How do I keep roaches out of the outdoor hutch?

[Keldugger]

Hey all

We have had Holly our Holland Lop for about three months now and things are going really great overall. She sleeps inside every night, she has a running pen to exercise outside each day while we are outside with her, she is finally potty trained (Yeah!!!) so that when I am home she is allowed to run around in several gated off rooms in the house and we have an outdoor hutch where I she goes for a few hours each day when the weather is nice.

My question is about this outdoor hutch. It has a section on the top level that is fully enclosed and I had filled it with hay to make a cozy area for her to rest. However today I noticed a roach so I took her out and emptied out all the hay. It was gross! There were lots of roaches who had decided that a dark pile of hay in the dark section of the hutch would make a great home. So nasty and I know not good for Holly.

My question is what do I do to get the roaches to stay away that will be safe for Holly and also how do I put a soft bed in there for her that won't be a tempting place for roaches to come back to? Doesn't she need hay out there if she is out there for several hours at a time?

I appreciate the help!:bunny16

 

[Nancy McClelland]

I use spray as a deadline around my doors and garage doors. I'd check with the vet and see what they recommend that you do.

 

[majorv]

That's tough because you've made an ideal area for both your rabbit and the roaches. Maybe you could make a window or some way to let light in and minimize the amount of hay you put in there...or use something else the roaches can't burrow in. I hate roaches, but they like to hide in the dark so I find them when I'm pulling out the old hay lying on the ground that's under our cages.

 

[Keldugger]

I would think people always put hay in outdoor hutches so I thought this might be a common problem - how do you keep the roaches out of the hay?

As for changing the bedding in the outdoor hutch - would roaches try and hide if I used a bedding like one would use for an indoor bunny cage?

 

[majorv]

The hutch we had outside didn't have any hideaway areas, so there was no dark area for roaches to hide. We also had wire flooring with resting pads and tiles for the rabbits to lay on so we didn't use hay as bedding. Is there any way you can cut a window so the top area isn't dark? Maybe put plexiglass in the hole to keep the elements out...