FYI DEER TICKS ARE OUT IN NE…

Thanks for the head's up!

 For those who are squeamish about picking the little buggers off: http://www.ultimatepetproducts.com/tickremover.htm

 TAOofGoldyShep,
We are in the country, about 6 houses away from CT. I’ll have to give the Neem oil a try. Thanks!
DH keeps track of how many ticks the pups pick up on different trails and we avoid some areas all summer. On the local river walk the pups looked like someone dumped red sprinkles all over them. That is a winter walk now...

Spiritdogs,
Oh how I wish I had one of those when we first got a dog!!! As squeamish as I was I just couldn’t let the little blood-sucker stay on our dog… I did that little creeped out dance a-lot. LOL

My dogs bring in ticks all year round.  If the temp is above 40 they are out and we lots deer that roam our front yard, eat from our apple tree and drink from our ponds.  I came down with lyme last year too. 

 Yeah, I'm going to be getting my dogs on flea and tick control this weekend. We've had such a crazy winter that I'm betting that fleas and ticks are probably out already here. Bunnies, skunks, birds, etc. are all out already

We don't seem to have fleas but lots of ticks.  My dogs are on prevention for ticks all year long..   cause like I siad, one mild day and the ticks come out. 

I pulled a small one off Apollo's ear a couple nights ago, and he's on Frontline all year round .

Also, DF broke out in a bad rash on his ankle, he treated it like it was poison ivy because that's what it looked like. Well, after a month, and the rash getting worse, he finally went to the doctors. Turns out, he was bit by a tick and needed to get tested for Lyme Disease...Thank God it came back negative. So, remember, CHECK YOURSELF TOO!!

 we've got tick problems here (lone star ticks mostly) and

a) I have found K9 Advantix works better than Frontline.  I had stopped using the K9 because there were so many negative comments here but the Frontline hasn't worked as well, so next refill its K9 again!

b) I did buy the neem protect spray and shampoo.  I can't say I've used the shampoo much but that is more to do with the fact I don't bathe him much and if I do I am usually using his anti itch stuff.  However the spray is very good.  Its smells of citronella so your dog won't like it but Bugsy got used to it and didn't mind too much.  First few times I used it he launched into wild zoomies and serious rolling around in the grass 

I had a scare with a tick bite and DH got rocky mtn spotted fever from a tick and that is more what we worry about - I don't want to mess with that so I do what I have to to keep him tick free.  To be honest I've only ever found one attached to him and we've never had fleas despite living in a year round buggy place.  I would be stressed like crazy if he had ticks on him all the time.

luvmyswissy

My dogs bring in ticks all year round.  If the temp is above 40 they are out and we lots deer that roam our front yard, eat from our apple tree and drink from our ponds. 

"Deer ticks" or "bear ticks" are offically called the "blacklegged tick".  Deer (and other large animals) can carry the adult ticks, but virtually all of these ticks spend their early life attached to field mice of one variety or another, so that is the time to kill the ticks.

http://www.ticktubes.com/tickcontrolfaq.html

Damminix Tick Tubes are targeted to the life cycle of disease-carrying black legged ticks (deer ticks) in the Eastern United States. Damminix Tick Tubes is a registered pesticide product and is only available in the states of MA, MD, ME, PA, NY, RI, CT, NH, NJ and VA. For 2008, we will be expanding our product registration area, based on customer requests. Please email us for more information, and we will be sure to let you know as soon as registration comes to your state.

These tubes are basically rolls of cardboard that contain cotton balls soaked in permethrin.  The mice take the cotton balls back to their nests to use as bedding, and the permethrin kills all the ticks in the nest.

http://www.garden-shops.com/ticktubes.html

Alright, so here’s how to make your own, slightly different, ‘traps’: Put on gloves and goggles, spray a permethrin insecticide onto pieces of felt, heavy cloth or old carpet, line the insides of pieces of PVC plumbing pipe with the sprayed material, then place the pipes in brushy areas around your property.  The mice will go inside the pipes to hide (they love tight little spaces) and the permethrin will kill their ticks-all without you spraying yourself OR the environment!  Heck, you won’t even hurt the mice!  Whether you use Daminex tubes or make your own ‘mouse wipes’, space the traps about 10 yards apart on the perimeter of your property, where overgrown, brushy areas begin. Don’t waste them on manicured lawns; you won’t find ticks there. 

http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/idepc/dtopics/tickborne/ticks.html  (life cycle of the blacklegged tick)

Deer ticks live for two years and have three blood meals.  The life cycle begins when the female lays eggs.  As the eggs mature, they develop into larvae, then nymphs, and finally adults. ...

Larvae usually feed on white-footed mice or other small mammals. ... The nymph ... takes its second feeding from a mammal. ... The adult female ticks feed and mate on large animals.

Watch out for the other ticks, too!!

Ticks: Life Cycle, Anatomy, and Disease Transmission

Amblyomma americanum is the Lone Star Tick and is found throughout the South, east of the Rocky Mountains. It can transmit Lyme disease and Ehrlichia.

Amblyomma maculatum is the Gulf Coast Tick, and that is where it resides, in addition to Kansas and Oklahoma.

Dermacentor albipictus is also called the 'Winter Tick,' 'Moose Tick,' or 'Elk Tick' and is found throughout the United States as well as Canada.

Dermacentor andersoni is the Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever Tick and transmits the deadly disease for which it is named. It is found in the western U.S.

Dermacentor variabilis is called the American Dog Tick and lives in the entire eastern 2/3 of the United States as well as the Pacific Northwest.

Rhipicephalus sanguineus is called the Brown Dog Tick and is a serious threat to kennels anywhere in the United States, and can transmit Ehrlichia.

Ixodes pacificus is a small tick called the Western Black-legged Tick, and is found in the western U.S. It can transmit Lyme disease.

Ixodes scapularis is a tiny tick with a huge threat. Found in the eastern United States, it is known as the Deer or Black-legged Tick, and transmits Lyme disease. ...

Ticks can transmit or cause:

• Babesiosis (Piroplasmosis)
• Cytauxzoonosis
• Ehrlichiosis
• Haemobartonellosis in Dogs and Cats
• Hepatozoonosis
• Lyme Disease
• Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever
• Tick Paralysis
• Tularemia in Dogs and Cats  

The lone star tick worries me more than the deer tick.  Addressing the mice population doesn't help nearly as much as with the deer tick.

http://www.twp.freehold.nj.us/tbde/public/types_of_ticks_nj/lone_star.asp

The life cycle of the lone star tick is similar to that of the blacklegged tick, with several notable differences. Unlike blacklegged ticks, which acquire hosts passively through ambush (questing on vegetation or in the litter awaiting a passing host), the lone star tick is also a hunter and will actively pursue hosts by moving towards a carbon dioxide gradient or source of vibration. Because the lone star tick seems resistant to hot, dry conditions that may result in desiccation of other tick species, all active stages will quest above ground on vegetation. In lone star tick-infested areas, it is common to brush against vegetation and acquire one or more clusters of several hundred or more larvae or “seed ticks.” Again, this questing behavior increases the chances of encountering larger mammal hosts. Consequently, although the lone star tick is known to feed on a variety of small mammals and birds, it most often feeds on white-tailed deer.