Bird Brainz

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Most seed that companies harvest now won't ship for a year. There are insect eggs on the seed when it's harvested. Nothing can be done about that unless you want toxic seed. The moths start out as a tiny caterpillar and that is who creates the webby lumps at the ceiling line in most bird rooms. ( ick) They make that little cocoon then hatch out as a moth. The process takes from 30 to 45 days depending on the temperature and humidity. They don't do any harm but they are a pain. What works best to catch the moths is to set up a red night light near the ceiling and hang a fly paper next to the light. It catches them better than those traps, as the moths are attracted to the light. I would not leave the fly paper up all the time unless you are absolutely sure none of your birds can get out. It's a nightmare if a bird gets stuck on that paper. The fly paper can be enclosed in either a small cage for safety or in 1"x1" hardware cloth.

I read somwhere that mice don't care for the smell of peppermint, and the best way to deter them is to use peppermint oil on cotton balls in an area where they hand out, or to use peppermint leaves. Now I have done this and have seen little or no mice activity, but I'm not sure if I can say it's the peppermint or the large ammount of kitties around my place Try this and see for yourself!

And finally here is a tip my vet told me about. If you see a crack in a bird egg and it hasn't pierced throught the membrane you can repair it with Nu Skin. It's a product a lot like a liquid bandaid.

Sorry about the lack of photos and activity on the bird play gym. I haven't been able to post much due to MSN and we lost some of the smaller wood pieces thank to Izzy my french bulldog termite. Will get more stuff tomorrow and good ol MSN might let me post pics by then!

A few years ago I got an infestation of those little moths. They were everywhere. and I just hated the little devils! Pepper freaked out whenever one flew into his cage, and I was afraid he was going to hurt himself, because he'd flap all over the place. I change the birds' water twice a day, and almost everytime I changed it out, there'd be at least one floating moth in each water dish. If I ever get another scourge of moths, I'll try your remedy, Nanners.

Or......you can freeze the seed mix for a couple of days. This keeps the critters dormant. We haven't had a a problem with seed moths for years since we started storing our bags in the freezer and just removing what we need for a week at a time.

Yes the freezing the seed works really well too. I buy different seeds from the health food store mix it up and store it The light trick also works for flies at night. Nan

Nan, I LOVE you! We are right now in a battle of wits with those moth-devils, and I am sad to say, losing horribly! We used those sticky traps that look like a triangle, which helped some, but not enough. I have just about everything I own (food wise) either in the fridge or in the freezer. I've taken to double plastic bagging/Tupperware-ing everything else that can't be in the fridge, and yet, those devils are still around! My husband thinks we must be "breeder central" for moths. I must fly-swat ten a day!

Tomorrow I purchase a red lightbulb and some fly paper!

but when you take them out of the freezer they hatch to...

Samm, I have been freezing seed for 18 years. Never had a hatch after freezing seed. Are you leaving it for a full 24 hours?

Important Announcement The MSN Groups service will close in February 2009. You can move your group to Multiply, MSN’s partner for online groups. Learn More
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