QUESTION: Hi: A pair of pigeons laid eggs on my terrace, and they hatched about a week ago. I thought the little squabs were so cute and grabbed my camera and started taking pictures of them. I assumed to just leave the birds alone and that eventually, the babies will be able to fly and they'll leave the nest. Then I can go out there, throw some ammonia, and clean out that old nest. I've been looking on different websites where people complain about "bird mites" coming into their homes. Now, I am afraid to leave the birds and their babies out on my terrace. Should I purchase some type of bird mite spray and spray around the area where the birds nest is? Will the spray harm the babies? I don't want to harm the babies, but I do not want to become infected, or have my apartment infested with bird mites. What should I do?
IMAGE: Week old pigeon squabs
ANSWER: Hi Sher - cool picture.  You shouldn't have a  problem with bird mites.  They are mainly a minor pest when someone has lots of birds in the attic and then get rid of them.  One nest isn't going to contain many, if any bird mites.  They do not infest people and if there were any they would be gone in a week or so.  They can't infest the apartment.  Any insecticide you sprayed would hurt the babies.  Don't spray anything. The birds may not even have mites.  Don't let the websites freak you out.     Let me know if you have any other questions.  Enjoy the babies and take lots of pictures!  Jule
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QUESTION: Hi Jule: I'm here with another question. Remember I wrote you about a month ago expressing my concerns about pigeon-bird mites infesting my apartment and biting me...Since I wrote to you last, the pigeon has fledged and flown off. The nest was removed by maintenance workers on june 13. I sprayed all the miticides that I could find and hoped that if any mites were present from the removed nest, the sprays would kill them. When the baby began flying and actually flew away, I removed everything from the terrace and washed it down with ammonia. I also sprayed the pyrethrins and cyhalothrins (Hot Shot) all over the terrace walls and the windows were saturated too. My question...I feel a crawling sensation on my face and lower legs, more so in the evenings. I honestly do not see anything crawling on my skin, but I think I am becoming paranoid. Paper towel lint-now appears to be bugs to me...Are bird mites something I can actually see with the naked eye or on of those magnified make up mirrors? I have also been seeing tiny lint-like bugs on my aluminum window blinds. I thought it was dust until I actually saw one start crawling. I took a pic of it, but nothing clear enough to send to you. Tiny opague...I know all types of mites, gnats, etc., exist, but could these be mites from the pigeons that actually got into my apartment? I noticed a few of these tiny-almost invisible crawlies on my bedroom window blinds and on my terrace door blinds. I immediately sprayed the sprays that I mentioned earlier on the blinds and the crawlies died. Please let me know if I am going to have to spray from now on, or are these just bugs-not pigeon related. Thanks for your information.
Tags: Apartment, Bird, infestation, mite, Nest, Pigeons, Risk, terracepossible