Bug infestation!

[Thea]

I've had a little bit of a nightmare, basically I opened the gerbil's food yesterday to loads of small bugs, I figured there were probably eggs but they've only just hatched because of the heat. 

I found the source was the bag of Nature's Touch I had - I had some in a draw spare and found the bugs in there too, whereas in the same draw there was also some leftover burgess nuggets as well with no bugs. 

I've thrown out all their food and also the Nature's Touch, but wondering what I should do until I can get some more food in a couple of days.

The gerbil food I have now that I've thrown away the old food is : some Rosewood Naturals Herbs Plus, Burgess Pellets, loads of millet, loads of mealworms, some sunflower seeds, some peanuts (mind you I could have taken the peanuts and sunflower seeds out of the mix, I can't remember, I'd better check them for bugs, but the mealworms and millet are safe for sure), a bag of hay (but I believe they just chew on hay? I have heard they eat the heads so I'm not sure), some treats such as plain popcorn, and obviously the fruits and veggies that I have. 

Basically, is this okay for them to eat for a couple of days before I buy some new food? Apart from the burgess pellets basically everything is treats so I'm not sure what to do!

I'm also a bit concerned since they've obviously been eating food with eggs on it for months since I made a huge batch of food and stored it in a airtight container. Is that... bad for them? They are both really healthy from what I can see and active, but it just worries me a bit! I also fed them yesterday before the bugs started crawling out, but I only fed them a small bit as I'd fed them some other things in the morning.

And stupidly I left the nature's touch open in the draw, along with the burgess nuggets. I don't know why since almost all of the time I would put a clip on it to keep it fresh, but anyway, that means that the burgess nuggets could have eggs in it (I can't see any bugs). I'd rather not throw it away really as I can't see any bugs, I'll do it if I have to, but is there any way I could cook the nuggets and then feed them to the girls just to be on the safe side? 

Ooh it is a bit stressful   I just want the best for Pippa and Mali so if anyone's had any similar experiences or advice, let me know please!


 

[LilyandDaisy]

Nature's Touch is quite notorious for being infested unfortunately. The Burgess pellets plus the treats will be fine for them until you can get more food. If you don't want to use the Burgess pellets as they may have eggs, there's no harm in feeding just millet, sunflower seeds, mealworms etc for a couple of days. You could also give them some plain human cereals such as oats, shredded wheat etc.

I think the eggs are very unlikely to be harmful when eaten. I wouldn't bake the pellets as it may affect the nutritional quality (destroying certain vitamins). Freezing for at least a couple of weeks can kill some insect eggs but not all.

[Thea]

Thank you so much, that's a shame as I really like adding some nature's touch in but really don't want all the bugs again. I guess I could only use it in the winter to be safer because the eggs definitely hatched because of the heat. I keep finding them on the floor (not sure how but I don't really want to know!) or climbing up the wall and it isn't very pleasant!

I didn't consider the fact that cooking the pellets could take away nutrition, but that does make sense. I won't do that then - my main worry was that I could put the pellets in and one or two wouldn't get eaten, and the eggs would hatch and a whole new infestation would start. I'll try feedng them in a bowl, but I'll get new food as soon as I can so maybe it is just best to use the other food I have? There's not much point in freezing if I'll have new food by the time I take it out!

[betty]

I keep finding mealworm beetles roaming around the house too! I can't belive my animals didn't manage to eat them in the first place - or managed to kick them out some place - but I can't belive it is the same rogue beetle sussing out their favourite room in my house?

And yes, all the food you have will be fine cobbled together until you get some new food - and to confirm porrige oats if you have some - mine love them!

[Thea]

Oh that's so frustrating for you! The bugs in my gerbil's food are tiny, but mealworm beetles in the house can't be nice at all.

Ah yes that's very true, I'd normally add porridge oats anyway to their food but since I don't have it any more I should give them some

[betty]

Normally it is me pointing out to the other half all his escaped crickets and locust - but now I get waved down instead with some over the top pointing and laughing!!!

At least mealworm beetles are easy to see and pick up - the crickets make my ears crackle when I see them move....

[Markpd]

at your other 1/2, he's not really making the most of it!!

Thea
Sorry to hear about you infestation, nightmare!
Another additional possible food source (if you have any and if the new food hasn't already turned up) is multi grain or multi-seeded brown bread. My boys like my bread (on the rare occasions I give them some).

[Thea]

Thanks Mark, I did actually manage to get some new food yesterday (quite similar to Gerry Gerbil) so it's all fine now apart from finding the occasional bug walking around!

But I'm loving the new treat ideas lol! I remember my past gerbils loving a little bit of bread from time to time

[yeti218]

Jul 22, 2021 6:06:12 GMT -8 betty said:

Normally it is me pointing out to the other half all his escaped crickets and locust - but now I get waved down instead with some over the top pointing and laughing!!!

At least mealworm beetles are easy to see and pick up - the crickets make my ears crackle when I see them move....

Does your partner have reptiles? What kinds?

[betty]

Tarantulas mainly - and some giant day geckos.

[yeti218]

Cool! Those geckos look awesome.

I like reptiles, and I love how beautiful you can make their enclosures, especially when you can add live plants. But I'm really not interested in having a pet that I need to feed bugs too.

I volunteer at a wildlife rehab and have to feed all kinds of live and dead bugs to baby birds, and I just set aside any squeamish feelings and do the work. But as soon as I leave the building I really want nothing to do with bugs and am happy to keep my house bug-free.

[betty]

Yes, a bug-free house is always ideal!

[Thea]

Very annoyingly there's more bugs! I'm making my own food mix as some may have seen, and I started mixing it again today - and just as I was adding the sunflower seeds, I noticed lots of bugs in the food! There were loads in the sunflower seed pot as well, which makes sense as I stupidly used the sunflower seeds that I took out of the infected mix ages ago and forgot it was from then. Anyway, I've put the food in the freezer and I guess I'll leave it there a couple of days - I know that kills the bugs but what about the eggs? I don't really like throwing things away and I've added quite a few ingredients already - but I will get rid of the food if necessary. Is there any way I can still use it though?

[Markpd]

Hi Thea, sorry it seems we missed this (I don't recall getting a notification, odd).

What did you do in the end?
Perhaps the bugs could be extra protein for them!

[Thea]

No worries, I completely forgot I posted this!

I didn't really do much being honest, just got rid of the infested seeds and have kept the food in the freezer since. My food mix is completed as I decided to start again, but I may be able to use it in future if I keep the food in the freezer until then.

Haha, true! I don't fancy dealing with live bugs, I'll stick with dried meal worms and calci worms for now