Bird safe fly killer?

[DavyG]

Now that summer is upon us, the flies and other insects are out in force. Turns out that my Pineapple is part chicken and panics if a bug is much in the same zip code. So much that I am afraid she will hurt herself. (Just today she flew around to the point of exhaustion and had a scary landing) Is there any bird safe sprays or whatever that I can use?

I live near a river so bugs (house flies, mosquitos are just part of life).

 

[Lady Jane]

 

[Shezbug]

Hmmm, maybe a fly swatter? Or some fly traps? Guessing the horrid sticky fly strips would not be a good idea to use around birds (plus they are gross, lol).

I can not say that I have heard of any kind of insecticide that is safe to use around birds, I will certainly be keeping an eye on this thread as we have lots of really awful poisonous spiders that I can not always get to so they can be put outside or squashed. It has been concerning me about how I will keep their numbers down with my bird in the house.

 

[JLcribber]

Insecticide is a poison designed to kill. It will kill your birds just as quickly as it kills bugs. There is NO safe spray that kills.

 

[OK Mike]

We've had an infestation of fruit flies and house flies this summer. I made traps using apple cider vinegar and Dawn dish soap in fruit jars. About and inch of vinegar and 1 teaspoon of Dawn. The soap breaks the surface tension of the vinegar so the flies sink. I cover the top with Saran wrap and use a pencil to poke about 5 holes in the top. The flies are attracted by the vinegar smell and are literally pickled. Apple cider vinegar smells like rotting apples to the flies. We've caught thousands of fruit flies and a hundred or so house flies. I keep one on a stand right next to my bird's cage and there are no ill effects to him. We also keep several scattered about the kitchen. Just change the liquids out every couple of days to keep them effective and active.

 

[Awalker1750]

I did something like this last year for tiny little ants in my kitchen, long before I got my gcc. I don't use insecticides because I can't personally stand them, so I used cans of fruit cocktail that I let ferment. No soap was needed, but the alcohol in the fruit got the ants drunk so they drowned in it. Worked like a charm. Keeping this fly tip handy.

 

[painesgrey]

Would utilizing a bug-zapper bulb in a fixture somewhere maybe help? Especially if you can put it on an outdoor fixture near windows or doors where the bugs are likely to come in.