House Rabbits And Pest Control

[jezchesters]

Hi,

We are considering getting pet rabbits and giving them the run of the house (condo). Every month, the pest control people come round and spray chemicals all around the skirting boards.

Does anyone know if these chemicals will be toxic or harmful in any way to rabbits once they have dried? There is also the worry that after years of being sprayed, the wood will be impregnated by the chemicals, and thus could be a danger if the rabbits were to nibble at it.

Any advice would be greatly appreciate.

[David006]

Hi,

We are considering getting pet rabbits and giving them the run of the house (condo). Every month, the pest control people come round and spray chemicals all around the skirting boards.

Does anyone know if these chemicals will be toxic or harmful in any way to rabbits once they have dried? There is also the worry that after years of being sprayed, the wood will be impregnated by the chemicals, and thus could be a danger if the rabbits were to nibble at it.

Any advice would be greatly appreciate.

Not sure about the pesticide they use but I think the paint/varnish would be equally toxic. I suspect the bigger problem would be the rabbits nibbling on your wooden furniture if you have any. Had rabbits when I was a kid for post war food supply in UK and they ate the wooden cage frames. Also hardened bunny poo is potentially lethal to bi peds under foot! LOL

Not to be too flippant but replacement rabbits are cheaper than furniture and hip replacemant.....

[scorecard]

Sorry, but I raise another point. Do you have permission to have rabbits (plural) in your condo?

I bought a condo in central Bangkok which has turned into a dog refuge. The all night barking is a nightmare (I realize rabbits don't bark), and the smell on some floors is beyond belief. Some of the dog owners just dump the raw dog shit litter into the big bin on each floor. When you open the door of the garbage room the smell would make you pass out.

Condo committee has tried again and again to get the dogs removed but owners just refuse to cooperate.

What about toilet stuff and hygiene? I've never heard of a rabbit using a sand tray, so i'm assuming they just shit and piss on the floor.

Glad your not in my condo.

[bina]

they use sand boxes if trained! i sent pm to OP... 2 rabbits =two females or female and neutered male. not recommended to have a mating pair unless u have a farm. )possible to have just one no problem if u play with him/her , even to take on walks.

bina

israel

[drtreelove]

Hi,

We are considering getting pet rabbits and giving them the run of the house (condo). Every month, the pest control people come round and spray chemicals all around the skirting boards.

Does anyone know if these chemicals will be toxic or harmful in any way to rabbits once they have dried? There is also the worry that after years of being sprayed, the wood will be impregnated by the chemicals, and thus could be a danger if the rabbits were to nibble at it.

Any advice would be greatly appreciate.

It depends on what pesticides they are using. There are new classes of pesticides that are less toxic to mammals and some Thai companies are in the know, some will use the strongest chemical available for a sure kill, without regard for your safety or their applicators.

Some of the pest control companies here in Chiang Mai that I've questioned are using pyrethroids for their monthly barrier applications like you describe. Cypermethrin seems to be the most common, but alphacypermethrin, bifenthrin and others are also available. Pyrethroids are relatively low toxicity for mammals, the main adverse long term affects from repeated heavy exposure reported is endocrine disruption. Probably not a big concern for the rabbits from the dried solution unless they were getting exposed to the concentrate.

Some pest control companies I've seen use fenobucarb which seems to be fairly common termite, and general purpose pesticide. This is a carbamate pesticide with side effects as a cholinesterase inhibitor; serious nervous system disruption for the applicator with repeated exposure. Probably not a big deal for the little exposure the rabbits would get from the dried solution on the baseboards. If they were lunching on it then maybe a concern.

Some pest control companies still use the old stuff because thats all they know or that's what their supplier recommends; organo-chlorides, organo-phosphates and chlorinated hydocarbons should be avoided.

Question your pest control company and find out what they are using. They are not used to getting questioned and sometimes don't like to comply, they may consider it proprietary information, or just don't know how to answer. Ask to look at the bottle or can of concentrate that they are mixing from. Even if everything on the label is in Thai, the active ingredient(s) will almost alway be listed in English with the percentage. Write it down and google it, or take the information to your vet and ask about the rabbits.

If you find out the pesticide information, pm me and I'll help you find out what it is and how toxic it is. I dont' know small animal toxicology, but I was a licensed landscape pest control applicator in the US so I know a little about pesticides, and I'm 'least toxic' committed. don

[jezchesters]

Thanks all for your constructive and helpful replies, especially Bina for the informative PM.

Scorecard, not sure what you are rabbiting on about (tee hee!). As Bina has said, and many others, rabbits are easily trained to use litter trays and are very clean animals. Sounds like you have a problem with dogs in your condo, rather than rabbits in mine - maybe you're addressing the wrong person/thread?

The JP at the condo is currently finding out precisely the chemical used - will post back when I have an answer.

In the mean time, does anyone know of anything that can be applied to furniture/skirting boards etc, which will taste terrible to rabbits, but also be harmless? I was thinking that if there was such a product, an application of this would deter ingestion.

Thanks again!

[Nignoy]

Rabbits are basically clean animals , they are easily trained to use a litter tray, gnawing on furniture or skirting boards is easily stopped if a fresh alternate wood source is offered, some german pensioners breed free range pygmy rabbits in their flats for the pet shop trade, no Pong!! or little crapballs rolling around and definitely no chewed furniture, better behaved than most Children