lpkayak
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 5230
posted
what is going on? there are just too many ticks. i'm turning into a crazy person...constantly combing the dog...pulling off my skin tags...totally freaking out if a skin tag is in a place i can't see it...
i have lived here 3 years and am careful about putting good tick stuff on the dog...i have never seen sooooo many ticks...
the new frontline plus doesn't have permethrin in it...so i switched to one that does...and i found a spray to put on his bed
at least now when i find the ticks they are dead or really sick and unable to attach
i keep walking the dog in different places ...some have one tick...some 4. but twice now i have walked him around a paved parking lot and crushed stone parking lot and ended up with ticks on him.
my knees are better-i'm ready to start riding again...but if i can't keep ticks off the dog...how will i keep them off the horse?
this is just too much...how is everyone else dealing with it?
posted
Wow... I'm so sorry to hear this! I would be totally freaked out!!
Horse riding?? That's indeed very risky!! The horse will brush through the grass like a tick magnet. They will crawl right up to YOU.
Sorry to be such a spoil sport, but that's one activity I wouldn't be able to force myself to do.
I'm SOOO happy to hear that your knees are doing well!!! Go girl, go!!
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96239 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
| IP: Logged |
lpkayak
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 5230
posted
i think i would have to put tick collars around each hoof...if my pony went out to pasture at all...
really-there have been recent news articles about more ticks in ks, me, nh and vt...
-------------------- Lyme? Its complicated. Educate yourself. Posts: 13712 | From new england | Registered: Feb 2004
| IP: Logged |
NanaDubo
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 14794
posted
I can tell you, I have never seen so many ticks in my life as I have this year. Despite using Frontline on my cat, I am always finding ticks on him.
I am completely paranoid about going outside!
I posted last week about a new bite I got after having been outside for a half an hour cleaning out the pool.
I am ready to start wearing a haz-mat suit when I mow the lawn. I kid you not. I get the creeps even dressed appropriately when I brush up against the blackberry bushes on the riding lawnmower.
I go camping with a group of friends every year. This year, the thought of being bitten by anything that flies or crawls has me seriously considering not going.
I have a magnet on my frig that says "just because you're paranoid, doesn't mean they're not after you".
Vermont_Lymie
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9780
posted
I am seeing more ticks outside this year too.
Remember, spraying pyrethrins on your clothing works great as a tick repellent. Take your shoes, socks, pants, or whatever, and spray them before wearing and put them on.
According to the Connecticut tick field researchers, the ticks will die on contact with pyrethrin sprayed clothing! Now, that is a nice thought and it will last through several wearings.
Posts: 2557 | From home | Registered: Aug 2006
| IP: Logged |
posted
I recommend spraying insecticides or beneficial nematodes in your yard.
Also, we had indoor/outdoor cats. They are permanently outside for the summer (with frontline and herbal tick spray). Then in the fall, they come in and spend three days in a crate before becomming winter indoor cats.
We've either eliminated or moved the birdfeed far, far from the house.
We tick check the kids every night (and ourselves). Have a change of clothes policy when coming in from brush or yard work, etc.
But none of this is enough. And now, we are on to getting guinea hens.
Posts: 524 | From Hudson Valley, NY | Registered: Jul 2007
| IP: Logged |
luvs2ride
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 8090
posted
gallop, gallop, gallop!
Guess what I luvs2ride!
I have 3 horses, two dogs and a cat. A 12 acre farm and my fair share of ticks. Avoid ticks? Are you kidding?
Sorry. If you take away my riding, you take away my life. Life without riding ain't living in my book.
Screw the tick! Can I say "screw"?
So far, I have somehow evaded ticks this year. Only found one so far and it was crawling across my arm. Killed that sucker!
I stay away from chemicals. I take lots of B vitamins which for some reason seems to keep all biting insects off me. I think I was told once that it is the Thiamine. Not sure about that.
There is a product called Herbal Armor that a poster once posted here. I haven't purchased it yet, but plan to.
Can't imagine why my pets have not gotten bitten yet. They aren't on B vitamins.
-------------------- When the Power of Love overcomes the Love of Power, there will be Peace. Posts: 3038 | From america | Registered: Oct 2005
| IP: Logged |
luvs2ride
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 8090
-------------------- When the Power of Love overcomes the Love of Power, there will be Peace. Posts: 3038 | From america | Registered: Oct 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
There are permethrin sprays you can use on your clothes - like your riding clothes? Spray and let dry completely.
Permethrin will last through several washings.
I would suggest spraying your shoes, socks and riding pants - they say a tick that walks 6 inches on sprayed clothing will die.
Just a thought! I have done this with the clothes I use for yard work. Can't hurt.
I agree, there are a lot of ticks this year. In CT it's too many deer per square mile.
It's all mathematical and has to do with the deer population and tick life cycle. If the deer population is reduced to a more normal number (I think it's like 3 deer per square mile) then the deer tick problem is reduced substantially.
But that's a controversial topic so we are all stuck with the consequences of this dreadful disease due to the deer/tick issue.
I often see 5 or 6 deer walk through my front yard. They're pretty, but all I see is the potential for more ticks dropping in my grass.
~webmeg Posts: 257 | From Connecticut | Registered: Oct 2007
| IP: Logged |
lpkayak
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 5230
posted
thank you guys for the answers.
i KNOW i'm not going crazy...but it's good to know others are experiencing what i am
luvs...can you tell us a little more about where you live? north, east, south, west???
i want to know what state or area has the least ticks
nan i think i'm gonna steal your fridge saying...
O/C disorderis not a bad thing when it comes to tick checks either
and yes-no question about permethins (sp?) killing thm. years ago tom grier wrote about a study where they died 6 inches from a sneaker sprayed with them and crawled all over a sneaker sprayed with deet. i don't understand how they can say on the package that deet kills ticks. it doesn't.
and those of you using frontline plus...check it again. it worked for me for quite awhile-but now the permethrin is out of it and it doesn't work for me anymore
there are negatives about permethrins...very toxic to fish...and may give us neuro problems when mixed with deet and other pesticides. but i decided to use it sparingly...and take a chance. i don't know what is worse. what it can do to me and my dog or what lyme can.
does anyone know where/how to get nematodes?
i/m gonna look in to B vits and herbal armour
i have found that neem products from the health food store help alot too-esp for dogs bed
well-thanks for the info...i guess it is officially WAR ON TICKS season
oh up north here...there are hardly any deer...but the moose are covered with ticks
-------------------- Lyme? Its complicated. Educate yourself. Posts: 13712 | From new england | Registered: Feb 2004
| IP: Logged |
luvs2ride
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 8090
posted
LP
I'm in the mountains of Virginia. My property backs up to one of the National Forests (Roanoke sits between 2) and deer frequent our yard and pastures.
I was thinking about this thread as I was driving down the road today and I remembered a couple of recent things.
1-Yesterday evening I went riding on my horse on a neighbor's trails, but the deerflies ran me out of the woods. What I didn't think about until this morning is that the deerflies were not bothering me at all but were swarming my horse and I was swatting away at them. Normally, the deerflies bite the rider too.
2-Two weeks ago a lady came to our farm to look at a horse and the nats were swarming her face. They weren't bothering me at all and we chalked it up to she had on makeup and I did not.
3-The flies this year are as numerous as ever but they are not biting me.
Is it the B vitamins? I don't know. I drink a fresh veggie juice most mornings and include a clove of garlic and 1/4" ginger root. Is that it?
I'm on doxy (so far tolerating the sun ok)and a whole bunch of detoxing herbs. My doctor has me sweating like a pig.
Maybe I just stink (only to the bugs I hope).
LP, I'll look into the Neem.
Why don't my dogs have fleas and ticks? They are house dogs but they run outside every day.
In years past I have given them Bug Check and credited it. But this year, I just failed to order any so that isn't it.
Happy riding! Please read up on Permithrin. It isn't harmless to humans. I stopped all pesticides years ago when I read how it can cause ADD. My son was born with ADD. At the time and for the first 10 yrs of his life we used Orkin. Sprayed the inside of our home monthly to keep fleas, ants, bugs of all kinds away.
Additionally, I grew up in a stable where we weekly closed the doors and fogged it with pesticides. I sprayed gallons on my horses over the years and would even spray it right on my hands and wipe their faces with it.
I feel sure these chemicals are in my system to this day and play a part in my chronic illness.
If you have well water, any spray you put on the grass is being washed into your well water. You are drinking and bathing and cooking in it.
Please be careful.
-------------------- When the Power of Love overcomes the Love of Power, there will be Peace. Posts: 3038 | From america | Registered: Oct 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
If you want to reduce ticks you gotta spray or spread chemical's. Sorry.
Now the good news--
Permethrin is a non-toxic, safe-to-humans and can be used on clothing as a treatment that can last for up to 6 weeks... made from flowers.
This kills ticks-- not repellent like deet.
Sevin is another product that is available at most home stores. It can be sprayed or used in a powder form for lawns. It is used commercially on fruits and farms... but will kill ticks.
Remember one fat pregnant tick can have 3,000 little *******s.
Kill them now and save the planet, and any maybe yourself, a friend or your kids. And yes animals.
Also in summer keep animals out of the woods...
Try to make a safe zone around your home and yard where you can be outside without ticks.
-------------------- Positive 10 bands WB IGG & IGM + Babesia + Bartonolla and NOW RMSF 3/5/09 all at Quest
posted
Ticks DO seem to be out really bad this year! My sister is in TN (where I got re-infected) and says she cant go outside without getting ticks all over her! We are visiting in 2 weeks and that isn't something I look forward to (the ticks, not the visiting) I was told to get a bag of Sulfur and put it all around the yard where my kids will be playing to keep ticks away. I know that here in TX we are being overtaken by fleas! They seem to have no problems dealing with the guys that come spray the yard for 75 bucks a pop, no reguard for the Frontline on our cat and dogs, they don't care that we tore up the carpet and replaced it with laminate to keep the fleas at bay. It's horrid and we haven't found anything to kill them off for good!
IP: Logged |
posted
Luvs2Ride I have ofen wondered why there is no feed thru product on the market for horses to repel flies!!! I have two horses. I use a repellant every morning on them - I too put it on my hands and do their faces! I've tried them all - even the most expensive ones that claim "will last 5-7 days" all products only last 2-3 hours!!! They are all liars!!! I used the "insecticide bands" on all feet and around their necks and they both had a reaction to it and their skin got irritated and they lost hair!!! Fortunately - it did grow back. Also tried "spot on" and Equi Spot" (kinda like advantix for horses) and they reacted the same way to that. I've settled for UltraShield EX, but only because it is mid-range price - no better preformance than the others I've tried. What product works best for you? I wonder if Vit B will work on horses? Could there be harm if they got too much? Flies are really bad out here this year - and last year was the worst I can remember!
Posts: 641 | From So. CA | Registered: May 2008
| IP: Logged |
posted
We had a mild winter - not alot of rain. He have however had a couple years of higher humidity in the summer months.
Could that be it?
Posts: 641 | From So. CA | Registered: May 2008
| IP: Logged |
lymebytes
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 11830
posted
Yeah, I don't like Frontline PLUS..I like Frontline top spot..it is better. Ask your vet what works best..permethrin can be a dangerous pesticide to animals, I had a cat that went into seizures from us spraying the yard years ago, very sad. Keep it away from cats if you have any, I later learned it can be lethal to cats.
We are tick crazy too...we spray our clothing and have one set of clothes we wear outdoors and then change in our garage when we come in.
I have 3 dogs, I brush outside and wiped down with towels and do all I can and pray there are no nymphs I am missing.
It is crazy when a bug wrecks your life and now you are constantly on the lookout.
I swore I had something attached to my bellybutton yesterday (LOL!) I had my husband with a flashlight looking and still could see something I couldn't get to....scares me!
Even without pets walking on lawns, accidentally brushing up against bushes and even smelling flowers..are all a thing of the past for us.
Then my son was lying by the pool and said, "Mom are those ticks...YEP all over a tiny weed were about 6-7 nymphs!" He has lyme already, I screaming "get up and get in the water now!" My husband comes running with pesticides, gloves on...it was like a fire drill..insane.
lpkayak
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 5230
posted
water won't save you from ticks. when you flush them they crawl back up
yes-permethrin is very lethal for cats...and not good on humans skin...but ya gotta do what ya gotta do
i didn't know there was a frontline spot
there is a bio-spot that has permethrins
an adams spray that is 20% pyrethrins
and a zodiac called spot on that you put between shoulderblades like bio-spot...it's 45% permethrin
uh-oh...i didn't get it that pyrethrins and permethrins were two different things...i just thought i didn't know how to spell.
they both work...but i'm not sure if they both come from chrysanthemums now.
hmmmm. anyone else know?
-------------------- Lyme? Its complicated. Educate yourself. Posts: 13712 | From new england | Registered: Feb 2004
| IP: Logged |
luvs2ride
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 8090
posted
Peedie
Bug Check. It is all natural. Your horse's coat will get such a gloss to it you can see your reflection and this stuff works.
It is better than Equitrol. Equitrol works in the poop and requires all the horses in the barn to be on it in order to work.
Bug Check makes the horse taste bad to the fly and if your horse is the only one eating it, you will see all the horses stomping and swishing at flies except your horse. It is amazing thing to see.
I do believe too much B vitamin can be toxic. I'm not sure how much is too much though.
www.thenaturalvet.net is where I buy my Bug Check. He breeds and raises Rocky Mountain horses. He is in TN.
Luvs
-------------------- When the Power of Love overcomes the Love of Power, there will be Peace. Posts: 3038 | From america | Registered: Oct 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
i am sick, and i have been bitten by nymphs in my home two days ago and my cat does not go outside since 3 weeks. it was not an hallucination, and im freaking out totally... So too many ticks is not a word, this is horrible..
-------------------- Lyme-co infections Posts: 27 | From Canada | Registered: May 2008
| IP: Logged |
posted
Luvs2Ride Oh thank you so much!!! If this stuff really works - oh this could be really wonderful for me!!!
Knew about the other feed-thrus - also will kill the "Fly Preditors" I spent a fortune on. They eat the larvae from the manure which also halts the cycle.
Has been pretty good in years past - but still had to use bug spray on the horses.
I tried to order right away - but they are on the East Coast and were closed. I'll try to call first thing in AM.
So glad I asked! Thanks again!
Posts: 641 | From So. CA | Registered: May 2008
| IP: Logged |
lpkayak
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 5230
posted
ok-so after finding 22 ticks in 3 weeks at a house i never saw one in for 3 years...
i sprayed the dog beds with .20% pyrethrin spray by adams(water based)
i put zodiac spot-on (45% permethrin) on the dog between shoulder blades
and i have not seen one more tick
i am very gradually starting to walk him again in all the old places where he was picking up ticks
he's not back in my bed yet either...i don't know if he ever will be...
and i know i am taking a risk of his getting neuro complications-45% is pretty high...and i guess it could hurt me too..i pat him
but ya gotta do what ya gotta do
i'm ready to buy a horse now, and i am wondering if it makes any sense to have a horse or a dog...i just don't know how to live without them
-------------------- Lyme? Its complicated. Educate yourself. Posts: 13712 | From new england | Registered: Feb 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
Why is it that whenever I log on here I start to itch!!!! I have found dog ticks in my backyard in Georgia. Now I don't want to go outside anymore.
The other part of me says, "Hey, I am already infected! Who better to be outside!!"
-------------------- Heidi "getting up and moving on is easy unless someone is throwing bricks at you" Posts: 3 | From Atlanta | Registered: Jun 2008
| IP: Logged |
posted
Has anyone tried those Damminix Tick Tubes (cotton treated with permethrin used by mice which then kills ticks). I've been tempted but hate to spend the money. I have been wondering if you could make them yourself. Just spray cotton with the chemical and stuff it into plastic tubes.
Also, can anyone tell me where they buy the permethrin spray that they use to spray their shoes and clothes. That sounds like something I want to do.
Posts: 4 | From PA | Registered: Jun 2008
| IP: Logged |
lpkayak
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 5230
posted
there's someething called neem at health food store-pretty good-not chem
at hunters store-outdoor store buy perm--cablos, beans etc
-------------------- Lyme? Its complicated. Educate yourself. Posts: 13712 | From new england | Registered: Feb 2004
| IP: Logged |
The Lyme Disease Network is a non-profit organization funded by individual donations. If you would like to support the Network and the LymeNet system of Web services, please send your donations to:
The
Lyme Disease Network of New Jersey 907 Pebble Creek Court,
Pennington,
NJ08534USA http://www.lymenet.org/
UBBFriend: Email this page to someone!
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
![[Eek!]](eek.gif)
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
![[Frown]](frown.gif)
![[loco]](graemlins/loco.gif)
I have found dog ticks in my backyard in Georgia. Now I don't want to go outside anymore.
Printer-friendly view of this topic