The tapeworms steal nutrients from our birds which can cause our birds to slowly lose weight. Eventually the worms get so numerous that they block the intestine and the bird dies.  Sometimes this block in the intestine can cause some bleeding from the vent right before death. That's exactly what happened to some diamond sparrows I had years ago.  They looked fine and healthy one day, the next morning they were on the floor of the flight and by noon they were dead. A small amount of blood was found around the vent.  Necropsy confirmed a large number of tape worms. The interesting thing is that my birds did not appear sick or even thin until right before they died.  In fact during the necropsy, the vet commented during the initial gross exam that the bird appeared to be very well nourished and had good weight.  It was only later that he discovered "huge amounts of tape worms in the intestines".

Most birds who live in outdoor aviaries have a few tape worms. This is because outside birds are constantly eating insects who have ingested tapeworm eggs, either from our own bird or wild birds. It becomes crucial therefore to regularly worm all birds that are housed outside or come in regular contact with any wild insects.  May worming medications on the market are effective against gizzard worms but are not effective against tape worms.  Be sure to check your labels carefully.  Treatment should be given two weeks apart to not only kill the worms but also to kill off any remaining eggs.  A regular worming routine, twice a year, should keep tape worms to a minimum in outdoor flights. Studies have shown that the tapeworm medications, when properly administered, greatly decrease, but do not totally eliminate tape worms.

In indoor flights and bird rooms, it is possible to eliminate tape worms by interrupting the life cycle of the tape worm. keeping any worm cultures totally separate from any feces, the tape worm is prevented from multiplying and will soon die off totally from your flock.

 According to many Australian vets,  the most common intermediate hosts for tape worms are meal worms and maggots. This is not because mealworms and maggots are better hosts for tape worms.  Rather it is, I believe, because the aviculturist allows his insect cultures to become contaminated and so is continually reinfesting his birds with his food source.

Be careful about any insects you buy.  I talked to a number of commercial meal worm farms and none of them test for tape worm eggs.  What the better worm farms do is take precautions to be sure their worms can not get infected.  Their worms are cultured in sealed building, on human consumption grade bran, and have been breed for many generations. Without a warm blooded species to mature in, the tape worm is virtually none existent in their product. Beware, however, of any purchased insects that contain specimens of other insects.  There have been times I have ordered worms from a commercial supplier and found the culture infested with lesser meal worms.  The lesser meal worm is smaller than a full grown mealworm and darker in color. It is also native to much of the United states.  While lesser mealworms are a good food source for our birds, (I culture them specifically for my birds) any insect order that is received containing them is a red flag that the worm breeder has not protected their culture from "wild" insects and so may be contaminated with tape worm eggs.  A good way to tell if your shipment is infected is to place the worms in a small amount of bran and place it in a dark place.  Within 15 minutes, the regular mealworms will have burrowed into the bran.  The lesser mealworms will have come to the surface. If you receive such a shipment, I would advise sending it back and finding a new supplier.

Once we get our clean starter culture, it is important to take every precaution to be sure that it does not become infested.  This means keeping it from all sources of bird feces and wild insects.

There are a number of things you can do to eliminate infecting your birds with tapeworms when you feed live food. Use only human grade products to feed your insects. Human grade foodstuffs are much less likely to contain wild insects. Keep you insect culture away from any feces.  Store it in another room or in closed containers. Many breeders advocate not serving more worms than your birds can eat in 10 minutes. This practice would minimize the likelihood that the worms would come in contact with feces.  For many species, this would require multiple feedings throughout the day or getting the birds to accept another protein source. It is also a good idea to thoroughly clean your hands both before and after handling your insect culture.

By taking a few simple precautions, we can minimize tape worms in our bird rooms and extend the lives of the birds in our care.

If your birds do become infected with tapeworms, Worm out gel offers a solution.  Easy to use water soluable formula can be served in the drinking water or few directly into the crop.