There is a non-chemical way to control them:

The lead researcher also examined vacuum bags for toxicity and exposed fleas to churning air in separate tests to further explore potential causes of flea death. He and a colleague believed that the damaging effects of the brushes, fans and powerful air currents in vacuum cleaners combine to kill the fleas. The study used a single model of an upright vacuum, but researchers don't think the vacuum design has much bearing on the results.

What I don't get, though, is how you get the cat to lie still while you run the Hoover over her. I know that Jessica wouldn't stand for it for a microsecond. And it would be tough to do a good job on the tail. Maybe they'll do some further research.

This may be true if you have a few fleas, but if your pet gets them into the carpet and really well established, no vacuum on earth will get them all.

I used to live out in the country when my kids were younger. We went off for a week once and left someone with our keys to take care of our dog. Unbeknown to us until it was too late, the dog went on a 3 day walk about during that week. He periodically did this the entire time we lived there and the drill was, when he comes home he gets a bath with flea soap, rinse and repeat.

A few days after our return we realized we had fleas in the carpets.

We sprayed and we vacuumed and we resprayed and we re-vacuumed with a 20 gallon super sucker shop vac and we re-re-sprayed and, and, and for two weeks. We finally had to call a professional who did a spray wait two days, spray with a different chemical rotation, Tuesdays and Thursdays for 3 weeks.

And it would be tough to do a good job on the tail.

I hope you use the extension when attempting this...

We had massive flea problems for years in California. The vacuum didn't get them all because there were always some on the cat and if you flea bathed her, there were still eggs in the carpet someplace.

The flea issues went away, never to return after Gov. Jerry Brown did his massive malathion spray from fleets of helecopters. This was over the entire state in order to kill the Medfly and save California agribusiness. He succeeded in not only killing the fly, but also murdered a lot of poor innocent fleas in the process. Needless to say, I didn't weep much over that.

He's now Calfornia Attorney General who's main campaign promise was to prosecute environmental polluters.

I hope you use the extension when attempting this...

Ummm...it was a joke. I don't plan to run an upright over any portion of my cat, even if she would put up with it.

I'd volunteer both my time and the Electrolux upright to do any cats that need de-fleaing.

I think the secret is to put the cat in the bag before starting the vaccuum. You will have to replace the bag after, however ;)

Old Southern remedy for fleas in the carpet or furniture: a few fresh branches, not very big ones, with some leaves on them, from a black walnut tree, under the major furniture (sofas, beds, etc.). Alas, very hard to find black walnut trees in most areas these days. Always wondered what chemical was in the leaves that did it.

Rand:

The wife and I used to have a cat that loved to be vacuumed, we'd use a brush attachment and set it on "low" and she'd purr up a storm :o)

Then came the day when she was nuzzling the attachment when I turned on the vacuum without checking the setting on it....

I can say that I really, REALLY did feel bad about laughing because she caught onto me in order to dig her claws in and get braced to pull her face out of the nozzle.....

She never trusted another vacuum again, it in fact took a week or so before she trusted ME enough not to take a claw swipe at me every time I passed....

Randy

I'm sorry I missed this post earlier. The best solution is a bath in warm beer. Use an oil filter pan, or something about that size filled with warm beer and gently nudge Jessica into it. Use leather gloves if she hasn't been de-clawed. And preferably have someone else do it.

I should have prefaced this by saying that this method is not meant to intend, cause offense, or in any way be perceived as a slight to any cats or kittens, their owners or relatives.

Of course you could do the beer treatment, wait a while and then try the vacuum. If she has licked herself in the interim she may not notice the vacuum.