Ticks!!!

T

Troponin

New member
They were terrible today. I left early because of the wind and my dog had, literally, 20+ tics on her alone. I had nothing with me to comb her out, so I ended up picking most of them out and using a fine comb to get the rest when I got home...damn, I just picked another one off of her leg.

They were both kinds too, the tiny ones (I think deer tics) and the larger ones with the reddish orange ring on their back. Not sure which one the latter is.

Does anyone have any tips or ideas of what I can do for the next time I go out? I am thinking I just need to keep her at home on a really windy day and hunt in the woods, staying out of the fields.
 
Well, on another hunting forum a few years back they suggested Avon Skin so Soft bath oil, ( notice oil not salts), I tried it and it works a charm, both on tics and mozzies. I buy several bottles at a time direct online from them. Just rub it on, it soaks in and isnt greasy and of course washes off instantly. My dog gets a couple of biscuits after so now he thinks its a great idea!. For yourself just rub it onto exposed skin and I always do my legs before putting the outer gear on and I have been clear since. The scent isnt strong and in any case if you think about it it is a floral scent and I have stood within 20yds of deer and they take no notice as it isn't the smell of humans. just my #02 worth.
 
Yeah, I hate the damned things; sometimes I think they were spawned in hell. The big ones are called dog ticks, but it's the deer ticks that carry Lyme's Disease and West Nile Virus. Skin So Soft is good; I've even used it on horses, but it doesn't seem to last very long. Best thing I've found is Frontline Plus. Expensive, but it works.
 
Try This

We have some tick infested areas. Several things I tried did not work, some reduced the infestation, but none eliminated it. That is until I tried this.

I bought a cannister of Hartz tick and flea powder. You are suppose to sprinkle it into your carpet and then vaccuum it. The container also says that you can sprinkle your pets with it. I have been putting a light coat on my dog before entering an area and upon leaving an area. I even sprinkle some on my boots, socks, and pant legs. I have not found any ticks on us since doing this. My dog has shown no ill effects either.
 
Roy

Watch out for any Hartz Mountain products! I'm a member of a large dog forum, and there are a lot of horror stories involving Hartz, including the death of some dogs (documented by vets). Do a Google search on them; there is a LOT of material warning against them! I wonder how they've stayed in business :mad: .
 
Bad news is that Pa is horrible for lyme disease. Good news is, my dog has been vaccinated for it. It's just a such a pain in the butt to get rid of them, especially the deer tics, because they are all black and so small. I am probably not going to take the dogs back out into that area again. It's too many fields that are a haven for tics. I'll stick to the wooded areas with her from now on and I suppose next year I will try to get some SSS and put it on her too. We just got done using Frontline for her recent flea problem, so it's not helping our pocket books buying it again.
 
There is a prescription tick/flea/worm killer called Revolution, that you can put on a dog. Got to get it from the vet as far as I know as it is really powerful. It will thin down the ticks considerably though you still have to check for them after you get home.

For hunting trips I often sprinkle my socks and pants cuffs with sulfur powder (of the kind that you normally use to dust rose bushes, azaleas and blueberry bushes) althogh the dogs don't like it very much. A lot of folks tolerate sulfur pwder better than DEET, as DEET will really do a number on you if you get it into your eyes or on sensitive areas of the body. I stopped using DEET after it frosted a beeper I was wearing so I couldn't read the numbers through the plastic any more.
 
Thanks. Revolution is pretty much the same as front line. It worked very well with the fles, so I will most likely get some for next season too.
 
Powdered sulfur is good stuff. Socks, boot tops, around the belt line of your trousers.

Trouble is, ticks aren't just on the ground or in grass. The little devils will also drop from tree limbs.

Art
 
One thing I learned about ticks! If there are many in the area there are lots of deer as well. The two seem to go hand in hand.
 
Cedar Oil

I made my own insect repellant quite awhile back. A huge jug full so I still have plenty and haven't had to make anymore. I remember I used cedar oil as one of the ingredients. What the rest of the ingredients were I cain't perzactly remember, but cedar oil was the main ingredient.
Seein' as how it's for usin' on yer dog, and dog's noses is WAY more sensitive than people's, it'd be a good idea to go with somethin' natural - not so chemical. Quite a few herb books have a recipe section and include recipes for insect repellants. After I made mine, I tested it out by putting some on, and some on the dog, and then we went for a walk where we came away with hundreds of them before. NOT ONE got on us!!! Good stuff and it didn't poison me or the dog, jest the ticks!
Hope this helps.
Take care,
Redstick
 
Impact, you are right. I am seeing LOTS of tracks and rubs. Saw a scrape the other day that was fresh. From the size of the scrape, I am willing to bet the rack was atleast 12 inches wide and the scrape was about 1 inch into the tree. I wish I would have had my camera, because I have never seen one so deep before.
 
Get your dog vaccinated for lyme. Use frontline or revolution. I have done both and my little critter has not had any fleas or ticks.
 
Mrs. Meek tells me that she doesn't believe Frontline is quite as good as Revolution for dog fleas. She says it seems to last longer than the advertised time in our dogs which are all short haired. The trouble is that neither product will do any more than thin down the ticks and you'll still have to pick and comb the dogs, epecially longhaired breeds. This is where sulfur powder is a good repellant if the individual dog will tolerate it.

Redstick, where do you get cedar oil? Will pine oil work just as well?
 
+1 on the sulfur powder.

Put it in an old tube sock and "powder puff" the dog and then yourself.

Store it in a small coffee can.
 
I'm reminded of the old "Life in Hell" comic strip, where a rabbit-kid is making a two-column list - the Case for the Existence of God and the Case Against. In the "For" column is stuff like ice cream, airplanes, and cool old locomotives. In the "Against" column is stuff like mosquitoes, ticks, homework, and dead squirrels in the road. :)
 
I had a tick attached to my left side (ribs) the second week of bow season in ny - the day i got my 4 pointer with a bow. Westchester, NY - one of the fuhghin nastiest, vilest creatures on this good earth. My girl pulled it off with tweezers and I went to the doc, got a preventative course of anti-biotics...ugh
 
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