I have dang moths in my finch/parakeet seed

[Whispering Winds]

I just bought this, and kept it all in airtight containers, and is it possible to bring them home in the package? I have trouble with moths anyway, because I forgot about a bag of mouse feed in the closet and they took it over . . . so I see them flitting about . . . so I probably did this to myself didn't I? How do you get rid of them, other than bombing, because that would be a pain the kadoodle to do.

 

[FarmGirl01]

I keep my feed in the freezer. I divide it up into smaller plastic containers. Thaw as needed.

 

[Whispering Winds]

That is a good idea . . . I soak their seeds and give it to the finches because it ups the protein and helps their breeding capacity. I have 20 now, so its time to get a bigger cage. I have a Lady Goudian (think I spelled it right) male that is just the prettiest little guy, and i need to find him a lady because they only breed with their own kind. The Cinnamon finch is pretty too, but would really LOVE to have an Owl finch. . .

Luckily, it was just one bag, but I couldn't believe in just 2 weeks I found a web in both containers.

 

[FarmGirl01]

There has been a lot of talk about bugs in feed. It must be the time of year. It happens here when it gets real hot for a long time.

Have fun with your birds.

 

[Whispering Winds]

It's true . . . we had a horrible hot muggy humid summer and black mold is rampant in vacant homes, and it always makes some certain bug more pesty. . .I know they have those things you put in the food, but can't find them at Petsmart. I might try mypetplace.com. They have nice stuff that you don't always see if the pet stores. If I would have to use one of those bombs, I would have to move three aquariums with ONE mouse in each one (boys fight and I don't dare put a girl in with them . . .been there done that!!!!

, a ferret cage, a big bird cage and another med. bird cage . . .and keep everyone out for hours. Pain in the kadoodle for sure, and they aren't good to breathe no matter what.

 

[vanalpaca]

Put feed in freezer if you see webbing or bugs. Change the cage papers and scrub down the cages. They will lay eggs everywhere, including in YOUR PANTRY and get in all your box mixes, etc.

Get a Flour Moth trap and put it up. You could also try putting a light over your finch cage and see if they will eat the moths for you.

A neighbor once brought me what they thought was a canary that they found in their store. It flew all over the cage and ate the moths. By then I had looked it up and it was a goldfinch which was natural to the area and I released it the next day. But it had a feast on those moths! That's all long gone.....

 

[Akane]

Yay pantry moths

These guys are aggressive survivors. If you don't act quickly and completely it can take years to get rid of them. Freeze all pet food. Throw out any contaminated food in the pantry. Move everything to truly air tight containers. I mean everything. We've found these in closed cereal boxes before. Lock everything up in containers that seal. Clean up the moth larvae. You can often find cocoons behind photos and paintings on walls. Get some pantry moth traps.

 

[crtrlovr]

yup.

I'm still battling an influx of these buggers that came in some shipped millet and bagged feed. I don't want to bomb because of the hassle. I vacuum them up occasionally, and toss any food with fines in it (the webbing). The chickens gobble it up like it's dessert -- maybe they like the moths / larvae.

 

[AquaEyes]

Freezing seed is the way to go. If you clean-house now and don't see any for a month or so, you've probably got them. At that point, you don't need to keep the seed in the freezer if you have air-tight containers. However, any new batch of seed should go in the freezer for at least two days to kill anything that might be lurking inside. This won't affect the seeds' ability to start germinating when you soak them. I feed my DYH amazon parrot a mix from www.chinaprairie.com, and any new batch goes in the freezer for two days before I even open the vacuum-sealed bags. Then it goes into the airtight containers, and I take some out as-needed to start a new batch of soaked/sprouted seeds.



~Christopher

 

[Alas]

Took me two years to get rid of the pantry moths

I even had them inside my projection tv. Check EVERYTHING. I got them from parrot food, but they found their way into cereal boxes, cake mixes (plastic bags are not a barrier to them), rice bags, and anything else they could find. You'll know if they got in because there'll be spider webbish stuff in the containers. Keep your bird food in an airtight container. Freeze your grains, like rice. Keep what you can in glass jars or tupperware type containers. If you use a vacuum, empty out the bag often. I used a shop vac to clean up around my bird cage and the moths were doing some serious multiplying in my shop vac with the seeds. Clean your birds cage often and make sure the leftover seed goes out to the trashcan ASAP. Kill every one of those buggers that you see. They lay LOTS of eggs. It takes 2 weeks for the eggs to hatch and then you get these little white worms with a black head before they make a cocoon (in boxes, on walls, etc) and turn into moths. Fortunately, they are not toxic. so if they get cooked with your food it wont make you physically ill.