How to Handle Apartment Living?

[charmedbyekkie]

One of my biggest concerns about bringing a companion into my life would be the troubles of apartment living.

- How do you handle your neighbours cooking with teflon and other toxic materials?
Because I stay in a tropical country, this is particularly a large concern since apartments tend to be built quite... aerated, with people always leaving their windows and doors open, especially when cooking.

- How do you handle pesticide being used in the complex?
The country where I currently stay sprays to kill mosquitos almost on a weekly basis (yes, country-wide, except for nature reserves), but a side effect is that it's potent enough to also kill butterflies (but not cockroaches, unfortunately).

- Do you find any other difficulties with apartment-living (apart from noise) that would be easily remedied by living in a standalone house?
I ask because majority of the population here lives in apartments due to cost. If it would be safer for a parrot to live in a standalone house, I'd have to move out of the country

 

[chris-md]

1) you neighbors cooking with Teflon shouldn’t be an issue. It’s far enough away that the fumes are diluted by the time they may reach you

2) keep all windows closed when they spray and for a few hours afterwards.

3) when properly cared for, space can be an issue. Ekkies need a large cage, and you’ll need a play stand or two, all which apartment living...could theoretically accommodate. But it would be cramped.

 

[Kiwibird]

We've lived in apartments and never had issues with neighbors cookware or pesticides. As Chris said, teflon fumes get diluted in outdoor air (running an air purifier in your space isn't a bad idea either) and close things up when they spray pesticides/request they not spray in your unit.

Space wise, it's a sacrifice. We have a comparable sized bird to an eclectus (ours is a big male amazon) with similar cage/playstand needs. He definitely takes up a good chunk of living room real estate, but we don't mind.

 

[charmedbyekkie]

Thanks for the advice with the teflon; no doubt we'll probably take extra precaution with an air filter.

As for the pesticide, my bad! I forgot we do pesticide differently in the US (been too long since I lived there). Here, it looks something like this: [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppaB5n1aM-M"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppaB5n1aM-M[/ame]

I typically find that even when closing all the doors and windows, the smell and a little fog still seeps in Would this video change how you manage the pesticide issue? I'm afraid of causing any bird to suffer, but the local birds in my neighbourhood (including the wild parakeets) have yet to move out of the trees (not sure if they fly away when it starts).

As for space, we should be able to manage - I've managed to squeeze a baby grand piano in and plan on selling it before we adopt a parrot, so we're comfortable with sacrificing space But thanks for the reminder!

 

[Kiwibird]

WOW! Ya, that's not how I've seen them spraying here. Any idea what kind of pesticide is being used? Seems with that extreme of an application process, there would be some kind of regulation that it couldn't kill vertebrates like birds, squirrels etc... Not sure which authority to check with, but I'm sure there has to be some way to find out?

If I were you, I would going to the hardware store to get supplies to re-do or upgrade window seals. Not just for a birds sake, but for my own sake as well. Pesticides are toxic to all creatures, humans included. You may also want to consider running one (or more, depending on apartment size) powerful air purifiers rated for VOC filtering.

 

[charmedbyekkie]

WOW! Ya, that's not how I've seen them spraying here. Any idea what kind of pesticide is being used? Seems with that extreme of an application process, there would be some kind of regulation that it couldn't kill vertebrates like birds, squirrels etc... Not sure which authority to check with, but I'm sure there has to be some way to find out?

If I were you, I would going to the hardware store to get supplies to re-do or upgrade window seals. Not just for a birds sake, but for my own sake as well. Pesticides are toxic to all creatures, humans included. You may also want to consider running one (or more, depending on apartment size) powerful air purifiers rated for VOC filtering.

Haha, yeah, I was quite surprised the first time I saw it as a kid. As a mosquito-magnet myself, I kinda appreciate it, but it is overwhelming when you take a day off from work and get greeted by that!

I've been trying to check around and all I found was that it "should be safe" for humans, birds, and other pets, but that they recommend you cover your fishtanks and pet cages

Considering the local parakeets don't seem to mind, perhaps being high up and away helps. Apparently, it's only potent for the 10 minutes of spraying. Will have to looking into how to be insulate/seal windows and doors though.

 

[Kiwibird]

Ya, properly sealing windows is important. We had an issue with neighbors smoking outside and the smell seeping into our office. A quick trip to Home Depot (a hardware store in the US) fixed that problem right up! I'm not sure if you can get their spraying schedule, but you definitely should look into it to be certain you get everything closed up beforehand. We called our HOA to ask when the bug spray people come by and make sure all the windows/doors are closed on those mornings, though they certainly don't spray it in giant clouds here!

Air purifiers are also a good idea and a worthwhile investment. Even if not for the bug spray or odors from neighbors apartments, just the fact you live in a densely populated urban area and air quality is sure to be terrible there. We do too and we can see the freeway from our condo. Air purifiers have made such a massive difference in our indoor air quality. Can't imagine NOT having them!

 

[GaleriaGila]

Wow... lots to think about there.

Noise has always been a huge issue for me, with a male Patagonian Conure. Before the Rb and I had houses, I had to practice a variety of tactics (giving neighbors gift certificates, baking them cookies, offering to pick stuff up for them when I made a store run, watering their plants when they were away, etc.). I would just be as charming as possible and say that I knew I had a loud bird, and that I would try to make it worth their while not to complain.