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What are bird mites?

Bird mite, often mistakenly called bird lice. Is a pest that affects many areas of the Mid North Coast over the spring period. Bird mites are a tiny (0.5mm), parasitic pest which feed naturally on bird populations. Identifying bird mite with the naked eye is very difficult because of their size. They have 8 legs, are oval shaped and are sparsely covered with short hairs.

Often around structures, they are associated with sparrows, myna birds and pigeons.

When and why are bird mites a pest?

Over spring populations of sparrows and increasingly, indian myna bird start to nest in roofs, walls and around buildings. While nesting and tending to the chicks, the warmth humidity and food source provided by the birds creates a huge population of these pests which are dependant on their host for survival. As populations increase or the chicks grow and leave the nest, the bird mites will begin to ‘scavenge’ for another food source, often finding their way into a house and biting humans. The bird mite population cannot be sustained through blood feeds from humans.

And will naturally subside over (roughly) a three week period. Bird mite bites on humans can lead to swelling, rashes and intense itchiness. Often making it unbearable to avoid treatment and wait the three or so weeks for population decline.

How to control pest bird mites?

Pest bird mite populations required pesticide control. Local Pest Experts offers same or next day treatment to emergency bird mite issues (availability dependant), and effective control is almost immediate.

How to avoid Bird mites?

Avoiding bird mite infestations is achieved by excluding birds from nesting in or close to your house Local Pest Experts also provides a variety of bird exclusion solutions to eliminate further issues before they arise.

Indian Myna nests in a roof

Bird mite