Entomologists at Ohio State University have discovered an easy weapon in the fight against fleas: the household vacuum. General wisdom tells us that an important step to de-flea your house involves vacuuming the carpet and pet areas regularly. Now scientists have proven that fleas that get sucked up don’t come back out (at least, don’t come back out 98% of the time if they are adults, and 100% of the time if they are larvae).
The scientists also tested the toxicity of vacuum bags and the effects of turbulent air in an attempt to catagorize what actually kills the cat flea, or Ctenocephalides felis(pictured above). They found that the bags aren’t toxic, and the turbulent air doesn’t seem have any lasting affects. They postulate that a combonation of the physical trials presented by the vacuuming process causes damage to the flea’s cutile, causing adults, pupae, and larvae alike to dry out in the vacuum bag.
No longer must you immediatly throw out bags filled with fleas! Just know that a good, thourough cleaning job will help your pets live parasite free.