Fully Cleaning Your Parrot's Cage

[Nokota]

Wow that all sounds so complicated.

I have a chronic illness so lots of heavy duty cleaning is hard for me, so I do this instead:

I arrange the perches so that none of them overlap in a way that would get poop on any of them

I use a homemade antibacterial spray that doesn't need to be wiped up. The spray is made from vodka and steeped peppermint leaves. The alcohol kills any and all bacteria but quickly evaporates, leaving a nice clean peppermint smell. Alcohol is nice in that even with heavy spraying it completely evaporates within 20 minutes and leaves no residue. I just take the birds out of their cages and spray down both cages completely once in a while. The mint tea/alcohol mixture is also really good at dissolving poop! Especially if you let it sit for five minutes before wiping it up, for dried on poops.

I use a cage with a deep bottom and use almond shell litter instead of cage papers. The almond shell isn't nearly as dusty as most litters and smells nice, and it quickly dehydrates any and all droppings so that nothing can grow in them. I clean this once a month using a bark scooper in a similar manner to how one would clean kitty litter. Once a year I take it all out and bake it on 200 degrees for half an hour just in case some insect or other decided it liked the almond litter. Makes my kitchen smell like wood smoke.

I also hose down the cages outside once a year while the litter is being baked.

[Nokota]

One trick I actually got from my grandmother, who used this solution to clean floors back in the depression when they couldn't afford soap and it cleans like a charm and is completely safe and natural... in a bucket make a mixture of hot water, lemon juice and baking soda. It smells really nice and cleans poop easily.

That actually doesn't work at all. The acidity of the lemon juice and the alkalinity of the baking soda neutralize each other. It does create a nice showy effect, but the idea that this can be used for cleaning anything effectively is just an old myth, because it doesn't kill bacteria or anything else. Might soften poop though.

[LJ4RockPebbler]

I heard that hot water, baking soda and lemon juice is best and most inexpensive...what do u think?

[bean]

Off topic for a second. Awoke this morning to find ANTS climbing in some grapes I left on Beans cage last night. How do I get rid of ants, near a parrots cage. I will spray outside the front door, assuming that's way they are getting in, I hope. but is there anything safe I can maybe rub on the legs of his cage? Like an invisible ant barrier.

[Wolf]

I like this;
http://www.birdsnways.com/wisdom/ww36eii.htm

[liz]

You wipe the cage down with lemon juice or vinager. Then grease at least one inch of the legs with vasoline. Bugs can't cross it.

[bean]

I used the vasoline on the legs of the cage, it seems to be working! I just pulled the cage out Thursday and cleaned it, so if the latter does not work, I will clean it again with the lemon juice. Thanks.

[Jhaynes1230]

I have to say that the little steam cleaner we bought has been the best $70 I've spent in a loooong while! No more icky vinegar or diluted bleach smell or expensive poop cleaners!

Great suggestion. I have one, but had not thought about using on the bird cage. I definitely give it a try.

Jeff

[Parrotkeeper02]

Use White winger don't buy parrot cleaning stuff

[christoph]

i personally use carpet cleaner but my wife prefer vinegar, soda and warm water