Dear Parrots magazine,
Flies and creepy crawlies
I have been a keen advocate of natural foods for parrots and always search for the best fresh foods that are organic. Together with a lot of greens and vegetables, I include a high quality seed mix, which I buy from a very reputable supplier. I have quite a large kitchen cupboard where I keep all my pet foods for my parrots and three dogs. It is quite amazing how much I keep for them all, but will never cut corners. Needless to say, it all costs me a small fortune.
However, I was taken back recently when I opened the cupboard to find lots of tiny crawling insects, inside one packet of seed and in other areas. I thought this was perhaps an infestation in a small area, but on further inspection, they appeared to be behind other packets, tins and jars. So out everything came and together with my vacuum cleaner, I seemed to have managed to clean them all out. It seems they came from one packet of mixed seed as the packet was crawling with them. Although the packet was unopened, they must have managed to have got out through tiny slits. I have tried to identify them without much success. They are tiny and only about two to three millimetres long with a narrow body and they can move very quickly. They don’t appear to present a health issue, just an irritating nuisance.
However, these tiny creatures are not all I have to deal with, as I also have a problem with what I call tiny fruit flies. I work quite close to my African Grey’s cage that amongst his much varied diet, is a variety of fruit, so think this is what attracts them. As I am viewing my computer screen, I see one or two fly past me, just so irritating as I can never seem to catch them. If anyone has similar problems, I would love to hear. Also, perhaps some good articles for the magazine?
Veronica Evans, by email