every year we have been spraying around the house to keep ants, roaches, and other bugs out, this year is the first with our birds, can any one give me some info on a safe pesticide that i can buy or make, the summers seem to be the worst here in phx,
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safe pesticides for birds
- Thread starter azcowgirl
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There are no bird safe pesticides that I know of. Frequent vacuuming (at least daily, and more often if possible) of all floors, including uncarpeted areas, helps with fleas. Keeping all food in airtight containers also helps. You can also try natural remedies like this for ants: http://smallnotebook.org/2010/04/21/5-simple-natural-ant-control-remedies/
For roaches, prevention (sealed food containers, lots of cleaning) is best.
For roaches, prevention (sealed food containers, lots of cleaning) is best.
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That method entails soaking the cornmeal with boric acid, to poison the ants. It would also poison roaches. The problem is, it also attracts ants and roaches, and, if you spread it around the perimeter of the house, it will poison any birds or other animals that eat it, plus any animals who eat the poisoned animals.I heard corn meal works.That would be awesome!
I had almost suggested making boric acid pellets to put in places in the house where roaches are first likely to appear, but then I thought of the hazard of a poisoned roach making it into one of the bird cages.... Not to mention if there are any other pets in the house, such as cats or dogs....
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no matter how often i clean it seems we still have some roaches, i vaccum twice daily, cean cages twice daily and everything is in some sort of closed container, it is so frustrating, i think most of our problem comes from the city sewer system, and if they come out to spray in the sewer then we have more for awhile, they are only in the kitchen and bathroom, which is good because they are not near the cages or birds. thanks for the advice, if you do come across anything let me know
Zoso
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I was told boric acid, (borax), was a natural mineral and was perfectly safe to use around birds, cats and dogs. 2 different avian vets have told me it is safe to use. There are tons of ways to deter the ants but if you don't kill the queen in the colony they are going to keep coming back. I know we get those tiny black ants every year and a few drops of strategically placed Terro liquid and a week later they are gone.
DE(diatomaceous earth) food grade... the only thing I will use!! gets in the joints of anything with an exoskeleton and kills it. safe for all pets( unless you have spiders lol). Get it at any pet depot/horse supply place. Just dust a perimeter after sprinkling and continuously vacuuming the source. Kills bed bugs too, pest control companies don't want any one to know!! I do know a pest control guy very well, he says this is the best all natural way.
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Boric acid is not the same thing as borax - boric acid is created by mixing borax with a mineral based acid, such as hydrochloric acid. Boric acid is toxic if ingested or inhaled. At levels of approximately 5 grams per kilogram of body weight, mammals have a fifty percent fatality rate. I don't know whether studies have been done on birds, but I would assume that they would be more susceptible, as they are with respect to pretty much everything.
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As Leza said - it has to be "food grade", and labelled specifically as such on the package. I know that food grade DE is safe to use around chickens, cats and dogs - I haven't read anything about its safety around parrots.
I have never got it near the birds, it is strictly used for the floors, bordering outside, around the outside walls of the house... I am not sure about it near the parrots either so I won't take any chances unless someone says otherwise. I do know farmers use it in chickens drinking water for deworming purposes.
Why won't DE work on spiders? I have 4 dogs and one of my dogs is allergic to insect bites, especially wolf spiders. I vaccum every day and use the sticky traps in the window seals but it is just not enough. What is safe to use around dogs and parrots for spiders. Inside and outside?
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