Unfortunately our cat Pepsi has gone and brought fleas into the house.I plan on flea bombing the bedroom as there are no fish in there.Have had flea kill sprinkled on carpet then vacuumed away per instruction.Pepsi has been treated with spot on twice so concerned about risk of doing it a third time as its only meant to be done 2 in 2 weeks then once a month.Broxi my dog has also been treated.
However my problem is do I flea bomb the living room as there are 5 tanks in here.I worry about my fish being killed as I have used a flea bomb before and it smokes a whole room out.I also worry about the insecticide getting into tanks even tho there are hoods on them.I don't know what is the safest course as need rid of fleas as with heat they constantly multiply.
Any fish friendly alternatives you guys know off.As otherwise its going to be a long battle to get rid of them.
Full Version: Flea Bombs
Do not flea bomb the house. In this day and age, there is simply no reason to ever have to use indiscriminate poisons again.
Imidacloprid is a chemical that will interupt the signals between the flea's brain and its autonomic system - its lungs and heart, etc. The lungs, heart and other internal organs cease to function. The flea drops dead within minutes. This chemical ONLY affects insects - fleas and ticks. It does NOTHING to mammals (cats & dogs)
There are several products that have this chemical in them as the main ingredient....
Frontline:
http://frontline.us.merial.com/products/index.asp
Advantage:
http://www.nofleas.com/How-Advantage-Works.asp
If your "Spot On" contains Imidacloprid, then there is no need to treat the house or the animals further. The treatment will last up to 3 months for cats and 1 month for dogs - even in the rain and when they swim. Fleas MUST feed. They try to feed on the cat or dog, but are killed within moments of hopping on board. They do not live to breed. Within a matter of weeks, as your dog and cat travel around the house, the flea population will cease to exist. If you live in an area that has a high flea population outside, the fleas will take a bit longer to erradicate, but they cannot come in on the animals - for they die if they try to ride the dog or cat.
If you wish to treat the house anyway, in addition to the topical treatment on the cat/dog, there is a product called X-O-Trol. This is a spray that you can spray on your carpets. It does not smell, and is relatively harmless to mammals/birds etc. It prevents flea eggs from hatching, kills the adults and prevents the larve from maturing to adulthood. One treatment will last a year. I would not use it with tiny kittens or puppies or very old, or ill animals, nor would I use it if you have a crawling child in the house but it is relatively benign and does a fantastic job. It is FAR less toxic than a flea bomb and you can control exactly where it goes. It will do a great job.
Flea bombs are old technology - and really do NOT do a good job. When you are done, you have to carefully clean EVERY surface in your home, from ceiling down to remove the residual poison. It is not healthy for you to live there is you fail to clean properly. Flea bombs have no residual kill, and will not kill eggs or larvae, nor can they kill fleas hidden in baseboards or that are on your animals.
Skip the flea bomb. Use the Topical, or a combination of topical and residual spray.
Imidacloprid is a chemical that will interupt the signals between the flea's brain and its autonomic system - its lungs and heart, etc. The lungs, heart and other internal organs cease to function. The flea drops dead within minutes. This chemical ONLY affects insects - fleas and ticks. It does NOTHING to mammals (cats & dogs)
There are several products that have this chemical in them as the main ingredient....
Frontline:
http://frontline.us.merial.com/products/index.asp
Advantage:
http://www.nofleas.com/How-Advantage-Works.asp
If your "Spot On" contains Imidacloprid, then there is no need to treat the house or the animals further. The treatment will last up to 3 months for cats and 1 month for dogs - even in the rain and when they swim. Fleas MUST feed. They try to feed on the cat or dog, but are killed within moments of hopping on board. They do not live to breed. Within a matter of weeks, as your dog and cat travel around the house, the flea population will cease to exist. If you live in an area that has a high flea population outside, the fleas will take a bit longer to erradicate, but they cannot come in on the animals - for they die if they try to ride the dog or cat.
If you wish to treat the house anyway, in addition to the topical treatment on the cat/dog, there is a product called X-O-Trol. This is a spray that you can spray on your carpets. It does not smell, and is relatively harmless to mammals/birds etc. It prevents flea eggs from hatching, kills the adults and prevents the larve from maturing to adulthood. One treatment will last a year. I would not use it with tiny kittens or puppies or very old, or ill animals, nor would I use it if you have a crawling child in the house but it is relatively benign and does a fantastic job. It is FAR less toxic than a flea bomb and you can control exactly where it goes. It will do a great job.
Flea bombs are old technology - and really do NOT do a good job. When you are done, you have to carefully clean EVERY surface in your home, from ceiling down to remove the residual poison. It is not healthy for you to live there is you fail to clean properly. Flea bombs have no residual kill, and will not kill eggs or larvae, nor can they kill fleas hidden in baseboards or that are on your animals.
Skip the flea bomb. Use the Topical, or a combination of topical and residual spray.
You might also want to consider washing all the cat's bedding and any other pets bedding too
I already use the topical treatments the spot on's I use last a month on both cats and dogs but with heavy infestation the treatment can be repeated a week later.Its my Dad who wants the house bombed I used a carpet flea insecticidal one of those sprinkle on carpet then hoover 30mins later smells good.Plus I have a household cfc friendly spray i sprayed furniture with.My main aim is don't hurt my fishy friends.
A flea bomb will hurt the fish. They need to be removed entirely from the house. The flea bomb will make a TON of work for your family to clean up, and, within a week or two, the fleas will be back again.
They really do NOT even work well.. .... They are OLD technology. They are no longer even sold around here. The poisons are indiscriminate and dangerous to you and the animals and the fish and the birds and anything it comes into contact with. Every glass, towel, plate, floor, ceiling, appliance, book, etc. will need to be carefully cleaned following a bombing. What a pain.
I work with a shelter and foster hundreds of animals. They all come in with fleas. I have no fleas in my household and have not had fleas in my household or in my shelter for years. I use Advantage or Frontline, depending on which company sends me samples and coupons. They both work splendidly. I can use them on animals coming from surgery, nursing mothers, older animals and sick animals. They can go to homes with senior citizens and have NO fear of fleas.
Fleas used to even dictate whether an animal could be allowed to live. A flea infestation used to occsiaonally be a death sentence for a pregnant or nursing cat, for no one or shelter could deal with the fleas. Since the invention of these topical treatments I do not even consider fleas a problem - they are a passing nusience and little else.
Treat them correctly and you should have no more problems.
They really do NOT even work well.. .... They are OLD technology. They are no longer even sold around here. The poisons are indiscriminate and dangerous to you and the animals and the fish and the birds and anything it comes into contact with. Every glass, towel, plate, floor, ceiling, appliance, book, etc. will need to be carefully cleaned following a bombing. What a pain.
I work with a shelter and foster hundreds of animals. They all come in with fleas. I have no fleas in my household and have not had fleas in my household or in my shelter for years. I use Advantage or Frontline, depending on which company sends me samples and coupons. They both work splendidly. I can use them on animals coming from surgery, nursing mothers, older animals and sick animals. They can go to homes with senior citizens and have NO fear of fleas.
Fleas used to even dictate whether an animal could be allowed to live. A flea infestation used to occsiaonally be a death sentence for a pregnant or nursing cat, for no one or shelter could deal with the fleas. Since the invention of these topical treatments I do not even consider fleas a problem - they are a passing nusience and little else.
Treat them correctly and you should have no more problems.
Thanks Daryl I don't like them either well I'll get my Dad to read this then he should change in mind then I think I wont go out and buy that flea bomb he wants when he's at work tomorrow I'll try make him understand what i've done is enough.Important thing is keep place hoovered pretty hard when its just me and my dad you know guys and housework.
Daryl I explained what you said and well I won no flea bombs happening in this house.
Daryl, I copied and e-mailed that first reply of your to a freind I work with. Her cat Charlie got fleas and they bombed the house. I don't know if she knew all that stuff or not, but I wanted to make her aware, especially since she just found out she was pregnant. They took the cat back to the vet and it got a pill that killed the fleas almost immediately and they started Charlie on Frontline. I think they only bombed once.
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