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Ticks, Chiggers, Nettles, and Ivy:  Time for ticks  |
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Jen
Expedition Leader
1384 Posts
Jennifer
Calico Rock
AR
USA
1384 Posts |
 Posted - Mar 20 2007 : 2:44:05 PM
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I don't know about your neck of the woods, but tick season has come again here in Arkansas. 
My dogs are collecting dozens, and I've already found 2 on me since I've been out working in the woods on my property.
So, even though many of you may still be buffered by a few more months of cold weather, I thought I'd throw out a couple of tick tricks I learned the hard way.
I've used everything from duck tape to Deet, and let me tell you - taping your cuffs doesn't work and Deet is not worth the health risks.
A pet hair roller (the kind with the sticky tape) is an indispensable tool in tick country. I have literally rolled hundreds of ticks off my pantleg with one swipe! The nasty little buggers stick to the tape and can't get off.
Recently, I heard that sulfur is the key to preventing tick invasions. You can get sulfur powder at the drugstore, and you dust your clothes with it. From what I hear, you don't want to get it on your skin or wash your field clothes with any other clothing - sulfur stinks like rotten eggs. Makes me wonder about getting it on my boots, but the risk might well be worth it.
If you've tried sulfur or have any other wonder repellants, spill your secrets! |
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MustangSuzie
outbound
10 Posts
Sarah
Missouri
USA
10 Posts |
Posted - Mar 20 2007 : 3:23:04 PM
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| Since garlic is supposed to work on mosquitos I wonder if it would also work for ticks? |
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Jen
Expedition Leader
1384 Posts
Jennifer
Calico Rock
AR
USA
1384 Posts |
Posted - Mar 20 2007 : 3:59:04 PM
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| Could be! Wonder if a drop or two of garlic oil might do the trick? Or maybe if you just chowed a bunch of fresh garlic with meals? Hmmm...who's going to experiment with these stinky solutions? Me? Maybe. Stay tuned to find out... |
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Mountain Girl
outrigged
237 Posts
JoAnn
Colville
WA
USA
237 Posts |
Posted - Mar 23 2007 : 3:05:41 PM
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| When we lived in Minnesota we use to joke that picking ticks off the dog was my summer hobby. I picked hundreds! They just are a part of life there. After moving to the West I had to find another summer hobby : ) JoAnn |
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MustangSuzie
outbound
10 Posts
Sarah
Missouri
USA
10 Posts |
Posted - Mar 24 2007 : 06:24:10 AM
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Hmmm...so how far west do you have to go to get out of tickville? That sounds awesome!!
"In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations." -From The Great Law Of The Iroquois Confederacy.
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Mountain Girl
outrigged
237 Posts
JoAnn
Colville
WA
USA
237 Posts |
Posted - Mar 24 2007 : 08:03:55 AM
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| We live in the northeast corner of Washington. 50 miles from the Canadian border and about 50 miles from Idaho. Natives will complain about ticks but last year I picked one off the dog. Can't even remember if I had any on me. JoAnn |
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Clare
outbound
16 Posts
N..C.
Washington
16 Posts |
Posted - Mar 24 2007 : 08:16:40 AM
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I live about a 100 miles west of JoAnn, and we don't have ticks here at all on the valley floor. If you spent an extended time in the Cascades you might get one or two... but nothing more.
I'd say come West folks, but we're getting pretty "full up" here already! 
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marybeth
outstepping
146 Posts
Marybeth
Washington
USA
146 Posts |
Posted - Mar 30 2007 : 5:08:25 PM
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I live further on west up and over the Cascades and I have never even seen a tick on anybody. My daughter lives on a ranch near Ritzville and their dogs occasionally will get a few. But not a summer project. Marybeth
Being outside is being |
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Jen
Expedition Leader
1384 Posts
Jennifer
Calico Rock
AR
USA
1384 Posts |
Posted - Jun 15 2007 : 1:32:45 PM
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Ticks are getting bad here - the dogs, of course, are magnets! Almost broke down & ordered "BioSpot" topical pesticide, but found lots of scary commentaries online about dog & cat deaths related to its use.
A bit of searching turned up these products:
Sentry Natural Defense Flea-Tick Squeeze-On for Dogs - there's one for cats too
(Several reviewers cite hair loss and irritation as negatives to this one.)
and Only Natural Pet All-in-One Flea Remedy (mostly good reviews, but looks like a pain in the butt to apply).
These are for sale at Only Natural Pet Store online http://www.onlynaturalpet.com/
I think I might try one & let you know how it works for us.
Also, here is a recipe for natural tick repellent I found:
Natural Tick Repellent
Source: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/tick-repellant.html
by Annie Berthold-Bond
I dug deep in my herbal formula books for this recipe out of desperation, given that I live in the epicenter of the tick-generated Lyme disease epidemic. I tested the essential oil that is recommended for ticks, Rose Geranium, by putting a few drops—no more!— on our dogs’ collars, to see if it would repel ticks. Lo and behold, we went from 20 ticks a day on each dog, to none. The second best essential oil for repelling ticks is American Pennyroyal (also called tickweed).
SIMPLE SOLUTION:
* 2 tablespoons vegetable or nut oil (almond oil contains sulfur, a repellent in its own right)
* 10 to 25 drops Rose Geranium essential oil
Combine the ingredients in a glass jar; shake to blend.
Makes: 2 tablespoons
Shelf Life: 6 months
Dab a few drops on your skin or clothing, making sure to avoid eyes.
Caution
Skip the Pennyroyal if there is anyone pregnant (including pets) in the home, as it can induce miscarriage. And as always, use essential oils with caution as they can burn the skin and harm eyes. Don't use these essential oils around cats.
HELPFUL HINTS:
* Palmerosa is a sister essential oil to Rose Geranium, and also repels ticks. It is cheaper, and sometimes easier to find than Rose Geranium.
* Another good repellent that also worked on our dogs, is to eat garlic pills (but don't give garlic to cats). A number of people have written me to say that they have had good luck with their dogs and themselves, by keeping to the garlic pill eating regimen every day.
* The Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides (NCAP) reported in their winter of 1996 Journal of Pesticide Reform that nymphal ticks are reduced from 72.7 to 100 percent when dead leaves are removed from the forest areas surrounding residential areas.
If you have any good solutions or end up trying one of these, please share your thoughts!
The View From My Boots: www.bovesboots.blogspot.com
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Lily
outbound
28 Posts
Lily
Moss Landing
California
USA
28 Posts |
Posted - Jun 24 2007 : 9:41:16 PM
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| Great remedies Jen! I'll have to give them a try. Just wanted to let you all know that, as far as the "no ticks out west" rumor, it is a myth -- at least here in California! When I did amphibian research in northern California I used tape to pull ticks off my clothes -- and my dogs would get literally hundreds. Now we live in central coastal California and there are just as many here -- I pulled one out of my daughter's ear not to long ago. We actually have a pretty high incidence of Lyme disease in California so I was a little worried (it was one of those tiny deer ticks), but she's fine. So I guess it just depends on where you live in the west whether or not you'll find ticks. They tend to like scrubby vegetation around here. |
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Elizaray
outspoken
680 Posts
Elizaray
680 Posts |
Posted - Jun 24 2007 : 9:56:49 PM
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I hate to admit to using something that isn't natural- but I dose my dog with Frontline. We have had a problem with ticks around here the past couple of years and that is one insect that gives me the heebie jeebies!
Elizaray |
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Mountain Girl
outrigged
237 Posts
JoAnn
Colville
WA
USA
237 Posts |
Posted - Jun 25 2007 : 12:43:54 PM
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| Our friends who lived in southern Calif. for over 30 years got Lyme's disease while living there. The doctor didn't want to believe them because he said there were no ticks in Calif. Now they are living in the country in Wisconsin and are complaining a bit about the vast number of ticks. In this part of Washington there are very few and we are outside a lot (hiking, tent camping etc). So far in three years I've had three and my husband who's constantly hiking has had around 10. Guess it depends what part of the West you are in. JoAnn |
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Ellen
outstepping
124 Posts
124 Posts |
Posted - Jun 25 2007 : 8:28:52 PM
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| What is a repellant for noseeums? I was trying to read outside Sunday morning and it sure was hard to concentrate between itch itch here scratch scratch there. |
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Elizaray
outspoken
680 Posts
Elizaray
680 Posts |
Posted - Jun 26 2007 : 8:18:07 PM
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I think any repellant that is for mosquitoes should help with noseeums. Have you tried tea tree oil and water?
Elizaray |
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Jen
Expedition Leader
1384 Posts
Jennifer
Calico Rock
AR
USA
1384 Posts |
Posted - Jun 27 2007 : 12:45:18 PM
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Our dogs got plenty of ticks when we lived in the Columbia Gorge (on the dry side of the mtns), but not quite as relentless as here. We've used Frontline too, Elizaray. It always makes me nervous with the kids & breastfeeding, but it's so effective. FLEAS give me the willies. Haven't had much trouble with them, thank goodness.
The View From My Boots: www.bovesboots.blogspot.com
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Mountain Girl
outrigged
237 Posts
JoAnn
Colville
WA
USA
237 Posts |
Posted - Jun 27 2007 : 1:15:51 PM
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| If I had to choose between ticks and mosquitos, I'd take the ticks, at least they don't make a lot of noise . I use to hate it when you were trying to sleep and there was one mosquito in the room with you buzzing and divebombing you and you could never kill the thing. Or going for a walk and they were constantly buzzing around your face. When we lived in Minnesota we had 40 acres of recreational land that was known by locals for the great blueberry patches on it. When they were ripe it usually was hot and humid and the skeeters where thick so you had to go picking in long pants and sleeves. Boy that was hot. I almost invested a couple of times in those net jacket and pants that Jo in Alaska has. JoAnn |
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Elizaray
outspoken
680 Posts
Elizaray
680 Posts |
Posted - Jun 27 2007 : 5:22:15 PM
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Jen-
A few years ago my dog got infected with fleas from a friends dog. I had no idea because she had such long fur. She was scratching so bad and the vet and I couldn't figure out what was going on. I even thought about putting my dog to sleep because she was digging huge silver dollar sized sores into her neck and under her ears! Thank goodness for Frontline! It literally saved my dog's life.
When I was pregnant I had the vet apply it for me though, and then I had my fiance give her a bath after the "soak in" period was over.
Elizaray |
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Ticks, Chiggers, Nettles, and Ivy: Time for ticks |
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Time for ticks
