Pests

[davefv92c]

a couple of questions these damn fruit flies, and nats that hang out around the wet food is there anything you can do about it? I have noticed less with cooler weather.

I live in a pretty much rural area deer eating the flowers in the yard at night and all the other critters that wonder through. well my little dog will carry a flea or two in every now and again even with all the precautions you can do.
how do you get rid of them if they ever make it to a bird?

planning on doing a cage on an open porch next summer to avoid the insects I was planning on getting one of those screen rooms to put the cage inside of. sound like a winner?

thanks all

 

[Kiwibird]

I hate those things!

If your birds are clipped, put some bowls around with vinegar and a squirt of dish soap in them. The flies are attracted to the vinegar, but the dishsoap affects the surface tension of the vinegar so they sink (and, obviously, drown).

If your birds are flighted and could get into the bowls somehow, instead cut a soda bottle in half and invert the top half (like a funnel, lid removed of course) into the bottom half, which would be filled with the soap/vinegar mix) and duct tape them together so if a flighted bird did get near them, they couldn't land or drown in them and would not be able to stick their head in and take a taste either. The flies will simply fly down the funnel into the vinegar trap.

 

[SailBoat]

I hate those things!

If your birds are clipped, put some bowls around with vinegar and a squirt of dish soap in them. The flies are attracted to the vinegar, but the dishsoap affects the surface tension of the vinegar so they sink (and, obviously, drown).

If your birds are flighted and could get into the bowls somehow, instead cut a soda bottle in half and invert the top half (like a funnel, lid removed of course) into the bottom half, which would be filled with the soap/vinegar mix) and duct tape them together so if a flighted bird did get near them, they couldn't land or drown in them and would not be able to stick their head in and take a taste either. The flies will simply fly down the funnel into the vinegar trap.

Now, that's a great trap!

 

[Timmah]

Or similar to the above, use apple cider vinegar and some dish soap in a regular soda bottle - just poke for or 5 holes in the neck of the bottle with a pen or knife after putting the concoction in it (and putting the lid back on). then its a single unit and still works. We caught hundreds of the things at work with that method