[NAnlezarck]

Hi all,

We have just found out we have an infestation of carpet bettles.. The thing is we don’t have carpet! We don’t have rugs or any fibrous things, curtains, blankets etc..My whole house is wooden and tiled floors..

I need a birdy safe pest control solution because Mr Rudy is severely sensitive to any type of smell and or pest control.. Whether they say it’s “safe for animals” or not we don’t want to risk him getting sick by using a pest control company because that’s how we figured out he was severely sensitive to it two years ago.. I’ve read about vinegar solutions that may assist in getting rid of them but I’m soo worried about Mr Rudy and his sensitivity.. Any suggestions would be greatly received. Thanks!

 

[Cody]

Not sure if this would work in your case but have a look at this Orange Oil for Insect Control

 

[Aozane]

For what it’s worth, Diatomaceous Earth helps with carpet beetles—I’ve had an unfortunate encounter with them myself. When you get it, it just looks like a white powder to us, but when bugs encounter it, it basically tears them up due to its microscopic edges. You sprinkle it around baseboards, in corners, at doorways/windows/entry points, and anywhere you might have actually seen the beetles. No smell, no chemicals, as it is a naturally occurring mineral (well, more specifically, it’s a blend of minerals that contains the fossilized remains of microalgae, but that’s neither here nor there). The drawback is that you do have to leave the D. Earth down for awhile, and do regular (like every few days to a week) reapplications of it until the beetles are gone, and that can take a bit of time. It’s not the prettiest solution, but it has worked when other things like bug spray (this was pre-owning a bird for me, so obviously spray is out of the question now) didn’t at all.

Since my experience with the beetles and using the D. Earth was pre-bird, I also didn’t have to worry about the bird investigating the white dust, so be mindful of this if your bird has lots of out-of-cage time. But since it’s not good for budgies to be on the ground (e.g. they could get stepped on), perhaps this treatment option might be of use to you.

 

[NAnlezarck]

Oh thank you all sooo much! I did a late night supermarket run and got some non-toxic vinegar and Borax.. After moving the fridge I found the nest! They feed on organic matter.. I.e Birdy feathers 🤦‍♀️ I sprayed a water and vinegar mix under the fridge and put Borax in the corners and pushed the fridge back. The rest of the house I’m currently DEEP cleaning to search for any other places they may be nesting.. I will try both suggestions when i get a change to go to the supermarket again. I needed my house pest controlled anyway for other creepy crawlers (🤮 spiders).. So I might just utilise these options for the general bugs as well! What a stressful night we’ve had haha

 

[StarlingWings]

What a frightful experience, it’s always unsettling to learn that you have pests. Diatomaceous earth is a good idea, I hope that now that you’ve located their nest they should be able to be eradicated 🤞🏻

 

[Aozane]

I was wondering if Borax might work—I use Borax + sugar (+water to make a syrup and put it in very small plastic containers) for ants and it works great. I don’t know if the same or similar might work for carpet beetles—let us know if the Borax helps!

 

[NAnlezarck]

Very frightening and frustrating. I haven’t seen any since I did the clean so hopefully.. They are gone.

Borax and vinegar seemed to have worked but I still want to try the other ones suggested. The water + sugar + Borax is a great idea! It will be summer soon here and when it’s really hot the ants are out at play!

 

[vrabec]

Be careful with DE, it can wreak havoc on respiratory systems for humans and birds alike. Wear a mask when deploying it, and I'd suggest putting the bird into another room for a few hours while the dust settles.

 

[NAnlezarck]

Oh really? That one is out of the question then to use in Summer.. I might just stick to my eucalyptus spray that’s watered down for the rest of the bugs we may see coming over the next few months.. That’s always been a go to for spider killing Lol

Be careful with DE, it can wreak havoc on respiratory systems for humans and birds alike. Wear a mask when deploying it, and I'd suggest putting the bird into another room for a few hours while the dust settles.

 

[StarlingWings]

Peppermint oil is also an effective repellant for bugs, you can soak cotton balls in diluted peppermint oil and put them along baseboards and in cupboards and pantries, this also is effective for bugs!