Subject: Advice wanted on bird parasites
Date: Jul 9 22:35:44 1996
From: Jim Elder - jime at eskimo.com


The four baby barn swallows on our front porch are now about 3
weeks old and just starting to exercise their wings but suddenly there are
bugs everywhere in the hundreds. These bugs are LITTLE. Even with a
magnifying glass they are too small to see any features - maybe a tenth
the size of a flea. We are calling them mites but we don't actually have
any idea what they are. Can anyone out there help us with some questions:
a) What are they?
b) Are they dangerous to us (disease carrying or prey on humans
themselves)?
c) Are they dangerous to our five month old baby who can't even
try to remove them?
d) Are they life-threatening to the baby (or adult) swallows
e) Is there anything we can do about them. We have sprayed the
floor below the nest which may be helping to prevent spread into the house
but certainly isn't helping the birds any.
f) What is the typical amount of time for swallows to fledge (so
we can spray around the nest). The spray we are using is intended
primarily for fleas but indicates it works on other pests (ticks for
example)
Any information will be much appreciated. Thanks

Jim Elder (jime at eskimo.com)
SEA, Inc.
7030 220th St SW
Mountlake Terrace, WA 98043