Colt, same here in Indiana. Ticks will apparently be abundant this year

 

I need to find some type of spray to reduce the tick population on my five acres. I have a misture of woods and lawn (actually alfalfa and bermuda) and they are nailing us already.

Anybody have any success spraying with something?

 

I use Ortho Bug be Gone granules in the "yard". I am guessing they have a spray version. I keep it mowed down low and make sure that I burn the leaves in the Fall. Rarely get them in that area.

In the woods or high grass in a field, you are just kinda screwed. : Use DEET and do a body check before you shower.

 

You have chickens, Bud? Let them roam around as much as possible if you do. They love to eat ticks.

 

SW MO. Having the same issues. Probably have pulled 40 off of me so far.

My barn cat was covered in them yesterday. My dog gets a few (I give her NexGard), but they drop off of her and move over to me in the bed at night. They are half dead at that point.

Even got a few over the winter when in the woods. First time that ever happened. I was under the impression that there are NO ticks in the winter. Was proven wrong.

 

Fly's too.

They were BAD last July, I'm expecting them to be worse this year. I'm about to get chickens to eat the ticks, thinking about getting some ducks since I understand they eat much more fly's than chickens do.

White vinegar in a spray bottle will keep the ticks away but you will smell like a pickle for about five minutes.

 

White vinegar in a spray bottle


I'm in New Hampshire. I haven't done any yard work yet. But was planning in starting this coming weekend. I'm glad I read this thread first. I will be doing tick checks too. So you say, "White vinegar in a spray bottle." Does vinegar discolor clothing or leather boots? I'd rather use vinegar then pesticides.
:zombie

 

I've gotta say im pretty glad not to have to worry about ticks around here for the most part (other than the occasional few that pets seem to pick up)

 

I much prefer the ticks, mosquitos, brown recluse, coyotes, bobcats, etc. over the snakes. The skinks are out, the turtles are out, and the frogs are out. I will be killing my first snake of the year shortly. I apologize to the snake lovers, but they freak me the F out.

 

Watching,warming up where we are............

 

They're getting bad in NW OK. The dog gets frontline and I spray my boots and the bottoms of my jeans in 99% deet before I go into pastures or meadows.

 

You have to remember that the current El Nino is the largest ever recorded. 1998 was a high point in north american temps in recent history because of the large El Nino in 97 and this one is bigger than that one.

Expect the bugs to be much worse this year and brace yourself for a really hot summer.

 

I got one 2weeks ago on MY BOYS. I couldn't believe it. Last year was horrible for them so I hope they're wrong about the bugs this year!

 

Deer ticks seem to survive snow and will come out in early winter if there is a thaw. Regular wood ticks by us are usually earlier, and are done by August. In northern Wisconsin they were ice fishing a few days ago.

 

Permethrin is perfect for preventing ticks climbing on you...but can be lethal/toxic to cats in its liquid form, or when sprayed and it hasn't dried yet. You can buy a wash-in product for your clothes.

 

I eat lots of garlic come spring time, the vampire ticks hate garlic. Must be where the saying came from.

Garlic spray or clove bug spray they don't like either and I spray that on the bushes around my house or throw some clove buds around the yard.

Seems to help a lot.

Though I did find a tick crawling on my pant leg a week ago walking in the woods, even with several inches of snow on the ground. First time I seen that here.

The also don't like the smell of cedar, cedar chips are nice to toss around the yard or garden.

Here is a free pdf book called Tick Management Handbook, with 23 years of experience and research.
http://www.ct.gov/caes/lib/caes/documents/special_features/TickHandbook.pdf

 

Ticks don't hibernate. They can live for months without "eating". The best way to remove an imbedded tick is by putting a drop of Tea Tree Oil on it. It will back out of the skin. My daughter has such an allergy to ticks that she can't eat meat from animals that have been bitten by ticks---which means no meat. I hate ticks.

 

Lone Star tick disease I presume?

http://www.webmd.com/allergies/news/20140813/tick-bites-red-meat-allergy

 

Was totally unaware of this. This is a new one for me.

Thanks Colt and hunnibeez.

 

Here is another tick horror story. A family friend was at Lake of the Ozarks camping and dirt biking in the woods. This is about 8 years ago. Was covered in ticks. Got back to suburbia and wasn't feeling "right". About two days later he woke up in the night crying (from fear) and couldn't speak or understand his girlfriend (something similar to aphasia but with pain). She rushed him to the hospital.

Long story short: Brain swelled, removed top of skull to keep him from dying. 8 years later, in a wheel chair with major cognitive issues. Doctors never figured out exactly what happened, but were sure it was from a tick or ticks.

My father has Lyme disease.

With as many as I get in the middle of nowhere, I can't believe they haven't past something on to me. At times, I have had my own SHTF life moments in which my immune system was useless because of it.

 

With as many as I get in the middle of nowhere, I can't believe they haven't past something on to me. At times, I have had my own SHTF life moments in which my immune system was useless because of it.

You may have already been exposed and developed an immunity. Only way to know would be to have a tick panel done to check for antibodies.

Lymes is just one disease out of dozens. When tick panels are run on dogs they usually test positive for at least 2 or 3 different disease antibodies (the panels only check for 4-6 different types, so there could be exposure to more and it wasn't seen). Often times they were never noticeably ill even though they were exposed to forms that usually hit hard and fast or apparently not at all. Same applies to people.

 

Ticks seem extremely bad this year. I just pulled 3 small ones off of me (embedded) this evening and all I did was walk around on the lawn!

Plus there are a lot of tick borne diseases around here, one of my dogs was seriously ill with one for 9 months (hard to diagnose protozoa in the muscle, comes from swallowing a tick) and tested positive for a couple of others.

My chickens don't free range (in large part because of my dogs) but I am thinking about seeing if the larger birds can graze in the yard when the dogs are inside.

 

My wife got a mild case of Lyme disease a couple years back but we were on top of it and dropped antibiotics on it immediately and we got it cleared out.

 

And that is the key, start dosing doxycycline immediately. It takes weeks to get a human tick panel back and by the time the results are in the disease has already done a lot of damage.

Often times the ticks that spread the disease are babies, so tiny you never see them. They feed off of various victims and then move on to the next so it is not uncommon to never see a tick or realize you were bitten.

 

Treat your clothes that you go outdoors in, with permethrin, and then spray deet on your boots.

2 weekends ago i went hiking with 2 people, 1 of us got a tick. I sprayed myself with deet 1 weekend ago, and last weekend, went backpacking both weekends, zero ticks.

 

Humboldt County California , Eastern Humboldt (Willow Creek) area showing bigtime!

 

Ticks are all over the place here. Worst I've seen it. I always wear a hat and put Bens or similar on my socks and pant legs before I go out. The Newf dog gets treated with Petguard monthly. With that done I still see them on the floor occasionally. I think they drop off of the treated dog when she comes inside.

 

Gah. I've been pulling them off the dog, the husband, the kids.
Good to know that it's not just here in the Northeast.

 

I looked it up and answered my questions...

In a spray bottle, mix 2 cups of distilled white vinegar and 1 cup of water. To make a scented solution so you do not smell like bitter vinegar all day, add 20 drops of your favorite essential oil or bath oil. Eucalyptus oil is a calm, soothing scent that also works as a tick repellent, while peppermint and citrus oils give off a strong crisp scent that also repel ticks. After mixing the solution, spray onto clothing, skin, and hair before going outdoors. Reapply every four hours to keep ticks at bay.
Even if you are using the tick repellent- be sure to give yourself a good "tick check" every day.
I should have looked it up before posting my first post. The use vinegar in laundry. So I guess it's ok for clothing. As far as my boots. They're yard boots. So who cares.:thumb:
:zombie

 

Given the chances of contracting a disease from ticks or mosquitoes I think that I am going to use this stuff:

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Sawyer-Permethrin-Premium-Clothing-Insect-Repellent-Pump-24-oz/21947774

The guy doing Sigma3 videos has one where he soaks his clothing in a 5 gallon bucket in this stuff and a little water. It stops ticks, chiggers and mosquitoes and I presume all other insects.

You can wash the clothing several times and it still retains the protective coating.

I'm going to do a change of clothes for after work working outside in.

I have free range chickens and haven't seen a deer tick in years where they range. They do not get those big suckers that get on my dogs though. I'll be working out of the areas they range, so I am going to suit up.

 

I have free range chickens and haven't seen a deer tick in years where they range. They do not get those big suckers that get on my dogs though. I'll be working out of the areas they range, so I am going to suit up.

I think the big suckers are small when they get on the host/dog and go unnoticed. They feed for days and swell up to a huge size as they gorge on blood, then they drop off and lay their eggs (hopefully not in wall to wall carpeting).

 

The best 'chickens' for tick control are Guinea Fowl. Noisy, but incredibly effective.

Ticks are out as usual here in Transylvania. Took one off my cat this morning ,dead but embedded, frustrating that, because she's been Frontlined. I have a super efficient tweezers made just for lifting ticks that works a treat. I never get them - as in never ever had one. At least never ever found one on myself, but we have Guinea Fowl free range in the two acres around the house.