little moths

BillD · Post by **BillD** » Sun May 24, 2009 10:50 pm

I have an infestation of little moths and I'm not sure where they are coming from. I don't know if they are from the free Golden Feast food or the Millet Sprays I purchased from the last Bird Mart.

Has anyone else had that problem?

I'm worried that they will get into everything. I did see a worm/grub crawling along the wall today in my bird room.

Would appreciate any suggestions on how to eradicate them.

CandoAviary · Post by **CandoAviary** » Sun May 24, 2009 11:43 pm

I don't know if you have geckos there...but in my bird room they keep any bug in check... I have a big fat one that lives in there and I found him in my meal worm box one day

atarasi · Post by **atarasi** » Sun May 24, 2009 11:45 pm

I hear that bird seed moths are pretty common. I haven't had them....yet. You can get a Bird Seed Moth Pheromone Trap. The trap lures the male moths into the trap and they die. This stops the breed cycle of these moths.

BillD · Post by **BillD** » Mon May 25, 2009 12:15 am

I do have Texas Gecko's here, but not in that room. They slip in and out of my computer room, but I haven't seen any lately. If I find some, would they survive there? What should I set up for them?

atarasi, do you know where the Bird Seed Moth pheromone traps may be purchased? I went into my bird room to check on my kids and the moths were flying all around.

HELP!!!

atarasi · Post by **atarasi** » Mon May 25, 2009 12:23 am

Bill, that's horrible! I can't imagine. I know LadyGouldianFinch.com has the traps as well as Dr. Foster Smith. You neighborhood petstore or feed and seed store might have them. I can imagine you'd want those buggers gone NOW!

I keep my bird seed in the freezer. It keeps it fresh and I would like to think it kills the eggs. I hear some companies sell their seed with diatomatious earth (sp?) mixed in their seed which is harmless to birds and kills any potential moths/larvae/eggs. Once you have the moths though, you'll need the traps unless someone else has experience with other methods.

CandoAviary · Post by **CandoAviary** » Mon May 25, 2009 12:23 am

I have a damp sponge I leave on the counter and I I don't feed them anything on purpose. Like I said they do get a meal worm...maybe many? I haven't notice a depletion however. I didn't put the geckos in there, they just got in there by themselves??? I pulled out some grasskeet nestboxes not to long ago that were stored in the cabinet and there were 3 fairly good size ones in there? I went to release them outside od the bird building but one escaped in the room...... I guess they like it in there. I am always finding them and the funny thing is I never see bugs except for the worms I grow.

BillD · Post by **BillD** » Mon May 25, 2009 12:41 am

Thanks Jordan.
The flour moths on LadyGoudlianFinch.com don't seem to be the same. Maybe that will work though. I need to try something soon.

Thanks Candice, If I find a Texas Gecko in my computer room again, which is quite likely, I'm going to find out how to take care of it and put it in my bird room.

I'm really concerned since every time I open the door to the bird room, some seem to escape.

BillD · Post by **BillD** » Mon May 25, 2009 12:45 am

OUCH!! the shipping is more than the price of those moth traps from LadyGouldianFinch.com

dfcauley · Post by **dfcauley** » Mon May 25, 2009 6:25 am

BillD wrote:OUCH!! the shipping is more than the price of those moth traps from LadyGouldianFinch.com

I have always heard about those moths, but never had them....yet

Once I thought I did and called for my husband......they were tiny ladybugs.

I think they are from the seed from what I heard. If you just bought millet, they could have come from that. I keep a HUGE box of millet in my closet. I sure hope I don't see them......

Finch Fry · Post by **Finch Fry** » Mon May 25, 2009 12:19 pm

Is a moth any part of the life cycle of meal worms? If so, perhaps mealworms are a source. Otherwise, yes, flour moths would be the next most common thing.

They come in pasta, flour, seeds, etc. Any starchy food items.

Best bet is to toss anything and everything that is starchy and buy new stuff. Seriously, you don't want to feed your birds that stuff.

DVBourassa · Post by **DVBourassa** » Mon May 25, 2009 12:43 pm

Finch Fry wrote:Is a moth any part of the life cycle of meal worms?

Nope. They're beetles.

CandoAviary · Post by **CandoAviary** » Mon May 25, 2009 5:36 pm

Feeding seed with bugs will not hurt your birds. The only problem with the bugs is that they bore into the seed and eat the inside out so there is nothing for the bird to eat...just empty shells. I buy seed in bulk but I have an upright freezer that holds it. Stays fresh and if there are bugs the freezing stops all development of the cycle...much like cooling mealworms. All seed has bugs,,,just like all flour in your pantry has bugs. It is just a matter of time before they hatch. Haven't you ever opened a bag of flour or box of oatmeal and had little moths fly out? If you can not store your seed in the freezer then buy in small quanities. Perhaps what you bought was already aged and the bugs had begun to hatch out.
This is not a bad thing all the way around. I will bag old seed....like wild bird millet from the store that is on sale and put it in a tight sealed container. I let the little larvae and beetles hatch and let my goldbreast have at it. Once the seed gets too old.... dusty or moldy I through out. I then take a ziploc bag out of the frezzer and start a new batch. It is great fun to watch the goldbreast pick these little bugs off the side of the container as they try to crawl out. Of course I feed these in the outside aviary. any escapees are not a problem. the moths will lay eggs in the seed and they will hatch and be little worms first.... maybe your birds will like these...they are actually more nutricious (protein) than the seed.

fairestfinches · Post by **fairestfinches** » Mon May 25, 2009 9:19 pm

Orange oil extract keeps the seed moths at bay. We use it exclusively for keeping seed moths from starting. Simply put a drop or two on a cotton ball and put the cotton ball in the seed, millet, or eggfood. We carry it on our website, but you can get it any food store that sells spices etc.

As for controlling your existing moth issue. Fly swatters work really well. The moth traps are ok, but swatting is much faster. It's alot more fun if you have a safari hat to wear while hunting them.

Good luck!
Sean

Nagdabit · Post by **Nagdabit** » Mon May 25, 2009 9:26 pm

fairestfinches wrote:As for controlling your existing moth issue. Fly swatters work really well. The moth traps are ok, but swatting is much faster. It's alot more fun if you have a safari hat to wear while hunting them.

Great stuff, thanks for that mental picture

Be vewy vewy quiet, I'm hunting moths hahahahahaha

mickp · Post by **mickp** » Mon May 25, 2009 10:05 pm

now you have a good excuse to buy more birds. firefinches & painteds enjoy catching & eating moths. there have to be a few of the african species that do as well.
just get a few different species, keep buying more till you get the right one