Pest Control for Bird Lice in Cape Town

Bird Lice Traits

Environmental Characteristics

How Bird Lice affects animals and humans

Bird lice, also known as bird louse or bird mites, are typically ‘nocturnal’ pests – they burrow during the day and are more active in the evening. This behaviour corresponds to their innate nature of parasitising nesting birds.

If you are worried that you may have a bird lice infestation in your home, you may have noticed that they are far more bothersome at night than during the day. However, this does not mean that they are completely inactive during the day. When it comes to their breeding grounds, bird lice prefer cotton and fabrics, as they act as insulation and protection for their eggs. As such, these pests are typically found in bedding material and furniture.

At first glance, you may confuse your bird lice infestation for a flea infestation. While bird lice are small, like fleas, they are in fact far smaller, and cannot hop from surface to surface the same way that fleas can. To determine whether you have a flea or bird lice infestation, or to eradicate them completely, get in touch with us today!

Bird Lice parasitize a wide variety of domestic and wild birds, including poultry, pigeons, starlings, sparrows and robins.

These Lice normally remain on birds or in bird nests throughout their life. Lice eggs are laid in nests or on feathers.

Hatching occurs in two to three days, and adults are seen about five days later if birds are present.

However, if a bird falls out of a nest and dies or a nest is abandoned, bird lice seek other hosts. These Bird Lice may enter homes, sometimes in large numbers, to search for food when nests are on or in buildings.

Although Bird Lice often bite people, circumstances have been described where they are found in large numbers but do not appear to annoy anyone.