Toxic Flea and Tick Treatments

To help you make safer choices, NRDC checked the listed ingredients of more than a hundred flea and tick products to report which chemicals they contain and the chemicals' toxicity: whether they are linked to cancer, allergies and asthma or are suspected endocrine disruptors. Based on the findings of NRDC's new report, the EPA should ban the pesticides tetrachlorvinphos and propoxur from pet products and closely scrutinize the safety of the other products on the market.

California has already determined that one of these pesticides, propoxur, causes cancer and that consumer warnings are required. NRDC is suing major manufacturers and retailers of flea collars with propoxur to make them comply with this requirement or pull the products from California shelves. However, California’s laws are not enough—the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) should step in to ban these dangerous products nationwide. Retailers should help keep pets and families safe by pulling products that contain tetrachlorvinphos and propoxur from their shelves.

To help pet owners, each product in the report is categorized by its potential risk. Products that don't contain the most harmful chemicals are marked with a yellow paw. Pregnant women and parents of young children should try to avoid products from the red or orange categories. Check the product guide now for your product.

Children's normal behavior brings them in close contact with pets, and therefore to any poisons applied to those pets. In particular, toddlers' tendency to stick their hands in their months make it easy for toxic residues to be ingested. Because children spend their time where the residues from pet products tend to accumulate-crawling on rugs, playing with pet toys, handling accumulations of household dust, and more-they are likely to come in contact with these poisons even when they do not touch their pet. Toddler's nervous systems are still developing, so the effects of pesticides such as organophosphates can have more lasting damage.

Pet owners should take care to examine the active ingredients in all flea control products they buy. Download and print our pocket guide to identify chemical ingredients in flea and tick treatments and take it with you to the store or the vet.

Learn how to protect your pet without chemicals. Regular combing with a flea comb, bathing and vacuuming can reduce and control fleas. Pet bedding should also be washed in hot water once a week. Fleas tend to accumulate in bedding, so care should be taken not to spread the flea eggs and larvae contained in it. Vacuuming picks up fleas and eggs from carpets, floors and crevices, and from under or on furniture. Immediately after vacuuming, bags should be thrown away to prevent fleas from escaping and re-infesting the area. Severe infestations may call for professional carpet cleaning with steam.

When chemical control is necessary, choose a safer treatment and avoid the most toxic chemicals by selecting a product marked with a yellow paw.

What you can do

• Sign the petition on greenpaws.org and help us force companies to stop poisoning pets.
• Check the GreenPaws guide to brand name flea and tick products to find out which products could harm your pet or young children and print out the pocket guide to chemical ingredients in flea and tick treatments.
• Learn how to protect your pet without chemicals. Regular combing with a flea comb, bathing and vacuuming can reduce and control fleas.