Content

• Steps
• Part 1 of 3: Symptoms
• Part 2 of 3: How to identify ticks in your birdcage and home
• Part 3 of 3: How to remove ticks

Birds often have external parasites, including ticks. If ticks are not removed in time, they can spread to people and cause serious illness and death of the bird. Some birds, such as parakeets and other species of parrots, and finches are more susceptible to tick infestation. Bird mites feed on the blood of birds, they can live in a nest or cage and multiply rapidly. However, in the absence of blood, the ticks die after three weeks. With the help of certain steps, you can get rid of ticks once and for all.

Steps

Part 1 of 3: Symptoms

1. 1 Check for scabs around the eyes and beak. Ticks often bite into the skin of the bird near the eyes and beak. This is a tick Knemidokoptes pilae, it causes knemidocoptosis in birds. In the early stages of infestation, ticks are almost invisible and do not affect the overall health of the bird. However, crusted ulcers can be found in the corners of the beak or on the beak itself.
   • As the mites bite into the skin, these light white growths become thicker and harder to crust over. At the same time, deep ruts and depressions form on the upper part of the bird's muzzle, since the mites make holes and depressions in the skin. Over time, the skin around the eyes and beak becomes pitted and wide and deep pits. This is accompanied by skin irritation and scab formation.
2. 2 Check for signs of irritation and scabs on the bird's feet. Mites Knemidokoptes mutans can also infect the paws of a bird. They burrow into the skin of their paws and lay their eggs in it. As a result, the skin becomes very dry and crusted with white scabs. The waste products of the mites cause severe irritation of the skin, it swells, becomes covered with a crust and a rash.
3. 3 Pay attention to the bird's restless behavior at night and excessive feather grooming. Ticks feed at night, and their bites can cause the bird to become too restless and agitated. The bird may try to scratch the irritated skin against the bars of its cage during the day, which is caused by ticks burrowing deeper into the skin. Apart from trying to get rid of ticks, the bird may brush its feathers and skin too often, although this does not help.
4. 4 Check if the bird is coughing or sneezing, breathing through an open beak, or breathing difficulties. Ticks can also invade the trachea, air sacs, bronchi and sinuses of the bird, making breathing difficult and causing coughing and sneezing. The bird can open its beak when breathing as if it is suffocating. Observe how the bird is breathing - it may have difficulty breathing and open its beak.
   • In addition, when infested with ticks, the bird can lose weight; ticks entering the airways can cause her voice to change and make clicking sounds.
5. 5 Pay attention to feather damage and feather loss. The bird can lose feathers, bald spots appear, and dropped feathers collect on the floor of the cage. This is due to the fact that the bird too often cleans feathers and skin in an attempt to get rid of annoying mites.
6. 6 Examine the bird's head and legs at night for ticks. Ticks are nocturnal; they reproduce during the day and feed at night. Use a flashlight to inspect the bird's head and legs at night - it is possible that they are teeming with ticks. Ticks appear as small red or black spots that move along the skin and burrow into it.

Part 2 of 3: How to identify ticks in your birdcage and home

1. 1 Examine the bird's cage for small red spots. The mites are very small, about 1 millimeter in length, and they are translucent until they are pumped with blood, after which they turn red or black. One way to spot mites is to look around the cage for red or black spots. Watch these spots for five minutes to see if they are moving. Ticks are mobile and can crawl around the cage in search of a bird.
2. 2 Examine your skin for tiny bite marks. When caring for a bird, ticks can easily spread to you, in which case you will also experience characteristic symptoms. Raised, reddish bite marks may appear on your skin, especially around your mouth and nose.
3. 3 As you sleep at night, notice the sensation of something crawling over your skin. At night, ticks crawl out in search of food and move along the skin.
   • Please note that ticks can suck blood from humans, but they do not live on humans, because they cannot complete their life cycle on humans. In addition, they do not carry infectious diseases between humans and birds. However, secondary infections are possible due to scratching and skin irritation.

Part 3 of 3: How to remove ticks

1. 1 Place the bird in a cage and take it to the vet. Although ticks are not visible on birds during the day, a veterinarian will be able to examine the cage to determine if the bird has ticks.
   • Remember that ticks live on the bird, not in its cage. However, if a mite infestation is severe, the cage needs to be treated to get rid of these parasites.
2. 2 Get a prescription from your veterinarian for the topical products you need. The dosage of the most effective tick medications depends on the bird species and body weight, so you should always consult your veterinarian. Over-the-counter drugs are short-acting and may not work. Your veterinarian will prescribe a topical product or injections to help remove ticks from the bird.
   • You should also make follow-up appointments with your veterinarian so that he can follow up on your treatment and make sure the ticks are gone.
3. 3 Treat all birds that live in your home for ticks. Although bird mites are not very contagious, if found in one bird, it is necessary to treat not only that bird, but other birds as well. This precaution will come in handy if the tick has spread to other birds.
4. 4 Do not use tick protection. Similar products are sold in pet stores and over the Internet; manufacturers claim they help to avoid mite infestations. However, these products are not always effective, and many of them contain paradichlorobenzene, or naphthalene. This substance is harmful to birds and can cause liver damage. It is dangerous for birds to breathe in vapors of this substance, so try not to use tick protection.
5. 5 Consider hiring a pest control specialist to get rid of ticks. Some pest control companies are breeding ticks from poultry. If the infection is severe, try using a professional pest control before the situation worsens.
   • Some pest control companies inspect your home for free and estimate the cost of pest control services. Try to find a company that specializes in breeders of ticks in birds, as they will use the right chemicals to prevent the mites from reoccurring.Search the internet for a suitable company.