As pet owners, we know how costly it can be to keep fleas and ticks off of our pets. A lot of us use topical treatments that need only a few drops on the back of our pet's neck to kill fleas and ticks for a month.
It turns out, some of those products contain a pesticide called "fipronil" and that is winding up in the San Francisco Bay and it's got environmentalists concerned.
They say the amounts are very small but there is enough present that the levels could be harmful to tiny creatures at the bottom of the bay and if it's harming those creatures, it could rise up and harm our fish and wildlife.
The chemicals from the flea and tick treatments get on our hands when we pet our pets, get on our clothing and the pet bedding, so when we wash our hands or wash our clothes, this all goes down the drain.
They say the levels are high enough that it is scoring above the Environmental Protection Agency guidelines for freshwater creeks and streams.
Not all topical flea treatments contain fipronil, but many popular products do. One of the leading manufacturers is Frontline.