Fleas, Ticks and Pregnancy

Although fleas and ticks can transmit diseases to humans, pesticides used to kill them pose serious risks, especially to unborn children. Women who are pregnant should know the risks and that there are much safer alternatives.

Basics

• Certain pesticide compounds kill fleas and ticks, but also endanger humans. It doesn’t matter how the pesticides are administered; it’s the accumulation of exposure. Most at risk are unborn and young children, because their systems are in development. There is an immediate toxic risk, plus a risk of longer-term damage to the brain and nervous system.

Process

• Products containing organophosphate or carbamate compounds block the breakdown of the messenger chemical acetylcholine. Acetylcholine then builds up in the body, affecting nerve transmissions.

Significance

• Per a 2000 survey by the Natural Resources Defense Council, 90 percent of American households used pesticides, and 80 percent still used them when a woman in the household was pregnant. For women who were pregnant when exposed to flea and tick products, their children were more likely to be diagnosed later with brain cancer.

Solutions

• Safeguard women who are pregnant by not purchasing or keeping on hand products containing organophospates (specifically, chlorpyrifos, dichlorvos, phosmet, naled, tetrachlorvinphos, diazinon and malathion) or carbamates. Consider using safer products such as “insect growth regulators” (methoprene, fenoxycarb, pyriproxyfen, and lufenuron) and newer pesticides that are spotted onto pets (fipronil, imidacloprid). Also use physical measures: Wash and comb pets, and vacuum carpets and furniture.

Warning

• Pregnant women should control for fleas and ticks, but should not come in contact with products that contain compounds known to be toxic.