Tons of bugs found in new hay ? Please help !

mackenziejanetaylor

mackenziejanetaylor

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi everyone,

I didn't know what forum this problem falls under - apologies if it’s the wrong one!

I recently switched hay providers and since then I’ve suddenly seen tons of these dead bugs all over my guinea pigs’ stuff... They’re about the size of an ant, and I haven’t seen any live ones, only dead ones (but there are loads of them).

Does anyone know what they could be? I’ve never come across this before, and I know it’s not static (hay) lice or any other parasite to guinea pigs but I'm still a bit unsettled.

I spent £50 on this hay... so I expected high quality and am quite disappointed. Literally advice would be greatly appreciated <3

IMG_9891.webpIMG_9892.webp
 
Looks like a dead grass seed to me! Seriously do just check that you are not mistaking seeds for insects before you contact the firm.
 
Pantalaimon said:
Are you sure they’re not seeds?
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Bluebell said:
Looks like a dead grass seed to me! Seriously do just check that you are not mistaking seeds for insects before you contact the firm.
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I contacted the company and asked for a refund as I believed they were bugs... am I being daft and they are just seeds? They are all over my guinea pigs' bedding, I've thrown away the hay now. They look so creepy... I've never seen anything like this in hay before in all my years of owning guinea pigs.

Screenshot 2025-01-23 at 17.37.49.webp
 
I think they look like bugs ….
Anyhow you’ve done the right thing removing it all just in case ….
It’s up to the Company to prove they aren’t insects
Hopefully you’ll find some good hay !
Who was the company ?
( just out of interest)
 
Roselina said:
I think they look like bugs ….
Anyhow you’ve done the right thing removing it all just in case ….
It’s up to the Company to prove they aren’t insects
Hopefully you’ll find some good hay !
Who was the company ?
( just out of interest)
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That's what I thought, they look so much like bugs. I sent a picture to the company but as I've thrown it I'm worried I won't get a refund now. This hay was from Friendly Farmers. I hope they can resolve this for me... and I hope I'm not being daft.
 
I would recommend buying a magnifying glass. They are surprisingly useful for many things, especially strange things you find in your hay or potential parasites on guinea pigs! You can get ones that have two different levels of magnification on them.
 
They look a bit dark and “shiny” to be seeds 🤷🏻‍♀️
 
Pantalaimon said:
I would recommend buying a magnifying glass. They are surprisingly useful for many things, especially strange things you find in your hay or potential parasites on guinea pigs! You can get ones that have two different levels of magnification on them.
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That is a great idea I will definitely look at buying one of them, to be honest I haven't ever had a need for anything like that until now 😅
 
Posyrose said:
I've just checked with Google lens. Nothing conclusive but the top result was phlomis seedheads and other seedheads were mentioned....but so were juvenile crustaceans! Not that helpful.
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I did try the google lens thing! All that came up was silverfish 🫣 but it deffo isn't a silverfish... I'm just so lost for words - I'm finding them all over my pigs' cage and floor and even my washing machine... it's a nightmare
 
I’m so sorry to read that - it’s frustrating isn’t it !
You will get on top of it - have you got an old fluffy cloth that would pick them up in the washing machine
No it’s not silverfish - they like damp dark conditions in a house and don’t live in hay
You can sort this 🥰
 
Roselina said:
I’m so sorry to read that - it’s frustrating isn’t it !
You will get on top of it - have you got an old fluffy cloth that would pick them up in the washing machine
No it’s not silverfish - they like damp dark conditions in a house and don’t live in hay
You can sort this 🥰
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That's a good idea for the washing machine thank you :)
Tbf when I washed my guinea pigs' towels they stuck to them like crazy!
Now that the hay is gone I'm sure I'll get rid of them a lot easier... I can't believe no one knows what they are, shows that the product isn't the best quality I guess
 
What I find weirdest is that whether they are insects or seeds, perhaps "inseeds" lol. they look almost burnt! I know a lot of hay gets dried in driers as opposed to the old days of lying in the field, it's almost like someone has swept up the um, inseeds from the floor!
I so hope we find out what they were.
I def wouldn't want a replacement from there, it puts you off doesn't it, I had a really bad load from a well recommended firm and though they were very nice and replaced and gave me a present etc, it put me off ever ordering from them again. A lot of money is being made selling small amounts of hay/straw etc by these firms and I think for that we should at least get quality control!
I'm dying of curiousity about your inseeds!
 
Bluebell said:
What I find weirdest is that whether they are insects or seeds, perhaps "inseeds" lol. they look almost burnt! I know a lot of hay gets dried in driers as opposed to the old days of lying in the field, it's almost like someone has swept up the um, inseeds from the floor!
I so hope we find out what they were.
I def wouldn't want a replacement from there, it puts you off doesn't it, I had a really bad load from a well recommended firm and though they were very nice and replaced and gave me a present etc, it put me off ever ordering from them again. A lot of money is being made selling small amounts of hay/straw etc by these firms and I think for that we should at least get quality control!
I'm dying of curiousity about your inseeds!
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Hahahah "inseeds" I like it. Thankfully the company have offered a refund which will hopefully get processed soon. I sent them pictures too and they apologised for the "visitors" - so even they think that they are bugs. Weird, I guess we will never know! And I can't believe no one on here has experienced anything like this before 😅
Here's another closer pic I took.. how creepy !

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Do you still have a few inseeds lying around? I was thinking if you cut it crosswise, you might have a better idea of whether it's plant or animal. Tho maybe not if it's been burnt.
 
mackenziejanetaylor said:
Hahahah "inseeds" I like it. Thankfully the company have offered a refund which will hopefully get processed soon. I sent them pictures too and they apologised for the "visitors" - so even they think that they are bugs. Weird, I guess we will never know! And I can't believe no one on here has experienced anything like this before 😅
Here's another closer pic I took.. how creepy !

View attachment 264091
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Mrs Tiggy Winkle said:
Do you still have a few inseeds lying around? I was thinking if you cut it crosswise, you might have a better idea of whether it's plant or animal. Tho maybe not if it's been burnt.
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I need a ‘yuck’ emoji for these 😅

Glad the company are offering a refund for the hay.
 
To be fair, even if they are only seeds, they're sharp, I rarely get hay poke, the only eye issues I get are when a loose seed ends up under an eyelid. A batch of hay absolutely filled with them isn't good quality and poses a decent risk of eye trauma, so it's not unreasonable to want a refund to get better quality hay 🙂
 
mackenziejanetaylor said:
I did try the google lens thing! All that came up was silverfish 🫣 but it deffo isn't a silverfish... I'm just so lost for words - I'm finding them all over my pigs' cage and floor and even my washing machine... it's a nightmare
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Even if they are seeds, they have contaminated the hay. They are odd looking. A university biology department, zoo or museum might ID a sample, probably without any difficulty. They are not very appetising, not something you want near your piggies I'm sure 🙁
 
Mrs Tiggy Winkle said:
Do you still have a few inseeds lying around? I was thinking if you cut it crosswise, you might have a better idea of whether it's plant or animal. Tho maybe not if it's been burnt.
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They are long gone now I made sure to clean everything 😅 wish I did that though that's a really good idea ! If I do find a stray one lying around I will definitely try that x
 
Eriathwen said:
To be fair, even if they are only seeds, they're sharp, I rarely get hay poke, the only eye issues I get are when a loose seed ends up under an eyelid. A batch of hay absolutely filled with them isn't good quality and poses a decent risk of eye trauma, so it's not unreasonable to want a refund to get better quality hay 🙂
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Absolutely, literally every time I got out a handful of hay hundreds of them would just appear! No matter what they are they aren't a sign of good quality hay so I'm glad I'm getting a refund :)
 
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