# Is dettol safe to use?



## CharlotteBeth (27 January 2010)

I think my horse has lice, as he has very itchy patches on his chest, bottom of his flank and inside of his leg.

I want to bathe the areas tonight, would diluted dettol be safe to use? 

i will then apply sudocrem, and as soon as the weather is slightly warmer, I will be bathing him with antibacterial shampoo, however for the time being do you think dettol will work?

Also, if he does have lice, is this my fault? could i have done anything to prevent it?


Sorry for extremely stupid question!
thanks a lot.


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## M_G (27 January 2010)

Lice is no one fault I had one with lice and not another horse in the field had or got it.. You can use coopers to get rid of them TBH I would do it sooner than later.. Or you could use good old fashioned louse powder


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## Theresa_F (27 January 2010)

Normally but there will always be one that is allergic so might be a good idea to do a patch test.  I use loads of it - in winter to get grease out of the coat and in my fly spray in summer.  It won't kill bugs though.

You could try getting some sulphur powder - kills lice, mites etc and give your horse a good dusting - again I don't know any that react to it, but do test first.  You can also mix in sudocream to enhance the cream - I also put a few drops of tea tree oil in my sudo/sulphur mix.

Pig oil and sulphur will also help - but again do test the oil as this definately causes some horses to react.


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## sillygillyhorse (27 January 2010)

Apparently there are loads of lice this year, far more than normal.  Again the fact your horse has lice is not your fault.

TBH I am not sure that using detol and sudocrem will be much use.  You need to use a product specifically designed to kill the lice.

Does your horse live in breeze block stables and if so are they painted?  As breeze blocks are porous the lice live in the blocks, painting the walls will help.


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## Louby (27 January 2010)

I cant see it doing any harm but not sure it will get rid of the lice.  I would probably use diluted hibiscrub and get some proper stuff to get rid of it.  Check Virkon s, cheap and easy to get hold off.  Not sure if it does lice though.
Never had a horse with lice so not sure what to look for but would imagine if it is you will need to treat his rugs, tack etc.
Im sure someone on here will be able to help you more.
Good luck.


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## amycamycamyc (27 January 2010)

we used diluted dettol on our mare when she had lice - seems to do the trick, although i must admit when i googled it I coulnd't find anyone recommending it for lice so maybe it wasn't as effective as i had thought and maybe they just cleared up on their own...!


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## air78 (27 January 2010)

I've use the 'spot on' for sheep and cattle before, and it's done the trick..... not licenced for horses though


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## Jay89 (27 January 2010)

When I first got my cob, he was covered in lice had great big weeping sores on him. We clipped him right out just to make it easier, proper powdered him in louse powder and then as soon as we could washed him with special insecticidal shampoo. 

Do it as soon as you can, its horrible for them to be so itchy.


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## bj666 (27 January 2010)

Hi , I had a long talk with my Vet re non horsey products ( baby shampoo , nappy cream etc ) and I was told that non horse products are a def NO NO as the percentages are all wrong for horses skin , so I'd get the proper stuff from your local tack shop/feed shop/vet .


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## Donkeymad (27 January 2010)

By using Dettol and Sudocrem now you are doing nothing but allowint the lice to cause more harm. get yourself a Louse powder designed for stable (they say not for use on horses, but my own equine vet recommends them and they casue no harm) or get some Deosect and treat NOW


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