Fly strike: the summer threat to your pets – Telegraph Blogs

Monday 17 March 2014 | Blog Feed | All feeds

Pete Wedderburn


Fly strike: the summer threat to your pets



But flies can be much more than just a nuisance to pets. One of the seasonal nightmares for vets at this time of year is a condition known as “fly strike”. The sequence of events is simple: adult flies lay their eggs on animals. The eggs hatch out into maggots, which feed on living tissue, burying their way through the animal, causing serious damage. Eventually, the maggots fall off the animal, and become pupae. After a dormant period, they hatch out as young adult flies, and the life-cycle is complete.

Rabbits are the most common pets to be affected. If a rabbit hutch is not cleaned out every day, it soon becomes the focus of busy fly activity. At some stage, these circling flies lay their eggs around the tail area of the rabbit. By the time the owner notices and the rabbit is brought to the vet, there are hundreds of teeming maggots burrowing into the animal's flesh. It can be impossible to cure.

Here's how to protect your pets against fly strike. First, it can be prevented by immaculate hygiene in the rabbit hutch. Bedding should be changed every day during the summer months. Second, a fly repellent strip should be hung in the rabbit hutch, in a position safely out of reach of the rabbit. Some people even surround their rabbit hutches with mosquito netting, so that flies are physically kept away from their pet.

Other pets, such as dogs and cats, are less commonly affected by fly strike. It’s most often seen in dogs and cats that are weak or incapacitated. Elderly and sick or injured animals are particularly vulnerable: they’re too weak or tired to shoo flies away.

Treatment of any animal with fly strike is difficult. Insecticide sprays and baths are used to kill the maggots. Pain relief and antibiotics are given. Fly-struck animals are weak, in pain, and may have lost the urge to live. They need to be given plenty of tender loving care, with a warm dry bed, hand-feeding and lots of gentle attention.

The summer months are the prime fly season. Make sure these small but persistent insects don’t harm your pets this year.

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