Uh oh, first tick of the year

Frontline Plus seemed to be virtually useless on fleas last Fall, and my vet is in agreement there, but he talked me into alternating FP & Advantage every couple weeks during the nasty months in order to get both flea & tick protection. We'll see ... it's still a big experiment.

Have you ever used Revolution?

When we lived on the farm, I used to spray permethrin around the yard (not knowing that I could have killed my cats with it as I'm sure that I wasn't particularly careful about it). We are currently entertaining the idea of buying & moving a small farm up Sallyg's way-ish, so if that actually happens, I'll be back in the thick of tick central once again. Ugh!

I don't have any pic's of the nutcase from class, but if my DH ever comes along, I'll ask him to take some. I've got a few pic's from a recent training session in the backyard though. Here's one of the goofball over-jumping by a mile.

Guineas are great for getting rid of ticks, moreso than chickens or other poultry. I had a couple of baby guineas last year that Larlienda gave me - she had hatched them from eggs. They got to be just about grown and neighbor's dogs clawed the fence open and killed both guineas and a chicken I had in there with them.

Some people don't like the noise guineas make but I think it's cute. I'd like to get some more and the guinea house is ready and waiting. I don't know what to do about the fence problem. I may put an electric fence around it.

Is Revolution the pill? I know I used a pill back when Java was young and stopped using it but I forget why. It wasn't doing something I needed it to do. Not very helpful there, am I?

I forget what I used last year for the fleas and ticks on the yard. It was one of those complete bug spray things that attach to the hose. It pretty much eliminated the flea and tick problem for months. I've never liked the idea of spraying chemicals all over the place but I'd rather do that than deal with the fleas and ticks all summer or worry about getting lyme. I still use the Advantix and Frontline for the cats. It pretty much took care of the Japanese beetles too and they've been getting worse every year.

That's some jump! Is he training for pole vaulting next? LOL He sure is a pretty boy. Thanks for posting the photo.

Dog Levitation !!!
Hey bring your floating dog up here !!

Seriously, we've lived here with at least one cat for eighteen years, and have never been overrun with fleas. Hardly ever see them, I do use Frontline during the warm months but I save my $$ during winter and skip it. The ticks do seem to have increased over that time.

I've been casting the net with some realtors who specialize in horse properties. Will let you know if we get any interesting bites! Just think, you'll have an endless supply of free fertilizer. ;)

The only time that I see the fleas is when I go looking for them on the critters. On the dog, I've found them in his groin and neck areas after parting the hair and looking closely at the skin. Definitely easier to see on his white markings than black. With the cats, a flea comb tells no lies. Without specifically looking for them, I'd never know they were there. Last summer, by August, they were BAD. Bleck.

I've considered buying nematodes specifically for flea control ... Behnke's has them in stock at their Beltsville store ... hard to know if it does any good though.

while nematodes may kill fleas in lab, I would have to read some good research about them being effective in real life, esp if packed, shipped, stocked in a store and applied by a homeowner.

Needle in a haystack = flea on a black GS

Thanks for all the help & great info, everyone! The horror stories are making me shudder, though. 3 Psycho ticks in the shower (did they have little knives? lol). Had to have the tick cut out... ewwwww. ::itching now:: Ok, time to go! ::scratch, scratch, scratch::

Another couple of Guinea Hen questions . . .
Will they dig up my plants?
We have a pool, do they like to swim? I really don't want chickens in my pool.
How hard is it to take care of them? (I already have three little boys and two cats, and feel like already about to lose it).

Thanks so much!
--Pam

I don't think they swim but this lady says they like to look at their reflections. LOL Lots of info here on guineas. BTW, they aren't chickens. Mine never got old enough to start letting them out to roam but I understand they don't damage your plants. You can't get them and immediately let them out to eat ticks or they'll wander off.

http://www.guineafowl.com/fritsfarm/guineas/

And a good summary here and links to photos of the different colors.

http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/Guineas/BRKGuineas.html

Hi, I sort of raced through these posts and am going to go back to look for information so please excuse me if I overreact. I found a deer tick on my stomach while showering about two weeks ago. It was very firmly attached. I did what you're not supposed to do and scratched it off with my fingernail right there and then, rather than wait for my husband to look up how to remove it. He was looking and I was freaking. There's no doubt it was a deer tick, barely the size of the head of a pin. We were able to see the ugly thing under a magnifier. Soooo disgusting. I'm not sure timing has much to do with getting infected, but it probably wasn't attached for more than 24 hours, because I took a shower the evening before and didn't feel it on me. I thought the bulls eye or a rash was the tip off as to whether one had a problem, and so I've been checking the bite area each day. It looks like a very small cigarette burn or blister, and the only red area is where I scratched the thing off/out of me. I really gouged myself. Are people advised to get a blood test just to make sure?

yes, a blood test is definitely advised, but some doctors will not do it until after a certain length of time passes from time of bite. Suggest doing some investigation on that.

Bull's Eye rash is common in many people, but not all, so lack of one is not a good indication of whether Lyme's is present or not. Suggest looking up tick bites on CDC website and calling your doctor's office to pick their brains.

To be honest, I pull them off much like you did because I've never had any luck with the methods that are recommended. Best wishes to you!

Ooooo, Pam, good luck!

~Kristy (fingers crossed)

Thank you. I think I'll call my doctor's office tomorrow. I'm sure they've had ample experience with the problem. Hope all of you are enjoying Mother's Day in your garden. It's sure a gorgeous day here. I couldn't believe how cool and crisp it was this morning, more like a fall day.

Found a tick in our house yesterday, flushed it down the toilet.

We now have Lone Star ticks. Had one last year and one the other day. Obvious white spot on its 'back'

ugh...nasty critters. I get them all the time working in the yard. Both deer and dog ticks. They are just in the air around here, once I was standing in the middle of the lawn, no tall grass in sight, felt a little "ping" on my forarm, and there one was that had not been there a second before. I swear they swing down from the trees like tiny Tarzans. Last week I was watching tv and felt something tickle my side, found one so small - i have never seen one so small - that you practically needed a magnifying glass to see it.

I can't even let my dog out into the backyard anymore, he has to do his business in the front, where there is much less vegetation.
After all, he sleeps glued to my side at night. Gotta keep his little butt bug free!

Now, has anyone heard about diatomaceous earth? It is a nontoxic mined fine powder mineral, a friend from PA said she is using it on her dogs, you can also sprinkle it all over your garden - supposed to interfere with the exoskeleton of insects, causing them to dehydrate. I need to do some research.

Be sure to do some research. I read somewhere it's very harmful for dogs to breath that stuff. Just think about it, if that's sharp enough to pierce insect exoskeletons, would you want it in your lungs?

oh wow, I didn't hear that one yet. And it is a very fine powder. I will definitely look up more info - and if anyone else has any, please let me know.

I've seen it recommended for slug control, as the sharp edges cut their slimy bodies, and also to plant with hostas (around the roots) to deter voles, but I'm not sure it's recommended for use ON animals. Heck, we should probably use masks when working with it too...

I think thats true that you should use mask or make sure not to breathe it.
jmp, when it's that bad, like hart, I think I would have to go to yard spray. Thank heaven and earth for Frontline etc products we can now use.

yes, I know what you mean, but chemicals are so bad too and we have lots of other critters in our yard, like frogs and box turtles etc etc. It is hard to know what to do - you don't want tiny disgusting disease carrying blood sucking relatives of spiders on your body, or your pet's body - but the short and long term effects of pesticides are scary to me too! Last year I did break down and just use the frontline. But I wasn't happy about it.

Another thing - brewers yeast and garlic sprinkled on your pets food is supposed to help. Used it years ago on outside cats, worked somewhat.

Brewers yeast and garlic doesn't do much and it's not good for your dogs. Garlic contains the same chemical that's toxic to dogs as onions only in a smaller amount.

I balked for years and years at spraying my yard, for the same reason and the fact that we have a well instead of public water. I haven't noticed any drop in the frog or bird populations. I spray once in the spring and once more three months later. I just got tired of seeing the things on the dogs and cats and being miserable myself all summer. Unfortunately, they don't have Frontline for humans.

Because of all the rain, I had to keep putting off spraying and finally got my yard done yesterday. The day before, I found numerous ticks on me. I now have welts on my head, back of my knee, my thigh, front of my leg and my chest. I only went outside three times the day before into the yard to walk Jello and once to go up to the chicken house to feed the chickens. This should give you some idea of how bad the problem is here.

Anyway, I use Frontline Plus for the cats and Advantix for the dog. They work pretty well although I was still seeing some ticks and fleas on the animals before I started spraying every year. Drs. Foster and Smith have both on sale right now through tomorrow with free shipping too.

BTW, I've noticed a dramatic drop in the Japanese beetles since I started spraying in the spring, a nice plus.