Moths, please help!

[Giplet]

Please help! I have my piggies in my room. The last few months I have had an incessant moth problem in my bedroom, I've had at least one a week. The last few days it has registered that they are mostly around the guinea pigs cage when I see them and just now I have found two in their cage; one on the underside of a cardboard box house and the other underneath the platform.

I'm suddenly panicing and I think that my babies have been co-habiting with moths. This can't be good and I feel like the worst guinea pig mum in the world. :weepy:

Please please, what should I do? Has anyone else ever had this problem? Please help!!!:weepy: I feel so bad.

 

[Fluffball]

Dont feel bad its not your fault really! You cant help moths coming inside... do you have any idea what area they are coming from? A hole in the fly screen on your window for example? Patch up where you think they might be originating from if you can find it.

You can buy an electric insect repelant. Its a device which sets off an electric charge to repel cockroaches, moths, e.t.c. You can buy it in supermarkets. Moth balls also help, Im not sure where you can buy them from though....

Sorry that I couldnt help more I dont know much about keeping moths away only what i've told you! Hope I have helped your situation a little.

 

[nonamian_girl]

I'm sure you could buy some kind of moth traps somewhere. Other than that, I would suggest changing the litter often and try not to leave spoiled veggies in there.

 

[Giplet]

I clean their cage every Thursday and they have their veggies downstairs in the evening, so it can't be that. I'm going to try Fluffball's suggestion of the electric device thingy, if I can find one. Do you think I should keep the girls out of the cage for the meantime? I could keep them down stairs in the temporary run I put up each evening for them.

 

[nonamian_girl]

I'm sure the pigs aren't even aware of the moths, and I don't think the moths can harm them.

 

[Giplet]

You're probably right, I mean, moths can't hurt us. I just feel guilty, because I wouldn't want to live with moths.

Thank you for your help.

 

[jdomans]

The moths are probably coming from the food. You can do a few different things. Take the food outside and on some sort of tarp or towel (whatever) dump it out. You will see clumps of food that looks as if it has webs around it. That will tell you that the food is the culprit. You may even see larvae and moths! Throw it out and get a new bag of food.If you can't see something then put it back in the bag and in the fridge or freezer anyway. From then on put the food in the freezer for about a week. That will kill any legal stuff and it won't hatch out. I am from Georgia and we deal with that problem all of the time. All of my food is in plastic containers or in the fridge. Last Sunday I went to make grits (don't ask!) for breakfast and even being in a plastic jar with a screw on lid, it had mealy worms (which hatch out as moths) in it. I bought a new package of grits and the jar is now in the fridge. this happens to dog food, cat food, hot cereals, etc. Even at the grocery store you can buy something and it already has mealy worms in it. I keep whatever GP food that is not in the canister under the cage in the veggie bin in the fridge.

 

[zambonigirl]

What jdomans said. My brozo just sort of dumped his lovebird onto me when he joined the Army, and he had been buying food from the grocery store. It had little worms all over, and took what seemed like a year, but was really about a month to get rid of the infestation in his room. The bird was positively TINY when I took him in, but after getting the correct food from people who actually know what they're doing, everything's been peachy. I've found that as soon as I get the bird food, and now the piggy pellets, I move the food directly into an air-tight container (tupperware, rubbermaid, etc.) and store it in a cool, dry place. If any critters were within when I purchased, they're dead now!

 

[aqh88]

If they are tiny little off white moths you have the usual moth infestation. Been there, done that, they are still living in my stable after I got rid of them in the house. I'm hoping they froze this winter. They generally come from poor quality food. What have you been feeding? Freeze all pellets even if they don't look infested and take out only what you need daily. Guinea pigs only need 1/8-1/4th cup of pellets a day if you are feeding unlimited hay and 1 cup of good veggies per day. Any food that looks moth infested throw away. Make sure all bedding is sealed up and food in the rest of the house is frozen if possible or sealed up completely airtight because when they start starving they start traveling to find a new food source. They will also nest in open bedding bags. Clean the cage at least weekly. Twice a week would be better. You can use less bedding but clean more frequently to help avoid increased bedding costs. The moths will sometimes build their cocoons behind things on the walls so clean behind any pictures and so forth. Eventually they go away but they can become a real pain and get a lot worse than what you have now.

 

[WritingLife]

What KIND of moth?

If the moths are large (1 inch across or more) and sort of speckly, they're just outdoor moths like Geometrids that aren't harmful to anyone.

But if you have an infestation of the tiny white ones, what you probably have are meal moths, whose larvae eat grain products. If you're feeding your piggies any of the mixes with seeds or grains, they're probably in the food. The little larvae aren't harmful particularly, but the seed-based mixes ARE. If that's what you're using, switch to hay-based pellets milled especially for Guinea pigs. Oxbow or Kleenmama are the recommended brands.

If you're already using hay-based pellets, check them and see if some crazy-mixed-up moths have infested them. If so, stick them in the freezer for a few days. That'll usually kill them. You can store them in the freezer, too, which will help preserve the vitamins.

 

[Giplet]

I never even thought of the food. I buy Gerty Guinea from the supermarket. It comes in a bag which I just close with a clip. On it it says 'a nutritionaly balanced and complete guinea pig food with vitamin C'. The ingredients say 'alfalfa (32%), wheat, maize, peas, oats, carrots (1%), natural flavourings, vitamins and minerals'. (because I have just russeled the bag to look at the ingredients, the girls think they are getting fed again and are all excited.) It does have seeds in it, which they don't eat, but it also has hay in it. Gerty Guinea is what was recommended to me when I got Misty and Nala. I'll definetly check it out and switch to a sealed container if it's alright.

The moths a speckly brown colour and when their wings are closed they just look like tiny chips of wood.

 

[aqh88]

That food is junk. Not the worst of the guinea pig foods but nowhere near good quality and just the fact it has seeds makes it unaceptable. It's not uncommon for guinea pigs to choke on the seeds and little bits in the mixes. Oxbow, KM's pellets, and mazuri(plain not the mixed mazuri) are generally considered the main acceptable foods. There are a few others that are ok but most other guinea pig foods contain more than 1 bad ingredient. For info on pellets read: https://guinealynx.info/pellets.html

 

[Ly&Pigs]

You can buy an electric insect repelant. Its a device which sets off an electric charge to repel cockroaches, moths, e.t.c. You can buy it in supermarkets.

Be careful about these, some of these types of insect reppelents emit a very high frequency sound wave and wouldn't be good on guinea pigs ears.

Listen to Aqh88 on the pellets.