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Frequently Asked Questions about Flea & Tick Products
What are the symptoms of flea & tick product poisoning?
Adverse reactions can include any of the following: itching or burning sensations on the skin, severe chemical burns, lethargy, loss of appetite for food and water, drooling, difficulty breathing, hyperexcitability, incoordination, vomiting, diarrhea, changes in body temperature, tremors, seizures, and even death.
Flea control products that contain toxic chemicals are also suspected of triggering immune-mediated diseases such as autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA).
How long does it take for adverse reactions to occur?
Adverse reactions often occur within hours of applying a flea control product, but in some cases, reactions may be delayed for several days.
What should I do if I suspect that my pet has been poisoned by a flea & tick product?
If your pet shows signs of poisoning, bathe your pet to remove as much of the product as possible and contact your veterinarian immediately.
Bathe your pet with a mild dish detergent (like Dawn) and thoroughly rinse it off with tepid water. Bathing your pet a couple times may help to remove more of the flea control product. Do NOT use a flea shampoo because it may contain pesticide.
If the flea control product is not washed off soon after application, it will be absorbed into your pet's skin and bloodstream, and may take several weeks to be completely eliminated from their body.
Are flea & tick products safe if used as directed?
Flea control products that contain pesticides are required to be registered with the Environmental Protection Agency, but EPA approval does NOT mean these products are safe for people or pets. There are no safe pesticides. Pesticides that were once thought to be less toxic alternatives are now suspected of posing health risks to people and pets, and harm to the environment.
Adverse reactions to flea control products often occur when people fail to read and follow the directions on the label. For example, flea control products that are made "for dogs only" can be DEADLY if they are mistakenly applied to a cat, or if a cat comes into close physical contact with a treated dog.
People who own both cats and dogs should AVOID using products that are made "for dogs only."
Adverse reactions may occur if you use the incorrect dosage for your pet's weight, or if it is applied to an area that allows the pet to lick (ingest) the product from themselves or other treated pets.
Adverse reactions are also more likely to occur if you reapply the product within a shorter time period than is specified on the label (usually 30 days), or if you use a flea control product with another pesticide product - for example, using a monthly spot-on flea control product in combination with flea shampoo or a flea collar.
"READ THE LABEL FIRST" is good advice, but even if you follow the label directions, it is important to know that adverse reactions can occur in ANY animal - regardless of age, size, or condition.
Flea control product labels fail to warn pet owners of the potential for severe adverse reactions - including chemical burns, seizures, and death.
Some flea control products contain a significantly larger dosage for your pet's weight than other brands that contain the same active ingredients, which increases the possibility of an overdose.
For example, if you have a 9 lb. dog, the recommended dosage
of one brand, K9 Advantix, is 0.4 mL, but the recommended dosage of another brand, Vectra 3D, which contains the same active ingredient, is 1.6 mL - FOUR times as much pesticide.
Not all flea control products contain the same active ingredients (pesticide). Some pesticides are more toxic than others. However, even a less toxic pesticide can be harmful if it makes up a large percentage of the formula.
For example, Hartz claims that its phenothrin-based flea control products are in the lowest toxicity category, but they contain
over 85% pesticide - that's almost TWICE as much pesticide as most other brands.
Small breeds of dogs are especially at risk of overdose
from these products. Avoid using them on debilitated, medicated, recently vaccinated, AGED, pregnant,
nursing, or very young pets.
If you decide to use a flea control product, monitor your pet closely for at least a few hours after application for signs of an adverse reaction.
To avoid a costly trip to an emergency animal hospital, do not apply these products at night or on weekends when your veterinarian may not be available.
If your pet's weight is close to the minimum weight shown on the label, consider using a lower weight range dosage to reduce the possibility of an overdose.
Avoid flea control products that contain a large percentage (30% or more) of permethrin, d-Phenothrin, cyphenothrin, or etofenprox.
Are vet-prescribed flea & tick products safer than
over-the-counter products?
The number of animals that are injured and killed each year from poorly labeled over-the-counter flea control products is truly appalling, but even the vet-prescribed flea control products are
not without risk of adverse reactions.
Vet-prescribed flea control products are often presumed to be
FDA approved and safe, but most of these products are classified as pesticides and are regulated by the EPA. The EPA's safety requirements for pet pesticides are less rigorous than those of
the FDA for veterinary drugs.
K9 Advantix and Vectra 3D, which are available only through veterinarians, contain high concentrations of permethrin - a pesticide that is found in several over-the-counter products.
Two popular vet-prescribed products - Advantage and Frontline, are viewed by many veterinarians as safe for pets, but they are
still capable of causing skin problems, lethargy, poor appetite, vomiting, and in some cases, seizures. As with any pesticide, one
should avoid using these products on aged or debilitated pets.
Dr. Michael W. Fox, the well-known veterinarian, syndicated columnist and author of several books on animal care, recently wrote:
"I advise using any chemical and pharmaceutical anti-flea and tick products with extreme care and only as a last resort - as my wife, Deanna, had to do at her animal refuge in the bug-rich Indian jungle. They are a convenient quick fix for ill-informed consumers who risk making their dogs, cats, themselves and other family members extremely ill."
Do flea & tick products protect pets and people from vector-borne diseases?
Vectors (such as fleas, ticks, and mosquitoes) are capable of transmitting disease-causing organisms to pets and people. The manufacturers of flea control products prey on people's fear of vector-borne diseases.
The Companion Animal Parasite Council - a trade group funded
by pet pesticide manufacturers, recommends that "dogs and
cats should be placed on year-round preventive flea and/or tick products as soon after birth as possible (consistent with label claims) for the life of the pet" to prevent vector-borne diseases. That is great advice if you are trying to sell pesticide.
Most flea control products are designed to kill fleas, ticks, and mosquitoes. Some products offer limited "repellency." However, they are NOT designed to prevent the transmission of internal parasites and vector-borne diseases.
In Europe, Bayer's Advantix makes repellency claims, but with the following caveat, "However, there may be an attachment of single ticks or bites by single sandflies or mosquitoes. For this reason, a transmission of infectious diseases cannot be completely excluded
if conditions are unfavourable."
Flea control products, along with other avoidance measures, can help reduce the risk of infection from vector-borne pathogens, but according to the EPA, it is unlawful for a pesticide manufacturer to "imply or suggest that a product will prevent or control disease or offer health protection."
Using a flea control product does not guarantee the prevention of internal parasites and vector-borne diseases.
To find out the number of reported positive cases of ehrlichiosis, Lyme disease, heartworm disease and anaplasmosis in dogs in your state and county, click here.
How do flea & tick products work?
Flea control products often contain a large percentage of pesticide and other toxic chemicals, which disrupt the insect's nervous system - causing paralysis and death.
When these toxic chemicals are applied to your pet, they are absorbed through its skin, circulate through its bloodstream, and get deposited in fatty tissue, including the sebaceous (oil) glands in the skin, where it is slowly released for several weeks.
Unfortunately, these toxic chemicals also disrupt the nervous systems of animals and humans, which can lead to adverse reactions. That is why it is important to wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water after handling these products.
Do flea & tick products pose health risks to people?
Flea control products that contain toxic chemicals can harm people - especially unborn babies, infants and young children because their nervous and immune systems are still developing.
Toddlers spend much of their time crawling and playing on floors, where pesticide residue from lawns and pets tends to collect.
The hand-to-mouth behavior of toddlers puts them at a higher risk of pesticide exposure than adults.
Exposure to these chemicals are suspected of triggering asthma (or asthma-like symptoms), and are associated with higher risks
of developing cancers. Many of these chemicals are suspected
of being endocrine disruptors and having neurodevelopmental toxicity. These chemicals are also suspected of contributing to autism and neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease.
A study found that children whose mothers were exposed to pesticides at work while pregnant are at double the risk of developing childhood leukemia - the most common form of childhood cancer with more than 4,000 children diagnosed in
the US each year.
A study out of Australia suggests that pregnant veterinarians who have occupational exposures to pesticides may have twice the risk of miscarriage.
Pregnant women, toddlers and young children, and people with compromised immune systems should avoid flea control products that contain toxic chemicals.
Are natural flea & tick products safe for pets?
People who are concerned about toxic chemicals may be drawn to flea control products that claim to be "natural" and "safe for pets and children."
However, some of these products contain a large percentage of botanical extracts (such as peppermint oil, cinnamon oil, lemon grass oil and thyme oil) that could adversely affect your pet - especially cats.
Some cats have reportedly developed renal failure and died after being treated with products that contained essential oils.
NOTE: Flea control products that contain natural ingredients are exempted from EPA registration requirements. They are NOT required to submit domestic animal safety studies, and receive even less scrutiny from the EPA than pesticide products.
Some natural flea control products may be a safer alternative to synthetic pesticides, but just because a product claims to be natural does not mean it is safe. There are many substances in nature that can harm your pet.
Are there safer ways to prevent fleas and ticks on pets?
There are many links on the Articles webpage that describe safer, effective ways to control fleas and ticks without using pesticides.
Always consult a veterinarian before buying or using any flea control product on your pet.
How do I report a suspected adverse reaction?
If you suspect that your pet has been poisoned by a flea control product, contact the manufacturer of the product and let them know what happened. Contact information can be found on the product label and on the manufacturer's website.
It is also important to report it to the National Pesticide Information Center at 1-800-858-7378 (the EPA evaluates and monitors these reports to determine if changes are needed for the product label, or if harmful products should be removed from the market).
If you would prefer to report it directly to the EPA, here is their mailing address: (please provide them with the EPA Reg. # of the product, which is printed on the label):
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Pesticide Programs (Mail Code 7509C)
Ariel Rios Building
1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, D.C. 20460
E-mail: opp-web-comments@epa.gov
Please provide as much of the following information about your pet's adverse reaction as possible:
1. Name(s) and EPA registration number(s) of product(s) applied,
2. Active ingredient of the product (if known; can be found on the product label),
3. Breed(s) and age(s) of animal(s) and any other factors needed to understand any previous medical condition(s) of animal(s),
4. Who applied the product(s)-owner or veterinarian,
5. Length of time between application and reaction,
6. Description of adverse reaction,
7. Date(s) on which adverse reaction occurred,
8. Contact information and telephone number, and
9. City and State where the incident occurred.
Also, contact the store where you purchased the product and let them know what happened. If you purchased it from a retail chain store, notify their corporate headquarters (contact information should be available on their website).
Are there currently any class action lawsuits against the makers of harmful flea & tick products?
If your pet was harmed or killed by a flea control product, contact the product manufacturer and seek reimbursement for veterinary expenses or compensation for the loss of your pet.
If the product manufacturer refuses to help you, consider filing a case in small claims court. For additional information, click here.
On 3/2/10, a lawsuit seeking class action status was filed on behalf of pet owners against Hartz, Sergeant's, and Summit VetPharm (maker of Vectra and Vectra 3D, which are sold by Banfield Pet
Hospital's under the name FirstShield and FirstShield Trio).
On 8/25/10, a lawsuit seeking class action status was filed on
behalf of pet owners against Central Garden and Pet - the parent company of Farnam (maker of Adams and Bio Spot flea and tick products) and Wellmark International (maker of Zodiac flea and
tick products).
The lawsuits seek injunctive relief in the form of a recall of the offending products, a refund of the purchase price, for compensatory damages, punitive damages and other relief.
If your pet was harmed by a flea and tick product made by one of the above mentioned companies, and you would like to participate in this class action, please contact:
Jacqueline Mottek
Positive Legal Group
415.302.5371 (cell)
The Natural Resources Defense Council has also filed a lawsuit in California against major pet product retailers and manufacturers for illegally selling pet products containing a known cancer-causing chemical called propoxur without proper warning labels. For additional information, click here.
Why are harmful flea & tick products still on the market?
In 1996, an EPA memo stated that "the safety requirements for regulation of pet pesticide products have been ill-defined and inconsistently applied in the past." It also stated that, due to resource constraints, there was a backlog for both entering incidents involving pets into its system and reviewing them.
In 2007, an EPA report concerning adverse incidents from
pesticide products found that "limited resources at the federal
level have hindered OPP's efforts to improve data collection and use and in providing funding for existing incident data sources."
Why has the EPA failed to protect the public from harmful pet pesticide products for over a decade?
In their book, Toxic Deception : How the Chemical Industry Manipulates Science, Bends the Law and Endangers Your Health, prize-winning investigative journalists Dan Fagin, Marianne Lavelle, and the Center for Public Integrity concluded that federal agencies fail to protect us from harmful chemicals because they are more interested in protecting the economic interests of the chemical industry.
What can I do to help get harmful flea & tick products removed from the market?
The most effective way to get harmful flea control products removed from the market is to report suspected adverse reactions!
Report suspected adverse reactions to the National Pesticide Information Center. They maintain a database of adverse incidents for the EPA. The EPA uses the data to identify harmful products and remove them from the market.
Also, report suspected adverse reactions to the manufacturer of the product.
Contact the EPA (see contact information above) and let them know that putting children and pets at risk from harmful pet pesticides is unacceptable.
Learn how to protect pets from fleas and ticks without using harmful flea control products.
Consider making a donation to NRDC's Green Paws, which is working to get harmful flea control products off the market.
Share your knowledge with your family and friends!
Copyright © 2002-2011 BioSpotVictims.org All rights reserved.
DISCLAIMER: This information is provided for educational purposes only. It is not intended to replace professional veterinary advice. Please consult with your veterinarian before giving any treatment to your animals.
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