Lousicidal efficacy of camphor oil, d-phenothrin, and deltamethrin against the slender pigeon louse, Columbicola columbae

The slender pigeon louse, Columbicola columbae, is an annoying ectoparasite of pigeons. The aims of present work were to study the prevalence of lice infestations among pigeons in Gharbia governorate, Egypt, and to compare the lousicidal efficacy of camphor oil (CAM) to those of d-phenothrin (DPH) and deltamethrin (DMT) against C. columbae. Pigeons were classified into four groups (25 pigeons each). Birds were sprayed with 8% CAM and few drops of Tween 80, 9% DPH, 0.005% DMT (50 mg/L or 1 ml/L), and the control group was sprayed with distilled water and few drops of Tween 80. The prevalence of lice infestations was 85% (340 out of 400, 550 ± 50 louse/bird, and the range of infestation was 100–800). All in vitro treated lice with 1% CAM and DPH were died within an hour post treatment and the lethal values were 0.25% and 0.28%, respectively. The lethal time values were 6.50 and 2.30 min post-treatment with 0.004% CAM and DPH, respectively. The in vivo treatments indicated that the louse infestations were almost completely eliminated 7 days post-treatment with CAM and DPH and 14 days PT with DMT. Temporary coughing, sneezing, and ocular inflammations without dermatitis were observed among birds sprayed with DMT. CAM has a potential for the development of a new and safe product for controlling poultry lice.