Our question this week was:

Dr. Jon – does vacuuming help with a flea infestation?

Sarah S.

Answer

Hi – thanks for your email. You wrote asking if vacuuming your home can help you to deal with a flea problem. The answer is yes. In fact, the publication for veterinarians called Veterinary Practice News published an article called "Vacuuming Sucks for Fleas" February 08 that gave information about vacuums and fleas based on research at Ohio State University.

They wrote that 96% of adult fleas and 100% of young fleas were destroyed after passing through the vacuum. The vacuum is essentially a one-way trip for fleas.

I'd recommend using vacuuming with other flea control methods but vacuuming does help.

An article that might be helpful to you is Hi – thanks for your email. You wrote asking if vacuuming your home can help you to deal with a flea problem. The answer is yes. In fact, the publication for veterinarians called Veterinary Practice News published an article called "Vacuuming Sucks for Fleas" February 08 that gave information about vacuums and fleas based on research at Ohio State University.

They wrote that 96% of adult fleas and 100% of young fleas were destroyed after passing through the vacuum. The vacuum is essentially a one-way trip for fleas.

I'd recommend using vacuuming with other flea control methods but vacuuming does help.

An article that might be helpful to you is Flea Infestation in Dogs.

Best of luck!

Dr. Jon



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