When can rabbits return after pesticide in outdoor pen?

[Tabbycat27]

I have a 10’x10′ roofed dog pen outdoors for the buns, and they each have individual hutches within the enclosure. This system works awesome because they are able to get a lot of exercise and natural environmental stimulation while still being safe and protected. However, I was horrified to come home a couple nights ago to find fire ants swarming one of the hutches and a few crawling on my 6 week old baby buns (I adopted a doe that we soon found out was pregnant, and she still shares a hutch with the babies for now). In a rush I brushed off the bunnies and got my whole bunny crew (6 rabbits) indoors and sprayed the ecosmart bug spray (mostly peppermint and rosemary oil) all around the hutches and on the ant hill. 2 hours later it still didn’t kill the ant hill, which was situated inside of an underground covered sprinkler access box just outside the cage. I gave in and sprayed raid on the ant hill and immediately twisted the lid back on the access panel hole. It killed the ants, but I am scared of it hurting the bunnies. The nearest hutch is probably 3 feet from that area, but I could move it to a maximum of about 8 feet away. My bunnies are going nuts locked indoors and are stuck in their small temporary cages (24″ dog crates) and I rotate them out in the bathroom twice a day for exercise, but they are not happy about the situation. How soon is it safe enough to put them back outside, (or at least in their outdoor hutches where they will have more room)?
FYI I just found out about DTE and plan to use that and boric acid in the future, but that unfortunately doesn’t help me for now since I’ve already acted on impulse and messed up.
Any advice is appreciated, my bunnies are desperate to go back outside and they’re starting to hate going back in cages after their exercise times.

[Bam]

I honestly don’t know, but a distance of eight feet and no direct contact between the treated area and the buns sounds good to me. Unless the poison somehow could enter the rabbit space f ex carried by rainwater when it rains. You could e-mail the Raid company and ask. They should know how long the poison stays active outdoors and perhaps also what’s a safe distance/time frame for pets.

Fire ants are nasty, I do understand that you wanted to get rid of them asap.

[Azerane]

Some also break down more in water (or at least dilute), so depending on that, it may be worth hosing off the area a little bit (providing the water doesn’t run into the bun area). The company would be able to inform as to whether that would help.

[Tabbycat27]

Thanks for the input, I think I will situate the hutches as far away from the Raid area as possible and scrub the exposed plastic of the access box with dawn dish soap and water just to help decrease any residual pesticide. I’m also going to hose down the hutches and let them dry before moving the bunnies back out also, just in case of any over spray possibility on or near the hutches. Today is day 5 so hopefully it’s enough time for everything to air out enough.

[Author]

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