Pet owners, beware ... ticks are already out. I took a dead (or maybe just stunned?) one off my dog a few weeks ago - I think it'd tried to bite him and got poisoned, since I'd Frontline'd my dog ... This afternoon, I felt/found one crawling on my neck. *shudder* Alive, happy, and looking for a place to "snack". This is going to be a harsh flea/tick season!!
Thanks for the heads up. I think it's cause of the mild winter we had and the early spring we seam to be having.
I know that Frontline is out, but I have another property in Eastern NC that within 15 minutes of walking around on it I typically pickup a tick. When I finally notice it I typically whine like a wounded hound until my wife pulls it off. I will be spending a lot more time there this year and am terrified that I will miss one and or get on a plane and not have a wife to cry to. How do you folks deal with this.
I have various tick-removal utensils in just about every room of the house, because I HATE ticks. I hate having one bite me, then having to run around the house looking for a way to remove it.... I want it gone, NOW. I wish there was frontline for humans ... I'd risk having the poison in my system, if it meant no ticks. Two of my favorite removal items are http://www.amazon.com/Coghlans-0015...s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1332200109&sr=1-12 and http://www.amazon.com/Tick-Key-TickKey-Remover-Effective/dp/B000R1D3KQ/ref=pd_sim_petsupplies_13 The Tick Key, you can keep on your keychain so it's always handy. Both of these remove the entire tick, head and all, easier than I thought! I'm not good with plain tweezers to remove ticks off myself. Mosquito repellants with DEET are supposed to keep ticks away, but personally, I don't want to have to swim in the stuff, keeping it on 24 hrs/day. I'll use it around socks, waistline, neck, etc., when outside doing yard work ... but I don't leave it on all the time.
I'd never been bitten by a tick in my life until last year, I didn't think the welt would ever go away!!:ack: And yes, I flipped out, LOL. Anyway, DH treats our yard with the granules in the areas the dog normally spends time in. She's rarely ever had any. However, the little suckers love DS and DH so we have to be pretty vigilent about them. Normally tweezers work and a full body tick check whenever they come back from a hiking trip or any time in the woods. One of the things I don't like about NC. <shiver>
Yeah, a friend in PA was saying she dusts the yard with Sevin, but this year she's trying Diatomaceous Earth to avoid those toxins and poisons: http://www.bugrepel.com/diatomaceous_earth.htm Tractor Supply (at least in PA) has it.
We use the Ortho Bug B Gone. It gets rid of the grubs, ants, ticks, spiders, etc. If you get rid of the grubs, then the the moles don't come as much either. We only treat once a year and I wish we could go pesticide free, but I cannot deal with creepy crawlies in the house.
You and me both! I have driven to my husband's work and had him pick one off of me. I have gotten better about it though. Our yard is infested as well. Playing outside for 30 minutes yesterday (in the grass on the playset), Thing I caught 3 different ticks crawling up her leg and like elims I pulled one off my neck. <shudders>.
We have had problems with ticks for weeks already. Never been this bad before. They disgust me too. I make my husband or my son get them off of any humans or pets in the house. So far, all 6 of us in our family have found at least 2 crawling on us this year. I worry about keeping toxic spray on us - especially the kids :?
what treatment do you use? So what is the best flea & tick treatment for both dogs & cats - the best for the least $$.
Found a tick on my leg last week...after I flew out to Las Vegas. Guess I shouldn't tell Delta, or they'll be wanting me to buy a ticket (one-way) for it.
I spoke 2 soon (in another thread) about buddy not having any ticks... he chased a squrrel (not PRM) into the woods behind the house and when he came out he had SIX ... yes SIX just crawling on him. I pulled one off later that same day off his nose but it was dead. I put his FL on him the 15th of every month, I might be buying him a flea/tick collar also AND dusting him with something. We 'aint havin no ticks! Yesterday DH had one crawling on his arm, we had been at the tree line moving his bow target. HATE bugs.
We spray our yard with Spectricide and it keeps the creepy crawlies at bay but I like to walk my furkids around the neighborhood and they pick up ticks from walking along the roadside, especially my little low rider kids. I put FL + on them every month but before we go for a walk I spritz their legs and bellies with Adams flea & tick spray. Works great to keep them tick free. I dont like flea collars, it made 1 of mine very lethargic till I figured out it was the collar and took it off. Found out that happens frequently to some dogs...
bad year for ticks.....Kiddo and her hubby are always finding them. My hubby had one on him too.ewwwwww. What method of tick removal do you use?
REALLY? I'm gonna put that on Buddy also. Thanks! peppercorns I use my fingernails or a pair of tweezers to get ticks off Buddy. Luckily only ONE was actually attached but it was dead
Tick Removal A nurse discovered a safe, easy way to remove ticks where they automatically withdraw themselves when you follow her simple instructions. Read this one as it could save you from some major problems. Tick Removal: Spring is here and the ticks will soon be showing their heads. Here is a good way to get them off you, your children, or your pets. Give it a try. Please forward to anyone with children, hunters or dogs; or anyone who even steps outside in summer! A School Nurse has written the info below--good enough to share--and it really works! "I had a pediatrician tell me what she believes is the best way to remove a tick. This is great because it works in those places where it's sometimes difficult to get to with tweezers: between toes, in the middle of a head full of dark hair, etc." "Apply a glob of liquid soap to a cotton ball. Cover the tick with the soap-soaked cotton ball and swab it for a few seconds (15-20); the tick will come out on its own and be stuck to the cotton ball when you lift it away. This technique has worked every time I've used it (and that was frequently), and it's much less traumatic for the patient and easier for me...” "Unless someone is allergic to soap, I can’t see that this would be damaging in any way. I even had my doctor's wife call me for advice because she had one stuck to her back and she couldn't reach it with tweezers. She used this method and immediately called me back to say, "It worked!" Please pass on. Everyone needs this helpful hint.
If I can't reach it with tweezers, I might not be able to reach with a cotton ball ... do you think a q-tip would work? Gives you another 2 inches of reach ... might be harder to wipe the loose tick off. Hrm. Hopefully none of us will have enough ticks that we could experiment ... I heard vaseline works, for getting ticks to 'release' ... smothers them so they can't breathe. Same concept as the liquid soap, sounds like. And beware of freckles! Last year, I thought I had a freckle on my back .. among others ... it was just a tiny little dot. Had to look closely in the mirror to see that it was a black 'freckle' where as the others were dark brown. Know your freckles! :lol:
