Maggots and moths in seed

Nov 23, 2020
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I have a little cockatiel named Walnut! (Finally an official name :D) she is very cute, we are learning together
The first time I found a maggot was the time we bought a new cage, birdie was climbin around and one fell down ( I am not sure if it was from the cage or the bird. Can maggots hurt birds? :( ) It was very worrying. But since it was only one, I didn't look too much into it. After a few weeks, I noticed that moths are getting more and more common in the apartment. Then later, I saw some weird clumps of seed shells on my bird's seeds. I took the bird seed, and took away all the clumps. That's when I noticed the clumps were moving! There was maggots!!!

So, I immediately threw the seed out, and cleaned his cage throughly. I thought that was it. But I forgot about the bird seed that we had gotten her with. I remembered that when I saw maggots on the wall! The ***king wall!!! I also threw that seed out. Thank god the millets were good.

So yes, I am never storing big amounts if seed in the house again. The bird cage and seeds are in my room and I am terribly disgusted to the point of wanting the sleep in the living room. So I guess my question is, can maggots hurt birds? Will maggots be persistent in staying? And any ways that I can get rid if them -other than freezing-? Has any other owners faced this issue as well? How the ***k did the maggots get on the walls????
 

Scott

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Aug 21, 2010
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Unfortunately insect larvae are often present in bird seed mixes. I don't believe they usually pose a health risk to parrots. If you are certain they are maggots, might be another issue as they are common housefly larvae. Flies transport feces and other harmful agents. I no longer use seeds but cannot recall seeing maggots.

Many folks purchase seed mixes in quantities small enough to freeze. That should kill larva and present a "clean" source once defrosted and used over several days/weeks.
 

Noahs_Birds

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Sounds like Coddling Moth to me, the larvae feed in the seed and usually bind some of the seeds with silk to make a cocoon for themselves. If you put some bay leaves in a jar with holes in it they hate the smell and usually gets rid of them all
 

Flboy

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Dec 28, 2014
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Not fun, but totally harmless! If the seed is safe, then there’s bugs in it! Put everything in the house in ziplock bags!- flour, pasta, cookies!
Once, making a family sized beef stew, I used flour to thicken it. I kept the flour in a cardboard shaker for ease of dispensing. As it thickened, I realized I screwed up and put way too much ground pepper-I thought! We ate, we enjoyed!
A couple days later, wifey brings me the flour container, wanting to know what was all this fine hair!
 

noodles123

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Jul 11, 2018
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Yeah, they are likely moth larvae- not maggots. A tell-tale sign is if you ever see cob-like material in the bag, or if both moths and worms appear to be coming from the same place. Some people freeze their bird EDIT- *insert seed after bird!* (don't freeze your bird!! hahah That could have been a bad typo ha) to prevent moths from hatching etc. Now, if there was rotting fruit or something else, it COULD be maggots, but I doubt it.


*Knock on wood* non of Noodles food has had this problem, but it led to a crazy problem at my childhood home due to the parakeet's food. I'd try your best to kill all of them and seal any grains rightly-- cereal, pasta, flour, sugar etc...anything should be in a sealed bag or tupperware to keep them from infesting everything.
 
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SailBoat

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Jul 10, 2015
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Freezer!!! Keep all dry foods in the Freezer.
When you buy dry foods, break it down into one week ziplock bags and keep it in the Freezer until ready to use!
 

djonair

New member
Sep 17, 2023
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1-Indian Ringneck, 1-Quaker
The first time I found a maggot was the time we bought a new cage, birdie was climbin around and one fell down ( I am not sure if it was from the cage or the bird. Can maggots hurt birds? :( ) It was very worrying. But since it was only one, I didn't look too much into it. After a few weeks, I noticed that moths are getting more and more common in the apartment. Then later, I saw some weird clumps of seed shells on my bird's seeds. I took the bird seed, and took away all the clumps. That's when I noticed the clumps were moving! There was maggots!!!

So, I immediately threw the seed out, and cleaned his cage throughly. I thought that was it. But I forgot about the bird seed that we had gotten her with. I remembered that when I saw maggots on the wall! The ***king wall!!! I also threw that seed out. Thank god the millets were good.

So yes, I am never storing big amounts if seed in the house again. The bird cage and seeds are in my room and I am terribly disgusted to the point of wanting the sleep in the living room. So I guess my question is, can maggots hurt birds? Will maggots be persistent in staying? And any ways that I can get rid if them -other than freezing-? Has any other owners faced this issue as well? How the ***k did the maggots get on the walls????
I had the same problem but don't now. there is a container you can get at any pet store, (pet Smart is where I got mine) Its a little pricey but worth it. Seed is expensive. Bugs and flies can smell the seed, thats why you have them. This container keeps the smell in. I've never had a proble since, Hope that helps.
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