Just wondering how big are the red twig things? A suggestion would be to get photos of the 'things' and start doing your own investigating and research because you may just have some interesting free loaders making you sick. The more thorough your investigation and your descriptions are, the more likely you are going to get informative answers.
Animals. I LOVE all critters and worked in an animal shelter, handling all those strays and cleaning their cages and have had many many pets and beasts like horses, cows, raccoons and even a muskrat that lived in our home one winter. Oh my!