Dangerous pigeon mite. Appearance of the parasite and habitat. Life cycle and stages of development. Carriers of dangerous diseases. Danger from a parasite bite. Infection of apartments. How to get rid of parasites in an apartment. Tips and tricks.
A person is surrounded by a large number of blood-sucking insects, which, although they belong to species that parasitize animals and birds, also attack people. These parasites include the pigeon mite, which, despite its name, parasitizes other species of birds. Such bird parasites can easily adapt to living conditions, which poses a great danger to humans.
Development cycle
- Mature females lay eggs in birds' nests or in their excrement.
- The larvae are very pale caterpillar-like individuals; the favorable period for development is summer.
- The full cycle from egg laying to the emergence of the larvae ranges from 20 to 25 days, under favorable development conditions.
- During the cold season, fleas and already laid eggs fall into suspended animation and can remain in it for a long period of time.
Important. Pigeon fleas lead an active lifestyle only during the period when the birds are sitting in the nest. At this time, parasites mercilessly bite both adult birds and young offspring. When birds leave the nests and fly to warmer regions, the fleas turn into pupae and remain in the nests until the birds return.
general description
If we talk about the external characteristics of the parasite, they are very similar to ordinary ticks. The pigeon mite has a smaller body size; adult individuals reach 4-10 mm. Also different is the color of the insect; there is a bright stripe on the body, and depending on the saturation, they change color, which can go from light brown to bright scarlet. You can see how they look in the photo.
Most often, parasites are carried and spread to new territories by pigeons. This is due to the fact that pigeons often visit landfills and do not really take care of the cleanliness of their feathers. Different types of parasites collect on feathers, including pigeon mites. These insects do not parasitize on the body of birds, but attack them only for saturation, this happens at night, during the day they hide in secluded corners of pigeon coops.
In order for a female to lay eggs, she must be saturated with blood. After saturation, she is ready to lay eggs, leaving the body of her victim, she finds a place in the nest and lays offspring. The eggs hatch into larvae, which already at this stage require nutrition. They feed on the blood of small chicks.
Unfortunately, these bloodsucking birds are not limited to attacking pigeons and other birds. If they find themselves in conditions where there is no usual victim nearby, they can attack other animals and even people, which is very dangerous.
Why are fleas on pigeons dangerous for humans?
Bird fleas feed on blood; in the absence of birds for a long time, they begin to bite humans. These parasites can settle in a house or apartment and live for a long period of time without visible signs. Pigeon parasite bites can be recognized by the following symptoms:
- Severe pain in the bite area.
- Damage to the skin does not heal for a long time, sometimes turning from a simple wound into suppuration with a bluish tint.
- Immediately after the bites occur, allergies are observed in the form of:
- Elevated temperature;
- Severe itching;
- Chills and fever;
- Inflammation of the lymph nodes.
Pigeon fleas can act as carriers of various infections and diseases , such as:
- Typhoid
- Hepatitis
- Encephalitis
- brucellosis
Therefore, it is highly recommended not to self-medicate , especially if acute allergy symptoms appear on the body immediately after the bites. This may indicate the development of a dangerous disease and if treatment is not started in time, the consequences can be disastrous.
What can you get infected with?
Although, unlike many other ticks, they do not carry Lyme disease, they are no less dangerous. Their bite is usually much more painful and itchy. Worst of all, if they attack the face, then swelling and so-called tick paralysis can prevent us from breathing. Unfortunately, in other places on the human body, bite marks from “pigeon mites” can last up to one and a half years.
In addition, unpleasant hemorrhagic blisters, swelling, lesions and redness may appear at the site of the bite. Many of them are accompanied by fever. If we suffer from allergies or are particularly sensitive, bird mites can even lead to inflammation of the lymphatic vessels or anaphylactic shock. Parasitologists warn that there have been cases of death after pigeon bites in Poland.
Parasites also carry so-called avian salmonellosis, tick-borne encephalitis and so-called “goat flu”, which leads to damage to the digestive and respiratory systems.
Signs of bird infection
There are a number of signs by which you can recognize whether a bird is infected with parasites or not :
- The bird's feathers are constantly frayed, which may indicate that it is bothered by bites and itching.
- The behavior of the bird is restless and aggressive. Frequent parasite bites make the bird nervous.
- Excessive loss of down and feathers indicates an advanced stage of the disease.
Dangerous blood-sucking flies
Diptera blood-sucking flies, or bloodsuckers, as pigeon breeders call them, are also dangerous. They are very aggressive and cause serious pain to birds with their bites.
Birds experiencing constant itching lose their appetite and may completely refuse to feed. Very often, because of bloodsuckers, pigeons stop hatching their chicks and leave the nest. The hatched babies suffer from anemia and are far behind their peers in development.
It makes no sense to treat such chicks until the blood-sucking flies are completely removed from the dovecote and their eggs are destroyed. Most often, insects like to settle in the neck and base of the tail. Bloodsuckers move very quickly and are quite difficult to catch.
The brain of an adult pigeon contains particles of magnetite, thanks to which it is able to return to its nest using the Earth's magnetic field. Birds deprived of blood lose the ability to correctly orient themselves and may not find the dovecote after release.
The main sign of the presence of bloodsuckers is the separation of the tips of the feathers from the body of the pigeon and the overly excited state of the bird, which is forced to constantly clean its feathers.
When purchasing a new individual, the breeder should first carefully examine its plumage in order to prevent blood-sucking flies from infecting other pigeons.
How and where can you get infected?
Considering that flocks of pigeons live in almost every yard, both in the city and in the countryside, the risk of bringing pigeon fleas into the house is very high for every person.
There is a high risk of infection:
- Through direct contact with birds (a pigeon pecked bread from a hand, sat on its head, and so on)
- Flea larvae can be carried into the house on shoes (very often they live in bird excrement)
- During the trip , visiting caves, grottoes and places with large concentrations of birds.
- If the balcony is not glazed , when birds have free access to the balcony, they can spend a long time there, shit, nest, and so on.
What you need to know about ticks
Parasites are active only at night. The adults attack the pigeons, after which the female is ready to lay eggs. The larvae have underdeveloped mouthparts, so they can only attack chicks; their skin is much softer and it is easier for them to gnaw through it. After they chew their way through, they penetrate the skin, where they develop and move on to the next stage. One chick can be attacked by several individuals at once. With such massive attacks, the pigeons suffer greatly and may stop developing and die.
Regardless of what stage of development an individual is at, it poses a great danger to humans. The risk of contracting these parasites is actually quite high, even if you do not keep or be near a dovecote.
When pigeons fly, they spread parasites. This way a blood-sucking insect can land on a person or on the territory from which the tick gets on him. It is also worth considering that these parasites can go without food in the nymph stage for 3 years. Regarding the danger to humans, it is the larvae that pose the greatest danger. Because once they get on the human body, they can parasitize on it for a week. When attacked by an adult, one hour will be enough to get enough and fall off on its own.
How to treat birds
Specialized pet stores offer a wide selection of products for feathered friends, the action of which is aimed at destroying parasites. Manufacturers offer different forms of preparations: you can spray the product as an aerosol, you can rub it into feathers , it all depends on the preferences of the buyer.
After treating birds, it is imperative to treat the latter’s habitat . This is done in order to avoid re-infection of birds.
The person handling the birds and cages must wear gloves, a cap and protective outerwear. Upon completion of the procedure, the person must wash his outer clothing and take a shower.
Prevention measures
To maintain the health of pigeons and protect birds from parasites, experienced breeders recommend taking the following measures:
- Maintain cleanliness: remove dirt and droppings, wash feeders and drinking bowls.
- Systematically carry out disinfection, and if insects are detected, disinfestation.
- Fill holes and cracks in the walls of the poultry house - these are favorite habitats for ticks and bedbugs.
- Provide a proper and balanced diet for birds, including vitamins.
- Prevent contact between domestic birds and wild birds: street pigeons should not be allowed to eat or drink from pets’ bowls.
No one is immune from infection by parasites, including domestic pigeons. The best thing a breeder can do for their pets is to eliminate the possibility of infection in advance by regularly carrying out preventive measures and measures to eliminate parasites. If trouble does occur, you should contact a veterinarian, who will recommend a means to kill harmful insects.
Pigeon fleas in an apartment: how to get rid of them
The room is treated with any insecticidal agent according to the instructions. During the period of action of the drug, the room must be left for a day. Then, upon returning, you should ventilate the room and do a wet cleaning. All surfaces are wiped with a soda solution.
In hard-to-reach places, you can leave some of the product for prevention. To obtain the expected effect, the treatment procedure will need to be repeated 10 - 14 days after the first one .
If there are fleas from pigeons on the balcony, then it also needs to be treated and glazed over time or periodically treated for preventive purposes.
If the apartment is on the top floor, and pigeons have settled on the roof, then you need to remove them from the roof and attic without causing harm to the birds. Then thoroughly treat their habitats and only after that begin disinfection in the apartment.
All types of parasites cannot tolerate the smell of wormwood; as a preventative measure, you can apply a few drops of wormwood essential oil to your shoes and clothes , and calmly go to feed the pigeons or travel through a cave.
Preventive actions
In addition to the fact that pigeons can cause infection with dangerous ticks, these birds also pose another danger to humans. The fact is that their droppings are an ideal environment for the proliferation of bacteria and infections. Therefore, it is highly undesirable to contact them.
If pigeons live in the attic of your house, you should protect your premises as much as possible from the penetration of ticks and other parasites. Seal all cracks and cracks, regularly carry out preventive treatment of the room with special means.
Most often, young children and elderly people are attacked by parasites, because they simply do not notice the insect on them. You should be as careful as possible and minimize contact with birds.
When treating, consult your veterinarian
When breeding ornamental birds, their health plays a very important role, affecting the exterior and external characteristics of the pigeon. The breeder needs to regularly examine their pets and prevent the development of infections.
Birds can be treated in various ways, using a variety of folk and medicinal remedies. When treating fleas, the widely used products Frontline, Piren-D, and Ivamek are popular. The preparations “Dichlorvos”, “Raptor”, “Kombat”, “Clean House” demonstrate excellent results for the destruction of bedbugs and ticks.
“Chinese Dust” and “Antiparasite” are great for scabies mites.
If you need to remove worms, you can use the special drugs Prasifen and Levapharm.
In all cases, it is best to first seek advice from a veterinarian, who will be able to recommend the best remedy for curing pigeons of external and internal parasites.
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Write in the comments how you treat your pigeons for parasites.
All living beings are attacked by various parasites. Pigeons are also no exception. These harmless birds suffer from at least 6 types of parasites. They live mainly on the feather covering of birds, eating it.
Carriers of common scabies
Wild pigeons are carriers of the scabies mite, which has microscopic dimensions of up to 0.5 mm and chooses the bird's epithelium as its place of residence.
This tick is not blood-sucking. It feeds exclusively on the upper layer of skin, in which it drills numerous passages. The main danger of this parasite is that birds affected by it experience constant discomfort and itching. They lose their appetite, begin to reproduce less well, and try to pull out their feathers to get to the insects’ habitat.
Scabies mites can be transmitted to people who frequently come into contact with infected birds, causing them discomfort. Most often, the peak of human scabies infection occurs in late summer - early autumn. Then children who vacationed in villages and constantly had contact with poultry, which could be infected with this parasite, come to the cities.
To prevent the appearance of scabies mites in the poultry house, you need to limit the interaction of domestic pigeons with wild birds as much as possible, and also equip several baths in which your pets can clean their feathers of parasites.
The danger of pigeons for pets
For animals, the harm from pigeons is no less than for people. Nature has decreed that infections are not particularly scary for the “Sisars” themselves; they may not get sick, but they can easily infect the entire population of the poultry farm.
Just one flock of 100 pigeons produces more than 2 tons of excrement per year. It is human waste that poses the main danger to people, animals and buildings. On average, about 7 million pigeons live in a metropolis, so the amount of litter is simply gigantic. And all this settles on roofs, parapets, roads and other surfaces.
Cleanliness and regular cleaning of the poultry house
The basis for maintaining the health of home-bred pigeons is maintaining cleanliness in the poultry house, which must be cleaned daily of dirt and bird waste. Remember that most often parasites live in nests, so cleaning and disinfection of the room must begin with them.
The absence of cracks, which are recommended to be carefully filled, will not allow bedbugs and ticks to find a place to hide. And monthly treatment with disinfectant solutions will completely destroy adults and larvae. That is why it is important for pigeon breeders to carry out disinfection measures regularly. Even despite the viability of the eggs, the larvae will constantly die without turning into adults capable of reproduction.
If parasites are detected in at least one bird, it will be necessary to carry out preventive treatment of all individuals living in the dovecote.
Parasites of the intestinal tract
When communicating with their wild counterparts, domestic pigeons can become infected with worms, the most common of which are roundworms, capillaries and cystodiasis.
The most common roundworms are long worms (2-7 cm) that can live in the small intestine of birds. Pigeons ingest eggs along with food or by consuming water from a contaminated source, which is a watering place for wild birds. Often the source of the disease can be ordinary earthworms, which are carriers of the parasite.
If worms appear in pigeons, then a deterioration in appetite, lethargy of the bird, loss of shine in the wings and eyes, and diarrhea and vomiting begin. Chicks infected with worms develop very slowly, becoming extremely weak. The skeletal muscles noticeably atrophy, and the keel itself of the young pigeon remains very thin.
It is impossible to completely protect poultry from worms, since their eggs can be spread by the wind. Therefore, it is necessary to regularly clean the poultry house and disinfect it using special means.
