Fly Invasion! Help!

[Toadie]

Frodo has two litter trays, one in the front room in his crate with hay and water, and the other is just a ferplast base in the bedroom that also has more hay and water. At about 5pm yesterday I walked into the bedroom and was horrified to discover a trail of flies leading from the windowledge, down the wall and into his tray :shock: (at first I thought they were ants, but at a closer look I realised they were really small, skinny flies). I instantly went into panic mode, I took the tray outside and scrubbed it with boiling water and then gave it a good spray with pet disinfectant.
My question is this, how can I safely repell the flies and stop them from coming back? (bearing in my mind that it's got to be safe for Frodo). All I could think of doing yesterday was spraying the wall and windowsill with the disinfectant, which did seem to kill most, no sign this morning but I suspect that is because it is cooler. I did buy some of those disgusting fly strips a few weeks ago but they have just proved to be useless.
Please RU, I would really appreciate some advice and suggestions. Should I buy some Rearguard for my boy?, I can feel the paranoia kicking in!

 

[georgie_f]

Firstly, I think it's the bigger flies that cause flystrike so if these are only tiny, I wouldn't be too concerned (just a thought, they're not flying ants are they?!). Check Frodo's bottom just in case and if it puts your mind at rest, you can Rearguard him - you'll still need to check him every day though as it's important his bum's clean anyway. Same goes for his litter trays. Spot clean them every day (a few times a day if nessecary) and give them a full clean and a good scrub every week.

Do you use anything in the litter tray other than hay? Hay's not very absorbant so using something under it like cat litter (the non-clumping kind!) or even a thick sheet of newspaper may help to absorb liquid and hopefully lessen the smell that attracts the flies.

Also make sure uneaten veggies and fruit is removed if Frodo doesn't eat it as this can attract bugs.

The yellow fly papers you can buy are really effective but obviously, you'll need to hang them away from Frodo's cage, somewhere where it can't get stuck to his fur!

Hopefully they won't come back anyway :wave:

 

[Silly 'bunny mummy'!!!]

:wave:Hi, I use a good fly repeliant from our local horse equipment shop, it's more concentrated and I spray just the hutch - it's not to put directly on the bunnies. This smells lovely and the flies hate it. Also I use the Hemp bedding in their litter trays and where they usually wee as it really absorbs wee wee and again smells good too. I then use a lavendar disenfectant for small animals from our local pet shop and this really helps keeping the flies off. It's always a problem in the summer isn't it, don't forget to keep checking your buns bums throughout the day too. :wave: