Hay BUGS in hay... I think

[CrystalCavy]

I got my guinea pigs about 3 weeks ago, but after bringing them home and buying a bag of Oxbow hay, I've noticed these beetle-like bugs in my house. I catch 3 a day on average, but I've caught 10 in one day before. I suspected that it came from the hay, but I'm not sure. I tried searching for the beetle on Google Images to try and find a match and came across something called the Alfalfa Snout Beetle, but my hay is Timothy hay. Is the hay still safe for my guinea pigs and what can I do to get rid of the beetles?

https://fieldcrops.cals.cornell.edu/forages/insects-forage-crops/alfalfa-snout-beetle

 

[CavyTV]

I have actually had a similar problem before...only the bugs were dead. Every box of hay I bought from Small Pet Select would have crushed bugs on the strands of hay. Beetles, bees...all sorts of things. It was so disgusting, especially since I had to put my hand in the box of hay to pull some out for the pigs to eat. I now try to buy only Oxbow hay and so far I haven't spotted any bugs.

If I were you, I wouldn't continue feeding that hay. Check to see if the beetles are in fact coming from the hay. Can you see them crawling on the hay? If so, throw it out. Also, are the bugs in one area or are they everywhere in the house? If they are everywhere, especially where the pigs are...that is concerning. I'm not sure if that kind of beetle likes to be around feces\animal fur... If their cage is on the floor I would try to find a way to get it off the floor and on some sort of stand if I were you.

I'm not sure how you can get rid of them... Are you sure they are not coming from outside?

Also, I think you should contact the company/store you bought the hay from. If the bugs are coming from the hay then you should ask for a refund or at least a new box of hay...with no bugs of course.

 

[CrystalCavy]

Ok thanks. I'm going to do a thorough check of the hay. Also, the only place where I'm catching the beetles is on the bottom floor of my house (which is where I keep the guinea pigs, as well as the hay). My dad is also catching the bugs whenever he sees them (he was the first to notice them) but I dunno if he's caught any elsewhere. In the link above, it said the Alfalfa Snout Beetles eat the roots of alfalfa hay, but I don't feed my pigs alfalfa hay and I've never had alfalfa hay in my house before.

 

[CrystalCavy]

The Alfalfa Snout Beetle (this is what the bug I'm catching looks like)