USE COMMON 'SCENTS' TO CARE FOR YOUR PETS
An Excerpt from this booklet by Dr. DeVita
Pesticides frequently poison pets, either from accidental exposure to recently sprayed lawns and green spaces or from the improper use of chemical flea controls.A pesticide is a chemical substance that kills organisms that we consider undesirable, including herbicides, insecticides and fungicides.
More than 50 million kilograms of herbicides and insecticides are used in Canada each year. About 70% of these pesticides are applied to crops that humans and livestock eat (WWF).
A recent survey by the National Coalition Against the Misuse of Pesticides, surveyed 36 bug killers most commonly used on residential lawns, found that
- 13 have been linked to cancer!!,
- 14 can cause defects,
- 11 can interfere with human reproduction, and
- 21 can damage the nervous system.
These products linger in the environment - they poison children (at the rate of 80,000 per year) our pets and wildlife.
Many animals are killed from pesticide exposures due to their close contact with the ground where pesticide concentrations are highest. Parts of their bodies have high chemical absorption rates like their scrotum and armpits (Greenpeace, WWF).
Mild exposure of pets to pesticides can result in:
- inactivity
- refusal to eat or drink
- vomiting or diarrhea
- excessive drooling
- disorientation
- lack of co-ordination and convulsions
It is not just an itchy nuisance - fleas are a hazard to animals and humans. They carry diseases like anemia and dermatitis, and harmful parasites like tapeworms. Fleas can transmit tapeworm larvae and disease. Fleas on rats spread the Bubonic plague.
Fleas are tiny and fast; the flea is a common pest known to jump 8" straight up and over a foot horizontally. Males mate up to 18 times a day. Females lay up to 60 eggs per day and may live for 90 days. The larvae live on the blood left by "mom" and other sources, then wrap themselves in a cocoon for up to two years! Warm, moist, spring weather brings a rise in the flea population.
North American pet owners spend over 900 million a year on flea control products. These synthetic insecticide products used to control fleas can be very dangerous - they often poison cats, dogs, and their owner! C. Chambreuam, a holistic veterinarian, points out that the chemicals in flea collars, dips, and sprays are very bad for our pets - "fleas adapt to these treatments, mutate and the products become inefficient". She (C. Chambreuam) doesn't recommend any of them. However, essential oils are highly effective.
Free the Fleas - Naturally
It is time to stop these avoidable poisons by using "Common Scents" with Young Living Essential Oils and keeping your pet flea-free.
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