If you end up with a bad case of Christmas Fleas next week—hey, we’re not judging—save yourself the expense of buying flea poison. “Vacuum cleaners kill fleas just as well as any poison, surprised U.S. researchers said,” noting that a “standard vacuum cleaner abuses the fleas so much it kills 96 percent of adult fleas and 100 percent of younger fleas.” Of course, you won’t be able to train them after that, but it’s your decision.

Needham studied the cat flea, or Ctenocephalides felis, the most common type of flea found in households.

“No matter what vacuum a flea gets sucked into, it’s probably a one-way trip,” Needham said in a statement.

Writing in the journal Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata, Needham suggested that the vacuum brushes wear away a waxy outer layer on insects called the cuticle. Without it, the fleas, larvae and pupae probably dry up and die, he said.

One problem we can see right away with this: having to chase after each flea with an old upright.

“Got fleas? Get the vacuum” [Reuters]
(Photo: Getty)

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