Best Vacuum for Fleas [Tested by Vacuum Experts]

Published by Ahmad Jamal on July 4, 2023 | Last updated on July 6, 2023

Flea infestations inside a house are a major issue that needs to be addressed upon spotting it. No time should be wasted in evaluating your options and searching for the best vacuum for fleas.

Additionally, a single flea infestation can hurt a little and cause some disturbance and can cause you nightmares day and night.

In your attempt to control the flea from re-creation, planting their eggs, or hatching them on your furniture, you’ll have to pick up a flea vac, as it’s one of the most important steps towards fully controlling the infestation.

In this CleanersAdvisor guide, I’ll save you the time you need to search for the best vacuum for fleas and provide you with a numerical rank for those vacuums, highlighting each vacuum’s features for a closer look.

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Our Testing on Best Vacuum for Fleas

Before compiling the list of best vacuum for fleas, we tested 20 vacuums claiming they are effective against fees, testing how powerful they are in a general sense, and how effective they area against flees.

Moreover, we made sure to test how the filters work in filtering fleas after vacuuming them, and we also tested how reliable the dust bin in each of these vacuums are in keeping fleas inside.

Having multi-floor cleaning power is a plus, so is having a HEPA filter installed, and having pet-hair special features in.

Additionally, when the vacuum is equipped with a beater bar or helpful hose attachments, that increases their rank immensely.

You’ll find the results of our testing in this guide, read through.

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How Do Fleas Enter Our Homes?

There are some well-known ways in which the fleas make their way into our homes, those include: when the pet attracts the fleas and brings them inside the house, in addition to bringing in infested furniture.

Moreover, due to their microscopic nature, the fleas can enter our houses through a small opening or a crack in the floor, under the door, or through a small window crack, but that’s most unlikely.

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How Dangerous Are The Fleas?

Fleas are not to be kidded with, they are a serious problem, even if it’s just in the initial phase of infestation.

Therefore, don’t be fooled by its small size, it can cause real trouble.

Fleas can carry and transmit a number of dangerous diseases, varying from the flu-causing virus, to the bubonic plague.

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How Do Vacuums Combat Fleas?

According to 3 studies, the flea population is made of nearly 50% eggs, and 1-5% adults, while the remaining percentage consists of larvae and pupae (earlier stages of fleas).

The 1-5% of adults lay their eggs inside the host (old furniture, carpets, or on pets’ bodies) which should be removed before hatching to larvae, pupae, or adults again.

Vacuums suck those eggs and prevent them from maturing.

They also suck the larvae’s food from the host, which means if they don’t feed for a couple of days, they’ll die eventually.

This means the fleas won’t find a place to lay their eggs or keep them hiding and feeding them throughout their maturing process, as long as you use the fleas vacuum.

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Best Vacuum for Fleas

1. Shark Navigator Lift-Away Professional

2. Bissell Pet Hair Eraser Handheld Vacuum

3. Dyson V8 Animal CordlessDyson V8 Animal Cordless

4. Dyson Ball Multi Floor 2 Upright Vacuum Cleaner

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1. Shark Navigator Lift-Away Professional Review

Technical Specs

Weight: 13.7 Pounds

Filter: HEPA

Additional Equipment: Pet Power Brush, Crevice Tool

Motor Wattage: 1200W

My editor’s pick for the overall best vacuum for fleas goes to Shark Navigator Lift-Away, it’s an upright vacuum that does a fine job on carpets, and rugs to remove potential fleas, but it works the best on hardwood floors.

Providing a great suction power that can get the fleas easily from their hiding place, the Shark Navigator Lift-Away Professional enjoys a set of features that eased its way towards the top of our list of best vacuum cleaners for fleas.

Shark Navigator Lift-Away Professional Benefits and Drawbacks

High Suction Power

The Shark Navigator NV356 is an advanced vacuum with a 1,200W motor, this means that whatever dirt is hidden, it’ll be sucked away.

More importantly, such motor power is proven effective against fleas, and their eggs as well.

HEPA-Approved

You don’t want the fleas you’ve caught to escape the vacuum back to your house, do you?

With its HEPA filtration system, Shark Navigator NV358 not only purifies your house’s air, but it traps all the dust, allergens, and fleas inside the canister.

Still, you can check from time to time inside the HEPA filters, and you’ll be assured that nothing is still stuck there, no dust, no fleas.

Long Cord

As you’re chasing the fleas inside their potential hosts, you don’t want to stop every 10 steps to remove the power cord and re-attach it to another power source near the new potential position.

This is when Shark Navigator comes in handy, it enjoys a 30-foot power cord, that allows you to surf through your house, room after room, without worrying about when to stop, disconnect the cord, and reconnect it in the new room.

Moreover, users reported that the way the vacuum is steered made their experience maneuvering around the house way easier than other vacuums.

Incredible Attachments

As I said earlier in the article, the tools and attachments are the ones to make your job easier at fighting fleas.

The Shark comes with attachments that help: cleaning molding, cleaning pet hair, cleaning lint, and cleaning any potential hosts in the room’s ceiling.

Furthermore, it has a crevice tool, which helps you vacuum the harder-to-reach spots inside your house.

Long-Living Warranty

If a vacuum is doing a great job, and compact enough to work for years, why not just give it a years-long warranty? That’s probably what they were thinking, maybe boasting about how good their vacuum is.

The Shark is provided with a 5-year long warranty, which means you’re protected from fleas for 5 years straight.

Exhaust Problem

With every review, I provide pros and cons, good and bad, ups and downs of each vacuum, and the Shark isn’t different.

A handful of users reported experiencing a certain problem with their vacuum exhaust.

It’s believed to blow hot air from the exhaust, on regular basis, which may indicate that something isn’t going so well with the vacuum itself at the time.

 However, if it blows cool air, then you’re all set, no harm to you nor for the vacuum.

What Our Testers Said About Shark Navigator Lift-Away Professional

“This is an overall great vacuum, with a lower-than $200 price, you get a huge load of features, mainly focusing on fighting fleas. Great suction power, long power cord, and incredible attachments, all line up to present you with the best vacuum cleaner for fleas.”

Our Testers Ratings

Suction Power: 5/5

Effectiveness Against Fleas: 5/5

Additional Helpful Items: 4.5/5

Maneuverability: 4/5

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2. Bissell Pet Hair Eraser Handheld Vacuum Review

Technical Specs

Weight 3.7 Pounds

Filter: Foam

Additional Equipment: Contour Nozzle, Hard Nozzle, Crevice Tool

Motor Wattage: 40W

On my quest to find the best vacuum for getting rid of fleas, I stumbled upon the Bissell Pet Hair Eraser Handheld Vacuum, it’s a teeny-tiny vacuum, that can be called the “special forces vacuum.”

It’s a handheld vacuum, meaning it can reach wherever you want it to reach, in your own quest to fight the fleas. Furthermore, it’s on Amazon’s best-selling list for handheld vacuums.

Find out more on the Bissell in the features section.

Bissell Pet Hair Eraser Handheld Vacuum Benefits and Drawbacks

Design for a specific job

Bissell has obviously named its vacuum with the job it’ll do, it’s specific for pet hair, which means it’s pet friendly.

Moreover, as we agreed on the fact that pet hair can be used as a host for fleas, this specific job is done by Bissell, is an important job indeed.

It uses a rubber nozzle to attract pet hair, preventing it from tangling as well.

Bagless Vacuum

The Bissell Pet Hair is a bagless vacuum, which means you can just use the same vacuum, to empty up the pet hair you already vacuumed, they get back at it again.

Furthermore, the Bissell Pet Hair Is equipped with a cyclonic cleaning technology, that increases the efficiency of the vacuuming process.

Looking for a Dynamic Vacuum?

It’s a handheld vacuum, which means it’s lightweight at only 3 pounds, which can increase the ease of use for new users.

Additionally, Bissell enjoys a 16-foot cord, which isn’t that long, but it’s well-equipped for a 3-pound vacuum.

Suction Power: Max

As the vacuum is too small, at only 3 pounds, it’s –on contrary- equipped with a powerful motor, that supplies the whole vacuuming operation.

Users affirmed that a single pass of the vacuum on dirt or pet hair can do the whole job perfectly, leaving the surface fully vacuumed.

Infested Cars? No Problem

The Bissell Pet Hair Eraser has an attachment that helps you vacuum your car; in case it was infested with fleas.

The hard nozzle is considerably useful for vacuuming your car, in addition to cleaning up any kind of pet food or dirt.

Large Infestations? Oh No

The only downside to the Bissell Pet Hair Eraser is it’s not fully equipped for large infestations, due to its lightweight, and small bagless size.

Moreover, the dirt cup is –not surprisingly- not big enough, and some users reported it being prone to breaking down after a while.

What Our Testers Said About Bissell Pet Hair Eraser

“For anything related to pet hair, I can honestly say that the Bissell Pet Hair Eraser is a great pick. Moreover, it’s well suited to deal with fleas’ infestations, as long as it’s not a fully infested room or something similar.”

Our Testers Ratings

Suction Power: 3.5/5

Effectiveness Against Fleas: 4/5

Additional Helpful Items: 4.5/5

Maneuverability: 4.5/5

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3. Dyson V8 Animal Review

Technical Specs

Weight 5.64 Pounds

Filter: HEPA Filter

Additional Equipment: Combination tool, crevice tool, mini motorized tool, soft dusting brush

Cordless Vacuum Battery Life: 40 Minutes on Full Charge

Cordless vacuums work perfectly against fleas, as long as they are provided with a great motor. The Cordless vacuum of the Dyson V8 Animal is a great example of that.

It’s power, it’s versatile, and it can reach any place you want to vacuum. Wherever a flea is hiding, you can suck it away with the Dyson V8 Animal.

Dyson V8 Animal Benefits and Drawbacks

Cordless + Powerful

Those are the 2 main features you may need to use in countering the fleas.

The cordless feature sets you up for great maneuverability against fleas, while the powerful motor can take them away from wherever they’re hiding.

Clean from the inside

The Dyson V8 Animal is equipped with an advanced “whole machine” filtration system.

This vacuum also comes with a washable, reusable, and set-for-lifetime-use filter.

Smart Bin

Dyson V8 Animal’s bin isn’t like any regular bin, it can save you time and effort when emptying it from fleas.

It has a no-touch bin, which means you just press the button, and the flood gates are opened for the dirt to come out.

Battery Deteriorates Fast

Same as many cordless vacuums, the battery isn’t expected to power up the vacuum for hours.

In the Dyson V8 Animal, you are provided with great suction power, that sucks the battery dry faster, as the vacuum is set to work for nearly 40 minutes on regular power.

On max mode, it’s expected to last half of that at best.

What Our Testers Said About Dyson V8 Animal

“This is the best cordless vacuum for dealing with fleas. It enjoys a powerful motor, and a strong stick that helps you reach anywhere you want, there are also more advanced -but expensive- Dyson Models if your budget can afford that.”

Our Testers Ratings

Suction Power: 4.5/5

Effectiveness Against Fleas: 4.5/5

Additional Helpful Items: 4.5/5

Maneuverability: 5/5

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4. Dyson Ball Multi Floor 2 Upright Vacuum Cleaner

Technical Specs

Weight:15.6 Pounds

Filter: Cartridge

Motor Power: 1400w

Warranty: 5 Years

Did you ever hear of someone who has made it all the way up but couldn’t break in the last step? That’s our vacuum right here.

It has all the pros you need in a vacuum, but it missed a single feature that forced it from the top2 best vacuum for getting rid of fleas, into the 5^th.

Dyson Ball Multi Floor 2 Benefits and Drawbacks

Great Suction Power

It looks like a feat with Dyson vacuums, they are equipped with great motors that provide enormous suction power.

Moreover, the power cord is too long at 31-feet, which means this great power can be used in nearly every room in your house, without the need to disconnect the power cord and reconnect it more often.

Suitable Head

The Dyson Ball Multi Floor 2’s head is smarter than regular ones. It can re-adjust itself to clean up different types of floors and carpets.

It works perfectly on tile floors, vinyl floors, hardwood floors, and low-pile carpets.

HEPA-Filtration system

Unlike the Dyson V8 Animal, this Dyson model is equipped with an internal HEPA-filtration system.

With that, you can enjoy allergen-free air wherever you use this vacuum.

Doesn’t work on deep carpet

This is the part where the Dyson Ball Multi Floor 2 fails. To counter the fleas perfectly, you want to be able to suck them away from every surface possible.

The Dyson Ball Multi Floor 2 does that very well, on nearly every surface type, but it doesn’t do well on deep carpets, as it’s where nearly all the difficult fleas seek shelter.

What Our Testers Said About Dyson Multi Floor 2

“If this vacuum doesn’t fail at working on deep carpets, this could’ve been a top2 vacuum for sure. However, it can still work really great if the fleas are spotted on any type of floor inside your house, as long as have not found their way deep inside a carpet.”

Our Testers Ratings

Suction Power: 4/5

Effectiveness Against Fleas: 4.5/5

Additional Helpful Items: 3/5

Maneuverability: 4/5

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Best Vacuum for Fleas Comparison Table

Vacuums/Our Testers Rating In Each Category	Suction Power	Effectiveness vs Fleas	Additional Helpful Items	Maneuverability
1. Shark Navigator Lift-Away Professional	5/5	5/5	4.5/5	4/5
2. Bissell Pet Hair Eraser Handheld Vacuum	3.5/5	4/5	4/5	4.5/5
3. Dyson V8 Animal CordlessDyson V8 Animal Cordless	4.5/5	4.5/5	4.5/5	4.5/5
4. Dyson Ball Multi Floor 2 Upright Vacuum Cleaner	4/5	4.5/5	3/5	4/5

Mistakes to elude after obtaining your vacuum to counter fleas

Don’t Vacuum for 1 day only

Some people mistake the fleas vacuuming to be a one-time thing, it’s not.

As the fleas have different evolution stages, this means you’ll have to vacuum every other day to make sure you’ve attempted to get rid of them during each stage.

In conclusion, you’ll have to repeat this move for half a month, to achieve 100% results.

Get Rid of Fleas Correctly

Does your job end with catching the fleas? No, it only starts there.

You should dispose of it carefully, so as not to allow it to re-infest again.

The proper way is to dispose of the whole dustbin’s trash in an air-tight plastic bag and get rid of it separately in the trash can.

This will prevent the fleas from reaching air/heat or food, which are all necessary for their growth or maturity.

Clean Thoroughly

Fleas are too small, if you miss a single spot during the vacuuming process, you may have missed a flea.

A single flea can –in the right circumstances- cause real damage to your house all over again.

Don’t be in a rush to finish the vacuuming treatment, take your time doing every spot twice at least, and make sure you don’t miss a hard spot too.

Best Vacuum For Fleas FAQ

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To Wrap Up

Are you looking for Flea Away Reviews? This is not where you should be looking.

This article sums up the best vacuum for fleas, as the main way of getting rid of fleas once and for all.

The vacuums are ranked in numerical order, from best #1 to best #5, you can do the comparison yourself, and see what fits your house the most.