HELP!!! Bugs/Flies in Hay **Pictures Included**

[tanlover14]

So we brought home hay from the farm.. we took it out and put it into plastic bins.  However, we opened the bin about halfway down.  And when we opened it, it was completely moldy and musty.  Disgustingly so.  Well, now we have an outbreak of some flies.  I’m not quite sure what they are and if they are even flies but they do fly, lol.  They very much so remind me of fruit flies except their bodies are red and they’re pretty darn small. 

We got rid of the moldy hay but kept our new Oxbow box of hay.  Not sure if we should throw that away.  A few were crawling on the box but I don’t see them crawling on the actual hay.  When we dumped the box, it was kind of wet inside the plastic bin.   But I didn’t see any actual flies in the hay but it was really dark outside so it was pretty hard to tell.  

 

Any idea what these are?  And how to go about getting rid of them completely? 

[tanlover14]

I tried taking a picture of these bugs but they’re so small it’s hard to get a good one. 

Here’s one anyway.

 

 

[Monkeybun]

Eek! I think the oxbow should be fine. But don’t ever put hay into plastic bins, the hay needs to breathe or it gets icky Not sure exactly what kind of bugs htey are… but they are icky regardless

[Sarita]

Impossible to really tell :~) Oxbow should be fine but like Monkeybun said no plastic bins – better to keep it in the cardboard box in came in.

[tanlover14]

Thanks for the advice, guys! I will stop with the plastic bins then. I don’t think we are going to be getting the fresh hay anymore and will go back to Oxbow. We never had that problem with Oxbow, maybe because it’s not so conducive to harboring bugs? No idea. I would just assume sitting directly in a barn all day and then coming straight to my house doesn’t help in a bug situation. A lady from Rabbit Wranglers rescue says she battles little bug problems with the hay sometimes and I know she only gets the fresh stuff so it made assume that it’s more likely from that hay than the Oxbow.

[Zombie-Sue]

If you have a smart phone, you can change the focus by tapping the screen usually I think. You can do it on a digital camera by… pressing the button half way down maybe ? I don’t remember. Anyway sometimes that helps take pictures of reeeally tiny things. Sorry if you already knew that.

I’ve always kind of wondered that too–what’s “up” with fresh hay. I used to get it from a feed store, went back to Kaytee. I’ve always kept it in a plastic container too, but open, in my basement.

[Sindri]

I have never had an issue keeping my hay in the plastic bin I have. I only buy commercial bunny hay maybe that’s why. Mine like Kaytee and American pet diner. I actually have had hay dry out on me but never any live bugs or mold. I keep the bin inside a bed room closet and the lid is loosely on it and sometimes not on at all. I think your right Tanlover, hay that sits in a barn probably isn’t processed or something like commercial hays like Oxbow are. Hopefully that doesn’t happen to you again.

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