I recently had a landscape man in my yard to check on some trouble I was having with some trees...I have a fairly wooded lot.
He told me yesterday when he got back to his garden center he found two deer ticks on his head.
I love to feed birds and of course to garden... BUT I am now paranoid!
Are deer ticks carried by birds, do I need to stop feeding birds?
Should I get my entire yard sprayed...a "natural" yard service has a spray derived from marigolds does anyone know anything about this?
I am thinking I have to give up my two favorite hobbies.
I hate Lyme disease
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
I don't even walk on grass unless forced to. I'm sorry but I can't get his C*** again!!
Yes, bird feeders are bad. They attract mice, which in turn can carry deer ticks. I believe ANY kind of tick carries disease...so keep that in mind.
Ticks can be found on birds and IN TREES.
Sucks.
Posted by just don (Member # 1129) on :
Hmm, marigolds huh?? I spose its possible.
The best one I heard of is Tempo made from Geraniums somehow,,that doesnt smell or be obnoxious like most sprays do.
Regular sprayings should help a bunch
I cant imagine living in such a place with that many ticks,,,we dont have those here!!(wink),,,well maybe not so many!!
Posted by Tincup (Member # 5829) on :
Don't give up on the bird feeder. Don't let the ticks win!
If you want to reduce the tick populations in your yard... get serious and kill the little suckers. Don't shower them with flowers.... kill them. Use Liquid Sevin in a gallon sprayer or have a professional come out and do it.
If you found two ticks... it represents 200 there. (The way they determine tick populations officially.) Each adult female can have 2,000 or more babies.
You might also consider putting out the treated cotton balls that mice can take back to their nest too.
And yes.. birds can bring ticks in on them... so can deer... so can fox, raccoons, rabbits and other wildlife... but killing them all doesn't make sense and is not practical.
Kill the ticks!
Don't let the ticks take EVERYTHING from you!!!
Please!
Posted by silvermoon (Member # 15072) on :
Thanks LymeToo and everyone for all your info!!!
I just did a search and found that even a song sparrow and robin can carry the young ticks, two very popular birds here.
I think I will just move the feeder away from my house (and window) and just keep one feeder up during the summer...
And I hate to kill the benefical insects with a heavy duty chemical...I am considering the "natural" one
Although when we had a heavy duty chemical yard service my dog at the time NEVER had a tick on him.
Posted by Angelica (Member # 15601) on :
I use to feed the birds too but the seed really does attract mice. I think you might be safer if you forgot about feeding the birds entirely. Some birds experts say feeding the birds is not a good idea anyway.
Posted by catskillmamala (Member # 12536) on :
You might want to look into spraying beneficial nematodes. They are tick parasites!!!! Their good for gardens, safe for humans and pets. They come as powder, you mix them with water and they sink into the soil.
I've tried this and it seems pretty good. I did stop bird feed. I've also put out damminix tubes for rodents, with not much success. Keep brush to a minimum and rake up leaf litter.
I am now getting guinea hens.
Posted by redwine14 (Member # 15841) on :
Where do you get beneficial nematodes?
Posted by TF (Member # 14183) on :
My LLMD said to get guinea hens to deal with the ticks in the yard.
But, that's not my idea of a good time, so we buy granules that kill ticks and sprinkle them all over the yard. It works great. Do it about twice per summer.
We have lots and lots of ticks here. This year is especially bad. Everyone in the nieghborhood is getting bit.
Posted by catskillmamala (Member # 12536) on :
Regarding guinea hens, I already have chickens so it will not add much work. My chickens are not free-range though because the foxes eat them, whereas guineas supposedly do better.
I won't get them until mid-July. I'll keep lymenet posted.
Posted by redwine14 (Member # 15841) on :
TF: Would those granules be safe for our dog when she out in the yard? Who sells them?
Posted by nyjohn (Member # 15361) on :
catskill mama where are you getting your guinea hens and how much are they each? i probably live near you, so i am thinking i might also get some. i have heard that they split by winter, probably off into the woods. unfortunately, where the coy dogs hang out. but the hens also heat may-june beetles, which devour our garden!
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