what is living under my nest box??

[chantald]

I wish I had a photo.. but I don't.. so I'll try and describe it and see if anyone here can tell what it is.

Under 1 nest box in my coop, I have these little black caterpillar type things. They are maybe 1/4 in long..and sort of flat. The box is a solid wood design so that the chicken, nest material, eggs, never come in contact with the coop floor. My other nest is an old milk crate and I never see them under there..

I've checked everyone's legs for mites etc.. I can see no sign of anything on the chickens themselves.. but I keep seeing these things when I lift the nest box..

what on earth do I have in there and how do I get rid of them?

 

[19Dawn76]

Is it a Slimy Slug? We put salt on and around areas where slugs are.

Say Slimy Slug 10 times real fast.

 

[chantald]

No, it's not a slug.. it's more caterpillar.. I looked closely at a dead one tonight.. My son spilled some wild bird seed in the coop (long story) and perhaps they were in the seed and now are in the coop?

Do I need to get some DE?

 

[purpletree23]

Sounds like some kind of creepy crawly hatched in the wild bird seed. I would get the bird seed away from the chickens just in case. Empty it into an unused garbage can to see if that's where they are coming from. I would put down some DE and in the mean time raise up the laying box so the bugs can't hide under it anymore.

 

[panner123]

Let the chickens eat them. MORE PROTEIN!!!
yummies for the chickens.

 

[Mahonri]

Parasitic pin worms?

 

[Imp]

There are frequently bugs in birdseed, not usually a problem. If there are tons of bugs I would toss it out. You don't want to be feeding bug poop to your chickens or the songbirds. You can stop them from hatching by freezing birdseed for a couple days before using. If it's not practical to freeze, I would reccomend keeping it outside of the house. Speaking from experience it can take months to get rid of the little moths from your house. They hide in every crack and crevice. Good luck.

Imp

 

[panner123]

Quote:
Nope this worm is found in the human intestines.

 

[Uppity Peon]

It sounds like a type of mealworm. They might have hatched out of the feed. Yummy chicken snacks!

 

[chantald]

as long as it isn't mites or something that will harm the chickens... they are meal work looking..when I google mealworms.. they do look like them.. but darker..