New Flea and Tick Product Restrictions

For years, pet owners have been voicing their concerns about the true safety of using spot-on pesticide products for controlling fleas and ticks on their dogs and cats.

In fact, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has stated that in 2008, 44,263 reports were presented detailing gruesome deaths and other reactions in cats and dogs that were directly associated with topical flea and tick products. This number is an unfortunate increase from 28,895 reports in 2007.

More than 600 of these cases involved the death of a pet. Small breeds of dogs, as well as cats, all seem to be particularly vulnerable to the harsh chemicals contained within these spot-on flea and tick control pesticide products; especially in cases where they are given products that are actually intended to be used on a larger dog, according to the EPA.

Such adverse reactions include skin irritations (such as rashes, hives and hot spots), neurological issues (such as seizures), and gastrointestinal issues (such as vomiting and diarrhea). Other pet owners have stated that their cat or dog has seemingly suffered burns and welts on their skin; other pets drooled excessively or began to shake uncontrollably or lost control of their legs after being treated with these chemically-laden flea and tick control products.

Flea and Tick Control Product Safety

In response to these increasing incidences, the EPA has issued a statement that it fully intends to increase the safety of the spot-on pesticide products for flea and tick control for pets.

Steve Owens, the assistant administrator of EPA's Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances, explains: "These are poisons. These are products designed to kill fleas and ticks, and they do their jobs."

Therefore, the EPA has begun to conduct an extensive assessment of such products. As such, the EPA will begin reviewing the labels on these flea and tick products to determine whether or not they need to be re-written to include easier to understand statements and information, so as to help prevent misuse of the products, as well as to ensure that the correct dosage is given according to the pets weight and breed.

It is expected that these new rules will force the flea and tick control product manufacturers to re-word their labels so that products for dogs and products for cats can be easily differentiated. In addition, dog and cat products will not share similar brand names.

For their part, the EPA plans to conduct a new consumer information campaign to more fully explain the new labels. Furthermore, the EPA is planning on conducting more stringent testing and evaluations on both existing and new products. Once a new flea or tick control product is approved for use, this approval period will only be for a limited time so that the EPA can conduct post-marketing product surveillance. Additionally, the EPA will limit the use of inactive ingredients that have been deemed to have contributed towards the adverse reactions incurred by cats and dogs after a flea and tick product was applied. The EPA is also demanding that these flea and tick product manufacturers provide them with more inclusive sales figures so that the EPA may be able to more easily determine the percentage of doses that lead to incident reports.

"The EPA is committed to better protecting the health and safety of pets and families in all communities across our nation," said Owens. "New restrictions will be placed on these products, and pet owners need to carefully read and follow all labeling before exposing your pet to a pesticide."

What can you do?

Since most of these cases involve improper dosing, be sure to read the labels very carefully.

You should also consider using a more organic form of flea control such as Target Spray for Fleas.

Target Spray is a natural insect repellent containing Pennyroyal, Lavender, Aloe, Rosemary and Sweet Mace amongst other herbs.

Photo Credit: Roy Montgomery