My 3-year old dd is currently being treated by a LLMD for Lyme Disease after being bitten by a nymph deer tick in July (actually found 3 ticks embedded in a one week period of time). FREAK OUT!

Approximately 3 weeks later, I extracted a tick that was embedded in my leg near my calf muscle. Small freak out - it was an adult male deer tick and I've had no symptoms that I can really pinpoint. I have not been tested.

House was cleaned pretty throroughly, all bedding washed, upholstery vacuumed, and animals have been given FrontLine flea & tick medicine.

We have a cat and a dog.

Our backyard is grass and fenced and right beyond the fence is a canyon with many deer, rodents, etc.. Cat is in the canyon all the time hunting & eating mice, bunnies, rats, birds, you name it. Dog is in the backyard all day.

Both the cat and the dog come in at night to sleep. Cat wanders the house during the day whenever she wants to come inside.

Up until this morning, I have not seen a tick since the one I extracted from my leg back in beginning of August.

THEN...about two hours ago, I found an engorged tick embedded in my cat's rectum (sorry so graphic). I extracted it and placed it in a baggie with a wet cottonball so that it can be tested if need be.

TOTALLY SO FREAKED OUT NOW!!! As we all know, reinfection is a very, very scary reality and I fear for my daughter. I fear for my entire family!!

I called the exterminators and they'll be coming on Friday to spray inside the house and outside.

I've read all about tick prevention. We're trying to follow the "rules" as best that we can, but the ticks just keep coming and coming and coming.

What the heck are we supposed to do?

I want to just pack my bags and move out of this house immediately. I don't know how to keep the ticks away.... They just keep coming in spite of medicine and cleaning and tick checks and on and on and on....

yesterday i walked to the mailbox and back, about half an hour. played with my dog a LITTLE (she stinks!) and came in.

2 or 3 hours later i was laying on the floor talking to dh and found a tic. i freaked out a little bit too. first tic i have seen since my diagnosis. i was just plain angry!

Shelley - Today I washed and dried everything that I would think possible think of that the cat sits/sleeps on, but I do this often so the tick on her today was a shock! I do tick checks on her, but she's a solid black cat which makes it extremely difficult to know if I've been thorough enough.

It is breaking my heart, but I think maybe the cat & dog should stay outside from now on?

Isn't the risk to our family by having the animals come into the house far more important than providing the animals with a cozy warm loving home?

I don't know, I'm so confused.

My daughter has already contracted Lyme Disease and it's almost certain that the ticks came from the animals, right? I'm so scared that either my son, my husband, or myself - or all three of us - are next in line to contract the disease and we need to be healthy to take care of our daughter.

I swear, I have never been so indecisive in my life. I'm beginning to feel like I'm swirling around in Dorothy's twister on my way to Oz.

May I suggest, and others may agree or disagree, that you clean the animals up and take them to a no kill shelter or give them to someone that can keep them.

OR make them inside animals no matter how much they meow and bark.

The cat would be easy - in a sense. If she never gets out, there is a chance sure, that she could catch a mice in the basement, and pick up a tick on it and bring it up stairs, etc

but with dogs, I mean- they gotta go outside to walk and go potty, etc.

I have given up animals for the same exact reason. I didnt want to see my dog outside all the time because I did not have a walk, etc and plus with snow, I mean they get cold too.

And to let my declawed cat outside would be bad, but shes never been outside ( except her three story leap from the broken screen window escapade and come crying at the front door with weeds in her fur)

I KNOW my yard has ticks. Ive seen them on dead animals ALOT. I surely do not want any animals going out and coming back in,
but I wouldnt just let them outside.

Something to think about! I almost started resenting my animals, so I put them in no kill shelters.

Yes, the topic was brought up this morning between my husband and myself about putting them in no kill shelters.

We're beating our heads against the wall trying to figure every scenerio possible as far as what to do.

Since yesterday they have not been allowed inside the house even though it's been raining out there.

My heart is breaking, but I don't know what else to do. There are so many decisions to make right now re: our daughter, treatment, doctors, money, etc., that we're completely overwhelmed. So, for now we're just keeping them outside. Hopefully by this weekend we'll have made a solid decision.

4 months ago I would never have dreamed that a small 'annoying' parasite could begin to redirect our entire lives, plans, health, and happiness. Now, I've found that these parasites have not only started dictating our lives, but have in actuality taken them over. Most especially our daughter's - and she's only three tiny years old.

BUT I would never kick my cat out because he comes in with a tick once and awhile....
(and he does)

If you dont want them going in and out anymore please just keep them in.... forcing them to stay outside all the time is cruel.

Those animals deserve a cozy warm home and if you dont want to provide that anymore than you should give them to someone who will love them.

Homeless people get used to living outside to that doesnt make it right....

I'm sorry if I seem mean but I feel keeping animals outside all the time is neglect.

There are tons of ticks where I live if i'm going to be paraniod about getting bit again then I can never leave my house.

With in a year someone was infected with lyme twice mowing our lawn....

Please realize that caution is helpful but fear to the extreme of paranioa... is not benefinical... it will only have a negative effect on your life.

Copyright � 2004
PR Newswire Association LLC.
All Rights Reserved.
Nov. 10 /PRNewswire/ --

The Maxforce(R) Tick Management System has been recognized by Popular Science with a 'Best of What's New' Award for 2004 for its innovative approach to reducing the risk of Lyme disease on residential properties.

Each year, Popular Science reviews thousands of products and innovations across 12 categories and showcases the top 100 that represent a significant step forward in automotive tech, home tech, engineering, computing and more.

A winner in the home tech category, the Maxforce Tick Management System was co-developed with Bayer Environmental Science and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and can reduce backyard tick populations by up to 96 percent over two years.

"The Maxforce Tick Management System breaks the cycle of Lyme disease by treating the rodents that live on residential properties, which are the real root of the problem," says Gordon Morrison, product manager for the Maxforce Tick Management System.

The system consists of a series of child-resistant bait boxes, installed around the perimeter of a residential property, that attract chipmunks and field mice that carry Lyme-infected ticks. As the rodents pass through the box, they are coated with a small dose of insecticide that eliminates the ticks but does not harm the rodents.

In celebration of the 'Best of What's New' issue, Popular Science's most widely read editorial feature annually, the Maxforce Tick Management System will join the other 2004 winners for a three-day 'Best of What's New' Showcase in New York City's Grand Central Terminal's Vanderbilt Hall, from Tuesday, November 9 through Thursday, November 11.

For three days, thousands of consumers will explore the winning products and meet with the innovators and representatives who introduced them.

In addition to being on-hand at the 'Best of What's New' Showcase, the Maxforce Tick Management System will be featured in the December issue of Popular Science, which hits newsstands on November 16.

For more information, visit http://www.maxforcetms.com/ .

About the Maxforce Tick Management System

The Maxforce Tick Management System is an effective tool in an integrated approach to managing ticks and reducing the risk of contracting Lyme disease. The Maxforce Tick Management System was developed and tested by scientists from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

To find a trained applicator or to get more information on the Maxforce Tick Management System, visit the Web site http://www.maxforcetms.com/
or call 1-800-843-1702.

CONTACT: Tracey Wehrfritz, Tierney Communications, +1-215-790-4394,
[email protected], for Bayer Environmental Science;
or Gordon Morrison, Maxforce Tick Management System, +1-201-327-0042,

Morrison, Maxforce Tick Management System, +1-201-327-0042,
[email protected], Maxforce Tick Management System, +1-201-327-0042, i257: Pharmaceuticals

(c) 2004 Dow Jones Reuters Business Interactive, LLC.
Trading as Factiva.
All Rights Reserved.

I have a friend that has been so involved in our horrors that when she found an embedded tick, her next step was to make a Dr appt and get some Doxy.

I also treat the ground around my home. It has really helped alot.

Get yourself on doxy if you are not on anything.
You need to be up to par for your little ones and it is very hard when we are sick ourselves.

Frontline's composition changed last year and now needs to be applied every 25 to 28 days instead of the full 31ish. I noticed this myself last year and confirmed it with the vet.

I have 3 dogs and 1 cat. My cat stays indoors and my dogs are walked on a leash or monitored by me when I let them loose. My patio is smack at the edge of woods where ticks hang out the most. I saw 2 ticks all year and they were dog ticks.

Yard treatment will help your problem a lot too.

We can't stop living the lives we want to live just because of some stupid arachnids. We just need to educate ourselves about how best to avoid them without disruptions.

Good Luck,

Corgilla

We've decided to keep allowing the pets in the house at night and to be absolutely diligent about the FrontLine flea & tick medicine every *25* days (thank you for that information, Corgilla!) instead of every 30ish days like we were doing before all this happened.

Azure - No, I don't think your post was mean at all. Everyone has their own perspective on how animals should be treated and cared for. I think I fall somewhere in the middle now after all that's happened here. I respect how you feel just as I respect how people who have exlusively outdoor pets feel.

Riversinger - Thank you so much for the info on the Maxforce system. I will be buying the issue of that magazine on the 16th to keep abreast of what's going on as far as pest control goes. However, the particular set up of our house wouldn't work with their system unless everyone residing here on the edge of the canyon did the same as us. Now, why, I keep asking myself, can't they come up with boxes like that in which our pets can walk through? I suppose they're probably working on it. At least, I hope they are.

Lymemomtoo - Thanks so much for your concern about my tick bite. I told our LLMD last visit that I had been bitten, but she didn't really respond. I'll be sure to bring it up again this coming Tuesday when we go to see her again.

Barngirl - Yes, we apply FrontLine on our cat, too. Both of them get a dose once a month. Thanks for the heads up.

We've decided that we're going to hire a Maid Service on top of the Pest Service. NO, we cannot afford all of this, but we don't have a choice.

I typed a huge post in response to everyone here, then got kicked off aol, and lost it.

So, to keep it short and sweet: been there done that, where you're at.

My advice: make the cat(s) either only outside, or only inside, not back and forth. Frontline only kills the tick that bites, and even then, the tick has to be embedded for at least 2 days to die.

I just had this same experience with one of the outside cats that is sort of "ours" (he roams the neighborhood, we feed him, and I Frontline him). He had an embedded tick, that I watched everyday. He finally scratched his neck, off it popped, and I picked it up, and put in in a ziplock bag and left it on the garage counter. It was DEAD! I made sure.

I got an embedded tick off of this same cat (Frontlined) yesterday, and this tick had only been there for a day. I put it in the ziplock bag, and it was still ALIVE!!! So, I believe that the ticks have to be embedded on the Frontlined dog/cat for at least 2 days to die.

So, if you're letting your cat(s) go inside and outside, even w/ Frontline, you run the risk of that tick that may be embedded, getting scratched off, landing in your house, and finding either you, or your family to munch on next.

I have Lyme, my kids have Lyme. We've been battling this for 4 yrs now, I think we've had it a lot longer. My last and only tick bite was in 1987, after hiking the open space at Briones Regional Park in Martinez.

The ticks are everywhere in this area. I was walking my neighbors dog last night, looked down at her face, and saw a tick (very black small one) crawling on the outside of her face! I screamed, grabbed a leaf lying in the gutter, scooped that damn tick right off of her before it could burrow down in her fur and bite her. I was just so thankful she hadn't rubbed her face up against my leg, because I know it would've hopped onto me and then, wa-la! more lyme crap.

Anyway, if you have a dog, I would poison the yard asap, then make the dog only a dog that does not wander. I myself have found that Diazinon is the only pesticide that will kill fleas and ticks. I found this out this past summer, when we had a severe flea problem in our backyard-probably coming from the cats that roam our yard (not mine-they're Frontlined) and the skunks that come thru at night.

Anyway, called the pest control company, they sprayed 2 different kinds of spray TWO DIFFERENT TIMES, and the fleas never went away in this one area.

I found some Diazinon on ebay (yes, I am very resourceful) used to be sold as "Dursban" way back when, and I got myself a sprayer and sprayed the crap all over my yard myself.

Not to recommend this, because Diazinon, and Dursban are illegal in CA.

But, you can get it on ebay, and spray it yourself. Shhhh, don't tell anyone I did this.

But, it did work. Killed them thar fleas, and I'm hoping any ticks that were passing thru.

Also, do not store your Diazinon above I think it's 82 degrees in your garage, or it inactivates the chemical.

Also, who was it that found that Frontline is only good for 25-28 days??? My vet (where I buy it from) has never told me this, so I've been putting it on every 4-5 weeks.

Yikes. Looked in the Frontline box, and never found that info to confirm the application time either.

Pesticide residue migrates into the fat cells and becomes one of the neurotoxins that we are dealing with. Everybody has to make their own decisions, but I worry that you may trade one problem for another.

I hadn't gone as far as checking out suppliers of MaxForce. If it isn't available here in CA, maybe people could adapt the idea. The attractive thing is that it limits and isolates the amount of pesticide needed for control.

I only have a minute to write - very busy morning.

Just now I found a approx. 3-4"

.............TARANTULA..............

on our back patio!!!!!

I'm going to take a picture of it and put it up on a web page. Anyone interested in seeing it, I will post the pic soon if I can figure out how to do it here. Otherwise, I'll give a link to my web page.

So, we have ticks, fleas, black widow spiders, and now TARANTULAS in the canyon. Along with, of course, all of the other common insects normally found around here.

Northern CA has tarantulas??? That is BIG news to me!

Husband is telling me not to let this freak me out. "Oh, REALLY???" Would it freak you out??!!

I really feel for you - it is so awful to fear for your child.

As a previous cat and dog owner, I also know we get attached, and love, our pets.

But - and I don't mean to cause any offense - I do kind of agree with what COL said about sending the pets to a new home.

I love animals, but I will not (ever again) risk having anything with fur living in my house - especially if it is ever going to go outside.

It's a tough choice, but I think you'd reduce this risk a LOT by doing this.

If this is not an option, get a flea comb/tick comb and comb the animals thoroughly every time they've set foot outside.

Chemicals have risks also - especially for a child who's immune system may already be compromised. So, I'd go easy with the pesticides (or avoid them altogether).

If giving the pets away is not an option - I wonder if it would make any difference at all to put Citronella oil on them to perhaps make them less attractive to ticks(???).