How to "bomb" the house and protect the tank...

[eaglet]

My friend just moved into an apartment last month. She is experiencing a bad flea
problem. The fleas killed her cat before she knew what was wrong. She has had
the carpets professionally cleaned and has laid down powder. She was told that
the only way she will get rid of them is to "bomb" the house with chemicals. Is
there anyway to protect the tank and its inhabitants? Or does someone know
another method so she does not have to fumigate? Thanks Stan

 

[Carpentersreef]

If that were my situation, I would go to Home Depot and buy duct tape, a roll of vapour barrier poly, a length of bath fan 4" ducting, a $19.00 bath fan, remove the canopy, seal and run the bath fan ducting to an outside window and the aquarium. Hook up the fan so it provides positive air pressure to the aquarium from the outside air. Instead of the bath fan, you may be able to use an aquarium air pump, as long as the air pump is placed outside. In that case, use airline tubing instead of the 4" bath fan ducting. Put some carbon in the sump, to hopefully catch any poisonous fumes that may enter the system. You can probably exhaust the air flow into the apartment.

Mickey mouse, maybe, but I think you only have to "bomb" the apartment for 24 hours.
I hope you're mechanically inclined.

HTH
Mitch

 

[danmhippo]

Or simply use the plastic rolls that they use for the paint jobs and seal up the whole tank, leaving only 2 sealed holes. One from the air pump placed outside, the other one for the air to escape, to the outside too. Make sure you get enough length of airline and a powerful enough airpump to do the job.

 

[Carpentersreef]

be sure to seal up your sump cabinet, too. How big is the system?

 

[lesdexic]

I just had to do this (with the store bought "bombs"). What I did was to cover the tanks with a towel (making sure to cover all the gaps) and kill the lights (to keep temps in check). set off the bombs and all was fine 0 loss (looking back though plastic would be better just encase the whole thing in a bag). Also if she is doing this herself she will need to re-bomb within 10 days (to kill the life cycle of the already laid eggs).. If you want a GOOD place to ask this question is to a terminx bussiness.

 

[Bryan]

YIKES, how do fleas kill a cat. Didn't realize they got that big <g>

-=Bryan=-


<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by eaglet:
<STRONG>My friend just moved into an apartment last month. She is experiencing a bad flea
problem. The fleas killed her cat before she knew what was wrong. fumigate? Thanks Stan</STRONG><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

 

[wdt2000]

I had to do the same thing about 2 months ago! I just used plastic and duct tape. I turned off my skimmer and left everything else on. Everything lived and seemed just fine when I got back. For what it is worth we bombed our house five times this way and the fleas still didn't go away. The bombs only kill the adults. I would call a pro. They can use strong sprays and don't have to bomb the house.

Will

 

[Carpentersreef]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Bryan:
<STRONG>YIKES, how do fleas kill a cat. Didn't realize they got that big <g>

-=Bryan=-


</STRONG><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
So many fleas get on the animal that the animal dies from blood loss.

 

[spray]

Eaglet, here is an alternative to "bombing" the house that works.

To get rid of fleas that are in the house, especially carpet, go buy a copuple of boxes of 20 Mule Team borax laundry soap. The powered kind. Take this and spread it all over your carpets, don't be shy about how much you put down. Then if you have a yard rake use it to rake the powder into the carpet. Let it sit a few days before vacuuming. For whatever reason Fleas cannot stand this stuff and will leave, they also will not come back for several years.

I live here in Florida where if you own a dog you will have fleas and this has kept the fleas off my dogs and out of my house for ten years. I have only retreated twice since I first learned about this.

Good Luck,
Scott Pray