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URGENT There are mites in my birds cage

TheMacDadd

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Ok, so there are mites in my birds cage and as soon as I noticed i RAN to the store to grab some cleaning products so I can deep clean his cage. which of these products are appropriate to clean his cage?

the first product is: all natural distilled white vinegar
2nd: dawn dishwash liquid soap (50% less scrubbing)
3rd: Pine Sol multi surface cleaner (kills 99.9% of germs)
4th: Pine Glo antibacterial kitchen and bathroom cleaner and disinfectant (kills 99.9% of bacteria and viruses)
I made sure to include everything incase something wasn't safe.
PLEASE tell me which products I should use to clean his cage and tell me which ones I shouldn't/should use.

my blaze is also not YET tamed so how can I get him out of the cage to deep clean it? he will be an a safe supervised area but I don't know how to get him out.
 
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Shezbug

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Teckechick

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I would stick with the vinegar the Pine products wouldn’t be safe for use around your bird. You could use a perch to move the little one from point A to B. You could also use a towel but if you have never done that I would stick with a perch. I am sure others will have more ideas!
 

TheMacDadd

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I would stick with the vinegar the Pine products wouldn’t be safe for use around your bird. You could use a perch to move the little one from point A to B. You could also use a towel but if you have never done that I would stick with a perch. I am sure others will have more ideas!
blaze won't be in the cage when I deep clean it so will the pine products be safe then? and how about the dawn dishsoap?
 

Teckechick

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I wouldn’t use the Pine stuff at all. I use Dawn on things that I can wash extremely well like food bowls. Even then I wipe them out after with vinegar. Cleaning products can leave residue behind and if the bird chews the bars they can intake that residue. I am a bit paranoid though with products around my birds.
 

Shezbug

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I’d think you’ll also need something to also kill any of the mites that you don’t manage to wash off?
 

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I think the vinegar should kill them. You could test it out on a mite to see if it does.
 

Destiny

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First off, if there are mites in the cage, then there are mites on your bird. You will need medicine to treat your bird to kill the mites on him and then you need to clean the cage so he doesn't get re-infected. I recommend moving him into a travel cage for the trip to the vet, then you can deep-clean and thoroughly disinfect his regular cage before putting him back in the cage.

Second, if you have a picture of the mites, we might be able to confirm if that is what you are dealing with. Mites are very very tiny and hard to spot. If you do see them, they are usually on your bird, not in the cage itself, so it is possible that your cage has some other kind of insect in it. There are a number of tiny insects that can look similar to mites, but might be less troublesome.

Lastly, to deal with an insect infestation, you will need to use an appropriate and bird-safe insecticide. Regular household cleaners won't do the job. You need a mite spray, like this one:


For deep-cleaning the cage, the dawn dish soap and hot water will be fine. Scrub any hard to reach spots and remove any dirt, food debris, or poop from all surfaces. Hard toys can be disinfected with a weak bleach solution and allowed to dry away from the cage. Be sure to always mix and use bleach away from your bird to avoid exposing him to the strong fumes. Soft or fabric toys or stuff that can't be properly cleaned should be removed and discarded They can be replaced after the mite infestation has been dealt with.

Once the cage is completely clean, spray all surfaces with the mite spray, following any instructions on the packaging. A second or third application maybe necessary to kill all lifestages of the mites.

If you have carpets, vacuum them really well and frequently. And launder any cloth or fabric items near the cage, including a bird cage cover, if you use one. Wash your clothes too.

And be sure to get medicine for your bird. Cleaning his environment is important, but it won't help if he is still infested.
 

TheMacDadd

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First off, if there are mites in the cage, then there are mites on your bird. You will need medicine to treat your bird to kill the mites on him and then you need to clean the cage so he doesn't get re-infected. I recommend moving him into a travel cage for the trip to the vet, then you can deep-clean and thoroughly disinfect his regular cage before putting him back in the cage.

Second, if you have a picture of the mites, we might be able to confirm if that is what you are dealing with. Mites are very very tiny and hard to spot. If you do see them, they are usually on your bird, not in the cage itself, so it is possible that your cage has some other kind of insect in it. There are a number of tiny insects that can look similar to mites, but might be less troublesome.

Lastly, to deal with an insect infestation, you will need to use an appropriate and bird-safe insecticide. Regular household cleaners won't do the job. You need a mite spray, like this one:


For deep-cleaning the cage, the dawn dish soap and hot water will be fine. Scrub any hard to reach spots and remove any dirt, food debris, or poop from all surfaces. Hard toys can be disinfected with a weak bleach solution and allowed to dry away from the cage. Be sure to always mix and use bleach away from your bird to avoid exposing him to the strong fumes. Soft or fabric toys or stuff that can't be properly cleaned should be removed and discarded They can be replaced after the mite infestation has been dealt with.

Once the cage is completely clean, spray all surfaces with the mite spray, following any instructions on the packaging. A second or third application maybe necessary to kill all lifestages of the mites.

If you have carpets, vacuum them really well and frequently. And launder any cloth or fabric items near the cage, including a bird cage cover, if you use one. Wash your clothes too.

And be sure to get medicine for your bird. Cleaning his environment is important, but it won't help if he is still infested.
they are not on my bird idk my sister said he has mtes so I assumed.
 

Destiny

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The veterinarian should be able to clear up any confusion and confirm if you are dealing with bird mites or not. There are several different kinds of parasitic mites that can plague your bird. Feather mites will damage feathers and scaly mites tunnel under the skin and damage the bird's feet and beak. Some kinds of mites can even get into your bird's lungs and cause breathing problems.

For mites, you definitely need to clean the environment very well to prevent the infestation from coming back, in addition to treating all infected birds. Typically, if one bird has symptoms, all birds should be treated, since they probably all have mites.
 
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TheMacDadd

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The veterinarian should be able to clear up any confusion and confirm if you are dealing with bird mites or not. There are several different kinds of parasitic mites that can plague your bird. Feather mites will damage feathers and scaly mites tunnel under the skin and damage the bird's feet and beak. Some kinds of mites can even get into your bird's lungs and cause breathing problems.

For mites, you definitely need to clean the environment very well to prevent the infestation from coming back, in addition to treating all infected birds. Typically, if one bird has symptoms, all birds should be treated, since they probably all have mites.
cleaned cage. wasn't termites (confirmed by vet). it's all clean and good now but blaze flew out of his cage and flew EVERYWHERE it was a traumatizing experience for ALL of us he is in his normal clean cage now. but I'm afraid he lost my trust, he trusted me a little as he would eat from my hand but now I think he lost my trust because he is terrified and when he was flying around I was trying to grab him grabbed him a couple times but he flew from my hand then i put him in his temporary cage then after put him in his normal cage. I'm leaving home alone right now because he looks absolutely terrified, he is in his own room plenty food and water.

I had 3 birds my whole life all of them canaries. this is my first time holding an alive bird. please tell me how long will it get him to gain my trust again? and how should I restart with him?
 

Destiny

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What are his favorite treats? Bribes seem to work quite well with my aviary birds.

All is forgiven if I bring them millet.
 

finchly

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Rule 1: never ever grab. no matter what. YOu should close the bird off in the smallest room you can. If he gets away from you, ignore. Completely. We even turn our backs. Then I’ll take a bit of millet and lay it on hubby’s shoulder. Then we talk to each other while the bird works out how to get there.

Or we put some yummy food in the cage and carry on about how great it is - ignoring the bird. He’ll go in there.

Yes it takes time, and maybe more patience than you have :) but it’s the way to keep (or gain) trust.

As far as mites. There are several kinds, and most you can’t see. So the vet would have to use a microscope. In fact one kind lives in the feather shaft and never comes out its whole life.

Sooooo to get rid of them. Here’s some information you might find helpful. Also I wasn’t clear on whether you sprayed but
- always spray the room, the cage AND the bird and

-always repeat the application according to package directions. One treatment will never get rid of mites, because of the eggs.
 

TheMacDadd

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What are his favorite treats? Bribes seem to work quite well with my aviary birds.

All is forgiven if I bring them millet.
Update: blaze is on his perch and he doesn't look scared (thank god) and when I went to fix his perch when it fell down and I put my hand in his cage he wasn't scared and then when I fixed his perch he was just watching me and he tiptoed a little so he can move out my way. I will get him millet as a "im sorry" gift.
Thank you so much for actually helping me and baring with me through this whole process!!.I owe you and godbless :)
 

TheMacDadd

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Rule 1: never ever grab. no matter what. YOu should close the bird off in the smallest room you can. If he gets away from you, ignore. Completely. We even turn our backs. Then I’ll take a bit of millet and lay it on hubby’s shoulder. Then we talk to each other while the bird works out how to get there.

Or we put some yummy food in the cage and carry on about how great it is - ignoring the bird. He’ll go in there.

Yes it takes time, and maybe more patience than you have :) but it’s the way to keep (or gain) trust.

As far as mites. There are several kinds, and most you can’t see. So the vet would have to use a microscope. In fact one kind lives in the feather shaft and never comes out its whole life.

Sooooo to get rid of them. Here’s some information you might find helpful. Also I wasn’t clear on whether you sprayed but
- always spray the room, the cage AND the bird and

-always repeat the application according to package directions. One treatment will never get rid of mites, because of the eggs.
thank you so much all is good now and thank god he didn't have mites (my vet confirmed) his cage was just really dirty but I deep cleaned it and its fine now. thank you so much for the advice and godbless.blaze seems fine and all is good:birdance:.
 

finchly

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Yay! Good to hear.
 

Destiny

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I'm glad to hear everything worked out. Happy to help. Birds are awesome. It is scary when things go wrong, but don't worry. You have a flock of fellow bird-lovers to support you. :D

20201012_144518.jpg
 

TheMacDadd

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I'm glad to hear everything worked out. Happy to help. Birds are awesome. It is scary when things go wrong, but don't worry. You have a flock of fellow bird-lovers to support you. :D

View attachment 375175
destiny I have a question, today before I cleaned the cage blaze was tucking his legs under his feathers. EXACTLY what your rainbow gouldian finch is doing in the picture you sent. what does that mean?
 
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