Recently my vet treated one of my goats with a product called Ultra Boss to take care of her lice. She just poured a little down Xande's spine and within a day she had stopped scratching, and within two days so had her kids even though they were not treated. I thought it was so amazing and wondered if it would work on my dogs for mosquitoes and ticks.
I couldn't remember what it was called so I went to Cal Ranch and read the labels and got what I thought was right. The label said it could be used on outdoor dogs as well so I was really excited. But then I found it it was a spray on and not a pour on. I liked the pour-on idea because the animals would be less likely to lick it. So I dug through my notes from the vet and found out the name of the real product and went back and picked that one up. But Ultra Boss does not say you can use it on dogs. I looked up the chemicals in the two products and they both used the same ones. I wondered why it would be okay on one but not the other, so I started researching all the pesticides used in tick collars and dog-specific pesticides.
It turns out all these products use the exact same, or nearly the same chemicals. And they are also the same chemicals used in mosquito foggers (as well as many plant pesticides and lice shampoos for humans). I had researched mosquito fogging before and got frustrated. All the information stating they were safe were from people who sell the chemicals, or from governments who needed to defend their decision to use them. All I could find was the recommendation to bring pets inside and close windows during fogging (except one website that said to open your windows so mosquitoes in your house could be killed). I decided if it wasn't safe for people and pets then I didn't want the spray on my property and put myself on the no-spray list.
But this time I decided to research the specific chemicals in the pesticides because it should lead to less biased information. Here is what I found:
Permethrin and its synthetic counterparts work by binding to sodium ions that assist the nervous system in communicating. It blocks their movement and causes paralysis, temperature increases, repetitive motions, and other symptoms. It is usually paired with a chemical called piperonyl butoxide which prevents the organism from flushing toxins out of their bodies.
I proceeded to read through studies done on effects of the chemicals. Most I found were specifically to test the safety of using them on military clothing. In the trials various animals, mostly mice, were fed varying doses of permethrin. The essence of the results as I understood it were this:
Permethrins
Evidence of ill-effects:
- skin irritation in rabbits
- slight increase in fetal death in rabbits
- less bone growth for rabbits in utero
- extra ribs and low birth weight in rat fetuses
- increased liver weight in dogs and mice
- lung tumors in mice
- urological problems in mice
- tremors and seizures on animals while exposed to high levels of permethrin gas
- skin and eye irritation, itching, and burning in humans
Evidence of safety:
- used by pregnant women to treat lice and scabies; no women in the studies experienced complications
- In most cases only animals fed the highest doses of permethrin showed ill effects
It seems as though there are a lot of potential ill effects, although I have to take into consideration other information. One thing is that the animals were being fed high concentrations of permethrin. If my interpretation of the conclusions is right, I would need to drink about 1 cup of pure permethrin per day in order to develop a tumor or cancer. Permethrin is not easily absorbed through the skin so exposure from touching it would be significantly less. This is why it was concluded to be safe to use in military uniforms. Also, most of the commercial forms of it are diluted or intended to be diluted with water before application.
After reading those stats I figure that even over time exposure to it isn't going to do much. It makes me rethink being on the no-spray list for mosquito fogging. At the same time, if it is used regularly on livestock, pets, hay, fruit, other produce, lice, and also restaurant kitchens and such, and combined with exposure to other various chemicals in our environment I still am slightly concerned about the buildup. There also have not been any studies on effects to the endocrine system.
After reading those stats I figure that even over time exposure to it isn't going to do much. It makes me rethink being on the no-spray list for mosquito fogging. At the same time, if it is used regularly on livestock, pets, hay, fruit, other produce, lice, and also restaurant kitchens and such, and combined with exposure to other various chemicals in our environment I still am slightly concerned about the buildup. There also have not been any studies on effects to the endocrine system.
I decided to research how long it takes for permethrins to exit the body and break down in the environment. After 24 hours half of it was gone from the bodies of rats, but I couldn't find information on how long it takes to completely leave the system. Also, it is combined with piperonyl butoxide which inhibits the ability to clear toxins and these studies were done solely on permethrins.
Permethrins also take time to break down in the environment. In some studies done where it was exposed to sun on a wooden windowsill 60% of it was still there after several months. It stays in the soil even longer, although it tends to bind to the soil and stay there rather than get absorbed into other plants or washed with water runoff. But it can still be in the soil where children and animals touch and carry it.
It is also highly toxic to fish and aquatic animals so it should not be applied to the air or plants and animals near water. Mammals and birds are not so affected by it so that is less of a concern (with the exception of cats who have difficulty breaking down many chemicals, including essential oils). One should also consider effects to the ecosystem because it also kills beneficial insects such as bees and ladybugs.
Piperonyl butoxide
Evidence of ill-effects:
Evidence of ill-effects:
- passes through milk in animals
- passes through eggs in chickens
- liver cancer and tumors in dogs, rats, and mice
- intestine and thyroid cancers in other lab animals
- low maternal weight gain and possible miscarriage in rats
- fused and extra fingers and toes of offspring of rats exposed in utero
- found in some organs, meat, eggs, and especially fat of skin-exposed chickens
Evidence of safety:
- no evidence of endocrine disruption in mammals
- monkey studies 6 weeks long showed no ill effects
- studies of goats showed no ill effects
- humans fed very small quantities showed no ill effects of the liver
- 87-99% left the bodies of rats through urine and feces within 48 hours
- when applied to human skin, only 2% of the dose was absorbed in 30 minutes
- did not affect breakdown of one drug when humans ate a small dose
- breaks down quickly (half life of about 8 hours in water and 4 hours in air and 13 days in soil)
- very little moves to other parts of a plant after spraying
From my view, the piperonyl butoxide is a bit more concerning than the permethrin because it seems to have more negative effects and passes into parts of animals that are eaten by humans more readily. At the same time, it breaks down and is cleared from our systems more quickly.
Overall, I think the doses are small enough that I wouldn't let a goat suffer through lice all winter long if I could find no better alternative, and would apply sparingly to pregnant goats. Despite the label saying it is not contraindicated with slaughter, because chemicals were found in edible tissues of chickens I would not use it within 3 weeks of slaughter. I also prefer to seek alternatives to treating lice in goats and preventing ticks and mosquitoes from biting dogs. Neem oil is next on my research list.
Overall, I think the doses are small enough that I wouldn't let a goat suffer through lice all winter long if I could find no better alternative, and would apply sparingly to pregnant goats. Despite the label saying it is not contraindicated with slaughter, because chemicals were found in edible tissues of chickens I would not use it within 3 weeks of slaughter. I also prefer to seek alternatives to treating lice in goats and preventing ticks and mosquitoes from biting dogs. Neem oil is next on my research list.
Sources:
National Pesticide Information Center, permethrin
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