Rearguard vs F10 opinions please

Hi everyone. I'm facing my first spring / summer as a bunny owner and have been researching flystrike in all its horror! I am keen to do everything I can to prevent it but have been left confused by conflicting advice so would appreciate your thoughts/experiences.

My 2 buns Fred & Patsy now live indoors where they have free range in the living room 27/7 and will have supervised garden time weather permitting. I have brought them in since Fred developed arthritis and I can keep a better eye on him. He is responding well to metacam but still gets occasional mild dirty bottom which I keep a check on.

I understand they may be lower risk of developing flystrike with being inside but obviously don't want to take any chances. I clean them out every day and use lavender oil spray in the room. When the weather gets warmer I intend to have a few more repellent plants in the room (and citronella candles if safe?) and will of course check them regularly.

I have been advised to also use Rear guard/F10. I was all set to order rear guard but have since read horror stories about reactions to it. Fred has gotten to be a sensitive soul with his tummy, and with getting older things obviously knock him for 6 a bit more. His wifebun Patsy is only 2 1/2 and healthy & robust. So the question is do I use one if these prevenatives & if so which one? I feel more inclined towards the F10 now but would appreciate hearing your thoughts. Thanks guys xx

treacletrim said:

Hi everyone. I'm facing my first spring / summer as a bunny owner and have been researching flystrike in all its horror! I am keen to do everything I can to prevent it but have been left confused by conflicting advice so would appreciate your thoughts/experiences.

My 2 buns Fred & Patsy now live indoors where they have free range in the living room 27/7 and will have supervised garden time weather permitting. I have brought them in since Fred developed arthritis and I can keep a better eye on him. He is responding well to metacam but still gets occasional mild dirty bottom which I keep a check on.

I understand they may be lower risk of developing flystrike with being inside but obviously don't want to take any chances. I clean them out every day and use lavender oil spray in the room. When the weather gets warmer I intend to have a few more repellent plants in the room (and citronella candles if safe?) and will of course check them regularly.

I have been advised to also use Rear guard/F10. I was all set to order rear guard but have since read horror stories about reactions to it. Fred has gotten to be a sensitive soul with his tummy, and with getting older things obviously knock him for 6 a bit more. His wifebun Patsy is only 2 1/2 and healthy & robust. So the question is do I use one if these prevenatives & if so which one? I feel more inclined towards the F10 now but would appreciate hearing your thoughts. Thanks guys xx

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I personally would never use either of those products

I do check my rabbits daily (and more than once daily in warm weather). Keeping them at a sensible weight also helps, as they can get to eat their cecals better.

Older rabbits need a bit more care and attention, because of the urine scald they sometimes have. They also find it more difficult to reach their nether parts, but I don't think this applies to your rabbits?

Who has advised you that you need to cover your rabbits in this way?

If Fred is just getting a mild dirty bum that you regularly monitor and lives indoors, I personally wouldn't use anything.

Hi Mighty Max thanks for that. It was someone in another group who's advice I really trust, plus on the RWAF website.

If anything Fred is a tad underweight so doubt he will get too chunky, but he does have days where he struggles a little more with the grooming.

I think I just need to keep being vigilant with cleanliness all round more than anything.

Thank you both!

In my opinion, routine use of either Rearguard or F10 should not be necessary. The best defense is to deter flies in the first place:
- keep the environment clean of anything that may attract bluebottles - so basic / routine cleaning (eg spot clean toilet areas daily), site waste bins away from rabbit living areas, etc
- keep the rabbits healthy - not overweight, a good diet (lots of grass / hay, fewer pellets or treats) to avoid messy bums, check twice a day

Indoor bunnies could be protected by a UV light with fly killer mesh to zap them. Citronella oil could be used as well - eg put it on a bit of tissue and tuck it where the bunnies can't reach it. Fly mesh could be used over windows and doors. With the best will in the world, there will be flies that get through.

Rabbits with health issues such as open wounds or messy bums are at a higher risk of flystrike. If I have to protect an individual rabbit in these circumstances, I use F10 wound spray with insecticide. I find Rearguard expensive, difficult to use and ineffective a lot of the time (if you have to do bum baths for a messy bum, you need to reapply a whole dose). F10 is a lot cheaper and can be applied to open wounds anywhere on the body. It deters flies and will kill fly larvae should any eggs hatch. It can be safely applied more frequently / as required. I have not had any adverse reactions with F10 used on severe dental / jaw abscess surgery sites. These rabbits had open, infected (ie smelly) wounds on the jaw line and lived freerange outside, so needed to be protected from flystrike as they were a direct target for flies.

The disadvantage of F!0 is that it is toxic to cats - so be very careful if any cat is likely to be in contact / in the same living area as treated rabbits.

Flystrike is a truly awful thing to experience. I would seriously consider immediate PTS should a rabbit be affected. It happens so fast - a couple of hours from no problems seen to larvae burrowing in. It is extremely painful and distressing for the rabbit, and is likely to lead to shock. Anything that you can do to prevent it for a specific, vulnerable rabbit should be seriously considered.

treacletrim said:

Hi Mighty Max thanks for that. It was someone in another group who's advice I really trust, plus on the RWAF website.

If anything Fred is a tad underweight so doubt he will get too chunky, but he does have days where he struggles a little more with the grooming.

I think I just need to keep being vigilant with cleanliness all round more than anything.

Thank you both!

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You're welcome :wave:

I've seen Rearguard used on our rescue rabbits, and occasionally with fatal consequences. Also F10 can be harsh on a rabbit's skin, and can give them burns ... not nice

I think attention to cleanliness, which I'm sure you already do, is the best way.

Seeing as they are living indoors and you clean them regularly, I don't think there is any need for either of those products as flies don't generally get in houses very often unless doors/windows are left wide open.

Please please be careful if you chose to use the f10 spray. It caused awful reactions to my rabbits skin, leaving him with worse sores than an earlier case of Flystrike did

Other people have since contacted me to say it had the same effect on their rabbit.

If it's something you are wanting to use I would suggest reading up on the active ingredients before deciding you want to put it on your rabbits skin so at least you are making an informed decision.

We used to use F10 as an antibacterial cleaner for the tables where I used to work, until it was discovered it removed the vanish from them as well. I would never ever use this product on my rabbits. It may be a different kind but it's still F10.