Red mites in my home

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Red mites in my home

by Michelle
(Blackpool)

I noticed yesterday that there were red mites in my budgie cage. The budgie was out at the time so I bleached all his cage/toys and poured boiling water on everything. When I got the budgie back in the cage, I checked my cream curtains where he sits and found some on there. I have put my curtains in the wash but I'm worried that the mites will be in the carpet and settee as he walks around the front room when exploring.

A few forems I've looked on says the mites will feed of human and dog blood if it can't get to the bird. I'm worried now that they are just gonna keep multiplying in my funiture and will infest my dog or feed off my family. How long can a mite live without food, do I need to treat my dog as a precaution, how do I get rid of them and when I got the bird, will he already have had the mites from the breeder or is it something they can just get? Hope you can help :-(

Comments for
Red mites in my home

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Sep 12, 2011

Red mites in home
by: The Avian Vet

Mites can live months without feeding. They generally take their blood meal from a host and then leave so the will not stay on your dog. They will stay on a bird. Your bird will need to be seen by an avian veterinarian for treatment.

Your house will need to be treated with a pesticide. These mites are outside and take opportunities to come in through cracks and on pets. You must have a nest of them outside. They usually live with pigeons and other wild birds. Look for the source. You should contact your local extension office and an exterminator to get advice on treatment of your home. Remove all pets when exterminating.

Dr B

Sep 10, 2011

Mites in home
by: Tracie

Dr B will eventually answer this, but stay away from over the counter mite sprays, they often harm or kill birds. At least the ones in the U.S. are not safe. You might want to Find an Avian Vet in your area and ask them what is safe in the UK to purchase. (Don't ask a dog/cat vet, they don't usually know enough about birds to safely care for them.)

I personally would try putting diatomaceous earth all over everything in the morning and then vacuum everything in the evening.

Diatomaceous earth, also known as diatomite or kieselgur, consists of fossilized remains of diatoms, a type of hard-shelled algae. This is harmless to us, dogs, birds etc. unless it gets in our eyes and then it is an irritant. So you don't want to sprinkle it around in a way that it floats in the air as you do it.

When bugs crawl across it, they get holes in their body and they basically leak fluid until they die. Many experts actually believe it is beneficial to put it in our wild bird feed, to help the internal parasites in the wild birds, so we add this to our outdoor feed. It also keeps the larvae in the seed die before becomeing seed moths. :-)

Here are a couple of sites with more information:

http://birdmites.org/strategies.html

http://wolfcreekranch1.tripod.com/diatomaceous_earth_mites.html

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