How do you safely keep ticks off your children and animals. I'm concerned about some of the insecticidal chemicals but don't want my daughter getting Lyme disease either. Does anyone know of any good natural methods for treating large areas?
Here are some natural repellants and links.
Bugrepel
www.bugrepel.com/
TickSafe Tick Repellent. Super effective natural Geraniol based product
countryfarellc.com/
GB04 Herbal Insect Repellent is from Green Ban Company in Australia.
I use seven dust. It's what you use in a garden to keep bugs away. I sprinkle it on my dogs. You can also sprinkle it in your yard and on the floor in your house. Leave on for ten minutes and vacuum it up, it wont hurt the kids. My grandaughter plays with the dogs after they have been treated and it hasn't harmed her.
Sevin Dust contains highly toxic Carbaryl toxic and dangerous to pets.
In fact, though carbaryl was first approved for use in 1959, it's never been brought into compliance with modern safety standards, according to Toxic Tradeoff, a recent report on carbaryl by the Washington Toxics Coalition. As early as 1969, a U.S. government report called for restricting carbaryl after it was found to cause birth defects in test dogs. Carbaryl is also highly toxic to bees and has been linked to immune-system cancer in farmers and brain cancer in children.
I would not recommend Sevin for this purpose, because it is toxic, and you definitely shouldn't be breathing it (like you would when you were vacuuming it up).
We treat our dog with Frontline every month. We dust the yard with sulphur using a spreader set on "fine" a couple of times a summer - this really helps repel ticks. Yes it does smell a little right when you first do it.
For ourselves, we take a garlic capsule every morning (the "no-smell" variety), and when we are going into the woods we spray our feet, legs and ankles with a DEET repellent.
We rarely get ticks, but we still make it a policy to check every night throughout the summer and fall just before showering.
I can understand your concern with Lymes. A neighbor of ours has a child (14 now), who has had it for the past 4 years. Her health has been devastated, and she misses school most of the year. In a neighboring town, a 16-year-old died of it last year.
We should all be so careful to check our children and ourselves every night for ticks!
One more thing about Sevin... it is widely suspicioned that these kind of chemicals are at least part of the cause of bee populations being so decimated these past few years. Please if you must use this stuff, use it judiciously, and only as a last resort.
I am a believer in Avon Skin So Soft Bath Oil. Ticks do not like it. I buy it in the large container and refill my little spray container with it.
During the summer months, I spray a little in my hand and rub it on my legs, arms and around my waist every morning. I'm in the grass and bushes a lot and have no problem with ticks.
A little goes a long ways. It not only keeps the ticks away, it's good for your skin.
Does the lotion work?
Read snopes.com to see the documented, scientific research on home remedies such as Skin So Soft. Snopes.com is a great source for answering correctly other "Urban Myths".
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
I live in Mesa, Arizona and I have never had ticks on my dogs growing up. Now that my wife and I have a house of our own we have ticks like crazy all over our 3 dogs. They come in the house and in one sitting I can kill 10 on the floor. We have tick collars on all three, have given them baths with the tick soap, and put the oils down their backs. Please help. I need ideas to get them gone.
By Jimmy
We keep guinea fowl in the yard, and they help keep the tick population down. You can also try bathing your dogs in a very dilute pine oil and water mixture, to kill the ones already on them. Sometimes the over the counter collars aren't strong enough to work. You can also try a sprinkling of Sevin dust, or diatomaceous earth dusting on the dogs. Be sure to research online about the amounts and frequencies.
Best of luck to you!
We live in ETX and know your pain. First you have to treat the yard, over,under around everything with the liquid 7 and a sprayer. Wait until the yard is dry before you let the dogs out. Do again in 7 to 10 days again as ticks hatch every 7-10 days. You may have to do again, you will have to judge. Wash the dogs with a flea an tick shampoo as you go along to make sure that all are off and keeping off.
I use the Adam's shampoo and tick an flea squeeze you put on the dogs neck after they are dry, get from Walmart, watch your dogs to make sure they are not having a reaction from the squeeze, If you are diligent and clear your yard the problem will be much better and doable. Good Luck. Believe me it takes consistence and perseverance but well worth the effort.
To rid yourself of both, the cheapest way is to get a product called Talstar it is fairly cheap and you will like it. I used it this year and only treated my dogs.
I too, live in Mesa, but my problem was buying a tick infested puppy, as my house was immediately infested with ticks. I have been battling them for 5 weeks now. If you are finding 10 on the floor, you can bet that you have a major infestation, and the dogs are getting ticks in the house as well as outside. Call an exterminator (I use Preventive) and clean your house like you never have. You can buy food grade diamataceous earth to put around your house and on your dogs also. I advise getting the dogs Advantix II. If you don't start doing something to turn this around, you are creating numerous additional life cycles that you will have to deal with. I now know alot about ticks, so feel free to email me. You can also text me. Can always reach me through my site at PassionPartier.com. Good Luck to you!
I am also loosing my mind, money and strength with this problem in Florida. I just want to pack & move
For the first time in my dogs life he has ticks and now they are infesting my home. What can I do to get rid of them? What can I do? I have a 3yr old and need a safe remedy.
Get some powdered Vitamin B1 from a health food store and sprinkle it over your dog's food. It will produce a smell on your dog's skin that humans can't smell but is offensive to ticks and other insects. Ask a vet or a dog breeder how much you need, it varies by the size of the dog. Some people say this doesn't work but my sister tried it on her dog and said it worked great. Don't buy B complex. That contains niacin which is supposed to be harmful to dogs. Some dogs refuse to eat this at first but just leave the food there, when he gets hungry he'll eat it. Once dogs get used to B1 they love it. And keep his water dish full, B1 causes increased thirst until your body gets used to it.
I have read that if you put vinegar in a dogs water it helps with different things. I use it with my dogs because of the kids allergy to fleas. We have been flea free for 3 years now and I am very faithfull to the vinegar. I do not use flea powders or collars either. I put a teaspoon of vinegar per cup or cup and a half of water. It takes some getting used to but my dogs adjusted within a week to the taste
I have owned dogs and cats for many years and I live in the country side, the best way to keep ticks and fleas off the animals is to use Frontline Topical you can buy on line or at pet stores and vet offices. It is rather expensive but it works. I have tried many other brands over the years (to save money) but they didn't work and of course in the long run it was just a waste of money.
I had the same problem here in the western desert of Az also, and the house was sprayed with Raid, carpeting and linoleum, then mopped where I could like in the Bathroom etc. The most important thing we did was to purchase a large container of "Home Defense" at Ace hardware, we sprayed the yards and trees, we got rid of the ticks and that was about 10 years ago and have never had them since. I don't know where they came from but the neighbor lets cows run free and we think that's where they got started. I put Frontline on my dogs and protected them.
I have never had a problem with a tick, ever. I let my grand daughters aunt keep my grand daughters 3 month old baby while I went out of town. I was gone two days. She owns a puppy. When I brought the baby home he seemed to have a upset stomach, and vomited after he had a bottle.
Later that night my grand daughter noticed something in his head we thought it was dandruff or cradle cap. After removing some of it we noticed the little particles were moving. This first thing I thought of was he had gotten ticks from this puppy. How can I tell if I was right, and if I was what can I do to get rid of them. Do they multiply? Should we see a doctor NOW?
Food-grade diatomacious earth can be obtained at your local feed store. it's non toxic, but lethal to ticks. you simply dust it on your animals (it's like powder). Research it online, there's lots of info out there. Good luck!
My yard is infested with ticks and I have 2 dogs. What's the best and safest way to get rid of them?
Hardiness Zone: 10b
By Simone from Turks Caicos Islands
What kind of ticks are these? Deer ticks are tiny, hard to see.
Your dogs need tick treatment, your lawn needs to be cut very short (without burning it). Those are immediate fixes. If near wooded areas, again, short grasses as ticks need height to crawl on people/dogs as the run by.
Find out from the county where you could get and use DEET product in large quantities. This is the only other thing that deters ticks. Also check with your county/state extension service. They will have answers.
I have 3 Boston Terriers (so short-haired). They get a frontline treatment once a month. We live in Hawaii in a community association, so definitely not country. We just moved into this place a few weeks ago. We've had the yard professionally treated once and used Home Defense at least 2 or 3 times in the 3-week span.
Yesterday, while my husband was making Thanksgiving dinner, we let our dogs run around the yard for an hour, just a day after my husband sprayed Home Defense. (I'm getting itchy just typing this stuff). When we brought them inside, my husband told me to quickly grab the camera and a bowl of water. We pulled at least 30 ticks off of each dog...over 90 ticks total.
It seems no matter what we do, the ticks keep coming back. It's such a stressful and frustrating situation. If we have ticks, then no question that our neighbors have ticks too.
I am at wit's end because we moved from an apartment to a house, just so the dogs could have a yard to run around in. And they have so much fun running around. It's sad to see them sit at the door, starting at it, wondering when they'll get to play again.
As a last ditch effort, I'll try the chips/granules. We're planning on bringing it up with the association, but we can only do as much as our neighbors do, from the sounds of it, is nothing. I'm totally thinking about taking a loss on this and moving to a different house so our dogs can enjoy a tick-free yard.
I've attempted to attach a picture of the bowl of water where we emptied the ticks.
You can try growing a plant called pennyroyal. We have a tick problem that isn't anywhere near as bad as yours but bad enough that it's annoying. So, I've been doing some reading up on possible remedies and it seems this plant scares off ticks and can also be used as a flea repellent on dogs and can be used as a general bug repellent on people. However pregnant woman shouldn't go anywhere near it and I'm also reading it can be poisonous to cats.
What attracts ticks to a home without pets?
By Margaret P.
The attach themselves to socks and long pants. Research shows they don't live and breed in a home, so they will most likely try and get back outside but if not, will find a cool place to hide and die.
They can jump off of many host animals and birds as they pass your yard. High grasses, areas that seldom get disturbed are prone to ticks. Keep flower beds raked and clean, keep any grassy area mowed on a regular basis, make sure any of your trash cans are not being opened late at night by things such as rats, raccoons, possums.
My brother and his wife live in Florida. They are having a lot of trouble with ticks in their yard and in the house. They have two small kids and animals. What can they use to keep the ticks away? The kids have gotten up and had one crawling on them help!
By Jami T
Ticks don't like anythjng citrus. So you can cut up a lemon or an orange (or use both) and boil them in water for a few minutes and then turn it down and let it simmer for an hour and then drain off the fruit and put the liquid in a spray bottle and spray it on animals and people alike and it won't hurt anybody and the ticks hate it.
All of my money is tied up in medical bills and my house is infiltrated with ticks. I only let my dogs out for short periods of time, but they're getting them from in the house because they seemed to have taken up residency. I am going through chemotherapy and need an inexpensive way to get rid of them.
By Stacie
A very effective and inexpensive way to get rid of fleas and ticks is FOOD GRADE Diatomaceous Earth. I get a 50 pound bag for $28.07 at my local feed store.
I suggest you do a search on DE. You will be surprised of the many benefits for both you and your pets and how to get rid of fleas and ticks.
I have two little dogs and the fleas were getting out of control. The DE took care of the problem quickly. DE is very safe for your pets. I highly recommend this stuff.
How do I kill ticks on my wooded property without killing everything else?
By Deborah
Guinea hens will clean them up for several houses around.
My dog just got spayed so she cannot get wet for another week, but some how she has picked up a bunch of seed ticks. I have heard all kinds of thing regarding garlic. Can I spray her down with a water garlic mix just enough to make the ticks want to get off of her? Or, do I have to wait until I can give her a bath and if so can I put garlic in her bath water and wash her with a tick and flea shampoo? I have already given her Advantix, but it does not treat for ticks :( Any suggestions?
By tiffany.byrd
There are several products on the market for repelling and killing ticks on your dogs. Some pet owners also attempt to remove them manually, care needs to be taken to remove the head. Clean and disinfect the area after removal. This is a page about remedies for ticks on dogs.
Depending on where you live and the time of year ticks can be a parasite on dogs and humans. Food grade diatomaceous earth may be helpful in reducing ticks. This is a page about getting rid of ticks in your yard.
When pets pick up ticks outside they frequently leave them in your home, where they can become an infestation. This is a page about getting rid of ticks in your house.
