Dear EarthTalk:Are there any flea and tick products
out there that don't contain toxic chemicals?
-- --Ewan Locke, Madison, WI
Harmful pesticides in mainstream flea and tick products are indeed hazardous to more than insects. The active substance in most of these products is likely one of seven common organophosphate insecticides (OPs), which work by interfering with the transmission of nerve signals in the brains and nervous systems of not just insects-most of whom die on the spot-but to a lesser degree
in pets and
humans as well. While it would certainly take an awful lot of exposure to OPs
to affect a full-grown healthy human adult, no one is sure how the chemicals
might affect children or those with pre-existing nerve disorders.
-- --Ewan Locke, Madison, WI
Harmful pesticides in mainstream flea and tick products are indeed hazardous to more than insects. The active substance in most of these products is likely one of seven common organophosphate insecticides (OPs), which work by interfering with the transmission of nerve signals in the brains and nervous systems of not just insects-most of whom die on the spot-but to a lesser degree
in pets and
humans as well. While it would certainly take an awful lot of exposure to OPs
to affect a full-grown healthy human adult, no one is sure how the chemicals
might affect children or those with pre-existing nerve disorders. The non-profit Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), which authored the 2000 report "Poisons on Pets" (results are online at the group's GreenPaws.org website), reports that "studies with lab animals have raised concerns among scientists that children exposed to certain of the pesticides in pet products-even at levels believed to be safe for adults-face much higher risks, not only for acute poisoning, but also for longer-term problems with brain function and other serious disease." The group adds that children's behavior-notably toddlers' hand-to-mouth tendencies and the fact that kids play where such toxins often accumulate-makes them more vulnerable to ingesting OPs than adults in the same household.
The magnitude of the potential risk to public health is what makes the inclusion of such chemicals in pet products so troubling: Surveys
show that as
many as 50 percent of American families report using some kind of flea and tick
control product on pets, subjecting untold millions of children to toxic
chemicals on a daily basis. Initial research also shows that thousands of pets
may be sickened or die each year as a result of chronic low-dose exposure to
OPs through their flea and tick collars. One way to treat your pet but avoid chemicals altogether is to go the essential oil route. Oils from cedarwood, lemongrass, peppermint, rosemary or thyme have all been shown to be effective, when used sparingly, to keep fleas and ticks away from pets and their favorite haunts. However this is labor intensive and can be messy.
One of the best practical ways to stop Fleas and Ticks forever is the
Pet Protector disc.
Safe, effective and guaranteed the Pet Protector disc lasts
4 years.
Click here for more: http://bit.ly/K8XXW8
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