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Small Cabin Forum / Nature / Are Ticks Bad This Year?
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MJW
Member
# Posted: 10 Jun 2013 09:38
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Just wondering if they are exceptionally bad this year or if I have been a city boy for too long.

We have 3 canine members of our family now and seem to spend an exceptional amount of time on tick patrol (with the dogs and our 6 year old). I have put out tick granules, bathed the dogs with tick shampoo. Nothing seems to work.

Any suggestions would be most appreciated.

SE Ohio
Member
# Posted: 10 Jun 2013 09:48
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Had a dog, used to give it a flea/tick treatment ointment that is applied between dog's shoulders. Got it from vet, worked very well. Cannot remember the name. Tick bites dogs, tick dies.

I did find that if the dog stayed out of brush/tall grass, no ticks. Not always easy, but on a camping trip in FL one year I was removing DOZENS of ticks from the dog every day! Made me extra nervous since the dog always slept with us in the tent, and those ticks like to take walks!

countrygirl
Member
# Posted: 10 Jun 2013 10:49
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K9 advantix® for the vet. last 3-4 weeks and the ticks are dead on the dog. works great. Can buy some for Walmart, and other stores but it only last a 2weeks. It is only good if you don't have any cats in contact with your dog as it is harful to cats.

MJW
Member
# Posted: 10 Jun 2013 12:13
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We have our guys on Trifexis, a once a month pill for heartworms, fleas and ticks. The ticks get on them and die within a couple of days but I really just can't stand the idea of them being on them at all and besides, WE don't have anything to take to keep them off of us. haha

Guess I am looking for ideas on how to get rid of the boogers completely or at least slow them down. They seem to be all over the place.

Rossman
Member
# Posted: 10 Jun 2013 13:40
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There are a couple different options for the gel that you just put between their shoulders once a month. They are available for both dogs and cats...

In Canada I've used Advantage for our cats. These gels are a bit pricey but they are really effective. Always wondered if I could use on myself to keep the bugs off me!

Just
Member
# Posted: 10 Jun 2013 13:47
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spent the weekend stalking specs in Bruce county Ont. NOT ONE TICK could not believe they were not all over us sooooooooooo I gess much fewer than recent years in Ontario .

MJW
Member
# Posted: 10 Jun 2013 14:48
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Quoting: Just
I gess much fewer than recent years in Ontario


Well, I can tell you where they all moved to...Missouri.

countryred
Member
# Posted: 10 Jun 2013 18:25
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Yep, plenty up her in northeast Mo and I am sure our place near Mountain view will have a bunch.

OwenChristensen
Member
# Posted: 10 Jun 2013 19:08
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What I've found is that there are hot spots and times. One week they're bad and another they're not. One area will be full and twenty miles away none. Go figure.

Purplerules
Member
# Posted: 10 Jun 2013 19:44 - Edited by: Purplerules
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Here in Texas the teany tiny red one are bad. And they seem to like me more than the dog

rush1958
Member
# Posted: 10 Jun 2013 19:46
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This is the worst year I've seen for ticks in Eastern Kansas. The dogs have been picking them up, but so have I.

I was cutting brush and weeds last weekend and picked 22 ticks off me at the end of the day. I used repellant and wore heavy clothes, but it still didn't help.

MJW
Member
# Posted: 10 Jun 2013 20:05
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Quoting: rush1958
picked 22 ticks off me at the end of the day


Holy Crap, Batman! That is insane!

I guess we don't have it so bad after all.

neb
Member
# Posted: 10 Jun 2013 21:53
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In my neck of the woods they are very good this year. I have found a few on my pants but that is about it. I have been in tall grass and all over the hills and didn't find a one in the last two weeks. Some years are bad. Tick season here is about done ao that is a good thing. When I'm in tick country I put my socks over my pants at the boot area. I wear light faded out blue jeans and can see if they are on me. I dislike them with a passion and mice also.

Grandma Off Grid
Member
# Posted: 11 Jun 2013 06:12
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i use tiny bit horse wormer for all animals. but you got to know rigjt dose or you can give fatal amt.
DE is supposed to be good. also some raw tobacco mixed in with feed supposed to work. used to give a tiny bit in feed to goats. ACV a 1/4 cup in all animals food a few times a week.
yuck cant stand them bugs.

Grandma Off Grid
Member
# Posted: 11 Jun 2013 06:15
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should say i use horse wormer just 2-3 times a year. do not use unless you got experienced person helping to calculate dose. its a trace amt. can barely see it.
very small.

bukhntr
Member
# Posted: 15 Jun 2013 15:37
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i vouch for the se kansas poplulation up, ticks are always part of the cabin experience for us but we can pick up 1/2 dozen or more just fishing around the pond. I am looking into something to treat for them around the cabin, never had to do that before as long as we kept it mowed.

TheWildMan
Member
# Posted: 16 Jun 2013 11:37
Reply 


they are usually in large numbers, populations are influenced by rodent populations, which in turn are influenced by weather (a surplus acorn year a couple years ago lead to a boom population of rodents like mice and squirrel, the ticks bread and butter since they are more common, when the next year food was scarce the population of mice that supported a boom in ticks collapsed but the ticks in the northeast stayed through the next year and grabbed anything.

this year we have had excessive rain and flooding ruining crops, conditions here have supported a boom population of slugs and i lost a half acre of bean plants to them. last years drought meant few mosquitoes but the rain this year has supported large numbers.

WY_mark
Member
# Posted: 16 Jun 2013 16:02
Reply 


If you're looking for a natural route you might consider Neem oil. but really you should use a flea and tick preventative specifically for dogs and be sure that each dog gets the right amount for their weight. in areas that don't get cold enough it should be a year-round application.

we rarely have a tick issue since our winters are long and cold and the summer short and mild, but this year it's been far more than usual.

Ticks carry diseases that can take your canine friends lives so an ounce of prevention is worth every penny.

BaconCreek
Member
# Posted: 16 Jun 2013 22:50
Reply 


Taking a capsule of odorless garlic daily keeps ticks off. Amish do this and I started taking some last January in anticipation of tick season in KY and it does work. I have only gotten a tick or 2 this spring.

Scott_T
Member
# Posted: 18 Jun 2013 12:27
Reply 


Down here in NC the ticks are very bad right now. Two main types we identified under the microscope as we tweezed them off our bodies: Brown Dog Tick and Lone Star Tick. They really are insidious little creatures, highly adapted to live on warm, moist bodies undetected for hours to days. Best thing to reduce the chance of getting them is to tuck your pants into your boots or wear long socks over the bottom pant cuff so they cannot climb up inside. Spray/coat your clothing and exposed skin with 98% deet (you know it's concentrated deet if it melts your plastic sunglasses). Also we've observed that they tend to be more prevalent in tall grass and dense pine thickets versus more well spaced hardwood forest.

Scott_T
Member
# Posted: 18 Jun 2013 12:37
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Additionally...ticks as most people know carry many diseases to be aware of and watchful of symptoms. URL

Scott_T
Member
# Posted: 18 Jun 2013 12:55
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@MJW original question - we use Frontline for our dogs (It is a liquid applied directly onto the dog's skin/fur between their shoulder blades). We have found this type of treatment to be the most effective. We use it approximately April through October only.

MJW
Member
# Posted: 18 Jun 2013 19:04 - Edited by: MJW
Reply 


Thanks, everyone.

Scott, we already had our pups on Trifexis, the once a month pill for heartworms, fleas & ticks. This just didn't cut it because while it does kill the ticks, it is after they are on them for 2 or 3 days and that just wasn't acceptable to me.

We have now added Frontline to the mix. While it seems a little excessive to me to have to treat them with 2 different medications for ticks, this seems to have done the trick.

Now if we could only find something to keep ticks off of US.

Scott_T
Member
# Posted: 19 Jun 2013 16:17
Reply 


Agreed need something that works for humans. If our lives were as short as dogs we probably could use the same stuff (and not have to worry about growing a third eye or something). On the topic of dog treatment again you could switch to just a heartworm only and use the Frontline goop as the pesticide for fleas and ticks in the summer. We found the product (heartworm+fleas, but not ticks) SentinelTM to be perfectly acceptable here to use during the winter months. Gotta see what works for your area - the stuff is rather costly if you have more than one dog!

tnky03
Member
# Posted: 20 Jun 2013 16:04
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Quoting: BaconCreek
Taking a capsule of odorless garlic daily keeps ticks off

That sounds easy enough. Someone told hubby to take Brewers Yeast but it offered little, if any help. Ticks are horrible in our area of KY. I removed four yesterday after just working in the garden. They are everywhere!!!! Hey Bacon Creek, any chance you are also in central KY? I know an area called Bacon Creek.

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