Table of Contents 1.

We’ve been very concerned about the published results from a recent study by the University of Sussex, that shows a clear link between flea and tick treatments used for cats, dogs and livestock, and the negative impact on the breeding success for birds which line their nests with fur and hair – and notably Blue tits and Great tits.

As a basis for the study, 103 nests were collected and analysed after the last breeding season, with 100% of these showing contamination from fipronil, and 89% from imidacloprid – two of the main chemicals which are used in the veterinary treatments. The impact of these chemicals leads to higher numbers of unhatched eggs and dead chicks, and therefore negatively impacts on some songbird population levels.

The British Veterinary Association already recommends that vets should avoid blanket year-round flea and tick treatment policies, and instead advocate that they have discussions with their clients to risk-assess when such treatments are needed.

Both the chemicals that were present in the nests are banned in the European Union for agricultural and plant protection, but remain legal in the UK for flea and tick treatments in the form of shampoos, spot-on treatments, and sprays. This situation and the results of the study have resulted in calls for the government to carry out a more comprehensive environmental risk assessment of veterinary drugs, but even if this happens it will clearly take a long time. So ahead of that, we urge readers to look for alternative methods of flea and tick control for their pets.

So what are the alternatives? We’ve spent some time researching this, and were pleasantly surprised by the number of natural products available. These ranged from plant-based formulas which can be added to food, some which can be applied directly to fur and hair, and one which was a simple comb. There were a number of companies we found online, but this one seemed to have it covered.