HELP FLEAS!!!!

[attempt]

Ok I have a problem, I have 2 indoor cats, my sister recently got a dog and brought it over to show it off, well it turns out it had fleas (came from a farm in KY and it lived in a barn. Anyways my home is now infested, i have already gotten the cats taken care off, but i think im going to need to let off flea bombs to kill the rest. how does one do this with an aquarium in their home? It would not be possible to block that room off, and also that is one of the main rooms that i want to bomb.
those flea bombs have to be in there for 8 hours before you can ventilate the home.
any suggestions?

 

[Anonymous]

Here is my suggestion. I'm not 100% sure if it will work.

Wrap the tank in plastic make sure it is air tight. Do the same to the sump and make sure you turn off the skimmer. If you can run a duct or hose from outside and have a fan blowing in. THe positive pressure should keep the bug spray out. Take special care that you do not drome any of the plastic into the tank while pulling it off. Have a 50% water change ready to take care of anything that got past the plastic. This is the best I can come up with. I would look ti see if there is a spray that you could use instead of a bomb.

 

[Anonymous]

Also run some good carbon after you spray. Wazzel's ideas are good--seal the system as best you can--duct tape is your friend.

 

[Anonymous]

One other suggestion. Clean all of the surfaces arond the tank as soon as you pull the plastic off. It would be a real stink to pick up some bug spray residue from a part of the tank you put your hand against.

 

[attempt]

should i leave powerheads and on as well as the return pump and overflow? or should i cut them off also?
wont there be a lack of oxygen?

 

[Anonymous]

Power head I would leave on. Return pump, it would depend on how well you feel you have the tank sealed. If you have the forced air I would leave it on. As far as lack of oxygen, most of our livestock survives 24 hours in a bag during shipping, a couple of hours in a tank should be fine.

 

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't do that if I were you. 8O

Remember, those flea bombs are made to penetrate little cracks in walls...they defuse very effectively. This is a disaster waiting to happen.

Even if you get a perfect air tight seal around the tank and manage to keep it that way for 12 hours, the lack of O2 will not be good for the tank inhabitants.

Here's what I would do (although because I already do this I wouldn;t get the flea problem): Get some frontline or advantage or one of the other internal flea killers and drip it on the cats. Then make sure the cats go where the fleas are and be patient...a few days and al the fleas should be gone.

If YOU are getting bitten, put a small dose of that stuff on the back of your hand. The FDA hasn't aproved it, but I get it on myself every time I put it on the cats and dogs and I swear, even mosquitos stay away from me...of course, I'll probably get cancer from it :twisted:

 

[Marrowbone]

I second manny's idea. My cats get fleas every year just from going outside. I give them a little dose of Revolution on the backs of their necks. All the fleas that are holed up in the apartment eventually jump on them and die- it only takes a few days, maybe a week. Now I dont have to mess with large amounts of poisons.

 

[Anonymous]

Another idea rather than bombing the whole house is to get a more targeted spray-style flea killer and spray it on the carpet, furniture, bedding, etc.

 

[wade1]

Having some background in pesticide toxicology, I would say DO NOT use a flea bomb. Use the highly effective frontline, etc treatments that exist now. Those treatments sterilize any fleas that bite the animal and within a week or two, your problem vanishes. If it is so horrible you cannot stand it (ie- they are biting you) then use a handheld sprayer and carefully spray just the carpet in wide bands. Fleas can jump pretty far, but spraying in bands seems to work. Run activated carbon CONTINUOUSLY and vigerously (in active water flow) during and for weeks after treatment of the house. Even the spray type will get into the tank.

Wade

 

[attempt]

Well i treated the cats with Advantage (similar to frontline only doesnt get rid of ticks) i dont see fleas jumping around everywhere, every once in a while i will feel one bite my ankle, or see on jump on me from the sofa , but that has only been a few number of times.
I dont think the infestation is bad.
What do you recommecd for the spray type to spray the carpets and such? I know alot of the products at stores like walmart are crap and really dont work, and i dont want to contract out to an exterminator.
any ideas?

 

[wade1]

I'd wait it out and avoid their use altogether if you can handle it. It won't take long for the last batch of eggs to hatch and then starve.

If you have to use something, use a type with permethrin in it. Its a relatively non-toxic pesticide (as far as they go) and doesn't last as long as others.

Wade

 

[Anonymous]

Wait it out. By the time you shlep to wal-mart, buy the spray, or have an experminator come out, the problem will be almost gone by itself.

A few flea bite is worth a healthy tank.

 

[attempt]

ok thanks guys for all your help with this, i will just wait it out and probably will dose the advantage another few times to make sure i get all those little bas**rds!!!!

 

[wade1]

Be aware that the dosage on that stuff is no more than twice per month (something like 2 weeks apart MINIMUM). Don't poison your cats, it won't speed anything up.

Wade

 

[attempt]

oh no worries about overdosing the cats, i wouldnt do more than the recommended amount . I love my cats to much

 

[robertpower3]

Zodiac makes a carpet powder that is very effective i would not get close to the tank but you could do the rest of your house with out worries.