There have been ferret deaths from pyrethrin. It is of low toxicity,
but when too much is used ferrets have died, and studies show at least
some ferrets to have an unusual vulnerability to it.

Perhaps the saddest situation I'ver read in this regard -- if my memory
serves me for cause -- was a household reported here on the FML. I
wanted to find that string for you and to check my recollection since
it was some time ago, but the archives don't seem to be pulling
anything up for any string which does not make sense since pyrethrin is
a topic that has come up before. What I recall of it was that a man had
a large number of ferrets, perhaps something in the range of a dozen,
and also had a roommate. The roommate used that sort of product within
the home without removing the ferrets from the area and I seem to
remember that the roommate used too much, resulting in the majority of
the ferrets slowly dying over a period of days. I seem to recall the
man might have been named Kevin but could easily be wrong. When the
archives agree to pull up the incident reports on that feel free to
check me. It's been a decent bit of time.

This may be of interest to you since it tells what too high levels can
do to mustelids. It is
"Literature search for mustelid- specific toxicants"
M.L. Wickstrom1 and C.T. Eason2
Landcare Research2, P.O. Box 69, Lincoln, New Zealand
1Present address: Toxicology Centre, 44 Campus Drive, University of
Saskatchewan, Canada

Page 57 (which is the first page of the article):
>Results indicated that mustelids appear to be unusually sensitive to
>planar organochlorine compounds, oestrogen analogues, pyrethrin /
>pyrethroid-type insecticides, methaemoglobin inducing agents, and
>possibly non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents. Organochlorines and
>oestrogens are not appropriate for use as vertebrate pesticides, and
>humaneness may be a concern with the insecticides.

with further details on pages 60 including:

>More than 50% of the fatal mustelid exposures identified in the
>clinical veterinary toxicology databases involved pyrethrin or
>pyrethroid insecticides applied dermally to pet ferrets or to the
>animals' environment, for controlling fleas or other insect pests.
>Although doses could not be determined, in most cases the use of the
>agent was appropriate, indicating that ferrets may be highly sensitive
>to this class of insecticides. Clinical signs included diarrhoea,
>weakness, neurological signs ranging from ataxia and mild tremors to
>seizures, renal failure, and death.

so direct application is probably best avoided since there might be
differences among individual ferrets, and being absolutely sure about
giving the agent time to dissipate may be best when it is used in a
home.

Also, chart on page 61, and more details specific to this insecticide
on pages 62 and 63.

This gives more details on that option for home use:

<http://books.google.com/books?id=LdFjecaFqOkC&pg=PA147&lpg=PA147&dqpyrethrin+and+ferrets&source=bl&ots=S4W-MwBHvp&sig=52wFXT-EJZvn6sw2qLcqD15mZXA&hl=en&ei=QFd_TqzCJePW0QH66I3jDw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&sqi=2&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=pyrethrin%20and%20ferrets&f=false>

This is supposed to include some info on that score but I do not have
the article so do not know if it is extensive or just a one sentence
mention:

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1094919408000029

On the other side of the coin there is this in mink:

>Parasitol Res. 2005 Oct;97 Suppl 1:S107-12.
>Efficacy of imidacloprid, imidacloprid/permethrin and phoxim for flea
>control in the Mustelidae (ferrets, mink).
>Larsen KS, Siggurdsson H, Mencke N.
>KSL Consulting, Helsinge, Denmark.

the abstract of which you can find in PubMed

So, it will be important to take all of the existing information into
account when making a decision, and using appropriate precautions.
People will vary in their choices.

 -----

Just on the topic of some neat resources now:

<http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/ask-the-expert/ask-the-expert-poison-control/human-medications-and-cosmetics.aspx>

(Click open each above individually since some are safe and some are
not.)

http://www.aspcapro.org/mydocuments/apcc_ferret.pdf

http://www.aspcapro.org/mydocuments/t-toxbrief_0704.pdf

<http://www.aspca.org/Pet-care/ask-the-expert/ask-the-expert-poison-control/carpet-shampoo.aspx>

(Click open each in all of the below links individually since some are
safe and some are not.)

<http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/ask-the-expert/ask-the-expert-poison-control/cleaning-products-2.aspx>

<http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/ask-the-expert/ask-the-expert-poison-control/people-foods.aspx>

<http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/ask-the-expert/ask-the-expert-poison-control/plants-and-trees.aspx>

<http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/ask-the-expert/ask-the-expert-poison-control/insects.aspx>

<http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/ask-the-expert/ask-the-expert-poison-control/miscellaneous.aspx>

On some of these topics there is additional information elsewhere on
the ASPCA's APCC website (like the very useful toxic and nontoxic
plants listings), and some of these topics have further info at other
websites.

Sukie (not a vet)

Recommended ferret health links:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html
http://www.miamiferret.org/
http://www.ferrethealth.msu.edu/
http://www.ferretcongress.org/
http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml
http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html
all ferret topics:
http://listserv.ferretmailinglist.org/archives/ferret-search.html

"All hail the procrastinators for they shall rule the world tomorrow."
(2010, Steve Crandall)
On change for its own sake: "You can go really fast if you just jump
off the cliff." (2010, Steve Crandall)

[Posted in FML 7194]