Unusaual problem

[compboy521]

Thanks to two cats and two dogs. My house is over run with fleas. After consulting several people with this problem it seems that foggers are the best way of getting rid of these pest. I'm sure you are now aware of the problem. Does any haven any ideas on how to go about this with out killing every thing in my 105 gallon tank? Any help would be great.

[erikharrison]

you need to call a pest control company for the treatment. I used to work for one, those household foggers are garbage. You will need to cover your aquariums as much as possible and cut off anything from outside of the tank to keep oxygen from getting in.

[RayAllen]

yikes; agree with Erik on the pest control people. You are also going to have to wash everything in your home from Bed Linens to Curtains. Good luck

[blueboy]

the best way to get rid of fleas, is to vacuum ALL your carpet THOUROUGHLY, EVERY DAY for 7 DAYS. after vacuuming IMEDIATELY throw out the vacuum bag, OUTSIDE the house. this will break the life cycle. then if you can just control the fleas on the animals, you'll be all set. and you won't risk the health of your self, or your tank!

[Willow]

use something like Advantage on the dogs and cats...

[alton]

I had this problem 2 years ago. I called a pest control company told them that I had several aquariums and they sent a guy out that worked around aquariums before. I did not cover anything and lost nothing, except the fleas and eggs.

[aprilmayjune]

Put a flea collar in your vacuum canister/bag so when you vacuum it kills the fleas and eggs. Also, Advantage works better for cats, Frontline works better for dogs. Don't buy that BioSpot garbage, even if it guarantees it works just as good- it doesn't!

[urban79]

Its cause of all the rain and hot weather. Im fighting it too. just clean every day.. Plus they have powder you can use too.

[Ping]

Don't forget about treating the yard. I dont know much about this sort of thing, so after looking at DIY organic bug treatments, I finally called a company to spray my house and yard. They sprayed the inside of the house once and they spray the yard evey other month.

They say they use an "Organic Chemical" :shades

I have experienced zero problems with any of my pets.

[rocketeer]

Ditto the Advantage. I don't use anything else. Your pets will distribute it to their sleeping areas and such.

Jack

[jc]

My dog uses frontline and he has never had a flea problem.

[erikharrison]

Alright, let me tell yall something. Flea eggs can last for a veryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy long time. There does at least need to be one treatment. DO NOT USE DUST. If you use dust, you vacuum for days on end, spreading it through the air each time. Vacuuming repeatedly does help, as flea eggs hatch when disrupted, however, if you do not stop the problem of where they are coming from, you are going to be in a repetitive cycle that will cost you more than you spend at the LFS after you get paid. Cover your tank once and do it right. Have the flea guys come and do their thing, then vacuum like a madman for around three weeks. Essentially the pest control guys will spray a growth inhibitor, which will keep the juvenile fleas from ever growing old enough to "do it, doooooooooooooo it." The reason you vacuum so much is to ensure that you are disrupting the carpet daily, which causes them to hatch. Some people say two weeks, but best to be safe, three is king. I have seen people throw money at their flea situation, but it never works. I spoke to a couple get their house sprayed, then they neglected the vacuuming portion. They simply went out of town on a month's vacation. 1 month after they got back, there were fleas worse than before. VACUUM. Stop the fleas from getting in. Mow the crap out of your grass. To see how bad it is, put down a peice of white paper, and watch those little bastards jump all over it. Best of luck. Joshua is dead on right.


"I had this problem 2 years ago. I called a pest control company told them that I had several aquariums and they sent a guy out that worked around aquariums before. I did not cover anything and lost nothing, except the fleas and eggs."

Alton, all I can say is, you got lucky. I have seen personally, people that have lost every single fish they had because of foolishness. Do not believe a cocky pest control guy, one day they will lose a job and be humbled by the nature of insecticides in the air that gets exchanged at the surface of a tank. Honestly, don't give advice like that, please. I watched three guys get fired, two techs and their manager over a situation like this. Remember they have to cover EVERY SQUARE INCH OF CARPET. A pest control guy that does not, simply does not care.

[Isis]

My thoughts are... Treats the pets, treat the yard and treat the house. We won't use foggers, so we use the dust and it seems to work. Of course, we are also planning on ripping up the carpet and replacing with laminant or tile.

[Isis]

Oh yeah.... termite companies use a chemical that is similar to Frontline, or is the same thing, and they can spray your yard and that will get rid of fleas, ticks, fire ants (for a short period), grubs, termites, etc. Our termite guy told my neighbors that their recent treatment of termites will also treat the fleas in their yard within a certain distance of the house.