A Plague on Hedgehog Manor

Picture:  hagenillustration.blogspot.com

Bed Bugs. Even reading those two words side by side fills me with dread. I had them shortly after I got Peggy and they were a horrid, nasty pestilence that invaded my home and my nightmares. Dealing with the infestation was a living horror and I still have a quiver of terror if I have an itch on my leg or arm while I am in bed. What does this have to do with Peggy and this blog? Well treating the little wretches involved rounds of highly toxic chemicals saturating every porous surface in my house which would have killed my little Peg-a-leg without proper care for her.

The first thing you must do for your pets (especially small pets) is to remove them from the infected home to a safe place before you spray and before they get bitten. I was lucky enough that I had a willing partner in crime to house her and my Betta fish, Al. I emptied her cage and scrubbed it down and moved her without any bedding in the cage. I didn't want to cross contaminate his house with my vermin so I only brought her most essential, non porous items. When I got there I purchased and opened a brand new package of bedding and food for her. The old bedding and food was considered potentially infected so it got tossed.

I won't go into the details of dealing with your personal stuff after facing exterminators, pesticide sprays or chemical cleanings but I will say this, keep your pets out of the house and off these surfaces for at least a week. Their lungs are much smaller and more sensitive than ours and they will pick up the poisons on their paws, bellies and tails which can potentially kill them. I strongly recommend checking with the people spraying to see if it should be longer than a week before your pet is OK to return. Some chemicals are harsher than others.

Peggy, Al and I survived the bed bug armageddon but it did take serious planning for their safety to ensure that no one got sick or worse. Be careful when cleaning or spraying your place and you will keep your critters healthy. Even something as simple as washing your floor and then letting them run across it can hurt them.