"Got fleas on your cat? Ticks on your dog? In deciding on a treatment - and yes, you do want to treat these little varmints - not all chemicals are equal.

Recently, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced an agreement with two companies to take pet collars containing the chemical propoxur off the market.

After an assessment, the agency found "unacceptable risks to children" the first day after the collar is put onto the pet.

Here's the rub: The products won't actually be gone until 2016, if then."

Sandy Bauers reports for the Philadelphia Inquirer April 13, 2014. [2]