# Bugs or weavels in feed!



## The_Dirteeone (Apr 18, 2010)

I bought a bag of feed Saturday,and as usual,I mixed part of it with pellets and kept part as is.The next day,I noticed a few little bugs in it.I looked at the remaines of the new feed and sure enough that was the source.I was told to put it in the freezer for 48 hours and not to worry.Has anyone had this happen,and should I be worried?


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## Pawbla (Jan 6, 2009)

Usually you can find little bugs in non-properly sealed seed bags. Were those seeds?


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## The_Dirteeone (Apr 18, 2010)

Yes they were,I buy the brand regularly,but this is the first sign of bugs.


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## sky tx (Mar 1, 2005)

In Texas with this HOT weather-I have a freezer in the garage I keep feed in. Take out about 5 gallon bucket as I need it in the loft.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Freezing it would be a good idea. It'll kill everything. I once bought a bag from a new place. It was Kay tee seed. I didn't open it until about 1 1/2 weeks later, and it was FULL of worms and moths. I wouldn't give that to my birds, even if frozen first.


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## TerriB (Nov 16, 2003)

Weevils can lay their eggs inside grain, so they hatch when conditions are right (warm). Lots of bugs would concern me, too!


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## MaryOfExeter (Sep 30, 2007)

Sometimes it isn't necessarily the packaging, but the bugs just happened to lay eggs or hide in the seed before it got in the bag. Either way, it always concerns me when I find bugs in a new bag of food. It's only happened to me a couple times, and the overall quality of the feed wasn't good to start with. It looked 'dirty' - smelled dusty and had bits of straw and such. Needless to say, didn't get that feed any more.

Before I changed the containers I kept my feed in, sometimes the earwigs got in there. Now we keep it in big metal trash cans that close tight. If you add some DE to the feed bins, it'll help prevent bugs.


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

I say old feed, check the date.


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## re lee (Jan 4, 2003)

feed stores that do not sale the feed at a steady rate may have that feed for several moths And warm weather the bugs get active. ruins the feed. A feed store with higher turn over you see less problems. I would take it back to the store And check other bags And if they are bad at least the store would know and maybe order new feed. problem is in some areas pigeon mix is getting harder to get without driving aways. The last few years i had the birds i had to drive 80 miles 1 way to buy pigeon feed. And use to have 3 feed stores in town that stocked it.


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

Get a Baby Quail or Bantam Chick...and they can eat the Bugs..!


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## John_D (Jan 24, 2002)

I've had grain weevils here a couple of times, and once they get out of the grain sack it's a devil of a job to get 'em!

I've kept some feed in my front room (for the balcony and the temporary residents) and it only takes a few weevils to have been hiding their eggs away inside corn or other items, and some food to roll away into an obscure place, and the summer heat will soon see little dark things wandering around (not easy to spot if you have a dark brown carpet).

Few weeks back I had to spray all over with a permethrin-based insecticide (same stuff as in pigeon bug sprays), for three days, and vacuum the little beasties up from everywhere.

The potential danger is that they can be vectors for tapeworm, or so I've read, so last thing I want is the pigeons eating them 

They can live up to 12 months, and survive winter, too!

John


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

John_D said:


> I've had grain weevils here a couple of times, and once they get out of the grain sack it's a devil of a job to get 'em!
> 
> I've kept some feed in my front room (for the balcony and the temporary residents) and it only takes a few weevils to have been hiding their eggs away inside corn or other items, and some food to roll away into an obscure place, and the summer heat will soon see little dark things wandering around (not easy to spot if you have a dark brown carpet).
> 
> ...


Yes.. They're horrible to get rid of. I had an open bag of seed in the house several years ago for the outside birds. Those horrible little moths hatched and got into the house. I got the seed out of here fast, and never kept seed in the house like that again. But I can't begin to tell you how long it took to get rid of them. Just when you think you've got them all, more would hatch from God knows where they were hiding. It was awful.


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

Jay3 said:


> Yes.. They're horrible to get rid of. I had an open bag of seed in the house several years ago for the outside birds. Those horrible little moths hatched and got into the house. I got the seed out of here fast, and never kept seed in the house like that again. But I can't begin to tell you how long it took to get rid of them. Just when you think you've got them all, more would hatch from God knows where they were hiding. It was awful.


I had that happen to a bag of harrison's, little moths.. yikes.. I threw it out, and kept a new bag in the fridge, no more problemos..


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## nabisho (Nov 18, 2004)

*Same thing happened to me with Kay-Tee brand*



Jay3 said:


> Freezing it would be a good idea. It'll kill everything. I once bought a bag from a new place. It was Kay tee seed. I didn't open it until about 1 1/2 weeks later, and it was FULL of worms and moths. I wouldn't give that to my birds, even if frozen first.


I bought a small bottle of treats one time and when I got it home and opened it a bunch of little flying gnats came out, Now I've had a couple of these little flying fellows show up every week for months now, until I got Mr. Starling a couple weeks ago. Every since he got big enough to fly I haven't seen anymore of the little flying gnats, and there's always a smile on Mr. Starling's beak after he takes his nightly fly around the room.

NAB


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

nabisho said:


> I bought a small bottle of treats one time and when I got it home and opened it a bunch of little flying gnats came out, Now I've had a couple of these little flying fellows show up every week for months now, until I got Mr. Starling a couple weeks ago. Every since he got big enough to fly I haven't seen anymore of the little flying gnats, and there's always a smile on Mr. Starling's beak after he takes his nightly fly around the room.
> 
> NAB


Gee, where was he when I couldn't get rid of those things? Who'd have thought of that? All I needed was a great hunter like Mr. Starling. That's too funny! And good exercise for the bird.


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