Insect problem in my room! can it harm my guinea pig?

Question

I'm sure it's normal for a house to have some bugs ocassionally, but in my house I have been seeing these waterbug type looking insects lately.

The bugs have rather long bodies, with long legs. They are black, but then some of them look brown, they're shiny. I notice they are in my room, usually early in the moring (12 am to about 4am). I don't know where they are living! But I do have a guinea pig, and I find them in her cage. Please don't say I don't clean my room or guniea pig's cage well, becuase I do, they are after her food I am assuming, so they wander in there (it's simply a cage with wide bars).

I don't see them every night, but it is really freaking me out! I am concerned, I don't want these to multiply or harm my animal!

what kind of bug could it be?

can it harm my guinea pig?

How can I get rid of the bugs?

Answer 1

Call the bugg terminator. They could be stink bugs :X

but treat the problem as if they were cockroaches, you never want to take a chance and but others in risk or yourself. Git some of that stuff they call 7's dust? If that doesnt control your problem Deffff call the terminator A.S.A.P :D luck to ya.

Answer 2

Make sure your guinea pig's food is sealed tightly. Don't have any open bags. Tupperware or another sort of closed container will prevent any bugs from getting in there and reproducing. I mention this because I had the misfortune of finding a bag of moth-eaten birdseed crawling with worms in my attic. Not sure your bugs eat guinea pig food, but better safe than sorry - plus, it'll stay fresher.

Try not to leave any food in your pig's cage except for hay. For pellets, you only really need to feed her 1/4 cup a day, which she should polish off easily in one or two sittings. Free-feeding isn't necessary, so leaving pellets in there all day could do more harm than good if it's attracting bugs. Same goes for vegetables - she shouldn't have any problem eating them all in one sitting, and don't leave any uneaten ones in the cage.

Answer 3

It sounds like oriental cockroaches, aka water bugs.

http://jackspestcontrol.hypermart.net/im...

They are harmless but repulsive as far as I'm concerned.  They won't hurt the guinea pig.  They don't carry diseases either, no matter how dirty they seem to be.

Typically they don't live in the house, but in garages, crawl spaces, places like that.  But once in a while they wander in. And yes, they are nocturnal.  

The fact that you see them frequently tells me that they are living quite close, and you could probably find the place and spray it.  I'm not a big one for spraying bugs, but I can't bear cockroaches of any kind except Madagascar hissing cockroaches.  

A light dusting of boric acid powder (sold as a bug powder) is also deadly to bugs but will not harm mammals, birds, or reptiles.  It damages the exoskeleton and makes bugs dry up.  It has to be a light dusting or the bugs will avoid the stuff.  I love boric acid.  I use it for fleas and ants!  And it's very good for killing roaches.