[Gpdd] [CARE] war on pests, fleas mites etc Long)

[warmbreath]

Black dots are usually the excrement of blood eating or sucking insects like 
mites, fleas etc.  Have you combed her with a flea comb to see if you get 
both these excrement dots plus possibly nits, eggs, or nymphs of the 
parasites.  The best treatment when more than 1 bug is suspected such as 
mites (so common) and fleas esp. in summer if you have other animals like 
dogs or cats, or your piggies have access to areas where these animals and 
others roam , like small wildlife might pass leaving off the detritus of the 
parasites and pests they carry.
The best first treatment, if you and the vet are sure of infestation (but be 
wary of scraping for mites, these are often inconclusive) is Ivermectin 
given ether by the vet in 2 or 3 injections 10 days to 2-3 weeks apart. or 
you can give a bit on the end of a q-tip with the horse paste version you 
can get at feed store that cater to horses too! It is much cheaper this way, 
esp. since the whole treatment has to be
done again in 10 days to 3 weeks, you may need as many as 3 treatments

By using a regimen that alternates 3 Ivermectin treatments over as much as 3 
months, then switching to the Frontline or similar type treatment 2 or 3 
times over 6 to 10 weeks you have helped prevent the fleas or mites 
developing a tolerance to one or other of the products . By the time you 
have gone through several weeks of each treatment, summer should be coming 
to an end and over the winter you get a break from at least outdoor 
treatments as these bugs don't like cold.  Although if you keep you whole 
house warm over the entire winter you may have to treat inside the house 
during the winter, although its really nice to arrange a holiday of 
treatment  for  a few weeks in the winter,  a cold spell is the perfect time 
for this.

If this war is embarked upon full bore,  before the piggies are put back in 
their cages do a really first rate cleaning of everything in hot water and 
vinegar.(in the shower is handy or driveway with hose) along with a scrub 
down with soap and vinegar and then a totally thorough rinse Maybe a 
volunteer will stay home and do this while you are at the vet, outdoors so 
you can flea bomb  the interior    While  you are at the vet you may choose 
to flea bomb the house following all instructions, combined with a long 
airing out when you return, possibly aided by fans and hopefully cold 
weather

If it is hot be sure to have a cool place for the piggies to wait all this 
out in a place where they will not be contaminating if they haven't had 
treatments already, or if they have had treatment make sure they aren't 
picking up any more pests.  Don't forget the car is a potential for pests as 
are several hard to sort out places like their carriers

Now is good time to vacuum and then change bags making sure critters inside 
are completely disposed of outside in sealed bags in the garbage.
If you have or outdoor and indoor dog cats or wild others, then they should 
be treated at the same time (not the wild ones), plus the exterior grounds 
should be sprayed with an effective outdoor insecticide. and of course make 
sure  any products used indoors have specific indoor instructions for an 
air-out time.(doesn't hurt to double it or use exhaust fans.

You can see, this is quite an undertaking and may need more than 1 helper 
with everyone's duties and timing marked down in military precision.  In the 
end plan on doing it again in 10 days to 3 weeks depending on Drs 
instructions and what the pests actually are and  the weather and how many 
other pets or critters occupy the grounds and buildings.

For the airing out time you might want to reward all the helpers and piggies 
and pets with a pignic, easy purchased food like pizza or picnic staples 
with disposable everything Salads for the piggy folks..  A debrief of the 
whole team to check for errors and to write out  how to do it better faster, 
cheaper next time.

By now the house is aired out, the cages cleaned completely with vinegar and 
rinsed  and reassembled   Make sure your hay is being stored away from the 
poisons and that you are examining it well for no-nos like milk weed, 
thistles etc, that excess dust is shaken out, and it is checked for black 
spots that might  signal mold, a horrible piggy killer,.  Keep the hay in 
big airy containers with plenty of ventilation, stored where it wont get the 
poisons or spray vapors.

Of course I have described the biggest deal, depending on your circumstances 
and other animals involved you may be able to cut out certain steps. 
Depending on the poisons the piggies may be shampooed first gently with 
kitty flea shampoo or Selsun Blue.  Check ears in  piggies are getting a 
topical treatment like Frontline or Revolution be sure to wash them first, 
we cant wash off the treatment the vet or you did. When drying them with a 
dryer, try setting them on a thick dry towel with several layer folds. Set 
the piggy under the first layer so there is a back to the work area they 
can move around in, and if the air is a bit hot move the dryer under the 
third leaf, and let the warm gentle air that escapes through that third area 
to gently dry the piggies. This method is less scary for piggies and sense 
they are king of the bath but trapped by the second layer they cant run away 
easily, so you can work at the comfort of a table or a counter easy on  your 
back and piggy nerves. Of course if you have a little popup piggy or fast 
runner do it on the floor, or where the piggy is safely contained,  My 
piggies loved baths and blow dries this way. BTW  if you have rabbits, be 
sure they get Revolution  never Frontline, they cant tolerate it. And they 
don't tolerate baths at all, about all you can do is wash off their bums 
quickly, Buns,  especially the floppy down-eared  lops. often develop allot 
of crud in their floppy ears which may be a waxy or it could be a mite 
infection. This needs a bunny savvy vet. Piggy's are usually pretty happy to 
have their ears gently cleaned with a Q-tip dipped in oil or mild lotion. 
Buns and pigs alike need their scent glands around their anal opening 
cleaned, pretty yucky and stinky, have a bag handy to quickly sow throw 
contents from the cleaning , Q-tips dipped in lotion or oil, you may want to 
glove up, they are really dirty here, glove  your hands if the pigs or buns 
are really gunky.  Pigs I wash with mild soap under water after the initial 
blob of gunk has been removed with the Q tips and lotions, then under water 
with my thumb gloved finish up till they are spotless.  Again, Buns are much 
less happy and a full bath can cause them to drop dead.so use the zone 
approach.  Since many piggy people also have buns I have included 
instructions for them as they have such a different experience with water.

In all our pets are so much happier clean and without pests, you can see the 
joy in them, its an important step, even though its a lot of hard work, that 
becomes easier with practice and routine. Hopefully many of you wont need to 
use the whole enchilada procedure and can just adjust ro parts. Good 
luck!!!!

Sandy