There are so many products on the market it is difficult to know which one to use and which one to trust.

What I can tell you is that anything with pesticides is dangerous and needs serious consideration before using it on yourself and your pets.

One of the main things to remember is that commercial topical products contain undesirable ingredients for you and your animal's health.

Most pesticides are known endocrine disruptors. The endocrine system can be comprised with the immune organs thyroid, thymus, pancreas and liver as well as the pituitary gland in the brain.

The following is a list that explains ingredients, and their purpose as used in commercial bug sprays.

Pesticide or Insecticide

Some product use two or more insecticides. These are chemicals that affect the nervous system of the insect. Insects are exposed after landing on your horse or pet, and often times the insect will still bite before it flies off to die.

Pyrethrin and its man-made cousin Permethrin are insecticides, even though they come from the chrysanthemum. Pyrethrin is approved in organic farming for use on plants only because plants metabolize it and break it down through sunlight and UV rays. However once it enters the body of an animal or human it cannot be broken down the same way, and it acts like any other chemical pesticide causing problems in the endocrine system.

You must read the safety instructions and guidelines on each bottle to know how often you can apply the different types of pesticides.

Information on pesticides and their effects can be found at the National
pesticide information site: http://npic.orst.edu/index.html

Attractants

A substance to attract insects to the animal so it can be exposed and make contact with pesticide. This can be a particular smell or a substance without detectable smell.

Sunscreen

This is mainly to protect the pesticides from exposure to the sun so that they last longer because all pesticides are UV light sensitive and break down within 1 to 2 hours.

A type of oil or emollient

The purpose of this is to help the insecticide adhere to the animals
coat or skin. This can often block the pores or cause allergic
reactions.

Emulsifiers

Emulsifiers keep the pesticide's oils and attractants mixed together. A popular one is SLS or Sodium Laurel Sulfate. SLS is banned in California as a known carcinogen.

One of the major reasons most people feel that bug sprays don’t work is because once the pesticide has been broken down by sunlight all that’s left is the attractant to bring the insects to your animal.

Equinature's products are formulated differently!! We combine plant-based ingredients to be repellent and provide a shield of scent that is undesirable to insects. We don’t use any attractants or insecticides or pesticides. Our product is water-based not oil based. It does not clog pores or irritate skin even with multiple applications. Our product can be cleaned with water. There is never an oily residue. WE LOVE your PETS!