This product was, as are all of our products, formulated for practical applications. We had already blended and used our Deet-free Herbal Insect Repellent in a personal-care spray and cream, but realized we were using it on our dogs as much as ourselves. It truly became evident one summer when the flies literally were causing open areas on Abby's nose that I needed to do a little more research. It kept the fleas and ticks off of her, but not the flies. I did some more research on flies and essential oils and tweaked our original formula - it worked! I can say that for the past 10 years the flies haven't bothered our dogs. The pet insect repellent blend is available in either a distilled-water based or organic aloe vera base for those pets who might have sensitive skin or skin issues. Our house backs up to a wooded area off the city bike trail and ticks, flies, fleas, chiggers and mosquitoes are frequent visitors in our neck of the woods - but not on us or our dogs. We knew we wanted a natural, Deet-free, choice for our dogs as well as us, and after reading the chemical-laden ingredients on most of the pet collars on the market - knew we had made the right choice.
Please note the following concerning EPA registration numbers as our product contains exempt ingredients:
Registered or Exempt Pesticides: Under FIFRA, any product making a pesticidal claim must be registered with EPA, in order to review products for reasons of human health and environmental safety. An exception to this rule exists for products based on certain active ingredients (the “25b list,” named for that section of FIFRA), which are considered minimum risk products. These products will not have an EPA registration number, and usually have a statement to the effect that “the manufacturer represents that this product qualifies for exemption from FIFRA.” For exempt pesticides, all inert ingredients must be on EPA List 4A, and must be disclosed on the label. Many exempt products, but not all, meet the requirements of the USDA National Organic Program.