Love Your Pet, Not Pesticides: New Report Warns of Flea and Tick Treatment Threat to Rivers - Buglife

• Pesticides banned for outdoor agricultural use are regularly used as pet tick and flea treatments;
• The two most commonly used pesticides, imidacloprid and fipronil, are known to cause significant harm to aquatic invertebrates and are found in waterways across the UK;
• A recent Welsh river survey linked high concentrations of the chemicals to over a 90% decline in invertebrates;
• One survey found 100% of wash-off samples from treated dogs contained both chemicals.

A new report from wildlife charity Buglife, published on National Love Your Pet Day (20th February), reveals that pesticides from common flea and tick treatments are now widespread in rivers across Britain. These veterinary medicines, used by many pet owners, may be contributing to major declines in freshwater invertebrates such as dragonflies, mayflies, shrimps and damselflies, particularly near wastewater treatment works and urban waterways where contamination is highest.

Love your pet

The UK is a nation of pet owners and veterinary medicines are essential for animal health; they can also help to safeguard humans. Many owners are unaware that treatments contain pesticides including fipronil and the neonicotinoid, imidacloprid, infamously linked to colony collapse disorder in bees. Although both were banned for outdoor agricultural use in the UK in 2018, they remain widely used in pet products, with monthly and preventative treatments increasing overall use. These chemicals are not removed by wastewater treatment plants or septic systems, allowing them to enter rivers.