Why Pet Owners In Nokesville, VA Need To Be Careful When Using Flea Pesticides

If you own a pet, then you know that they are probably one of the main ways that fleas can get into your house. Fleas can jump impressive distances for their size, and they primarily use this ability to jump onto larger mammals. So as your dog plays outside, fleas may jump onto his or her fur. They finally find their way into your home if you don’t take the proper measures to prevent this.

One of the ways that pet owners in Prince William County deal with this problem is to use flea medication or pesticides on their pets. Unfortunately, the chemicals in these pesticides sometimes prove harmful to animals, as one owner learned the hard way:

A dog owner in southern Florida is warning other owners about the safety of flea and tick medication after his dog suffered a seizure and lost mobility in her back legs. As reported by CBS WINK, owner Joe Brewster switched to the product PetArmor Plus for Dogs, manufactured by Sergeant’s Pet Care Products, Inc., just three days before his dog, Buddha, suffered a seizure. “They asked me if I changed flea and tick medication,” Mr. Brewster told WINK news. “And I thought for a minute, and I go, ‘Yeah, three days before.’” Read more at Beyond Pesticides…

Active ingredients

The active ingredients of these pesticides are usually the problem. For instance, in the case above, fipronil was one of the two active ingredients in the pesticide. Some of the side effects that result from fipronil include skin irritation, facial swelling, lethargy, and convulsions. Another was methoprene, which can cause breathing problems, vomiting, and behavioral changes in dogs. No data exists for the effects of combining these two active ingredients in one formulation.

A common reason why pesticides become harmful is when more than one is used at the same time:

Organophosphate is an active ingredient found in found in tick and flea treatments and many insecticides, including those used on lawns and for garden care. Organophosphate can be absorbed through the skin, respiratory system or the gastrointestinal tract. Toxicity can occur if the insecticide is misused, overused or if more than one insecticide is used at the same time.

Tick and flea collars contain organophosphate, so say for example your dog is fitted with a flea collar, and you then decide to apply another flea treatment onto your dog’s coat, you could be putting your dog into a very dangerous situation. Read more at South Coast Herald…

Even worse, these ingredients can be harmful to humans as well. This means that pet owners are also exposed to health risks as they interact with their pets. Some of these risks include kidney and liver damage, neurotoxicity, cancer, and reproductive issues. It is also worth noting that dogs develop diseases from chemical exposure much quicker than humans do. So these effects may only appear in pet owners in the long term.

Safe alternatives

Unfortunately, many pet owners don’t know the risks associated with using chemical pesticides on their pets. If they did, most would be unwilling to place their pet in danger, especially since safer, natural alternatives exist, such as diatomaceous earth:

DE is not only effective on fleas, but also on ticks, roaches, spiders, bed bugs, silverfish, beetles, centipedes and all other insects that have exoskeletons. DE is also a great drying agent against slugs and snails.

Once DE gets wet it is not effective, but is effective again as soon as it dries out.

Synthetic DE products are available, but look for the all natural food grade forms, especially when using indoors, on pets or for human or animal consumption. Read more at Victoria Advocate…

Because fleas are more active during the warm humid months, pet owners should be especially diligent this summer. Check your pet for fleas after he or she has been outdoors using a flea comb. In case of fleas, comb your pet daily, and follow this with a dunk in soapy water. This will help remove and kill fleas.

In most cases, fleas get on to pets as they play in the yard. It’s important to eliminate this problem so you are not always dealing with fleas. Call Backyard Bug Patrol for indoor and outdoor pest control solutions for your home that are both safe and effective.