Removing Ticks With a Vacuum

• You, your pets or housemates can unwittingly bring ticks into your home inside fur, on the sides of shoes or on pants and socks. Most of the time, you can depend on the dry air inside a building to eliminate any roaming ticks. If you find a tick, vacuum away the tick and continue vacuuming around the area and near possible entrance points. Immediately take the vacuum outdoors, remove the vacuum's bag, tie a plastic bag around it and discard it in your outdoor trash. Also wash and change your bedding, and wash all recently worn clothing.
  
  

Vacuuming Fleas Away

• A flea infestation doesn't stop at the hopping, seeming indestructible adult fleas. The fleas' eggs, larvae and pupae are scattered throughout your home, mostly in areas around pet beds, inside carpet and along baseboards. Fleas, flea larvae and pupae have strong, pesticide-resistant outer coverings, called cuticles, which makes them a challenge to eliminate. Use a vacuum cleaner to remove the proto-pests, as well as any nearby adults. Suck fleas, eggs and larvae out of corners and along baseboards with a hose attachment. Like you would with ticks, double bag the vacuum bag and dispose of it outdoors.
  
  

Flea Vacuuming for More Advanced Infestations

• If you have a worsening flea infestation, vacuuming alone may not solve the problem. Every blood meal the flea consumes allows it to lay yet more eggs, some of which you couldn't suck up even with constant vacuuming. Use a desiccant such as Borax or diatomaceous earth to scratch at the adults' and pupaes' waxy cuticle, which will allow air beneath the covering and dehydrate its contents. Vacuum first to agitate the larvae, which will cause many to hatch into the more vulnerable pupa. Sprinkle the desiccant liberally around the affected area, and leave the powder on the area overnight. Keep cats and crawling children away, who may ingest the powder through grooming or mouthing. Vacuum up the desiccant the next day, along with damaged adults and pupa and nearby eggs and adults.
  
  

Considerations: Using Vacuuming in Tandem with Pet Meds

• If your flea and tick problems don't get better every time you clean and vacuum your home, you'll have better luck by eliminating the fleas' access to their main food source: your pets. Visit your veterinarian for flea and tick preventive medication, which comes in weight-rated, breed-specific gel dosage. Apply directly to your pet's skin, along the backbone, and expect the medication to start working within a couple of days. Once you start finding dead fleas and ticks, repeat the vacuuming and desiccant process to eliminate the vast majority of remaining ticks, fleas, eggs and larvae.