Problem: Article: Your dog should be vaccinated before she gets pregnant. This will protect your dog and your dog's puppies. Newborn puppies have an increased risk getting serious (and even fatal) diseases if their mother is not vaccinated. Most experts advise against vaccinating pregnant dogs, so vaccines should be given ahead of time. Get your dog dewormed. Internal parasites (such as roundworms and hookworms) can pass from a mother to her puppies. Your dog's veterinarian will prescribe an appropriate medication that will protect both your dog and her puppies. Have a heartworm test performed by your vet and start an appropriate heartworm preventative. Heartworm microfilaria can pass from a dog to her unborn puppies through the placenta. Your veterinarian can help you verify the pregnancy, determine the due date, discuss any medication changes, and even estimate the number of expected puppies. Your veterinarian can also help you determine if your dog is having a false pregnancy, a condition in which she looks and acts pregnant when she's not. Ultrasound machines can visualize puppy embryos approximately 3 weeks into the pregnancy. Your veterinarian may be able to feel the puppies inside your dog's belly 20-30 days into the pregnancy. Unborn puppies can be seen on x-rays after 45 days (5 weeks) of pregnancy. Your veterinarian will count the fetal skeletons to determine the number of expected puppies. This way, you will know if all the puppies have been delivered successfully when your dog gives birth. If you are expecting 6 puppies but only 4 are born, you will know to take your dog in for emergency medical care. Some medications can be dangerous to the unborn puppies and can cause birth defects and even death. For instance, veterinarians typically recommend that you keep your dog on their monthly heartworm preventatives, but talk to your veterinarian to be certain. Talk to your veterinarian about your dog's flea and tick treatments and her risk for these parasites. Your veterinarian will recommend an appropriate product if treatment is indicated. Examples of products that your veterinarian may recommend for your pregnant dog include Frontline Plus Topspot (but not Frontline Spray), Revolution, Program, and Capstar. Your veterinarian may recommend a dewormer during the last third of your dog's pregnancy. Fenbendazole is typically considered safe for pregnant dogs and can treat worms that can be passed from a dog to her puppies. Do not give any over-the-counter medications, treatments, or supplements to your dog without asking your veterinarian whether they are safe during pregnancy. Do not vaccinate your pregnant dog. Talk to your veterinarian about vaccinations if your dog is pregnant and is overdue on vaccines. If your dog is on long-term medications for a chronic disease, talk to your veterinarian immediately to determine if you should continue or stop the medications. This should be a 24 hr clinic, not your regular vet office. It is best to be prepared for an emergency, just in case your dog is giving birth in the evening and she has serious complications.
Summary: Get your dog proper prenatal care. See your veterinarian if you believe that your dog may be pregnant. Talk to your veterinarian about ALL medications and treatments that you give your dog. Make sure you know where the nearest Vet Emergency hospital is located.

Problem: Article: Mosquito larvae are very small, so make sure you purchase a small aquarium net designed to capture tiny aquatic life. Nets designed for brine shrimp will work perfectly. You can also use an eye dropper to capture individual or small groups of eggs or larvae. Make sure to transfer the larvae or eggs into your aquarium quickly so they don't die before your fish can eat them. Pouring your water container into your aquarium is not advised, as you may not want to introduce the algae and debris in the mosquito's water to your tank. Most fish probably will not immediately eat the small egg "boats" but they will attack the "wrigglers" or larvae as they emerge from the eggs. This is the best way to ensure your mosquito larvae don't grow into full grown pests in your backyard. It's okay if your fish eat the egg boats before they hatch. These eggs will usually hatch within 48 hours of being laid, so you may not find them very often. You are much more likely to encounter larvae than unhatched eggs because of how quickly eggs hatch. Mosquito larvae will come to the surface regularly to breath. Larvae will shed their skin as they grow, so you may find empty bits of larvae skin. Fish are unlikely to eat shed skin. Larvae appear to have antennae which are actually siphon tubes used for breathing. Larvae that enters the pupa stage will look as though they have developed a head and will no longer feed on algae. These can be fed to fish, but should otherwise be washed down the drain as it is the last stage before flying. Even if you have more larvae than you can feed your fish, it's important that you purge your developing larvae on a weekly basis. Depending on the environment, mosquito eggs can develop into full grown, flying pests in as little as four days or as long as two weeks. To avoid cultivating a swarm of mosquitoes in your yard, purge any larvae your fish don't eat by pouring the water down the drain. Pouring your water out in your yard may not prevent the larvae from becoming full grown mosquitoes. Your fish likely will not eat dead larvae, so if some do not survive you can simply discard them with the water as you change it each week. If all of the larvae is dying, there is an issue with the temperature or quality of the water. If you used tap water, there may have still been some chlorine present. Chlorine will kill mosquito larvae. If your bucket received direct sunlight at some point of the day, it may be becoming too hot for larvae to survive in the water.
Summary:
Use an eye dropper or small net to catch your larvae. Place unhatched egg boats in your fish tank. Capture larvae "wrigglers" and place them in your fish tank. Harvest your larvae weekly. Dispose of dead larvae.