Don’t Clog Your Vacuum Cleaner With a Flea Collar
Anyone with a furry pet has probably dealt with fleas at some point in the past and knows what a huge pain they can be. Of course, you want your pet to do better, but you also need to make sure your home is not infested with fleas. So when one Twitter user posted what looked like an awesome cleanup hacker, we had to investigate.
Telling a touching story about a puppy who wandered into his apartment (seriously!), Twitter user @JJFromTheBronx tweeted: “Pro tip: wherever she goes, she vacuums, removes fleas and eggs, and puts a flea collar in the vacuum cleaner.” … People immediately commented on this ingenious strategy – but does it actually work? We asked some of the pet and cleaning experts to find out.
Verdict
So, by all accounts, putting a flea collar in a vacuum cleaner won’t hurt, but it probably won’t help. According to Russell Hartstein, a behaviorist, trainer and pet expert , it’s important to remember that every flea collar is different. For example, some are designed to kill fleas, while others are just to scare them away. Additionally, Harstein says collars need to be changed frequently and are not 100 percent effective.
Additionally, Dr. Sarah Ochoa, a veterinarian and consultant at DogLab.com, notes that a flea collar in a vacuum only kills fleas and eggs when they are inside the vacuum. What’s more, fleas don’t hatch right away, Harstein explains. “They have an incubation period, so even if you notice that the fleas are gone, don’t stop cleaning for at least a few months, depending on what climate you live in,” he says. “Be especially vigilant in warm, humid climates where flea populations are actually declining because this is usually optimal breeding, whether fleas in warm, humid climates.”
Gilles Ventejol, founder of Animal Patient, considers this flea collar trick in a vacuum a myth. He explains that there are three types of fleas – adults, eggs and larvae – and they are all different. For example, adults live on a dog or cat, and a vacuum cleaner cannot or should not reach their fur, Venteiol says. On the other hand, the eggs stay where they fall and do not move. “The vacuum cleaner can definitely suck them in, but the chemical in the collar doesn’t affect the eggs,” he tells Lifehacker.
And then there are maggots that can move and crawl on the floor. The larvae tend to hide in darker and deeper places, such as between floorboards, deep in carpet, or under pillows, where the vacuum cleaner cannot easily reach, Venteiola said. So there is a good chance that many of the larvae will not be absorbed. And those that end up in the vacuum cleaner have little chance of getting out and re-infecting the house and / or coming into contact with a flea collar that you may have placed in your vacuum cleaner. “Finally, if the larva comes into contact with the collar, there is no guarantee that it will die, since the collars are designed to kill fleas on the animal, that is, adults, not larvae,” he says.
The best way to get rid of fleas
Even if you can’t put a flea collar in a vacuum, there are many tried and true methods that experts recommend:
Classic vacuum cleaning
“It’s best to vacuum several times a day, clean thoroughly, and most importantly, empty the vacuum cleaner and canisters in addition to the debris you dropped the can or bag into,” Harstein tells Lifehacker.
Jordan Foster, Pest Control Specialist at Fantastic Pest Control, recommends using a vacuum cleaner that works with water and mixes the water with flea products that contain permethrin and pyrethrin.
Regular baths
If your pet has fleas, Matteo Greider, the pest control expert at Panther Pest Control, advises taking regular flea shampoo baths.
Give medicine to your pet
“Once you know for sure that your pet has fleas, take it to the veterinarian who will most likely prescribe the medication that best suits your pet’s size, weight, health, age and other factors,” explains Foster. Flea medications are usually much more helpful than topical treatments, Foster says. “Why? Because these medications usually cause your dog to smell that protects against fleas and other insects.”
Hire a professional flea exterminator
If you’ve tried to get rid of fleas yourself but haven’t been successful, it might be time to get a professional.