Pest Control-Hawaii

[Muirennaingeal]

Hello,


I'm new here and was wondering if any Hawaii people could tell me how they go about controlling pests from getting into their birds food and cage especially at night fall?

I don't have a Lovebird yet as I'm still in the researching stage but this question has been on my mind. With my dog I put the food up every night into an air tight container but you can't really do that with a bird SO......


What do you do?


Thanks ahead of time..

[maya_exquisite]

Yay! Another Hawaii person! :happy: Doesn't it suck how bad our ant and roach problem is?!?!

So where exactly are you? My bf (shinbatsu) and I are on O'ahu, Kapolei side, and another member Jeremiah (thebubbleking) is in Waikiki.

There are some things you can do... first, you don't have to leave food out for your bird overnight. You can take the food away when you go to bed and refresh the food when you wake in the morning. If you want to leave food in overnight, though, I'd stick to leaving plain pellets and/or seed. Ants and roaches don't seem very interested in natural pellets or seed that doesn't include extras like dried fruits/veggies/nuts. As long as there's no fresh foods or dried fruits/veggies, you should be okay. Oh, I'd also avoid leaving herb salad - the smell is so potent that it attracts roaches quickly! My lovebird gets Harrison's organic pellets and my bf's Meyer's gets ZuPreem Naturals overnight (and during the day as well as their staple pellet).

Because of the ant/roach issue, we don't give our birds ANYTHING that will attract roaches in their cages. All of their treats and fresh foods are fed in the living room where we can watch and monitor where every little piece of flung food goes. Mika gets fed his sprouts and mash inside of a plastic jar on it's side (mouth open), actually, because he flicks his beak so often when he's got something stuck on it. It contains ALL of the mess and I just clean the jar when he's done. With Raptor, we feed his fresh foods (he hates mash) on his Wingdow because it contains most of the mess as well.

[Muirennaingeal]

Sadly I'm in Nanakuli but....not by choice! hoping to move once the economy picks up :)

Happy to hear that I can give the bird pellets to snack on at night! I wasn't sure what I should do so It's nice to know I can take the food out of the dish at night as I was imagining a horrible scene in the morning if I couldn't! :omg:


By the way, what is herb salad? :confused: I've certainly got a lot to learn and absorb it seems.


Thanks for your reply!

[maya_exquisite]

I like that you added "not by choice"!! :rotfl Don't let Jeremiah see that, I think he's FROM Nanakuli!! :rofl:

Herb salad is a mixture of dried herbs that can be given to your birds for health/holistic purposes. Neither of my boys touch the stuff, so I haven't bought any after the first bag I ordered online.

Where have you been thinking about getting your lovebird? Knowing how breeders are here, I seriously wouldn't trust 99% of them to have actual HEALTHY stock. I don't know a single lovebird breeder on the island that vet checks their birds to, first, make sure they're starting with healthy stock and, second, continue to have disease-free birds. There's only one breeder on the island that I've found to be decent (ZERO on island are GOOD breeders, seriously) and he's up in Wahiawa.

[thebubbleking]

I hear my name? go golden hawks!!!!!! grad nanakuli class of 89 and yes i am white XD

i use a steam shark helps tons!!!!!!

[Bubblelady]

Gussie loves Herb Salad...one of the few "green" things she does like!

[Muirennaingeal]

Where have you been thinking about getting your lovebird? Knowing how breeders are here, I seriously wouldn't trust 99% of them to have actual HEALTHY stock. I don't know a single lovebird breeder on the island that vet checks their birds to, first, make sure they're starting with healthy stock and, second, continue to have disease-free birds. There's only one breeder on the island that I've found to be decent (ZERO on island are GOOD breeders, seriously) and he's up in Wahiawa.


That's unfortunate about the breeders here but somehow not at all surprising :( would one fair better then to acquire one at pet shop? I think they at least let you have a free vet check or something like that if you purchase one though there although I guess it probably depends on the pet store itself and their policies and procedures..

[Muirennaingeal]

I hear my name? go golden hawks!!!!!! grad nanakuli class of 89 and yes i am white XD

i use a steam shark helps tons!!!!!!


My partner's from Nanakuli born and raised. I mean it's not all bad I just have some...shall we say very entertaining neighbors next door.....just like a live version of the Jerry Springer show and I unfortunately get front row seats! :rotfl

[maya_exquisite]

That's unfortunate about the breeders here but somehow not at all surprising :( would one fair better then to acquire one at pet shop? I think they at least let you have a free vet check or something like that if you purchase one though there although I guess it probably depends on the pet store itself and their policies and procedures..

No, there are no pet stores that give free vet checks. And all our pet stores get their lovebirds from the breeders on island anyway. It's just worse at the pet stores because one breeder may have had a healthy batch of birds, but then taken to the pet store and mixed in with other breeders birds they could get sick. I wouldn't buy from a pet shop here ever, ever, ever.

The only "guarantee" pet stores have is that they give you something like three days to get the bird vetted on YOUR dime and if the bird has something, they'll take the bird back for exchange or something. And Avian Specialists here are not cheap. Just for the wellness exam and, at minimum, a gram stain - it'll run you about $100. That's not including any blood work for a basic panel or the big diseases.

Honestly, if I ever wanted another lovebird after Mika (we will see if I can handle that emotionally), I'd probably ask my friend to let one of her pairs have babies (she normally replaces the eggs with dummies because she isn't a breeder nor does she care to be). She feeds her birds almost the exact same diet mine is on, except hers will actually eat mash/fresh fruits/veggies. She regularly gets her birds vetted as well and is friends with my current vet. She's occasionally had "oopsie" babies where she missed replacing some eggs, so I'd probably ask for an oopsie baby. Haha.

If not from her, I would only get a lovebird from this one specific breeder in Wahiawa. While he doesn't get his birds vetted (as with all the breeders here), he is very knowledgeable and is the only lovebird breeder on the island I know of that is actually trying to breed specific mutations and has a focus. He actually has "goals" in mind when he breeds. Last I talked to him, he was moving away from regular Peachfaces and wanting to focus primarily on Opalines and getting specific mutations out of the Opalines. A couple of years ago, there were no Orangefaced Lutino Opalines here, so he was working on producing those for someone willing to pay big bucks on another island.

The only other option is to get a lovebird shipped here from a reputable breeder on the mainland. That is something I am also keeping in the back of my mind as well, because if I can't handle another lovebird I want a Linnie (or possibly Red-Bellied parrot). There are only one or two Linnie breeders on island and no one seems to know who it is, not even the people in our local parrot community. There is a batch of Linnies at the Kalihi Pet Shop, but they have seriously been there for about four or so years (and their life span seems to be about 10-12 years). I'm not willing to risk buying a bird from an extremely unsanitary place like Kalihi Pets. So, I'd have to get a Linnie from the mainland. Shipping can be costly, but I'd rather pay more for a healthy bird from good stock right from the start rather than paying $30-40 for one here and it having a 50/50 chance of it being diseased or sick.

[thebubbleking]

the kahala pet store gives a free vet check but i dont care for them, but if i were you what about saveing a poor bird from the humane sociaty?

[maya_exquisite]

All Kahala Petland gives is a wellness exam - that by itself is a waste of time to me. A wellness exam is nothing more than weighing the bird, feeling the keel bone, and - sometimes - listening to it's heartbeat. Doesn't include a gram stain or anything else that would actually be of real help.

I'm sure the wellness exam would be okay for the newbies that would miss wet nostrils or an underweight bird, but as far as disease/illness goes you'll still have to get testings done.

[HaleBoppPeachyluv]

Why is no one ever from Maui? lonely out here! lol

I don't have time to search for a good breeder, so I sadly admit to purchasing from the one pet shop on the island that carries lovebirds. I think there's one in kihei i saw that carries tiels, but no lovies when i went.

And yup, it was expensive to get Sunny worked up at the vet and she needed to go again a few times in the last couple years, she's been with us 3 years now.

My hubby makes sure to sweep her floor every evening, and we try to change her papers every couple of days. I would suggest checking to make sure they're not hiding in the toys, too. My mom had an issue with that with her lovie. They were breeding (ewww!) under the dangled tangles. We had to hazmat the whole cage.

[maya_exquisite]

Why is no one ever from Maui? lonely out here! lol

Wait a minute!! I thought you moved from Maui to the mainland?!?!

Is my early-onset memory loss kicking in again? :rotfl

[HaleBoppPeachyluv]

nope! :) wasn't me. I've been on maui the whole time. I had a baby last year though, so that curtailed my posting frequency. i'm trying to get on here more often though, poor sunny doesn't get out as much as she should.

[maya_exquisite]

D'oh! There's someone else that lived in Hawaii and moved to the mainland or somewhere - can't remember who then!!

I don't know when the next time I'll go to Maui............ 'cause............... you know............ there's nothing there. :rotfl But if I ever do, I'll have to look you up!! :)