Flea Bombs and Fish

[DonnBallenger]

My house is infested with fleas. Its to the point where I've had to get rid of my cat and have stayed at my mom's house the past two nights to avoid the blood sucking vermin.

We set off 3 Raid bombs last week. I covered my 55gal with heavy trash bags and turned off and wrapped the air pumps during the bombing. All my guys were still alive and accounted for at the end of the bombing, but it looks like we're going to have to bomb at least 1-2 more times to get rid of the infestation.

The trashbag method seems to work, but I really dont like subjecting my guys to multiple doses of deadly poison. Any ideas to make this process safer? Any general tips about getting rid of the fleas?

 

[QTOFFER]

The trashbag method is the best I can think of. Don't forget to cover your fish equipment too. I would also rinse off anything (food containers, algae scrapers, test kits, etc) that goes near the tank after the bombing just to be safe.

If the DIY extermination isn't working, you might want to consider calling a pro. I've seen traps that attract fleas with heat and kill them by drowning.

 

[JeffreyL]

ew

Sorry to hear about that one. Yuck. The trash bags seemed to have worked, but as QTOFFER said, cover and clean anything fish related. Another thing you may want to do is add all the carbon media to your filtration you can. And change it every few days. Say 3 at the most. That often is likely overkill, but better safe. You might have a tiny bit of insecticide get in the water, and not see the effects for a while. Or perhaps repeated bombing might raise the level to a dangerous point. Carbon seems like cheap insurance. Hope all goes well and you get the little vermin!!!!

 

[Hara]

a white dinner plate, in the middle of infested areas, with water, a couple drops of dish soap, make a nice flea trap, If you can rig a light over it, all the better, but the whiteness of the plate normally does the trick.

 

[DonnBallenger]

i just set off the third round of bombs. if this doesnt work, i'm calling the orken man....and if that doesnt work i'm going apartment shopping.

what seriously interests me is how these little buggers are living without food. i havent stayed there for 4 days in a row now. i tossed some minnows in the tank so the oscar and frog would have a steady food supply, and as i mentioned before, the cat is gone. What are these things eating to stay alive? You'd figure that somewhere between the larva and reproductive stages, they'd have to have a meal!

 

[trotty]

If your not happy with just the bags... try using damp towels over your tank and then the bags. if any gets throught the bags it still has to go through the towel, getting it all!