The report found two particular chemicals, tetrachlorvinphos (TCVP) and propoxur, used on national brands of flea collars. TCVP belongs to the class of nerve-damaging chemicals known as organophosphates, most of which are so hazardous that they’ve been banned for residential use or for use on pets. Propoxur belongs to a class of chemicals called carbamates, which also cause nerve damage, and it’s on California’s Proposition 65 list of chemicals known to cause cancer.

Not good news for your pet, but particularly bad news if you have small children as they tend to pet the animal and then put their hands in their mouths.

Use only natural, non-chemical tick collars to protect the health of your pets and your children and if you can’t find anything in your local store then here’s a good recipe for a home made one using essential oils.

Recipe for a Herbal Flea Collar

You need to get a bottle each of citronella, tea tree, and rosemary oils.

In a glass bowl, blend one tablespoon of citronella and tea tree oil, and a half a tablespoon of rosemary Oil. Soak an ordinary cloth collar for 20 minutes in the mixture then let it air dry for about five hours.

Put it on your pet as normal and with any leftover oil you could store it in a glass jar and use it to give a weekly natural flea bath as needed. Take a small amount of the mixture, rub it into a towel, and then rub it lightly on the animal’s fur. This homemade herbal flea wipe means your pet smells great and it will keep fleas, and ticks away.