Embarrasing Question

UnkTob

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My beautiful and hilarious little parakeet, Strat, (short for the Stratacaster guitar, since he loved rock music) passed away a few months ago, after 7 years of fun and craziness. Just got an IRN!
Hello all!

So this is an embarrassing thing to need to ask for help on... :eek:
I found bugs in my house. :( I inherited the house from my dad, and although I cleaned a bunch when I moved in, he had this holder by the kitchen sink that holds a drain strainer and stopper. I was cleaning up around the sink and moved it to clean it and behind it, and there are these little tiny (very tiny) bugs. Looking up images online, I actually wonder if they are fleas. yuck!

The only place I've found them are at the sink, behind the facet, hanging out in that small area between the facet and the backsplash, maybe due to there's usually some moisture that gets back there. Occasionally, they will get up on the counter top, but I've only seen two of them.

The only place that makes sense for my birdy's cage is about 6 feet away from the sink, on the other side of the counter.

How do I kill those dang bugs and not risk my beautiful friend? He is not take yet, and I think the only way I could get him into a smaller cage for travel purposes would be with a towel, and I'm pretty sure that would be so traumatizing, I'd lose most of the progress I've made with him or her over the last 5-6 weeks. :(

Any suggestions?

Shamefully yours,
Rob LOL
 

Tami2

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Thatā€™s a good question, donā€™t be embarrassed. I have carpenter bees at my cabin in the Poconos. My plan is to have an exterminator come either during the week when weā€™re not there or as we are leaving once I take Levi, my Grey out of the house.

Iā€™m interested to read the responses from our elders, AKA more experienced parronts. :)

Good Luck!
 
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UnkTob

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My beautiful and hilarious little parakeet, Strat, (short for the Stratacaster guitar, since he loved rock music) passed away a few months ago, after 7 years of fun and craziness. Just got an IRN!
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Thanks for the reply Tami. Unfortunately, I'm not in a situation where I can do that very easily, since getting him or her into a carrier/small transport cage would be very difficult.

I'm actually wondering if it would be ok to get a flea collar for a dog or cat and stretch it out behind the facet. 1) I don't know if that would actually do anything to get rid of the fleas. 2) Could just the fumes from the collar be dangerous?

I'm hoping someone has a home remedy that would be safe for the birdo. (that seems like a stretch of a hope!)

A cabin in the Poconos sounds very nice though! :)
 

Tami2

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Oh I dont know? I think if it is fleas your only recourse is those Flea Bombs. With them every one needs to be out of the house.
Iā€™m sorry your having difficulties with the travel cage.
Have you tried bribing with his fave snacks?
Iā€™m fortunate Levi goes wherever I put him. Heā€™s a real easy goer.

Thank you we love our little retreat in the woods.
 

LordTriggs

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no embarrassment, I'm currently dealing with roaches. Bugs do exist and they do find their way into houses

Could you potentially put the travel cage up against the door of the main cage with some treats inside as a lure?

Then take them out for a few hours whilst someone else goes to town on the bugs with a spray
 
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UnkTob

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My beautiful and hilarious little parakeet, Strat, (short for the Stratacaster guitar, since he loved rock music) passed away a few months ago, after 7 years of fun and craziness. Just got an IRN!
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Thank you both, Tami and LordTriggs for the replies again! :)

I can try that, but "training" is still very tough and a slow process for my little one since he or she really doesn't seem to care much about treats. Even the powerful apple slices are losing their allure. Although, currently he has taken a bit more of an interest in Sunflower kernels. Reading up on flea bombs, I'd be scared to use one of those, since the pesticide gets everywhere and the location would be so close to his home and my kitchen.
 

LordTriggs

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oh I wouldn't bother with a bomb. They don't really do anything

if that's the nest for the bugs then a store bought can of spray should be able to stop them. Or at worst getting an exterminator in
 

GaleriaGila

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I'm no expert but I do know there have been some great threads on this general subject. Maybe use the SEARCH tabe above to look for them?
I had a terrible issue with ants. I had to clean the whole area 2-3 times a day and use diatomaceous earth around the house edges (outsidea). No shame!
 

Kentuckienne

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I buy sticky traps in large quantities. They come flat, you peel off the protective paper to expose the adhesive. You can leave them flat but I prefer folding them into tents so I donā€™t see the dead bugs. Thereā€™s no toxic vapor or anything. You can put them everywhere and they stay sticky until covered with bugs.

A larger concern for me is the cage in the kitchen. Kitchens are very dangerous for birds. Fumes, smoke, vaporized cooking oil, sprays, etc. are hazardous for birds to inhale. Kitchen cleaners, ditto. Oven cleaners. Non stick cookware. Accidentally burnt food. Plus, if birdies get out they might fly into a hot burner or into a pot of boiling soup. Too many hazards to list, really.
 
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UnkTob

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My beautiful and hilarious little parakeet, Strat, (short for the Stratacaster guitar, since he loved rock music) passed away a few months ago, after 7 years of fun and craziness. Just got an IRN!
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Thanks GaleriaGila & Kentuckienne for the replies.

Yes, I always search before posting a new thread. Saw nothing on fleas specifically and bug came up with too many things so it was hard to sort through. Was hoping for ideas about fleas, like if placing flea collars back there would help.

In term of the proximity to the kitchen, I appreciate the concern, but I don't have many options. When I'm home, I'm usually in the audio and video room which is is an open kind of floor plan with the kitchen. There really is no other place for him to be. Anywhere else and he'd be alone, so up against the wall in the tv room near the counter/bar between the living room and kitchen is where he is. Another thing that helps is that the stove & oven are on the other side of the kitchen with an upgraded vent and fan. My little Parakeet lived for 7 very happy years in the same spot. (Coincidentally, in my other house before I inherited this one when my Dad passed away, the kitchen & living room where situated in almost the same configuration, and Strat (my Parakeet) was in the same relative position.)

I saw posts about sticky traps, but never thought of trying them on something as small as a flea. (Also heard of horror stories of birds getting stuck in them, but I already have a regimen of securing a few things at the sink already, so would be easy to add moving the sticky pads to the routine.) I guess I thought fleas are so light and small they wouldn't sink in and stick, but now that I "thought experimented" that more, my previous logic doesn't make sense. I'll try those traps. Thanks
 
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Kentuckienne

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I understand about the open floor plan. We have a similar problem, so Gusā€™s cage is in what would be the dining area adjacent to the kitchen. Luckily he flies like a lead balloon, and there is no risk of him flying into anything. And he doesnā€™t go walkabout. Iā€™m careful to use the fume hood every time I cook, and got rid of all the nonstick pans.

The sticky traps can be folded up into triangles, with the point up, which should keep a bird from getting caught on them. But I donā€™t know if you have fleas, since you see them on the counter. When Iā€™ve seen fleas, they were in the carpet and not in the hard surfaces, and they immediately jumped into me. If these are small crawly bugs they are something else. I hate to say bedbugs, but ...Sounds like they are near water...thatā€™s where I always catch roaches and silverfish, but those are bigger. I bought a huge bag of these traps online and set them all over the house. We live in a rural area and lots of bugs come into the house, and I constantly catch bugs all over the house. I put traps along baseboards, under the sink, on the counters, behind/beside the fridge, in the bathroom, by the front door....and catch them everywhere.

Hereā€™s what I use, there are other brands and other quantities.

https://www.amazon.com/Trapper-Insec...4BTDKWXBRDNESH
 

Aquila

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Do they hop or do they have wings? Have you seen larvae?

It sounds like fungus gnats honestly, I get them in my garbage disposal now and again and very rarely in the bottom of a bird's cage. I've also had them in house plants. They like decaying matter, and especially when it's warm, they tend to come on very quickly.
 

Inger

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Fungus gnats and/or fruit flies seem more likely than fleas, since fleas need a good host. They donā€™t usually hang out where there are no nice doggies or kitties. Definitely not on a counter in the kitchen. Both should go away if you can take their food source. Good luck!


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UnkTob

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Sep 19, 2017
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My beautiful and hilarious little parakeet, Strat, (short for the Stratacaster guitar, since he loved rock music) passed away a few months ago, after 7 years of fun and craziness. Just got an IRN!
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Fungus gnats? I never heard of those, but that makes sense! I need to be careful with what cleaners I use, but I'm going to scrub the heck out of that area! Thanks everyone!
 

Notdumasilook

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Consider keep a spray bottle handy filled with 91% alcohol. Here we have those gnats that can find a way inside regardless. They home in on sinks, garbage cans, and bird cages... heck..even the coffee pot. I can spray that to kill them and it leaves no toxic residue. Just don't spray on wood.(meaning waxed wood furniture). avoid birds food/water bowls...and don't soak surfaces painted with latex paint. Mark the bottle GOOD cuz it can double as a flame thrower.
 
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UnkTob

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My beautiful and hilarious little parakeet, Strat, (short for the Stratacaster guitar, since he loved rock music) passed away a few months ago, after 7 years of fun and craziness. Just got an IRN!
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Thanks Not! I'll try that!
 

Teddscau

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I know this is an older thread, but those don't sound like fleas. I think they're likely harmless springtails, fungus gnats, or some sort of (nonparasitic) mites. The fact that they're hanging out by the sink strongly supports this, as these critters need a humid environment to live in. The springtails in question sound like "snowfleas", as these guys cover absolutely everything during the winter/spring thaw. They like to hang out in large groups and jump around. Fleas would be in the furniture, carpet, clothes, etc. If you can easily squish the bugs, then they aren't fleas. To kill a flea, you need to crush it with your fingernails due to their flat body structure and hard exoskeleton. Like, a flea is NOT easy to kill. Really difficult. Try catching a few of the bugs in a container, expose them to low humidity, and see if they die in 24 hours. If they do, then they aren't fleas.

The presence of such critters (I'm calling them critters because some are insects, some are crustaceans, some are...other creatures) is indicative of mould, rot, some sort of leak, etc. Thoroughly investigate the sink and surrounding areas to make sure there aren't any of the aforementioned problems. Whenever you have a pest problem, it's not the pests' fault. The pests are just a symptom of a more serious problem. Like, if your carbon monoxide detector goes off, don't blame it. Rather, air out the house and check for broken furnaces, leaky fireplaces, a stove left on, etc.

You should've seen the plagues we've been getting the past few years! The one year, there were HUNDREDS of mosquitos in the house! We have no clue where they came from, since, at most, we only ever have ten. I killed more than 200 mosquitos one night! Another year, there were earwigs EVERYWHERE. They were falling onto us from the ceiling, crawling in our drinks, living in our tubs...it was disturbing. Then the one year there were ants in my bedroom. They kept crawling into my water glass, and I almost swallowed them on multiple occasions.
 
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SailBoat

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Actively search the area where you are finding the dampness! Find where the dampness is coming from. Commonly its either incoming and outgoing water sources. If you're good at DIY projects, replace everything from the where it comes in to where it leaves. Older homes, replacing a single piece or part will assure that you will be coming back over and over again. All new will save time and money.

If you have a splash as a source, you will need to seal that area to prevent further development of dampness!

So, why the big interest in the damp area. Bugs come into our homes for a reason. Moisture is the most common reason! Eliminate the reason, you eliminate their reason for being there.

Fleas tend to like warm areas with a blood supply. Kitchens really do not meet that classification unless you have a massive number of them and they are searching for their desired target area.

I fully agree with my good friends above.
 

LeaKP

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A quick temporary remedy is if you pour boiling water down the drain. It slows the progress anyway.


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UnkTob

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My beautiful and hilarious little parakeet, Strat, (short for the Stratacaster guitar, since he loved rock music) passed away a few months ago, after 7 years of fun and craziness. Just got an IRN!
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Thanks everyone! Yes... definitely gnats! There isn't a leak, it is just from lots of splashing from the sink. I cleaned the heck out of that area, sprayed the alcohol lots and lots of times, and eventually, that did the trick. I've been pretty diligent about cleaning back there (it does get wet frequently, and when I notice I try to dry it out), and it has been probably 6-7 months of clean sailing! Now.. about a week ago, I noticed they were back! And... they brought the bigger flying gnats with them. Sigh. Been cleaning, drying & spraying, and cleaning, drying & spraying over and over again, but they are being more persistent this time.

The bigger flying ones are really odd. I have not had any luck seeing where they are coming from, since I never see them congregating around an area. I read online that 3 parts apple cider vinegar mixed in little bowls with 1 part dishwashing soap attracts and traps the bigger flying ones, without any harm to my beautiful flying buddy, but after 3 days of leaving them out, all they did is stick up my house and not catch one gnatty bastard. lol Any other suggestions for the bigger gnats? Thanks! :)
 

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