Meek has bumps and lumps

[Mel1959]

Great news!

[LaShae1995]

Hey again so I had some problems with fleas mites bugs or whatever they were! Everytime I out sandy out in the rc she came back with lumps and red bites and fleas!!! She had her revolution treatment but I guess the pests were in the rc nest box. So I took the earth powder I was recommended to buy and mixed it with water and sprayed down the box and really anywhere I thought that she flopped and stayed for a long period of time. She went back out yesterday and didn't have one red mark and today she is doing great.

However I just don't like how thick of a layer it left behind. It seems very powdery. In the nest box if you put a fleece blanket in and pull it out it gets a little dusty cause of the powder is rubbed off.

My question is... does this look like a ok job or should I try to rinse some of the powder off? Maybe just the box? Thank you!

It is white from the powder I didn't paint it.

[SamtheSquirrel2018]

Hey again so I had some problems with fleas mites bugs or whatever they were! Everytime I out sandy out in the rc she came back with lumps and red bites and fleas!!! She had her revolution treatment but I guess the pests were in the rc nest box. So I took the earth powder I was recommended to buy and mixed it with water and sprayed down the box and really anywhere I thought that she flopped and stayed for a long period of time. She went back out yesterday and didn't have one red mark and today she is doing great.

However I just don't like how thick of a layer it left behind. It seems very powdery. In the nest box if you put a fleece blanket in and pull it out it gets a little dusty cause of the powder is rubbed off.

My question is... does this look like a ok job or should I try to rinse some of the powder off? Maybe just the box? Thank you!

It is white from the powder I didn't paint it.

Hi LaShae:
I'm not sure of what the "earth powder" that you mentioned actually might be but I suspect that it Diatomaceous Earth (DE). This is used known to many with pools as it is a common substance used for filtering the pool water. It has been reportedly effective in killing beg bugs and maybe some other "bug-type" pests but it is not effective against eggs even if it might be of benefit against the "bugs" themselves and while its mechanism of action (if indeed it has an true action as a pesticide) is that interrupts the lipid component present in many bugs exoskeletons (this is the had outside of the bug) and permits loss of fluid which eventually dehydrates the bug. This does not occur immediately or even quickly and IMO cannot even be predicted. DE is is basically Silica with some other stuff and it is from the powdering of "stone" formed from fossilized very tiny ancient algae. It probably is relatively safe IF it mostly what is called the amorphous form BUT it has the potential if there is a significant crystalloid component (mot pool products are probably designed to eliminate a significant amount of the crystalline form). I can only offer my personal opinion on the use of DE (if that is what your are actually using) around your Squirrels, especially is such obviously large amounts and that is that I would not recommend or consider it.

The other aspect that I alluded to is that it seem that you are concerned about bugs being repeatedly attracted to your RC's and DE will not do a thing for this as it is NOT an insect repellant at all!

I would suggest thoroughly cleaning and washing everything within the RC's and specifically wash any bedding and/or other fabrics in a washer using hot water. Also, I would recommend using the Revolution monthly. This would be one drop applied to BARE skin between the shoulders at the base of the neck. You need to separated the fur to expose the skin and then apply the drop of Revolution and then release the fur. Do NOT wipe any of it off as you may very well remove a significant amount of your already tiny drop by doing so and render it useless! Also, please use only the plain Revolution (Selamectin) as the Revolution Plus contains an additional ingredient that has not yet been determined to be safe for Squirrels!

Thanks for another Meek Update!

Regards,
SamtheSquirrel