[NHCOLL-L:204] dog flea collars

[Christine Ianna]

Dear Robert
Re your response to Margaret Perkins and use of dog flea collars.
"I may have an alternative direction for you to use in your drawers. 
 We have over the last decade been running an Odonata survey of the 
state using a couple of dozen plus volunteers.  These volunteers would 
collect dragonflies and label them with proper data, but later 
transport them to me for identification etc.  Sometimes they would 
have them for 6 months or more.  We did not want to issue them and 
powerful pesticide, but did not want dermestids etc. to destroy the 
collections either.  We have suggested that they use dog flea collars. 
 These appear to repel most pests at least for limited time periods. 
 We cut them into short stripes.................................  One 
would "hope" that if it is safe to have them on your dog in your 
house, that inside an enclosed case they should be safe!  Anyone with 
more chemistry background than I have know any more about this?
 I am not able to provide you with specific chemical information but 
background reading I have followed up on namely A-Z of chemicals in 
the home 3rd edition published by the Total Environment Centre and 
Australian Consumers' Association 1996, it states that 'treatments 
such as flea collars containing dichlorvos can be quite toxic and 
dangerous, since dichlorvos evaporates fast enough to cause chronic 
exposure for the pet and the environment...Diazinon another 
organophosphate has also been used in flea collars and rinses'.  It 
would be my suggestion that flea collars be used cautiously and with 
safety precautions until you have further information from the 
manufacturer that they do not contain potentially dangerous 
chemicals.
I hope this information will be of use
Best wishes
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