When it comes to flea medications for your pets, avoid products with dangerous ingredients such as carbaryl, permethrin, propoxur, DDVP and diazinon, an insecticide used on golf courses until the EPA banned it in 1988 after linking it to the deaths of ducks and geese. It’s still added to flea products and can cause long-term health problems in pets and people, according to the National Toxics Program. Safer but still effective are products containing imidacloprid and fipronil, which have not shown adverse effects on animals, says Beyond Pesticide’s Shawnee Hoover. “Even better, try citrus oil extracts containing
D-limonene and linalool. Both are natural alternatives to chemicals and have received positive reviews,” she says. One last point to ponder: Children are considered especially vulnerable when exposed to pesticides because of their small size and tendency to put unwashed hands in their mouth.

A copyright article from the National Wildlife Federation Oct/Nov 2004 by Associate Editor Heidi Ridgley.