posted
Some of us have forgotten how overwhelming this was at first.
Just keep trying to learn all you can and take things slow.
Check drug interactions and supplement interactions if you can find a website for that. drugstore.com will let you check interactions even of supplements if they can find them on their list.
I wish I had magic words of wisdom, but I don't. Just take in what you are able to.
Posts: 108 | From Florida | Registered: Sep 2005
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posted
Omg i am so sorry!!! You didnt need another bite. Tell everyone in your family to be careful!!
-------------------- May God Bless you, answer your prayers, relieve you of your pain and make you stronger than what you are today. Ameen. Posts: 341 | From Columbia, MD | Registered: Jan 2009
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Tincup
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 5829
posted
Ticks have been found active when there is an 80 percent snow cover on the ground.
Sorry that little sucker liked you today. How awful!
Suggestions.. for after you beat his little brains out...
You need to treat your yard or this will continue.. and get worse.
Liquid Sevin concentrate mixed in a gallon sprayer. Cheapest, least smelly, is used on veggies just before harvest and in dog beds... and in MY opinion... it is the best stuff.
Follow all precautions on the label.
And yes, you might not kill them all.
BUT..
I'd rather go in my yard where there may be 2-3 ticks.. rather than hundreds or thousands.
One mommy tick can produce 2,000 or more babies.
All of them need a blood meal to survive... so since you are not putting cows out there in the yard or T-bone steaks....
You've got to KILL 'EM!!!
Kill or be killed.
When you check tick populations on a "drag"... using the white cloth of a certain size in a specific square foot area...
One tick caught represents 100 there but not picked up.
Treat yard now, in 2 months from now... and then in mid-to late-summer.
Once more time in the late fall.
Then 3 times next year...
And three times the next year...
Then two times each year thereafter. More if needed.
posted
Personally, we would never use Sevin or any other similar chemical appplication on our farm.
It is counter to everything we believe in. Business wise this would be impossible as we are an organic farm.
PLEASE, before you do this educate yourself as to the possible problems with Sevin. Here's a couple of links.
Notice how close in tone the second one is to IDSA speak. You could almost substitute chronic lyme for Sevin.
I'm amazed how anybody could hammer the IDSA, and in the next breath think Sevin and its attendant business interests and associated supporting studies are OK.
All this being said, I do believe such yard treatments with really strong, toxic chemicals like Sevin are the most efficacious way of getting rid of ticks.
According to some, the standard treatment for tick/lyme control requires a little more effort than Tincup mentioned. (Though following label instructions is always a good idea. But, hey, that's not what's going on with long-term abx use for chronic lyme, so...)
You must apply every month or two during the good weather.
It is recommended to cover your whole yard and at least 6 feet up any bushes, shrubs, trees, etc. You must re-apply after every rain.
My advice, get guinea fowl! Although they miss some ticks, they eat tons of them and are better mousers than cats. They eat snakes, too.
Tincup
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 5829
posted
For those who can't get guinea fowl... or can't stand there noise and mess....
And keep in mind...
I don't like chemicals spread all over the environment. I am a naturalist for goodness sake.
BUT.. I also don't want thousands upon thousands of ticks in my yard, my home, my car, etc.. which can happen and has happened in some areas.
I also don't want to introduce a bunch of chemicals into my own body to kill a ton of organisms that are in the process of destroying me. Double whammy!
Soooo..
All things in moderation. Until there is a safe and non-toxic way to kill ticks.. and keep them from killing me and my family, my neighbors and pets....
Something has to be done.
As the article posted by Lymeric stated...
"But, with proper use and handling, carbaryl [Sevin] is rarely a problem to the applicator, the general public, and to the environment."
It is the least offensive to the environment in my opinion... and most effective... and I've studied this to find the answers myself over the years.
This pesticide "war" reminds me of the coffee wars, the sugar wars, the wine wars, etc.
One day it is good for you.. the next day it is not good for you.
Depending on who funds the studies.. the results will be different.
The one study they referenced stated the dogs were purposely fed hefty amounts of Sevin... and had some problems from it.
I can see how that could happen.
So PLEASE, don't EAT the insecticide or feed it to your pets or kids!
Just follow precautions on the label and use only as often as needed...
IF that suits you own personal preferences. It is just one option for reducing the tick populations until something safer comes along.
'Kete-tracker
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 17189
posted
Hey DEAF! I have a flamethrower you can borrow. No pesticides! Just wait 'til the snow's all gone, gas it up, & whhhhhOOOmmmm!! c-r-is-k-sk-sk-k. As I understand it, ticks can't survive the... "acute dehydration".
The grass will come back in a few weeks. Honest! Just make sure ya do all your truckin' before the blades get too tall... then "repeat application as directed."
& guinea fowl ain't a bad idea nie-tha. You'll save on gas! (GOSH, I wish I had their eyesight. )
Posts: 1233 | From Dover, NH | Registered: Sep 2008
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posted
Well, the only way for you, kids and pets not to eat the insecticide is to not put it into the environment.
Haven't met a dog yet who doesn't eat grass if accessible...
Happy guineas don't make much noise and hardly any mess. Many families here in CT keep 2-5 guineas, no noise or mess to speak of.
Plus they make you laugh. All the time. I'll never know how much this contributed to my "cure."
Guineas can be very noisy, however. They are a high-strung animal and thus require a little more training than say, chickens.
Which also eat tons o'ticks. And may be a better option for many, especially some energy-challenged or sound-sensitive lymies.
But they don't eat the all-important mice. The fact that guineas wipe out the resident mouse population is huge.
Our farm was one of those areas you speak of. We had thousands, in and outside the house.
Two feet out our door and you would pick up several in a few seconds. Walk to the barn (20 feet) and you had 10-20.
Guineas are a death magnet for ticks. Introducing them in your environment shifts that magnetism away from you and co. considerably.
The difference is that when the tick finds the guinea, something's waiting to eat it.
Of course guineas are not for every situation. But, although I have no proof, I'm sure they do a better job than Sevin as normally applied.
Just seems logical. Kinda like being able to spray Sevin every day of the year when you let them out to do their thing.
The application protocols for spraying chemicals are not really meant for insects that hitch a ride on animals to arrive in your vicinity to drink blood. (An ongoing process.)
Personally, I don't worry about the environmental hazards as much as I used to.
That's one reason I believe chemicals - used in a way other than the described label instructions - may be the most efficient way to get rid of ticks.
Posts: 76 | From tolland county, ct | Registered: Jul 2008
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Tracy9
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 7521
posted
Last year for the first time we sprayed Sevin all over our yard, several applications through the spring and summer.
We never saw one tick on our animals or on ourselves. It was a dramatic improvment over years past.
Additionally I treat the animals every month with Frontline or K9 Advantix.
13 years Lyme & Co.; Small Fiber Neuropathy; Myasthenia Gravis, Adrenal Insufficiency. On chemo for 2 1/2 years as experimental treatment for MG. Posts: 4480 | From Northeastern Connecticut | Registered: Jun 2005
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lymeladyinNY
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 10235
posted
Guinea hens - my veterinarian brother keeps these on his lawn.
I live in a neighborhood that would never, ever tolerate guinea hens. My son left a tire mark with his kid car on my neighbor's lawn this week and sure enough, he came over to complain.
I've got mean, stuck-up neighbors. They won't speak to me because I had the nerve to call the ambulance and disturb their peace.
One guy scowled at my son with Down syndrome when he was screaming with happiness. Grrrr.
My husband applies tick killer on our lawn and I wouldn't have it any other way. But, I WISH I could have guinea hens!! (And move away from this neighborhood!)
- Lymelady
-------------------- I want to be free Posts: 1170 | From Endicott, NY | Registered: Sep 2006
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posted
The ticks are definitely out in Southeastern Mass. My cousin removed a few from her dogs the other day. Another friend said she saw one crawling across her bed next to the dogs.
I heard they come out as soon as the temp gets about 30 degrees. I don't know if this is true or not but I haven't been taking any chances.
I have been spraying the family with DEET whenever they venture out for a bike ride or walk. Tick checks as soon as they return.
My husband tells me I am paraniod but I don't want anyone else in the family to have to endure the hell that I have been enduring. You can never be too careful.
JT
Posts: 72 | From Massachusetts | Registered: Feb 2009
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just don
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 1129
posted
I just posted over at lyme friends for this very topic.
I think the product Tempo is the cats meow for ticks and the very safest product around. It is made from geranium flowers.
It is labeled for INDOOR use and also inside restaurants and food processing plants. THAT is safe folks.
It has NO odor at all,,,in fact you will think you forgot to put it in the water to spray cause it smells like JUST water!!!
Spraying around your foundation will keep other creepy crawlers from your house!! Its a great spider spray and spiders are real hard to kill .
There is another product, mosquito barrier, that is supposedly good too. (I never tried this one) It is derived from garlic and is death on ticks and skeeters.
Tempo doesnt help skeeters.
My question for flower and veggie gardeners is IF you plant garlic around,,,does it smell in plant form??
Can anyone here who is a planting expert try planting garlic and see if that helps?? cant hurt,,,and you dont have to eat it!!
Anyway I guess garlic causes skeeters and ticks to dehydrate. I would THINK that this product would be okay in a organic garden/farm,,,but check to be sure.
Dimacius earth is another NATURAL form of bug control. It also dehydrates the bugs. BUT I am sure rain and sprinklers dont help it work.
I would think you could use dimacious earth in pet boxes,bedding,litter boxes and not harm a hair on their head.
There are always alternatives,,,living with those creepy crawling bugs just isnt right OR healthy.
and yes I hear day after day people being bit in winter time and people finding ticks on top of snow banks!!!
I really THINK you could spray a pet,dog or cat, down with Tempo when they enter the house and kill the ticks and not harm them.
I for SURE wouldnt let a dog crawl into bed with me,,, for ticks sake,,but maybe thats just ME!!!
Okay i am off to take names and collect links since I remain--just don--
-------------------- just don Posts: 4548 | From Middle of midwest | Registered: May 2001
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sutherngrl
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 16270
posted
I wonder if someone can test that tick to see if it is infected with Lyme? It would be interesting to know that.
Posts: 4035 | From Mississippi | Registered: Jul 2008
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posted
Thank you everyone for your ideas, support and help!
I freaked out so bad over it that for two days I was panicing! Stupid I know, but with all I am going through right now, I just got scared! I know my meds will cover it (I think) I'm on 1000 mg Biaxin and 400 plaquenil...
Fingers crossed!
Kete I think I like your idea!!! Blast the little suckers! (no pun intended) I will have to look into yard treatments and things because my yard is full of tall grasses (weeds really) and my kids like to be outside!
SO DO I! But now I am totally freaked out and don;t want to go anywhere near my yard!
posted
Hi, So sorry that happened. Like you don't have enough going on already. I always worry about that! Damn ticks! Lymetoo can Doxy be added to what Erika is already taking just in case?
Take Care, Ann
-------------------- If you keep doing nothing...nothing changes!
'Kete-tracker
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 17189
posted
Sutherngrl, Some states (though I doubt MS) have tick-testing labs available to the public. Most are in the NorthEast & West coast. (There are a FEW down that-a way. GA, i think.)
If they can test the tick by the 'PCR' method, it's a fairly reliable (but not absolute) indicator of presence of the Lyme borrelia.
It checks for the actual DNA of B.B. They basically grind the tick up & put it thru the machine that makes smears of the stuff, dyes it with bio markers & looks for a flourescent reaction , indicating Lyme DNA. I think it's about $50/ tick around here last I checked.
Posts: 1233 | From Dover, NH | Registered: Sep 2008
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