How Safe is Your Flea and Tick Killer?

Laboratory studies of ingredients in seven popular flea and tick control products reveal adverse health effects in all animals tested. The effects of these well known and aggressively marketed products range from convulsions, body tremors and labored breathing to thyroid cancer, brain lesions, and liver and lung tumors. Yet TV commercials with trusty looking veterinarians pitch only the happy side of these products.

Which flea and tick pesticide are you using on your dog and/or cat? If your favorite treatment contains the active ingredient Fipronil, Imidacloprid, Methoprene, Permethrin, Pyriproxyfen or the inert ingredient Butyldydroxytoluene, Butylhydroxanisole, Carbitol, Ethanol, or Polyvinlpyrrplidone, you need to know about the not-so-happy side of these products as well.

If you think your veterinarian or local pet store would never sell you such a sinister poison, think again.

Advantage (Bayer Corporation), Adams Spot-On Flea & Tick Control (Farnam Pet Products), BioSpot Flea & Tick Control (Farnam Pet Products), Defend EXspot Treatment (Schering-Plough Animal Health), Frontline Top Spot (Merial Limited), Frontline Plus (Merial Limited), and Zodiac FleaTrol Spot On (Wellmark International) - all contain one or more of the aforementioned active or inert ingredients.

Toxicology and morbidity findings from these pesticide products were gathered over a decade of laboratory testing by the United States Environmental Protection Agency; Occupational Safety & Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor; Extension Toxicology Network; Journal of Pesticide Reform; Pesticide Action Network North America and other sources, with additional information supplied by Material Safety Data Sheets.

Most testing was performed for the benefit of new product manufacturers in order to qualify for EPA registration. Scientists overdose laboratory animals to determine how much of the product will kill 50% of the test population. Information is then extrapolated and assumptions made that may apply to domestic animals and human beings.

According to laboratory tests, Fipronil (Frontline Top Spot and Frontline Plus) is a neurotoxin and suspected human cancer agent. Fipronil can cause liver toxicity, thyroid cancer, kidney damage, raised cholesterol, lack of coordination, labored breathing, miscarriages and stunted offspring.

Laboratory testing of Imidacloprid (Advantage) on mice, dogs and rats shows this insecticide to be neurotoxic to laboratory animals, also causing a breakdown of coordination, labored breathing, lesions of the thyroid, reduced birth weight, and increased birth defects.

The synthetic broad spectrum pyrethroid insecticide Permethrin (Adams Spot-on Flea & Tick Control; BioSpot Flea & Tick Control; and Defend EXspot Treatment) shows indications of being an endocrine disrupter and the cause of lung cancer and liver tumors in laboratory animals.

Methoprene and Pyriproxyfen (Zodiac FleaTrol Spot On; and BioSpot Flea & Tick Control) are known as insect growth regulators (IGR), both of which restrict the growth of fleas to the juvenile stage where reproduction is not possible. Laboratory testing reveals that Methoprene causes enlarged livers and degeneration of the kidneys.

Unfortunately, few people actually read EPA test results. Fewer still want to hear about the many laboratory test subjects (unwanted dogs and cats) killed during and after the studies in order to determine damage to specific systems and organs. But it only takes a few people with straightforward thinking to bring about change. Are you ready to stop this insanity? There are effective alternatives, as you know.

Today there are totally natural flea and tick remedies - completely harmless to kids, pets and the environment - made from pure botanical essential oils. Some natural products work fairly well, some don't, and some work much better than the toxic stuff!

The mode of action - the way these natural remedies kill fleas and ticks - is to disrupt the insect's ability to function by blocking a substance called octopamine. In nature, certain plants have developed a natural defense against bugs. These "octopamine blockers" in plants are extracted as oils and used as active ingredients. Octopamine is to an insect what adrenalin is to a human. When blocked from the system, the insect quickly dies. No muss, no fuss. Nobody gets hurt but the bug.

Please begin today to stop supporting the heartless laboratory testing of innocent animals, the insidious cover-up and rush to market of big business, and the unwitting harm we may be doing to our children, our pets, and our planet.

By Gary Le Mon

Merial Frontline Plus Flea and Tick Control For Dogs and Puppies Review

I have two dogs and only Merial Frontline Plus flea and tick control for dogs and puppies is the only one I trust when it comes to grooming my dogs. It's very effective and it's reasonably priced so I have no reason to go try out other brands. My dogs are very playful and they love playing with each other outside in the garden, so I figured they need protection from possible contact from fleas and ticks as much as possible.

The Merial Frontline brand has been trusted for so many years that I had no doubt about trying out this one immediately. If you're going to try out this one for the first time, I recommend you consult with your vet first. It's better to be safe, I found out, about whatever you give your dogs.I gave this one on the first day to my two dogs, and the following morning waited for the results. It seemed that the fleas are still there so I waited for a couple more days for the drug to work. I wasn't disappointed and in under a week, my dogs are flea and tick free and they look so much healthier and their coats shinier.

I have a black labrador retriever and a golden retriever, so you can imagine how difficult it is to check for fleas before I discovered the Frontline Plus. But it had been a blessing for me ever since I discovered it, and my dogs look so much happier, so I have no regrets. For other people who are apprehensive about trying out a new product, I recommend the Merial Frontline Plus flea and tick control for dogs and puppies, but make sure you consult a vet too so you're a hundred and one percent sure when you finally use the product.

By Erika Ayala

How Flea and Tick Spray Made Me Happy With My Dog Again

Have you considered using flea and tick spray on your dog or cat but hesitated because you didn't want to pay for the medication, you weren't sure it was safe for your pet or your family, or maybe you just didn't know if you needed it in your area, for your pet.

Well, trust me... a good flea and tick spray (or flea drops, which are a little easier to use) can be a very good investment.

There's nothing like sitting around on the couch with your dog, enjoying some snacks and a movie when you reach over to pet her and notice creepy-crawly fleas scurrying along her skin. If that doesn't get you reaching for Advantage flea drops or Frontline Plus flea and tick spray, I don't know what will!

In fact, this happened to me with my guide dog puppy, Kera. I asked our local Guide Dog Program coordinators what I should do, and they recommended Frontline Plus for dogs.

We used it and it worked right away.

You get a little vial of the medication and you just put a few drops along the dogs backbone and it spreads over the body, and is retained in the skin, where it is effective for a month.

This was super. After that I didn't worry about taking Kera to the park, or on long walks through the woods.

We still checked her out to make sure there were no ticks hiding, but we didn't see any. After a while, my husband and I were more worried about the ticks getting on us than on our dog.

So, we were using flea and tick spray, and it seemed easy. Kera was happy and felt good, and my husband and I didn't have to get the itches (imaginary or otherwise) when we sat down to enjoy her company.

Emily J. Cressey enjoys tromping through the woods, jumping in the river, snuggling in a warm sleeping bag and sipping hot coffee at sunrise - preferably with a dog by her side.

By Emily J. Cressey