Everyone knows about lice. They’re the nasty little beasties that take up permanent residence on our noggins without our consent (which I’m pretty sure is against the third amendment, at least in the United States). But do these microscopic vampires affect any other creatures? Like cow, or sheep…or goats?
Goats can get lice. Since they live outside in the environment in herds, it’s actually quite common. There are five common species of lice that feed off of goats. Goat lice can be of the sucking or chewing (biting) variety, but lice are species-specific, so goat lice don’t infect humans.
Unfortunately, not even goats can escape these pesky little parasites. But, luckily for them, there are ways for us to tell if these little buggers have hooked their claws into a herd, and ways to get rid of them once and for all…or, at least, until next winter.
Types of Goat Lice
We all know what lice is. But we all try to avoid thinking about it until we hear that our kid has been exposed at school, and now all we can do is itch our head until our fingers stop working. Lice are mini-vampires. They’re silent, almost invisible parasites. The very idea is horrifying.
But, luckily for us, the scary concept of an evil bug is made less scary through the discoveries of science. We not only know way more about lice, but we also have pictures of the “invisible” buggers. And, even luckier for us, humans are only ever infested with one type of lice, the sucking kind. There are more types of lice that do more than just suck blood…
But before we get into that, there are two main species of sucking louse that goats have to deal with: the African blue louse and, the less creatively named Goat sucking louse.
The African blue louse is pretty versatile; it can actually infect more species than just goats. Yippie. So, not only do goats have to deal with these resilient little suckers, but cows, dogs, deer, and even turkeys have to put up with it as well. But for them, it’s not just a nuisance. Severe infestations of this species of lice can cause hair loss, anemia (loss of hemoglobin in the blood), and in some cases, death. These guys have a blueish/gray appearance, which is normal for sucking lice.
The Goat sucking lice aren’t great either. They can also cause anemia and some can give the poor goat hosts extreme dermatitis. But at least death isn’t on the menu (looking at you, African blue louse!) They also are grayish-blue, like the African blue louse, so these two species get confused with each other a lot.
Goats deal with two different types of lice; sucking and biting (or chewing). Biting lice don’t suck blood. They do what their name suggests–they nibble, munch, and dig into the skin of the host for sustenance. They don’t drink blood, they just slowly scratch away at the surface of the goat’s skin, like a microscopic archeologist (if archeologists ate the dirt they dig up).
There are three main species of biting goat lice: Goat biting louse, Angora goat biting louse, and Hairy goat louse. Goat biting louse stick to short-haired goats, Angora goat biting louse stick to (unsurprisingly) Angora goats, and hairy goat louse like piggybacking goats with long hair, which usually means Angora goats. They’re also all straw-colored, so they’re easy to spot against the gray hide of a goat.
There are some other species of lice that infect goats (including but not limited to the sheep foot louse, which is usually found on the feet or legs of the host), but the five mentioned are the most common. For more information about each species and where they’re most commonly found, click here to look at NCU’s thorough page on goat lice.
Signs of Infestation
The most obvious sign of infestation on goats (aside from constant itching) is matted hair. All types of lice (whether biting or sucking) will lay their eggs in the strands of hair as a way to keep the egg sac stable and attached so it won’t fall off the host before it’s born. Some of these louse momma’s attach their eggs to more than one strand of hair at a time, so the hairs will become all clumped together, making the hair all gross and matted.
Some of these lice are easier to spot than others. For example, the chewing lice are almost always a muted yellow color, so it will look like the goat rolled in a bunch of flat pieces of stale corn. If a goat has a bunch of straw-colored polka-dots (and they’ve been itching themselves for days on end), you’ve got a biting lice infestation on your hands.
The easiest place to spot lice on goats is right behind the foreleg where the direct skin will be more visible. The egg sacs are also visible on the hair strands, and they’re a pretty clear sign of lice. If you’re having trouble telling the difference between lice eggs and dandruff (which goats can have), brush your finger across the questionable spec. If it moves, it’s dandruff. If it stubbornly stays in place even after trying to move it, there’s a high chance that it’s an egg sac that’s been superglued to the hair strand.
How to Get Rid of/Prevent Lice in Goats
Lice pesticides are a common solution for lice in human and goat lice infestations alike. NCU’s site provides a thorough list of all pesticides you can use to get rid of lice on your goats. The only problem is, the pesticides might kill living lice, but they won’t do anything to the egg sacs. And it can be dangerous for your goats if used too much.
One method for getting rid of the egg sacs is time-consuming, and much more difficult for goats than it is for humans. But, if you have a really patient goat, you might be able to sit it down and comb through all of its hair, searching for egg sacs (also called nits) and removing them with a fine-tipped comb into a cup of warm water.
Other natural preventions include rubbing goats with peppermint essence and tea tree oil, as lice can’t stand those scents and are less likely to travel to other members of the herd if they’re giving off these smells.