Temporary move of older lone parakeet for pest treatment. How stressful? Is it safe?

[RizzoBryant]

Hi! I signed up here specifically to ask this question. I need to hear from the experts!

I am disabled and living with my senior mom since about a month ago. I spotted a bed bug yesterday and made the decision to treat everything myself with a product called Crossfire.

My mom has a lone parakeet left who is older. She gets very stressed about a lot of things (clinging to wide of the cage for a long time) such as when her cage is moved or even cleaned.

I was wondering what the realistic dangers of stress on her would be to move her cage to a friend's house about 10 minutes away for a couple days. Could the stress of the move possibly cause harm or kill her? She has never been outside of my mom's living room I do not believe. Would it help to keep her covered? Any ideas or suggestions?

I haven't confirmed with the company that makes crossfire that she has to be out of the house but I would assume. (It says remove pets but does not I would love if I could just put her in a room and close the door and then treat that room later but I doubt that would be acceptable.

Also, if anyone wants to look up the chemicals in Crossfire and advise that would be even better.

 

[wrench13]

The bird needs to be removed from the premisis, unless you want a dead bird. Will the stress of moving and staying away for a few days kill her? Maybe, but leaving her in the appt will certainly do so.

 

[RizzoBryant]

The bird needs to be removed from the premisis, unless you want a dead bird. Will the stress of moving and staying away for a few days kill her? Maybe, but leaving her in the appt will certainly do so.

Thanks! Do you have any advice on how to make the move and time being away less stressful? I have reached out to the company to see what they advised as for a timeframe to keep the bird away, although I realize they are not avian experts.
If it is just hours or half a day while the chemical dries would it be best to just keep a cover over the cage while she is at my friends? Or would that be more stressful? I don't really know this bird too well personally.

Any longer than that I would assume it would be more appropriate to let her see her surroundings.

 

[Jcas]

I would say cover her while transporting ( in the car, carrying in and out of house). At your friend’s house, if she could be kept in the quietest room in the house and keep her just partly covered, like the back half of the cage, so she has a hiding spot to which she can retreat. Being in her cage with all of her familiar toys, perches etc, should help lessen the stress of a temporary move. As long as she can be in a quiet place at your friend’s house, I think she will most likely be ok. Personally, I would wait at least 2-3 days and clean and air out the house thoroughly after the treatment before bringing the bird back home.

 

[RizzoBryant]

Thanks for your help, both of you.

The creators of the BedBug chemical got back to me and said this:

"Crossfire Bed Bug Concentrate can be applied safely in a home where children and pets are present. You want to make sure that when you are applying the product, children and pets are not in the area. Once the product has dried completely, it is safe to resume normal activity. Please take a moment to review the product label for application instructions"
I still don't think I feel comfortable enough to keep the bird in my home. Here is the list of chemicals. Unless someone here knows about chemicals and can tell me they are SAFE I am not going to do it with her here. Thanks!

Dilution in water
Active ingredients
13 fl. oz. per Gallon
Final percent concentration of
active ingredients
Clothianidin 0.40%
Metofluthrin 0.01%
Piperonyl Butoxide 1%
Total percent concentration of actives 1.42%

 

[Jcas]

Thanks for your help, both of you.

The creators of the BedBug chemical got back to me and said this:

"Crossfire Bed Bug Concentrate can be applied safely in a home where children and pets are present. You want to make sure that when you are applying the product, children and pets are not in the area. Once the product has dried completely, it is safe to resume normal activity. Please take a moment to review the product label for application instructions"
I still don't think I feel comfortable enough to keep the bird in my home. Here is the list of chemicals. Unless someone here knows about chemicals and can tell me they are SAFE I am not going to do it with her here. Thanks!

Dilution in water
Active ingredients
13 fl. oz. per Gallon
Final percent concentration of
active ingredients
Clothianidin 0.40%
Metofluthrin 0.01%
Piperonyl Butoxide 1%
Total percent concentration of actives 1.42%

Clothianidin and Metofluthrin are neurotoxins. Safety studies on them are focused on mammals ( ie. humans and most pets) to my knowledge there are no studies on their effects on birds. Piperonyl Butoxide is not a pesticide in itself but is used to enhance the effectiveness of the other pesticides. You are 100% right to remove your bird from the house while these chemicals are being applied. A bird’s vascular system is very different from a mammal’s so toxins are absorbed and spread more rapidly throughout their bloodstream and tissues. I would encourage you to wait at least 24 hours to bring the bird back into the house but 2-3 days would be even better. 🙂