Bugged by fleas? They can be found on cats and dogs in the nicest neighborhoods. Fleas feast even on house cats.

Now there is scientific proof that an important weapon in the war on fleas can be found right in your broom closet.

"Vacuuming kills fleas in all stages of their lives, with an average of 96 percent success in adult fleas and 100 percent destruction of younger fleas," says a news release from Ohio State University.

The lead author of the study is "a longtime researcher in nontoxic controls of fleas on dogs." He is W. Fred Hink, professor emeritus of entomology at Ohio State.

Mr. Hink and Glen Needham, associate professor of entomology, repeated their experiments several times because the "results were so surprisingly definitive."

The scientists vacuumed adult fleas and larvae from a tightly woven kitchen-type carpet. They used an upright vacuum, but believe results would be the same with other models.

Mr. Needham theorized that vacuum brushes wear away the cuticle, which is the waxy outer layer on fleas that allows them to stay hydrated. Without the waxy protection, adult fleas and larvae probably dry up and die.

"We didn't do a post-mortem, so we don't know for sure. But it appears that the physical abuse they took caused them to perish," Mr. Needham said.

Better flea-killing and flea-prevention products have dramatically reduced flea problems, he notes, but fleas are still out there.

In the old days before the better flea products, people would often have to get family and pets out of the residence to "bomb" the entire house with insecticide fogs. I haven't heard of anyone doing that for years, but anyone who has had fleas knows that half of the battle is getting fleas and flea eggs out of carpets, furniture and bedding.

Flea products are poisonous, and should be used carefully and under the supervision of a veterinarian. Cats and dogs die every year because people use the wrong product or do not follow directions.

The effectiveness of some flea killers "is likely to decrease," Mr. Needham said, "as fleas inevitably develop resistance to currently available compounds. Vacuuming is a great strategy because it involves no chemicals and physically removes the problem."

The flea study was funded partially by the Royal Appliance Manufacturing Co., the release notes.

Mr. Needham and other researchers are looking for other nontoxic ways to kill fleas and other household pests.

"We're hoping to find that exposure to ultraviolet light could knock the flea population down even further. It appears to be a pretty powerful technology," he said.

Did you get a new cell phone for Christmas? What are you going to do with the old one? How about donating it to the Washington Area Humane Society shelter in North Strabane?

The shelter has hooked up with a company that buys and reconditions old cell phones and gives them to people who cannot afford to buy one. The phones are set up to make 911 emergency calls. The Washington County shelter will get a little bit of money for each cell phone it collects.

Phones can be dropped off at the shelter on Route 136, or they can be mailed to: Washington Area Humane Society, Box 66, Eighty Four, PA 15330.

Other drop-off points are The Almanac, 395 Valley Brook Road in Peters, or Curves, 3249 Washington Pike, Portman Country Commons, South Fayette.

There's another way you can help this shelter without leaving your chair. If you shop online, do it through the www.igive.com Web site, and the WAHS will get a small portion of each purchase. Each month the shelter is getting checks averaging $20 to $40 thanks to online shoppers. Many stores participate in this program, including Target, Petco, Home Depot and Best Buy.

For further information, call the shelter at 724-222-PETS (7387).