well i don't think it is any ONE thing..i think there are combinations of things that are working to do harm to a lot of mother's creatures.
you aren't ready for this..well i wasn't that's for sure
long story short i took the young pup to be nuetered at what was once a great farm vet clinic..now i think it is just a puppy spa place..grrrrrrrrr
i could do a four page rant on that experience but i won't
anyway
..they they me that they have to treat him for fleas before admitting him..i say what if he doesn't have fleas..they say they can't take a chance..
i am not in favor of putting chemicals on my critters..we discuss things for a few very tense moments
but
i'm kinda between a rock and a hard place..i sigh and say ok..what are you using
well they only use advantage....yeah..i know i am going to get soaked for it..and they did soak me 18 bucks worth for one flea treatment
..see..maybe a five page rant cause there WAS more
anyway.. i am conscerned and come home and look it up to see what it is and how it works..
would you believe it is ONE of the things being blamed for bee colony disorder....is the main ingredient in advantage
it is a nuero toxin that disrupts the insects nervous system
and i won't do the rant..but here are just some of the tidbits from what i looked up..links are included if you want the whole ball of waxHow it works
Use Advantage monthly to kill fleas within minutes. The active ingredient is imidacloprid, which acts on the nervous system of the flea to cause paralysis and subsequent death. Advantage stops biting fleas in three to five minutes and starts to kill adult fleas within an hour after application.1 Within 12 hours of application, 98-100 percent of fleas are dead. This is important because flea bites can lead to skin infections, cause discomfort for your pet, lead to allergic skin reactions, and can even transmit other disease-causing organisms, including tapeworms.
You won't need to use another flea control product. Advantage kills fleas before they lay eggs, so their life cycle is broken at multiple stages. It also kills flea larvae within 20 minutes of contact.1
http://advantage.petparents.com/howItWorks.cfm********************************************************************************************************
Imidacloprid Application
Imidacloprid is manufactured by Bayer CropScience. Imidacloprid is a systemic, chloro-nicotinyl insecticide with soil, seed and foliar uses for the control of sucking insects including rice hoppers, aphids, thrips, whiteflies, termites, turf insects, soil insects and some beetles.
It is most commonly used on rice, cereal, maize, potatoes, vegetables, sugar beets, fruit, cotton, hops and turf, and is especially systemic when used as a seed or soil treatment.
Imidacloprid works by interfering with the transmission of stimuli in the insect nervous system. Specifically, it causes a blockage in a type of neuronal pathway (nicotinergic) that is more abundant in insects than in warm-blooded animals (making the chemical selectively more toxic to insects than warm-blooded animals).
This blockage leads to the accumulation of acetylcholine, an important neurotransmitter, resulting in the insect's paralysis, and eventually death.
It is effective on contact and via stomach action. Imidacloprid can be phytotoxic (toxic to plants) if not used according to manufacturers instructions, and it has a tendency to reduce seedling emergence and crop vigour.
http://www.sinoharvest.com/products/Imidacloprid.shtml******************************************************************************************************************************
Imidacloprid is a neonicotinoid, which is a class of neuro-active insecticides modeled after nicotine. A patented chemical, imidacloprid is manufactured by Bayer Cropscience (part of Bayer AG) and sold under trade names Kohinor, Admire, Advantage(Advocate), Gaucho, Merit, Confidor, Hachikusan, Premise, Prothor, and Winner. It is marketed as pest control, seed treatment, an insecticide spray, termite control, flea control, and a systemic insecticide.
Studies on rats indicate that the thyroid is the organ most affected by imidacloprid. Thyroid lesions occurred in male rats at a Lowest Observed Adverse Effect Level of 16.9 mg/kg/day[2]
In France, its use (as Gaucho) has become controversial due to a possible link to derangement of behavior in domesticated honeybees. See Imidacloprid effects on bee population. In relation to this, Germany has banned seed treatment related to neonicotinoids, in May 2008, due to negative effects upon bee colonies
http://www.answers.com/topic/imidacloprid
Wed May 26, 2010 7:57 am
photos winehippie........
