Landlord spraying house for bugs

[loachfan]

I am going on vacation for two weeks and my landlord is using this occasion to spray my house since we'll be away AND our birds will be out of the house. The problem, of course, is that we aren't taking the FISH out of the house. He's going to spray primarily in the basement and around the outside, but I'm afraid the fumes will hurt my fish. Are there any precautions I can ask him to take beforehand, or anything I should/can do? It's his house, so asking him not to spray won't work since another house in the neighborhood had termites.

Thanks in advance for any help!

[Matak]

Turn off the airpump for that day and the day after. Turn off the lights and cover the tank loosely with a damp towel for that period. If possible, seal off the room the tank(s) are in airtight with plastic. Can a window be opened a crack? As far as I know, bug bombs are toxic to fish, but I would like to hear someone more knowledgeable sound off on this.

[wetmanNY]

Ask him to wait til you return.

Have termites been identified? Or is this just panic?

Is this being done by a licensed contractor? Find out who. Are they insured for damage to your fish?

Ask about their insurance in writing and keep a copy.

Water changes and fresh carbon and PolyFilter are all important.

[Cloud-9]

I had the same problem back during my apartment days in college. I contacted the resident management and even the pest control company to work something out. But they were very reluctant to go out of their way, or in any way extend themselves. It's fair to say that they were unsympathetic to my situation.

I covered the tank with a big corrugated cardboard box. The fit was not tight so that air can get in the tank from the overlapping sides, but at the same time, nothing could drop into the tank from the air. I also made sure to put as much carbon as would fit on the power filter (Supreme PME, if I remember correctly). Everything worked out, thankfully. The technician sprayed around the corners and around the tank. But the chemical didn't get in the tank.

[Rometiklan]

I would also make sure all your accessories like fish nets, siphons, cans of fish food, etc, are all thrown into a large gargage bag and sealed tightly to protect them from the fumes. The last thing you need is to have your tank contaminated with a net coated with bug spray. Hope it all works out.

[loachfan]

Thanks so much to all of you! I hadn't even thought about adding more charcoal or making sure the nets and food were protected. To answer one question, I'm pretty sure we don't have termites, but the house down the street definitely did. And no, it won't be a licensed contractor, and who knows what he will use. But I know he will take the precautions I ask him to since he knows I would make him replace my fish (and frankly, he's actually a pretty nice guy and I'm sure he would even without my asking). I have three fairly large (4+ inches) clown loaches that I've had for more than 4 years, so I'm attached to these guys and I want THEM, not replacements. Hopefully I can put together a good system and discuss it with him so we can ensure they will be OK. Maybe I can even get him to skip their room.

Again, many thanks!

[Matak]

If you can get him to skip your room, then great! If he will go for that (at the risk of repeating myself) seal off your door with a sheet of plastic and tape and dont forget to seal off any ventilation to the room (like heater vents etc).

HTH :)

[scott]

You say he is spraying your house but is he bombing it? My house gets sprayed quarterly, as with the high levels of humidity and warmth of Georgia, coupled with the fact that I am a hillbilly and live in the woods, it is a termite haven (part of keeping a lower insurance rate).
When my house gets "sprayed" they use a direct spray application around the outside perimeter as well as the inside.
They spray only around where the rubber meets the road so to speak.
I have never once done anything to my tanks, let alone even taken the dog outside. I believe in the government and when they say pet safe I take their word for it. Call me naive

[loachfan]

Hmmm, Scott, thanks! I have no idea what he will use, but it's good to know that it hasn't caused you any trouble. No, he's not bombing the house, just spraying the outside and possibly the baseboards--I'm going to ask if he will skip the fish room, but if he's using pet friendly stuff maybe it won't be the problem I feared. The thing that bothered me was his doing it while we were gone so I wouldn't be here to monitor things, but since the birds are SO sensitive to anything like that, it just made sense. I'm probably being overly cautious, but if I get them to put a box over the tank and I up the charcoal in the filter a bit, sounds like everything will be more than fine.

Again, thanks to everyone! I feel much more relieved. I really didn't want to come home to find my fish gone.