Serving Size: 4.84 MB Servings Per Container: 1 In Your Body On Your Body For Your Home For Your Family Seeking Medical Treatment How to Detoxify Your Body Guide to Symptoms A Healthy House Values, Vision & Mission Background & History Staff & Advisors News & Upcoming Events Join Our Mailing List Contact Us Recommended Resources Index of Terms Works Cited This product contains 100% natural ingredients. Easy Pay Pal Donations TNTP Grade A Brain-food More Special Features Back to Index of Terms The product Flea & Tick Collars is in the following categories: For your Pets Flea & Tick Collars CHEMICALS CONTAINED: Flea and tick collars are simply pesticide delivery vehicles. All of the health concerns associated with pesticides apply to these collars. The pesticides used in these products are usually organophospate or pyrethrins. Pesticides always contain “inert” or “inactive” ingredients that make up the bulk of the product – sometimes almost the entire product. Since these ingredients are not the “active ingredients” – the ones “that can kill, repel, attract, mitigate, or control a pest” – companies are protected by the EPA from having to list them on the label, as they are considered “secret trade ingredients.” There are approximately 1200 inerts that are present in about twenty thousand different pesticide formulations. Infants, who are inherently more sensitive to pesticides than adults and who breathe in the same area as pet collars, are at high risk as well. HEALTH CONCERNS: Pesticides are neurotoxins that kill insects by causing their nerves to rapidly re-fire (through disruption of the sodium-potassium pump). All organisms share the same neurological processes, and since pesticides don’t target one organism like they claim to, all neurons – not just the one’s in insects – are affected. Yes, that means your pet’s neurons and your own. There are many classes of pesticides, and their toxicity, use, and persistence in the environment vary. However, all pesticides are neurotoxins that are also capable of disrupting other physiological systems, such as the endocrine, immune, and reproductive systems of animals and humans. Inert ingredients are often as, if not more, dangerous than active ingredients. Some inerts increase an active ingredient’s persistence in the environment by making it more resistant to break-down. Other inerts may damage the enzymes in the liver that are designed to detoxify the chemicals, while some inhibit the enzymes that break down neurotransmitters at the nerve junction…and the build-up of neurotransmitters is what causes the paralysis and death of the insects. TIPS & ALTERNATIVES: Flea and tick control is an ongoing process, because even if you have indoor pets people can track the insects into the house. Also, just because you kill adult fleas, it doesn’t mean that there aren’t eggs waiting to hatch. However, if you can keep the fleas from biting your pet their life cycle will not continue, as they need the blood of your pet to survive. Frequent vacuuming of rugs and washing of any upholstery or bedding that pets sleep on will help to prevent fleas. Frequent bathing and combing (with a flea comb) helps also. When you find fleas on the comb, drop them into a container of soapy water that you will flush down the toilet afterwards. Natural food stores sell natural repellents that you can use as an alternative for collars. Some natural repellents include ground cloves, eucalyptus oil, and citrus oil. If your pet has fleas, you can rub diatomaceous into his or her fur to kill the insects. Back to Index of Terms