Come summer time, Housefly, Stable Fly, Buffalo Fly and Sandflies can become a significant problem for domestic pets. Continual fly bites to the ears and noses of pets can lead to serious damage, infection and in severe cases, death of the tissue.

Flies carry bacteria and are capable of causing not only damage to the body of your pet, but serious stress and discomfort if not repelled. If flies have access to infected skin, they can lay eggs inside the wound and these eggs are what will hatch to become maggots. Although the problem can seem over-whelming, there are many ways that can be employed, to ensure that flies do not harm your pet this summer.Ways to stop flies annoying your pet

Keep your yard clean

Always remove faeces from the yard at the earliest possible convenience. Often, many times a day is necessary to prevent flies from being attracted to your yard.

Somewhere to escape

Ensure your pet has somewhere to go to escape the flies. This may be a kennel or area where fly screen or plastic strips can be applied to the opening to allow the pet to pass through, but leave the flies out.

Do not leave food out

Do not leave your pet’s food out during the day in summer. This includes raw bones, as flies will be attracted to the smell of the food once it starts to spoil in the heat.

Keep your pet’s bed clean

Your pet’s bedding needs to be cleaned 1 – 2 times a week during summer to remove as much of the “doggy or pet smell” as possible.

Treat your pet’s coat

There are several products available which are safe for your pet. To make sure you choose a product that is suited to your pet and environment please ask us for more information.

Remove dried blood

Once your pet has fly bite on the ears or nose, it is imperative to use warm water and cotton wool to remove any dried blood or scabbing, as this material attracts the flies. You should then immediately apply an antiseptic cream with a fly repellent property.

If it is too difficult to ensure the cream stays on the ears or nose, there is a bandage like product called Fixamol, that can be applied to the skin and the cream can then be applied over that.