There are many commercial products available to prevent, control, and kill fleas. However, it’s important to know that most of these products contain unsafe, harmful ingredients. In fact, most commercially available flea control pesticides contain toxic chemicals. Often these ingredients are harmful to our pets and can even do harm to you and your family.
According to the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC): “Many Americans believe that commercially available pesticides, such as those found in pet products, are tightly regulated by the government. The fact of this matter is, they are not! Many of the products sold in grocery, drug and pet supply stores, even when applied as instructed on the box, can cause serious health consequences to pets and humans. Just because these products are on store shelves does not mean they are safe.”
The EPA did ban six types of organophosphates from the pet products market because they were found to be extremely harmful to pets and children. The banned substances are: chlorpyrifos, dichlorvos, phosmet, naled, diazinon, and malathion. One organophosphate has not yet been banned: tetrachlorvinphos (TCVP). Make sure you avoid pet products with any of these ingredients along with Carbamates.
The NRDC offers products with the following chemicals should be avoided:
Amitraz, fenoxycarb, propoxur, and tetrachlorvinphos (TCVP)
Products with the following chemicals should be used sparingly:
Fipronil, imidacloprid, metaflumizone, pyrethrins, selamectin
Products with the following chemicals are considered generally safer:
Lufenuron, nitenpyram, pyriproxyfen, s-methoprene, Spinosad
Note: Cats are particularly sensitive to the adverse effects of pyrethrin and pyrethroids (synthetic versions of pyrethrin). If products with these ingredients are used on dogs with cats in the home, cats can still be exposed to toxicity.
Source: Common flea control products contain harmful chemicals by Barry Silverstein, Jun 13, 2019.
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