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Unread 11/21/2014, 03:39 PM   #1
d2mini
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Pest Control in the Fish Room!

No, not your wife and kids!

So for those who have a separate fish room in your basement or garage or separate outdoor structure, what do you do about pest control... spiders, ants and other creepy crawlies?

When my exterminator comes to treat the house, I always remind him to steer clear of the display tank.
But now that i'm building out a small support room which I would have him stay out of all together, what can I do myself to make it as pest free as possible?


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Unread 11/21/2014, 04:07 PM   #2
Newsmyrna80
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I make sure nothing is sprayed in that room but I don't really get a lot of critters in there. Occasionally an ant will wonder in but they usually make their way into the refugium and die


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Unread 11/22/2014, 05:31 PM   #3
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From my pet shop days, bait is the only truly safe answer. Sprays are evil.


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Unread 11/22/2014, 07:23 PM   #4
AdamNC
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Originally Posted by billsreef View Post
From my pet shop days, bait is the only truly safe answer. Sprays are evil.
^^^ I'm my reptile room and on my loft where my tank is spraying is banned. So I have bait traps around and also surround my house with Amdro granules amdro dot com. One of the large containers 3 times a year. Haven't had any issues with ants whatsoever and is a heck of a lot cheaper the Terminex. Spiders on the other hand is a manual removal with a spider web brush on a stick. But get rid of the food source and you will get rid of spiders.


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Unread 11/22/2014, 08:06 PM   #5
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Bleach mixed with water in a spray bottle should kill anything that crawls as well as eggs. 1:4 ratio should do the trick but you could probably go lower on the bleach.. Find a spider and spray it to see if it dies. Spray in all corners. Ammonia and water should do the same but that is harder on the sinuses.


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Unread 11/24/2014, 07:46 AM   #6
d2mini
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OK, i guess I'll pick up some bait thingies if it's a problem.

Quote:
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^^^ I'm my reptile room and on my loft where my tank is spraying is banned. So I have bait traps around and also surround my house with Amdro granules amdro dot com. One of the large containers 3 times a year. Haven't had any issues with ants whatsoever and is a heck of a lot cheaper the Terminex. Spiders on the other hand is a manual removal with a spider web brush on a stick. But get rid of the food source and you will get rid of spiders.
Ya, this is probably true.
In my previous "fish room" which was a corner of my garage, i had a lot of webs and stuff up in the top corners of the walls. Probably lots of flying bugs (food) available. Now that I've walled it off and created a room with a door, it shouldn't be as bad.

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Bleach mixed with water in a spray bottle should kill anything that crawls as well as eggs. 1:4 ratio should do the trick but you could probably go lower on the bleach.. Find a spider and spray it to see if it dies. Spray in all corners. Ammonia and water should do the same but that is harder on the sinuses.
Cool, good tip.


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Unread 11/24/2014, 07:56 AM   #7
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Malathion - spray the outside walls and door of the room, as well as the garage. It is used to rid pests from our fruits and vegetables. It breaks down immediately to a non toxic stated if it comes in contact with water.


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Unread 11/24/2014, 10:08 AM   #8
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Malathion - spray the outside walls and door of the room, as well as the garage. It is used to rid pests from our fruits and vegetables. It breaks down immediately to a non toxic stated if it comes in contact with water.
Um, just no. It does not break down immediately in contact with water, in fact it's diluted with water before being sprayed on crops. Crops that have been sprayed also can not be harvested within several days of application, and still should be well washed before consumption.


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Unread 11/24/2014, 10:35 AM   #9
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You can use diatomaceous earth. It worked great for me when my cats got fleas one time but it works for all insects. It's all natural and non toxic. But be careful not to breath it in when you are spreading it on the floor, and don't put it in high traffic areas where it can get stirred up and become airborne.


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Unread 11/24/2014, 10:48 AM   #10
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You can use diatomaceous earth. It worked great for me when my cats got fleas one time but it works for all insects. It's all natural and non toxic. But be careful not to breath it in when you are spreading it on the floor, and don't put it in high traffic areas where it can get stirred up and become airborne.
I was going to suggest diatomaceous earth too. Make sure you get food grade, not the stuff for pools. It takes care of just about anything with a carapace.


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Unread 11/24/2014, 11:48 AM   #11
Fade2White12
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Cool, good tip.
You may want to use something a bit more surface and people/pet friendly than bleach or ammonia. A 50:50 mix of vinegar and water will kill most insects, as will about an ounce of dish soap (Dawn, for instance) per quart of water. The soap disrupts the cell membranes for most soft-bodied insects, and for those with hard skeletons, it works at blocking pore respiration. For a lot of insects, they perish almost instantly.


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Unread 11/24/2014, 12:48 PM   #12
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Quote:
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You may want to use something a bit more surface and people/pet friendly than bleach or ammonia. A 50:50 mix of vinegar and water will kill most insects, as will about an ounce of dish soap (Dawn, for instance) per quart of water. The soap disrupts the cell membranes for most soft-bodied insects, and for those with hard skeletons, it works at blocking pore respiration. For a lot of insects, they perish almost instantly.
Good point about vinegar and or soap. Soap is an oldie but a goodie however it only works on contact. I forgot about that one. Same goes with most other DIY organic pest control solutions including my bleach suggestion. Vinegar is also a good ant deterrent.

Here is a good site with some good info on DIY organic solutions.
http://eartheasy.com/grow_nat_pest_cntrl.htm

And another.
http://www.bobvila.com/get-rid-of-fl.../slideshows#!1


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Last edited by slief; 11/24/2014 at 12:54 PM.
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Unread 11/27/2014, 08:54 PM   #13
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+1 Slief on bleach water. I also shop-vac any webs or spiders up immediately. Bait traps for ants and centipedes. I use sonic repellents for vermin because the gecko's and mole crickets here would also be effected by bait traps and sticky paper. Gecko's and mole crickets are a great pest control as far as insects.


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Unread 12/12/2017, 08:11 AM   #14
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Is it effective?


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Unread 12/12/2017, 10:49 AM   #15
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I was going to suggest diatomaceous earth too. Make sure you get food grade, not the stuff for pools. It takes care of just about anything with a carapace.
What he/she said. Also boric acid will work. Spraying poison around the house and yard is not my idea of a good idea. If it kills things on contact, it might not be a good for you, your pets or kids to come in contact with it. Get it on your shoes and then its in the house, touch the floor and now you gots it. Same with the fish room. A little bit may not harm you but.... Just vacuum a lot and remove the food sources. The only thing I use is orthene and that's to treat fire ant mounds only. If spinosad does not work first. These are just my opinions and your results may vary.


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Unread 12/17/2017, 05:18 AM   #16
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diatomaceous earth...they eat it -they die


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Unread 12/17/2017, 07:36 AM   #17
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What he/she said. Also boric acid will work. Spraying poison around the house and yard is not my idea of a good idea. If it kills things on contact, it might not be a good for you, your pets or kids to come in contact with it. Get it on your shoes and then its in the house, touch the floor and now you gots it. Same with the fish room. A little bit may not harm you but.... Just vacuum a lot and remove the food sources. The only thing I use is orthene and that's to treat fire ant mounds only. If spinosad does not work first. These are just my opinions and your results may vary.
Great advice, boric acid is my go to.


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Unread 12/17/2017, 05:34 PM   #18
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DE as stated above works wonders.

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Unread 01/09/2018, 08:20 PM   #19
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We use glue traps in our basement. They work incredible. Everyone in the family has even been caught once or twice. And no sprays.


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Unread 01/10/2018, 05:15 AM   #20
Gezkovich
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Sprinkle boric acid or diatomaceous earth along the baseboards. Both will cause insects to dehydrate and die.


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Unread 01/10/2018, 09:47 AM   #21
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Geckos work great.


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Unread 01/16/2018, 08:11 PM   #22
2_zoa
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Lots of good tips and tricks added so far. Really though. It truly comes down to what your trying to accomplish. Ants, spiders, roaches, etc...

Quick thoughts,
Spiders, being arachnid don’t groom themselves. So, no amount of any spray will help against spiders. Unless, they themselves are directly sprayed. The other issue with them is they are built like 4X4’s so they never bump or scrap their exoskeletons. So borax or dieatomasish earth won’t dry them out.

Ants IMO are best baited so that it can get back to the queen and kill the colony. I make a mix of boric acid, sugar, and water for ants. You can use peanut butter instead of sugar for protein ants if you’ve got those. Swarming ants are a seasonal pest that just happens.

Other options are water activated granules that you can spread in the yard that don’t emit VOCs and can then be activated by a light watering.
Of course baits work well but to my knowledge can’t/shouldn’t get wet.

One last thought, no pest tech should be inside spraying anything. The days of baseboard spraying belongs in the 70’s. There are plenty of options with baits, granules, inside wall treatments, etc.. a bug indoors that has crossed a proper barrier on the exterior will die shortly or already be dieing when you see it indoors. A twitching bug has had a leathal dose. The cholinesterase inhibitors are in effect. Pest control should be applied according to the pest. A good tech will evaluate and treat accordingly.


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Unread 02/03/2018, 12:37 PM   #23
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Definitely a fan of using glue traps for finding out what sort of pest you are actually dealing with. It is very easy to see one bug and then panic poison the world.


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Unread 02/28/2018, 12:24 PM   #24
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Hey,
Those tiny snails that mysteriously appeared in your tank are considered pests by many aquarium owners. They multiply like crazy, and unfortunately, they are a challenge to get rid of. Usually, they or their eggs come in on live plants or on bits of gravel from a fish store, and they are hard to spot. It's a really big problem with anyone, I have too.


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Unread 03/16/2018, 05:54 PM   #25
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I think he’s talking about pests like ants and rodents lol


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