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fishtanks and flea bombs


Tom_Shannon

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Frontline the cat and kittens, use the trigger bottle stuff, not the aerosol.

We used to slightly dampen the kittens with a cloth in a basin of shallow warm water, then spray the frontline on a medical type glove and then rub it over the kittens. Then rub them dry with handy kitchen towels.

While they're out of the box, give the bedding a spray as well, especially under the rugs/towels, as fleas are photophobes, and will hide from the light.

The mother cat is another story, usually ending in claws and teeth!

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I know a little about this as I did commercial pest control for a few years.

Firstly the flea bomb is toxic to your tank, and also they almost invariably do not eradicate the fleas. Secondly viable fleas can remain in your carpet without a host for up to two years. This is because the larval stage crawl around eating debri such as flakes of skin of which there is plenty in an average carpet. Then they pupate, then they emerge as an adult flea. The adult flea, when the need arises in the absense of a food source, can go into a semi dormant type stage and last a long time, add up the whole thing and it comes out at around 2 years.

What typically happens once the cats go, is often people did not even know there were fleas, then after a few months they report the house is "crawling" with them. In fact they were there all the time but now there is no cat they are getting desperate & when a human walks past they all leap towards the vibrations looking for a feed. They can drink human blood but it will not sustain them long term.

Best solution is treat the carpet as this is where they live and breed, only emerging to feed. A professional will use a liquid spray comprising of both an adulticide, for quick removal of the adult fleas, and also an IGR ( insect growth regulator ). The IGR used for fleas interferes with the flea larva hormones & stops them being able to moult. Thus when it is time to moult, they can't so they die, and never reach adulthood.

Best plan get a reputable professional in, tell him about the tank, and be there or just outside while he does it. Just before he does it turn everything in the tank off, and cover the tank. Get him to start in that room, and as soon as he is done open doors & windows to allow ventilation. Monitor the tank and as soon as possible start getting it up & running again.

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we done our place with flea bombs a few years ago (about 10 bombs when we would have only needed 4) we covered the tanks and the fish were fine.

but the bombs did not work and we payed to get someone in which was cheeper then the bombs and also have not had another flea since

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