[Gpdd] Lice easy to treat with cat flea shampoos, etc.

[Patricia Paystrup]

Lice can be easily treated with products containing the insecticide
derived from mums.  I can't remember the exact spelling but something
like pyrethins.  I have used products with the ingredient that are
formulated as flea and tick shampoos or wipes for cats.  The Hartz line
has products for cats and Sargents and several other lines too.  The
trick is that the pigs need to be treated at one week intervals for at
least two weeks but I've always done a third week as a final treatment. 
The first week kills the current adults but the "nits" or eggs remain.
The second week kills the newly hatched eggs hopefully before they can
mature and lay new eggs.  Although I've never had to deal with head lice
in human children, etc,  it is the very same principle of timed
shampoos, but you don't use the fine-toothed combs to catch the nits
with piggies.

Sprays for lice and mites for caged birds are also made with pyrethins
(again not sure of exact spelling) and at an effective and safe
concentration for the piggies.  I have also used them and they have
worked for me.

Anyway, I would advise going for the easier and probably safer (and
cheaper) treatment of cat flea and tick shampoos with pyrethins and
leave the big guns like prescription long-term long-acting tick/flea
treatments in the closet.  Our precious piggies are a lot smaller that
cats and metabolizing a heavy-duty medication might do more harm than a
few one-week-apart shampoos. 

Good luck.  By the way, I am just up the street from you in Cedar City,
Utah.  I have been the "official" piggie rescue person in Southern Utah
for about 10 years and have helped a number of rescues through a bout of
lice.  Once the lice are taken care of, the coats come back quickly and
the piggies are soon back to their handsome and beautiful selves.