Pest Control Aggravating Breathing Problems?

[Pixelated Cat]

Hello everyone! So.....we live in an apartment complex. I am an asthmatic, and Pixie has recently been diagnosed with asthma and allergies, and is getting over pneumonia at the moment. From the beginning, I have asked the leasing office several times to put us on the list for no pest control for our apartment. Every time that I ask the leasing office to put us on the list for no pest control, they quickly say they will. Well....today I found a paper from the pest control company stating they had serviced our apartment, sprayed it down and everything. This is not the first time this has happened to us, and quite honestly, I am running out of patience. I have told the leasing office about my asthma, and how spraying anything aggravates it. Even when we lived in a house for almost ten years, I never used pesticides of any kind. I kept the house clean, just as I do the apartment, and we have never had any problems with pests. Anyways, back to the point, I am worried about Pixie. He came to me as usual standing on his back legs to be picked up and cuddled, so I picked him up and we rubbed heads, and I listened for his purr. While he did purr some, I also heard wheezing and stuffiness. I gave him his dinner and he ate it fine....but still wheezing quite loudly. We gave him a prednisone, and he is sleeping right now. I'm concerned because Pixie has been doing so well, and now I'm worried this has pushed his progress backwards. I don't like being this way, but I've been very nice to the leasing office about putting us on the 'do not treat' list, and they continue this. I am a little wheezy myself tonight. I'm sorry the post is long and for the ranting. Does anyone have any experience with this? What do you think? Thank you in advance

 

[Furballsmom]

Oh, that is so frustrating, never mind a serious health concern!!
I'm so hoping that both of you come through this ok!

 

[Mamanyt1953]

He will probably be able to come back from this, but you do NOT want it to continue. Your next step is to write a letter to the leasing office stating that both you and your cat are asthmatic and react to the sprays used by the pest control company, and that UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES are they to spray your apartment again. Remind them that they have been informed of this on multiple occasions. Add that should they do so, it constitutes a material danger to the health of both you and your pet. MAKE A COPY OF THAT LETTER, and send it "return receipt requested." If they spray again, call a lawyer. Legal aid, if nothing else. Those guys are good.

 

[1 bruce 1]

As the owner of an asthmatic cat myself, I would be PISSED.
Can you contact the company directly and voice your concerns and wishes? Odds are communication is not good between the landlord and them, and they're only doing what they've been told to do or thought they were expected to do.
If you can get a hold of the company directly, tell them your location and apartment # and that, while you appreciate their prompt service, you AND your cat are bothered by this and ask them to please by pass your area. You might get a good response.
(If you do, leave them a nice google review or yelp review, too.)
Our asthmatic had a recent attack of wheezing and breathing oddly and the prednisolone did help. It's scary though and I was a fretful mess for 24 hours checking up on him.

 

[1 bruce 1]

He will probably be able to come back from this, but you do NOT want it to continue. Your next step is to write a letter to the leasing office stating that both you and your cat are asthmatic and react to the sprays used by the pest control company, and that UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES are they to spray your apartment again. Remind them that they have been informed of this on multiple occasions. Add that should they do so, it constitutes a material danger to the health of both you and your pet. MAKE A COPY OF THAT LETTER, and send it "return receipt requested." If they spray again, call a lawyer. Legal aid, if nothing else. Those guys are good.

Good plan, Mamanyt1953 !
Remember Pixelated Cat , you can be firm and fair without being unkind. Don't let the prospect of a potential verbal scuffle worry you. Be brief, be honest, be firm and fair and then be gone! This is a medical thing for you AND Pixie, it shouldn't be ignored or written off.

 

[Pixelated Cat]

Thank you everyone for your kind words and advice! I tried calling the leasing office today, but got no answer so I left a message. My husband is going to stop into the office tomorrow to have a chat with them, and I'm going to contact the pest control company. Pixie and I are both doing much better today.

 

[1 bruce 1]

Thank you everyone for your kind words and advice! I tried calling the leasing office today, but got no answer so I left a message. My husband is going to stop into the office tomorrow to have a chat with them, and I'm going to contact the pest control company. Pixie and I are both doing much better today.

Good news you're both better today.
We don't use pesticide stuff here and I would be really upset if someone did. I just don't like it.

If worse comes to worse and no one responds, I wonder if talking with a lawyer and asking them to send a letter would be worth the trouble.
This isn't a personal preference (like mine) but medical for you both and shouldn't be blown off.

 

[Pixelated Cat]

1 bruce 1
I really hope we get a response from someone, I don't want to go down the lawyer path if I don't have to, but will do it if there is no response. Same here on the pesticides, I am not a fan of them at all, and I have never used them. If you don't mind me asking...do you have any advice in caring for an asthmatic cat? We wash all the bedding and blankets weekly, we don't use any cleaners with fumes, and we don't use candles and essential oils. I remember you mentioning you have an asthmatic cat, and that you recently gave him prednisolone for an attack he had. How is he doing?

 

[1 bruce 1]

1 bruce 1
I really hope we get a response from someone, I don't want to go down the lawyer path if I don't have to, but will do it if there is no response. Same here on the pesticides, I am not a fan of them at all, and I have never used them. If you don't mind me asking...do you have any advice in caring for an asthmatic cat? We wash all the bedding and blankets weekly, we don't use any cleaners with fumes, and we don't use candles and essential oils. I remember you mentioning you have an asthmatic cat, and that you recently gave him prednisolone for an attack he had. How is he doing?

He's doing very well!! Thank you!
Cleaning House With Asthmatic Cat
This thread might interest you. There's lots of good information.
If you do a search on the site for "asthma" you'll get a lot of good threads come up, some many years old but still informative!!!

 

[dustydiamond1]

He will probably be able to come back from this, but you do NOT want it to continue. Your next step is to write a letter to the leasing office stating that both you and your cat are asthmatic and react to the sprays used by the pest control company, and that UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES are they to spray your apartment again. Remind them that they have been informed of this on multiple occasions. Add that should they do so, it constitutes a material danger to the health of both you and your pet. MAKE A COPY OF THAT LETTER, and send it "return receipt requested." If they spray again, call a lawyer. Legal aid, if nothing else. Those guys are good.

Yes! While my first thought was also to contact the pest control company to let them know you do not want them using chemicals and why, I would read the leasing office the riot act! Send them an email, so you will have proof, stating that after multiple requests to them if you or your pet need medical attention you will be seeking a lawyers advice regarding the leasing companys legal responsibly. Good luck, keep us updated.

 

[vyger]

I grew up in the days of DDT. Everybody was told it's safe. Only kills bugs. My dad used to get these bug bomb things and fog the house. Well, turns out it is not as safe as they thought. It's now banned worldwide. Over and over again it's been the same thing. Now the research is showing that Roundup probably causes cancer. Because of the way they are now using it, it is turning up in trace amounts in all processed foods. Wonderful. What they do is they "burn down" fields with it. So, rather than wait for a crop to naturally die back and dry up they spray it with weed killer, Roundup, so it will die faster and they can do a fast uniform harvest. Problem is the weed killer stays on the harvested crop. So now it's in everything. But that's ok, it harmless, or so they told everyone. There are some things that can kill bugs that really are harmless. Put some dish soap in a spray bottle with water and spray it on a bug and it will die. The soapy water covers them and cuts off their air and they die from lack of oxygen, not a chemical cocktail.
Bottom line is: they can't be totally sure that a poison is not going to harm people or other living things. Some people are more sensitive than others. Some people can die from peanut oil. If you don't want poison sprayed around your house they absolutely should respect that. My question is, what are they doing coming into your place when your not there to start with?

 

[dustydiamond1]

How is everyone doing?