Help needed with avairy!

[josiedownunda]

Ok my new secondhand aviary is all but ready to go. As you may know I have had a continuing mite/lice problem with the birds the last few months and I want to totally rid myself of the pesky varmints when i move the birds. I have a natural pyrethrin spray to use on the birds when I catch them to move them and I am currently waiting on a delivery of some Diatomaceous Earth to put on the ground and around to kill any creepy crawlies. Does anyone have any advice to offer on the use of the DE and also on any other tricks I need to do to ensure I get rid of all the bugs and keep them at bay! The aviary they are going into is a non-breeding aviary so nestboxes won't be an issue. I also need any tips of treating the old aviary to banish pests as well. Thanks
Jo-Anne

[fischer]

Hi Again Jo-Anne,

I don't know much about D.E earth, but if you are putting your aviary in or near the same spot, I suggest you soak the ground first with COOPEX, its a Permethrin based product used widely in aviculture and quite safe, It will take care of all the baddies, including grain pests, then put your earth over it, Spray your aviary with it, to run off stage, and it will kill any nasties hiding there as well.

I have used this product for years, have found none better, and I have never had a problem with it. Coopex is available everywhere, your local produce store should stock it and its not expensive.

Hope this helps. ---Tony

[josiedownunda]

Thanks Tony! The aviary is near the old one ...about 6m away in fact! It seems to be the wild birds that bring the lice/mites. I never had a problem before we moved here and there were no wild birds....or no where near as many! All my neighbours have feeders in their trees to attract the birds so it is impossible to keep them away....mind you the dog does chase them off ocassionally. I will go out today and find some Coopex! Would it be better to spray all the aviaries and ground the same day or is it ok to just do the new one to get it set up and ready and leave the old one till the birds are shifted?
Jo-Anne

[fischer]

Hi Jo-Anne, A couple of days extra won't hurt for the others,but
its best to do them all as close together as possible. Iv'e had a
bit of a problem with a tiny white mite, just now came out of an
aviary with a few crawling on me, its easy to spread them around like that. Have to spray tomorrow, This mite problem all
came from 1 Finch I brought in recently!!!!

Cheers....Tony

[Zack]

Josie, Are your aviaries suspendeds? The wild birds causing the problem are they landing on top of the aviaries?

I had a problem when I had budgies years ago with wild bird droppings falling into the aviary. I put a canvas sheet over the top of the aviary to stop the dropping problem.
I wanted to let the birds get the needed sunlight, but at least this way they had 3 sides of mesh but they were protected from above.

Hope this gives you ideas/options

Karen

[josiedownunda]

I am not sure ow they are causing the problem directly. 2 aviaries are on the ground and 3 are suspended and it makes no difference. Also the suspendeds have a small open roof area but the main aviary was fully covered with an extra wooden frame covered with shade cloth on top. Not sure how the creepy little suckers were getting into that but somehow they managed. The aviaries are under a mulberry tree so maybe the birds getting into that left lice on the tree which somehow managed to get in. I really don't know. I have never seen the wild birds on the tops of any of them. The wild doves get underneath the suspendeds and clean up any seed etc but that is all. The rainbows and rosellas are in trees but nevr on the cages. Thanks for the idea anyway but I think I will try attacking it from below with some diatomaceous earth and see if that helps at all.
Jo-Anne

[fischer]

Hi Jo Anne, They are hard to get rid of once they establish themselves in an aviary. you will have to spray a few times, paying particular attention to all the joins and seams in the cage
nest boxes and perches etc, I know its a pain but these tiny pests are very good a hiding themselves.
It dosn't matter wether they are suspendeds or floor aviaries because they can live in both, they are bloodsuckers and really only come out at night to feed.
Hope this helps,...Tony

[josiedownunda]

Thanks Tony. I think it is more a question at this point of their mode of entry.Where I lived before I never had a problem ut since we moved a year ago it seems almost non-stop. Is it possible that by putting Bottle Brush branches in the cages that they are getting in that way being already on the plant? I assumed they would have come directly from another bird but maybe that is not the case. Also do the mites leave the birds during the day totally or do they just sit quietly waiting nightfall to begin their vampire-like activities!!LOL...Sounds like he makings of a Halloween story!LOL
Jo-Anne

[fischer]

Hi Jo-Anne, I think its more than likely they came into your aviaries, in your new place, with a wild bird originally, it probably dropped some eggs of the mite/lice then. They are a lot like fleas in the way they breed, they need a host to live, in this case your birds, but the eggs can be laid on the bird or anywhere in the aviary, usually on perches or in nestboxes and can stay unhatched for some time and hatch when conditions are right, its also possible for eggs to come in on plant matter too. so, you see, they are really there all the time if the breeding cycle isn't broken, thats why its necessary to spray several, if not more times, to break the breeding cycle. You can use the friskies spray for this, it will work quite well on the adult mites but wont kill the eggs.

Hope this helps and is not too confusing. Cheers..Tony

[josiedownunda]

Not confusing at all Tony. I was unsure of the life cycle of these little monsters...not too much info out there! I know the flea cycle well so if it is similar I will treat the lice in a similar way. I was spraying the nestboxes 2 - 3 times a week and now whenever I change the shavings I spray just to make sure. All the babies are thoroughly checked when I pull them as well so no critters get away from the aviary alive. Once the current babies are fledged and all boxes are pulled for summer then I will get down to a thorough sparay and cleaning of the aviaries, I have not overdone the spraying etc as they have all been breeding and I wanted to disturb them as little as possible.
Jo-Anne

[fischer]

Hi Jo-Anne, I should have put at the end of that message its better to use a powder in the nestboxes as powders have a more lasting or residual affect, they will kill the young mite/lice when they hatch, helping to break the cycle.
Glad to help....Tony
.

[josiedownunda]

Thanks Tony again!! I will get some Scatta 7 tomorrow...saw some at the local produce the other day. It may be a bit late to use this season but it will be in the boxes ready to go next autumn.
Jo-Anne