Ticks

Okay I am not sure if these are considered a gardening foe but I have read so many people warning of ticks and lyme disease. We dont have those issues here in Las Vegas that I know of. My pets have tick collars for extra insurance but I have never even seen one or heard of anyone having a problem with them.

We are moving to SC, are they there??? and what are some of the things I can do to help reduce the risk of having problems with ticks.

You will have ticks there!
My Mother has Lymes disease from a deer tick and I have to check my son nude everynight in the summer to remove any he may have gotten while playing around the woods.
They are about the size of a speck of pepper and I have scratched many a freckle on my son to see if it would come off. That is how tiny they are. I will get a site link for lymes here for you!
It is something we have learned to live with and watch out for.
Dogs can get lymes shots and frontline tick and flea liquid to be put on them.
Looking for some sites be right back gotta bath the boy and will find some for you!!!

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/lyme/ld_humandisease_symptoms.htm

http://www.aldf.com/DeerTickEcology.asp

yuck, now after reading those sites I am itchy.

Okay, now if a deer has been biten or has ticks does it effect the meat of the deer???

Oh good question!


Let me see
Hey how are you feeling?
Stay well and I will do the research!!!

I am feeling okay so long as I don't stand up or move around much. I want CHAT... I need CHAT

AWWWW I know me too!!!!!
Do you have a laptop in your bed????

yep, I am usually on the laptop. My kids monopolize the desktop computers in the house. So DH bought me my laptop with a password to get on it. HAHAHAHA

very good glad to hear it!!!!
Are you resting???
Did you have dinner or is not time yet where you are??

DH has it cooking right now.

Did I mention I decide, he cooks, kids clean. LOL

I cooked for the first 17 years. He opened his smartalic mouth once and now he is cooking for the next 17 years. After that we will go out or switch off.....

Oh that is good!!!!!!
DH here is chef so when home he usually cooks but that is not often and I always clean! OF COURSE who would do it the way I wanted it done???

You have a good set up there!

Chef, huh..... DH has mentioned he wants to go to school to learn how to cook and maybe change careers. HHHMMMM Dmail me with your DHs thoughts on how he likes being a chef.. Pros-Cons and such.....
Just doesn't sound right in a Tick thread

LOL
well it may not be !!!!!

any other blood sucking bugs I should know about??? I mean other then kids.....

LOL
what do you have there???
Big spiders? Snakes? Underground bees?

Nature has messed with me out here and driven me to drink LOL
he was here every morning until I got rid of the birdhouse!
WE lovingly called him Lester

snakes, tarantulas, brown recluse spiders, scorpions, wasps, africanized bees, grasshoppers cicatas

ok so you got em all except the ticks!!!
LOL
they will be easy then for you!
Just check yourself and kids when get inside

Tarantulas and you worry about a tick!!!
You must be feeling better!!!
when removing one from yourself or child take some rubbing alcohol and rub it (on a cloth of course) over the tick it will back out and be esy to remove. Flush it down the toilet or burn it! It is very important to make sure it backs out and you get the head which can be tricky when they are sooooo small.

Vasoline will work to get them to back out too but the alcohol works fine for me.

and treat the pets with the appropriate medications for lymes and ticks! too hard to find a deer tick on a furball!

Anne

I know I'm really, really late, but I just found your thread about moving to SC and your concern about ticks. Oh, yeah, we have plenty of them! My little Maltese puppy has been on atibiotics for 2 wks because he got bit even though he only goes outside for "necessities". The vet told me that she has seen Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and other tick born diseases in pets in my area. She recommended Front Line or a prescription tick color (didn't get name of this one).

On the other hand, I've lived here most of my life and have had more than a few tick bites myself, especially as a child. None have ever caused me a problem (other than the "yuck" factor). Of course, you should strive to avoid them, but if you spend much time outside in this state, they will likely find you sooner or later.

It has been a while since your last post. Have you joined us here in SC yet?

Scutler, thanks for the information. I found alot of information from the extention service in that area and although ticks are not a major problem they are present. So I will just make sure I am protected as much as possible when hiking or cleaning out the back areas.

I haven't moved to SC yet. We are not moving permanently until January of 2007. Wish we could go sooner but my DH has to finish his contract here before we can leave. So we wait....

Casey

Carat, my DD had a terrible problem with ticks. She has kids, horses, dogs, cats, chickens, Etc. Taking the advice of her old Florida cracker neighbors she bought some Guineas. They cleaned out the ticks in record time! They also are great alarm birds when the hawks are swooping in for a chicken or two or a stranger comes on your property. They also lay eggs....what's not to love about a Guinea! LOL
Pati

P.S. I forgot to add...they also eat the bugs in her garden, and never touch a plant. The chickens on the other hand ruined her tomatos.

This message was edited Mar 12, 2006 5:54 PM

I was going to say guineas, too.

We are living in Lymes Central here - I'd say about 50% of my friends have gotten it.
(Most of my friends, like me, live in a rural area outside the cities around here). I've
never found one on me. I keep the place pretty clear of brush - I spent the first five
years here clearing out all the brambles & multiflora rosess, replacing the tall weeds
with ones that are kept short by mowing and such. I also had a flock of guinea hens
(til about 2yrs ago when the racoons cleaned them all out but one. And he's the meanest
baddest bird you'd never want to meet.) My chickens do root around the gardens a
lot more than the guineas but they also produce a more steady supply of eggs.

Tam

Another P.S.......My DD also had a large area of overgrowth that was going to be a bugger to clear out, so she bought two goats. At last report they were doing a great job on the clearing! LOL
Pati

The Wildlands Conservancy here uses goats to clear out the multiflora roses
and other nasties. That's a great suggestion! I have heard that they are
great escape artists though.
Tam

Pigmy goats are easily tethered and very easy to keep as a pet. and to rent to a friend. They love people and are hardly ever a problem. Unless you let them loose.

I am still in the beginning stages but have strongly been leaning towards getting a goat or two once we move permentantly.

First though I have a few things that I need to complete such as a housing area for them and fencing repairs.

When you say tethered, does that mean the can be harnessed? I will have about 6 acres unfenced and may want to take the goat to those areas that are overgrown if need be for grazing. I am a city girl and I thought a goat will eat through anything and everything that restricts there movement. Am I wrong in this???

You all are wonderful for bringing this thread back up to the surface again. Especially with spring around the corner and my urge to fly back and just rumage through the acreage is getting overwhelming again.

Casey

Yes overhead cable dog run works quite well. They chew through rope pretty well.