Help!! MOTHS

[momy442000]

Hi, This is Emma's(TAG) mom. Any one out there with a suggestion-I have moths in my house. I need to get rid of them, but every method ex:moth balls, cedar wood are toxic to birds. I have 4 cockatiels and a TAG. Please anyone know a remedy that is effective and bird safe you will be forever thanked!!!

[chucky]

Can you post a picture of these guys?I have moths too and i think it's from the seed i got years ago as i found them fly out of it and i need to see if their the same kind.These guys will be tough to get rid of if they are the same.I have been trying for a couople years and they go away in the winter and back in the spring it sux.But i dont really got any ideas except if their the same then i can sorta help ya.

[txbird]

Most likely you have Indian Meal moths. About 3/8 to 1/2" long, silvery to brownish colored little buggers.




Very common to get these in grains, seed mixes etc. My house got infested with these in late 2004. I bought several pheromone lure type traps that attract the male moths. These are safe around birds as they contain no poison, just the sticky glue and pheromone lure. The traps captured them pretty well. Definitely put a dent in their reproductive process! You have to eliminate them elsewhere by vacuuming. They were actually breeding in my vacuum cleaner as evidenced by the fine webs all over the outside of the vacuum the larvae stage of these buggers weave. They are VERY difficult to elimiminate! The eggs are near microscopic. The larvae are very tiny little worms. I still see a moth once in a while fly by. But are 99% gone from my house now after almost 3 years! Another thing that helps is simply setting a shallow pan out somewhere with about 1/2" of water in it. The moths will land in the water and cannot escape. GOOD LUCK!

[Bonesy]

While Mothballs are toxic, as long as the birds don't come into contact with them they can still be used.

I had a moth issue in my seed last year, I placed a mothball 1ft away from the bag and a lantern trap by the floor in the evening (a small but bright bulb with a glass casing with a lip so the moths get in but not out, the heat of the halogen bulb killing them quickly.)

Over winter I searched for plastic cereal boxes (the type with the lidded spouts) and shook the seed in a drainer to shake off any eggs. I then sealed as much seed in airtight containers as I could. It solved the issue of the moths in the seed anyway.

Once their food source was thwarted they dwindled to nothing in the house.

[Heather_Bird]

Hi There!

I have yet to meet a bird keeper who hasn't had a problem with these little ratbags at some point. I myself have problems because they breed not only in the house but also in nooks and crannies in my aviaries!

The first course of action is to stick any new seed into the freezer for a while (or keep it there if you can spare the room!) as this will kill any larvae within the seed you are buying in or currently have stored. They can get into minute spaces so you need to be very thorough whatever you do. I recently took down a load of bird nesting boxes from my outside aviaries and found the nasty little bugs all over the back of them in their sticky cocoons.

I swear by a product called Avian Insect Liquidator by Vetafarm. It is bird safe (I've even used it on newly hatched finch chicks!) and is an insecticide plus a growth regulator that lasts for 6 weeks. It doesn't mention moths on the bottle but just about everything else is there so I don't see why it wouldn't treat them too. You could use that to treat any areas that you know are infested without having to worry about whether your bird is going to come into contact with it. I'd follow as much of the other advice as possible including the traps and vacuum cleaner - you can even spray some AIL in the vacuum bag to prevent the same thing as happened to txbird! Hope that helps!

All the best,

Heather

[luvmy3kids]

Good tips...especially the freezer part. All the things I'll have to remember!! *smacks forehead*

[nmrspindoc]

Get rid of any old grains or pastas or cereals in your house as well, if you have any. When I had birds as a kid I found them in the AlphaBits cereal (ewww) inside Mac and Cheese boxes (eggs inside the macaroni bits)...everywhere! Perhaps it was an advanced infestation.

Oooh, I hate the larvae. They made me cry when I was a kid. Icky things.

[Ozzy's mom]

Hi Heather!! I see you found my dd. Great ideas everybody. Momy442000 will be very happy when she reads this.
Beth

[momy442000]

Thanks for all the advise - glad to know I'm not the only one out there with this problem!!! Do any of you know if Cedar wood is toxic to birds all together or just if they chew it? I know Cedar can help with moth problems too, but its on the "bad for birds" list too. I just don't know if the smell is bad or if its just bad if they chew it.

I will try these suggestions- wish me luck!!! Kristen

[momy442000]

Thanks for the advice. Where can I get the AIC? Do they sell it at pet stores or is it an online thing? Kristen