Flea control and fish tanks...

[Malli]

Sooo...

On saturday night Oscar broke out into hives. We had no idea what caused them, and have been having trouble getting them under control. On sunday night I spoke with my vet and started him on steroids since he still had hives. Tonight I brought him inside from the nightly "pee break" and he ran upstairs and rubbed himself suspiciously on the bed
I checked him over and the hives are back Given the steroids, not with near the severity he had before, but they are there; and as I was checking him over, I saw a flea.

Soo... at this point best guess as to the cause of the hives is a severe flea allergy Grrrreat.

So, I broke out the advantage and have already applied that, have to make sure they are gone.

My vet friend mentioned spraying my house

ummm, no. I don't think so with the fish tanks! Yet obviously I may not have any choice given the perpetual hives we seem to be experiencing.

Or, does anyone have any experiences? What about a flea collar in the vacuum? Anyone done that? Safe?


Sigh....

[iluvk9]

Poor Oscar-Pants....I didn't even know you can't spray crap in the air because it would effect fish in a tank.

[Marinepits]

Soo... at this point best guess as to the cause of the hives is a severe flea allergy Grrrreat.

I guess we overlooked the obvious cause, huh?

Mac gets severe hives and bully bumps from fleas as well -- one bite sends him into allergy orbit. I just keep up with his Frontline treatments year-round and he seems to do okay. I've never had to spray the house but imagine I can't anyway because of the parrots, so..... I dunno.

[Malli]

Is Frontline topical or oral?
We haven't used flea control in probably a year in a half or more and I've never seen him have a reaction like this before, and he has had fleas a few times throughout his life(we had no reason to think it was fleas!).
His poor little immune system is at it's wit's end and so am I...

[Marinepits]

Is Frontline topical or oral?

Topical. I've tried other flea meds on him and the Frontline seems to work best.

(we had no reason to think it was fleas!)

I usually automatically think of fleas if the weather has gotten colder and Mac has bumps/hives -- seems to be the time he gets bit most. Don't know why I missed it this time.

His poor little immune system is at it's wit's end and so am I...

I hear ya, LOL. Mac's newest antibiotics are killing his gut (puking, diarrhea, getting under control with flagyl) but his sores are slowly shrinking, so what can I do? Short of putting him in a body suit of bubblewrap.....

[Malli]

you think if the reaction was that strong, theres potential for it to be just a flea or 2 that hitched a ride in within the last few days?

[Marinepits]

For Mac, yeah. Dr Blabs told me that, with a dog that has a high sensitivity to fleas, one bite will do it. Thankfully, we don't get fleas that often around here, so his breakouts for that reason are rare.

I know when I worked around animals, he would have the breakouts more often, so I can only assume a flea or two hitched a ride home on me. The other dogs have never had fleas so.....

[Malli]

because that would be really great if that were the case...

[CinderDee]

If you think they might be in your home I might try a 3 point plan of attack. I'm not sure these will get the eggs though.

I would cut up a flea collar and put it in the vacuum bag. You do have to throw the bag out asap but I would either spray the inside with flea spray or use flea powder in it.

I would use diatomaceous earth in the house. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00030CC1M/qid=1135098651/sr=8-5/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i3_xgl60?n=507846%26s=home-garden%26v=glance

I would give these a try too.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002PS7O4

If worse comes to worse and you have to set off a bomb or spray you can cover the tank with plastic. Make sure it's sealed up very well with tape, including the filter which should be turned off. I would just cover everything & seal it just to be safe.

Good luck!