Has anyone heard of some good products to assist you in protecting your yard from ticks??
We plan on trimming the trees and keeping the grass short and having no shrubs. But we do live in the middle of the woods but we have cleared a big area out and plan on doing more.
I am just asking if anyone knows of some good things that keep the TICKS AWAY!!! I want to protect my children!
Of course we live in a high risk zone with being in the woods so I want to do extra things to protect us.
So please if anyone has used or done some things that seem to work let me know!!!
Thank You!
Posted by hardynaka (Member # 8099) on :
I just saw 1001 ways to get rid of deer book at Borders. Name is something like that. I think you could find it.
Very helpful. Our yard had been invaded by deer big time and we are near extensive woods.
Measures needed, IMO, to protect require more diligence than we can manage with kids and I sick. Our plan at this pt is to move to a townhouse.
My wonderful husband says being in this house in country for only a yr or two is worth it if it has gotton my dream of raising chickens, having hayrides, ATV's and all.
I am, like you, of course very motivated to protect kids.
I thought living in a congested area was depressing me but it was mostly the lyme, I think.
Funny how your priorities can change in a moment.
Hope I am not a bummer. You may find a good way for you to manage the situation. That book is good.
Best Wishes,
Char
Posted by lymemomtooo (Member # 5396) on :
YOu have some good advise..2 of us did a mini program for our support group on deer and tick repellents..Natural and commercial.
WE did a lot of internet research, there is info out there if you try a variety of topics, and we received many samples for our club..
We even received some one piece plastic jump suits that had elastic at the wrist and ankle and would help to protect you, or at least make the buggers noticable, if you had to go into the wilds.
They were thin plastic and white. NOt a fashion statement but very inexpensive..Like throw-away paint suits.
I do not remember everything that we found but we did find a few plants that were recommended for deer repellents and tick repellents..
But the local wholesale landscaper talked to me and said every year the suggested plantings change..What the deer do not touch from year to year seems to vary..
Our support group leader had some special things planted and she has found deer in them..So it is not a perfect science.
ONe suggestion was for the male of the family to mark territory around the perimeter..We have not tried this suggestion..
The best info that we could find suggested to keep things clean and dry and low cut. Ticks apparently do not like the sun and dryness.
WE also seemed to find that mums seemed to offer some resistence..There actually is a pyrethrum daisy mum, (think I am butchering that spelling) ..It is used to make the commercial repellents.
Also to a lesser degree, we found some info that suggested that spiced geraniums, rhue(can be like poison ivy to some), old time marigolds and a couple of others might help.
I asked the lady in charge of training the master gardeners in the county and she said she knew of nothing that would work.She was not very supportive..But did want to see all of our research..
We also found that guineas and baby muscove ducks (another spelling butcher, sorry) seemed to gobble up ticks..
The best thing that I saw, while impractical was micadam..Sorry...
Posted by Tincup (Member # 5829) on :
And just about an hour or so ago, I was complimenting Cave for being so smart and helpful.
WHAT WAS I THINKING?
Posted by Jill E. (Member # 9121) on :
As already posted, rodents and even migratory birds can carry ticks. The rodents carrying the ticks is how I was bitten in my part of the country - no deer in my community but plenty of rodents.
So I work with an exterminator on a rodent-control program, but of course, my neighbors won't cooperate so it's kind of useless. They know I got Lyme in the area but I guess until it happens to you, they don't understand.
And by the way, I was sitting on concrete feeding a cat - in a suburb of a city. Nowhere near the country or a trail or anything. So personally, I wouldn't force yourself to move to the city if you really don't want to.
Some neighbors of mine who are from Connecticut used to feed the deer in their yard and never got Lyme, but told me of a friend in a high-rise apartment in Manhattan that got it from a planter box. And as I said, my situation had nothing to do with deer or being in a more wooded area.
Jill
Posted by Jill E. (Member # 9121) on :
One more thing after reading the above posts...
...my neighbors are having problems with the local wild bunnies being attracted to the marigolds. There is Tularemia in this area (yet another disease that ticks can carry) so perhaps marigolds would be OK depending on whether you've got a bunny issue.
And the part about the male in the family marking the perimeter of the territory...gee, I'd have to ask one of the men in the neighborhood to do it for me, but I think they might for a beer!
Jill
Posted by lymemomtooo (Member # 5396) on :
there is another post floating about this currently with more info..
Posted by bettyg (Member # 6147) on :
mom of 4 month old needing this advise; bumping up to top again Posted by just don (Member # 1129) on :
some newer methods,
dimacious earth -which is basic ingredient of 20 mule team borax
citrus orange smells,
best spray is Tempo-google that,prety cheap and effective and NON noxious to our senses since it smells like spraying water.
there is another ad that I keep seeing to rid yards of ticks and skeeters,a garlic based spray that works wonders says the sellers(dont they all)
the ole standby-guinea hens. they eat them for snacks
Might try seaching old posts here since its been discussed a time or three per summer month since time began for this site!!
Posted by catskillmamala (Member # 12536) on :
I recommend the book Tick Off! Controlling ticks that cause lyme disease.
I also use guinea hens and I spray beneficial nematodes.
Posted by disturbedme (Member # 12346) on :
I'm confused no one said anything about Damminix tick tubes. They are REALLY good and actually go to the SOURCE of the problem, killing the nymphs and ticks on the MICE. Read about it here: http://www.ticktubes.com/ Posted by cottonbrain (Member # 13769) on :
hey disturbed, i put out some damminex tubes this spring. Hubby also sprayed our yard with permethrin just before we put out the tubes.
After the spray, we went from pulling 2-4 ticks a day off our dogs, to about one a day.
Now that a couple months have passed and the mice have had time to use the damminex pads, i have only pulled one tick off my dog. It was a brown dog tick, not a deer tick.
We have not applied flea and tick meds to our dogs in a couple of months, since they both have seizures now. So it looks like the permethrin spray combined with the damminex tubes work.
unfortunately, the permethrin kills everything it touches. We did not spray anything with flowers, as we didn't want to kill the bees. we saw lots of dead ladybugs and wood beetles.
Posted by disturbedme (Member # 12346) on :
That's interesting, cotton. And very glad it's helping!!!
You stated "We have not applied flea and tick meds to our dogs in a couple of months, since they both have seizures now"... I would think maybe your dogs have lyme/co-infections that are causing the seizures since they've had so many ticks on them. Have you thought about getting them tested and treated with abx? Dogs are much easier to treat for lyme than humans. Dogs recover very quickly in most cases.
Posted by cottonbrain (Member # 13769) on :
disturbed, yes, i talked my vets into treating both dogs, but both vets would only go with 30 days of doxy. So it is possible they both have Lyme and co's.
Here in NC it's really hard to convince vets that Lyme is a problem or that 30 days may not be sufficient.
I'm convinced that our older dog's seizures are caused from a lifetime of insecticides, vermicides, and vaccinations, and very possibly longterm Lyme. Our youngster, on the other hand, has seized only after his heartworm medicine.
I've tried to find lyme literate vets, with no luck. if anyone knows any in NC, please let me know.
sorry, BB, for the digression on your thread.
Posted by Pinelady (Member # 18524) on :
I had a lab who developed seizures after
vaccinating also. Or it could have been the stuff I
was putting on his neck for tics. Many Many do and nothing is done
about it. You either vaccinate or you don't. Maybe
that is why my neck hurts so bad. Something they
gave the ticks to protect the dogs and now I have it?
Posted by Robin123 (Member # 9197) on :
TKO Orange (www.TKOOrange.com), also sold as Orange Guard in healthfood stores and hardware stores.
It's from oranges, is nontoxic, biodegradable, deters and kills bugs, including ticks.
Put a couple drops in a spray bottle, fill up with water and spray on your clothing.
Can also be sprayed in the home, the yard, camping areas and on camping gear.
It can also be lightly misted or sprayed on dogs and cats, so I've been told by the TKO folks.
We already had a good reportback from someone in Mendocino Cty, CA, which is going as high as 43% tick-infected in some spots. Someone got gallons of the stuff and sprayed their land, and reported no more ticks.
Posted by JamesNYC (Member # 15793) on :
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and wood beetles.