
to 0.33 gm. per kilogram of body weight, indicating that the relation of calcium
to the toxicity of carbon tetrachloride in horses is substantially the same as in dogs,
as demonstrated by Minot (7). Neumann-Kleinpaul and Pelckmann found also
that the toxic symptoms produced by carbon tetrachloride in horses, especially
variations in the temperature, pulse, and respiration, occur in the main at the time
of the declining blood-calcium level, although the duration and intensity of the
toxic symptoms correspond in no evident way with the degree of decline in the
blood-calcium level. By feeding a sufficient quantity of calcium chloride starch (a
proprietary preparation) before the administration of carbon tetrachloride these
authors were able to prevent entirely the reduction of the blood-calcium level and
to diminish the toxic symptoms commonly observed by them after the use of the
drug. The feeding of ultra-violet-treated vitamin yeast before the administration
of carbon tetrachloride diminished the reduction of the blood-calcium level and
lessened considerably the duration and intensity of all toxic symptoms.
Grassnickel (3) found that the bilirubin content of the blood of the animals
used in the experiments of Neumann-Kleinpaul and Pelckmann was increased in
every case after carbon tetrachloride administration and that the increase was 1.2
to 4 times the normal bilirubin content. In 9 of 15 horses the strongest intoxica-
tion reactions corresponded with the high point of the bilirubin level, or the high
point of the bilirubin level fell on the day of the toxic symptoms. The lowest
blood-calcium level coincided with the highest bilirubin level in two of the animals,
although the reduction of the blood-calcium level and the rise in the bilirubin
content stood in no evident dependent relationship to each other.
In substance, the investigations of the abovementioned authors indicate that
the horse is no less susceptible to carbon tetrachloride intoxication than are other
animals and that, as with other animals, before the administration of carbon tetra-
chloride the diet should be regulated in such a way as to provide a high calcium
intake in order to offset lowering of the blood-calcium level and the retention of
guanidine.
Schlingman (10) tested tetrachlorethylene on three horses and found that the
drug, when given in doses of 0.066 to 0.15 c.c. per kilogram of body weight, pro-
duced drowsiness and, in one animal, marked incoordination of movement. The
anthelmintic was about 50 per cent. effective against bots. Schlingman states
that none of the horses passed any roundworms and that only one roundworm
was found post-mortem. As the term " roundworm " is not specific, it is not clear
what species of parasite resisted the action of the drug; probably it was an ascarid.