# Ticks - EW!



## galaxie (Dec 1, 2009)

Tim and I both thought that the other one had given Roscoe his Frontline on the 1st, but neither of us did  We realized this morning when we noticed that Roscoe picked up two ticks at the dog park yesterday. Ugh, I was so disgusted. I have NEVER seen a tick before in my life and I still have the creepy crawlies from the whole situation. At first I was like "What is this Tim?! ew does Roscoe have a spider on him?" LOL

Anyway, I was able to get both of the ticks off without breaking them, and I put them in a ziploc bag in the freezer. I read that you should do this in case Roscoe gets sick, then they can test the ticks to find out what (if anything) they gave to Roscoe.

What I'm wondering is should I be worried? He has had all of his shots, but I can't help but be a paranoid humom!


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## Luciledodd (Sep 5, 2009)

I don't worry so much about ticks. Dogs have been getting them since they were dogs and ticks were ticks. The probality of a tick born disease is pretty low unless you live with deer and then still very few people get disease. My grandchildren always get a tick or two every summer and I occassionally get one. It is really gross when you don't find them before they are stuck.


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## HavaneseSoon (Nov 4, 2008)

I started Dexter back on his "Frontline TopSpot" about a week ago. 

The weather is warming up in North Carolina and the fleas/ticks will be coming back. I dislike ticks and since Dexter is sleeping with us and I am constantly touching Dexter (checking for tangles and mats...and besides that...he is so soft and I can't help it)......., there will be no ticks.


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## HavaneseSoon (Nov 4, 2008)

galaxie said:


> Tim and I both thought that the other one had given Roscoe his Frontline on the 1st, but neither of us did  We realized this morning when we noticed that Roscoe picked up two ticks at the dog park yesterday. Ugh, I was so disgusted. I have NEVER seen a tick before in my life and I still have the creepy crawlies from the whole situation. At first I was like "What is this Tim?! ew does Roscoe have a spider on him?" LOL
> 
> Anyway, I was able to get both of the ticks off without breaking them, and I put them in a ziploc bag in the freezer. I read that you should do this in case Roscoe gets sick, then they can test the ticks to find out what (if anything) they gave to Roscoe.
> 
> What I'm wondering is should I be worried? He has had all of his shots, but I can't help but be a paranoid humom!


I forgot to answer your post.....I would not be worried.....I had a tick on me last year...I was fine. Dexter had ticks last year prior to starting his flea treatment....he was fine.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Luciledodd said:


> I don't worry so much about ticks. Dogs have been getting them since they were dogs and ticks were ticks. The probality of a tick born disease is pretty low unless you live with deer and then still very few people get disease. My grandchildren always get a tick or two every summer and I occassionally get one. It is really gross when you don't find them before they are stuck.


We have a lot of deer around here, and we're in the heart of deer tick country. There are actually LOTS of cases of Lyme in this area, in dogs, people and horses. That said, my understanding is that the tick has to be ATTACHED for at least 24 hours to transmit Lyme and most other tick-borne diseases. So if you have a good preventative on them, and are checking them carefully daily, the risk is pretty low.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

I pulled the first tick of the season off of Kodi yesterday, and immediately started his Advantix!!!


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## Missy (Nov 6, 2006)

I did the same thing the first time I saw a tick on Jasper...thought it was a spider. But the good thing is if you thought it was a spider most likely it was a dog tick and not a deer tick. and yes no need to worry if it was just hanging on for a ride and not attached. 

They are gross, and I hate them and use frontline plus year round. even so I pulled a tick off of Cash on a warm day in december and there was 6 inches of snow on the ground.


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## galaxie (Dec 1, 2009)

Thanks for the reassurance, everyone.

Ugh, I'm still so disgusted by ticks, it makes me shudder just thinking about them uke:

Weird that I've been an outdoorsperson my whole life (hiking, mountaineering, rock climbing, canoeing, you get the picture) and yet I had never seen a tick until that morning. God willing I will never see another one!


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## LuvCicero (Mar 31, 2008)

I don't know if this works, but thougth I would post from an e-mail I got from a friend. I would love for some members to try this and let me know if it works.....

*I had a pediatrician tell me what she believes is the best way to remove a tick. This is great, because it works in those places where it's some times difficult to get to with tweezers: between toes, in the middle of a head full of dark hair, etc. It works on humans and pets.*

*Apply a glob of liquid soap to a cotton ball. Cover the tick with the soap-soaked cotton ball and swab it for a few seconds (15-20), the tick will come out on its own and be stuck to the cotton ball when you lift it away. This technique has worked every time I've used it (and that was frequently, and it's much less traumatic for the patient and easier for me.*


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## Mojo's Mom (Jun 6, 2009)

Consider yourself lucky. We are near the the coast in east central Florida and we have had the worst tick problem I have ever seen. Our pest control people tell us many people are having bad tick problems this year.

At the height of our problem, we had ticks in the house and they had reproduced. Mojo was totally infested with ticks, covered with dozens of baby ticks, and please understand he is constantly combed and brushed so it's not like we were negligent. Things got out of control in a matter of a few days. 

It is under control now, but we had the house sprayed three times, the yard sprayed six times, and I don't take him anywhere he could be exposed. He wears a tick collar and we use Vectra 3D topical now. At this point, anything that gets on him will die long before it can reproduce, and probably before it can bite.

Keep in mind that Frontline Plus no longer works for ticks. Just ask any vet or any pest control professional and they will tell you the ticks are mostly resistant to Frontline Plus. Regular Frontline does not even pretend to help with ticks; it is for fleas only.

Even now, I got stupid this past weekend and let Mojo play on the grass briefly at my sister-in-law's house one morning...I checked him later and he had picked up 6 ticks. 4 were already dead, and the other two didn't look too healthy, thanks to my having to turn my dog into a walking pesticide.

Be vigilant, particularly in south Florida this spring.


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## galaxie (Dec 1, 2009)

Yuck. The frontline plus actually is working on the ticks down here in Miami, just not on the fleas! So I have both furkids on comfortis AND frontline plus. All the techs at the vet's office double up on the protection and so far I'm happy with it.

The only problem with the fleas having to wait to bite before they die is that they bite ME and not the dogs  And I'm massively allergic to bug bites so I constantly have a pretty awesome 1" diameter swollen red bump somewhere on me


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## Scooter's Family (May 23, 2008)

We're in GA just north of Atlanta and I haven't noticed a problem with fleas and ticks but we have a massive mosquito problem! I had our yard sprayed by our regular pest control company and he did a flea and tick treatment too. I hope it works as we have so many cats in our neighborhood that people just let out and they love to use my yard as their litter box. I was always worried about them having fleas because I have no way of knowing if they're treated or not.

I hate bugs!!!


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## Luciledodd (Sep 5, 2009)

So far this year I haven't seen a flea. But I have gotton two ticks off myself from mowing in the woods. I don't let Rosie outside the fenced area so she hasn't had any fleas yet. I haven't treated the yard either this year--maybe the chickens are keeping them down?


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## Kathie (Jul 31, 2008)

So far - so good with Abby as far as fleas are concerned thanks to Comfortis. We have woods around us but she stays in the small fenced-in area and we haven't seen ticks - yet!


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## Missy (Nov 6, 2006)

we have been lucky this year and not seen one tick (since December when we had 6 inches of snow LOL) After Cash had his mysterious, probably tick related disease we started using Frontline plus year round. I wonder if there is a culmulative effect?

Last year we had a lot of luck spraying our yard with Mosquito Barrier. It is a garlic spray- It smells horrid for about 2 hours but then it lasts at least 4 weeks. You spray it a different way for ticks, concentrating on woody areas. But we noticed we could stay out on the deck after dark without getting bit by skeeters either. before we sprayed we ran inside at about 7p with the spray we were able to stay out til about 9p. you still have mosquitos just not as many or as bothersome.

http://www.mosquitobarrier.com/


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## Scooter's Family (May 23, 2008)

Have you used it again this year, Missy? Would you use it again?


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## shiggins (Apr 14, 2010)

Hello, I don't about the method you spoke of but I found another ...u put on a rubber glove and spin the ticks butt in a clock wise motion and in less than a minute the tick pulls it head out...works like a charm everytime.


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## galaxie (Dec 1, 2009)

^ that's how it do it, apparently it makes them "dizzy" LOL

can be the first to say.....I HAAAAATE BITING BUGS!!!


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## Missy (Nov 6, 2006)

Scooter's Family said:


> Have you used it again this year, Missy? Would you use it again?


Anne, we have not used it yet this year. we almost did on memorial day weekend but we were having guests over as was our neighbors so we didn't want to stink them out. But we will use it again. We used it 3 times last summer and fall and it really seemed to help. You need to apply it during a dry spell though, and since mem day we haven't had completely dry weekends. But the smell does go away certainly by the next day.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Missy said:


> we have been lucky this year and not seen one tick (since December when we had 6 inches of snow LOL) After Cash had his mysterious, probably tick related disease we started using Frontline plus year round. I wonder if there is a culmulative effect?
> 
> Last year we had a lot of luck spraying our yard with Mosquito Barrier. It is a garlic spray- It smells horrid for about 2 hours but then it lasts at least 4 weeks. You spray it a different way for ticks, concentrating on woody areas. But we noticed we could stay out on the deck after dark without getting bit by skeeters either. before we sprayed we ran inside at about 7p with the spray we were able to stay out til about 9p. you still have mosquitos just not as many or as bothersome.
> 
> http://www.mosquitobarrier.com/


We had one or two ticks early in the season and then nothing here too. I just haven't wanted to say anything and break the spell!<g> Last year was SOOOO horrible!!! But you said it first, so if they decend on us now, I'm blaming you!


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## Luciledodd (Sep 5, 2009)

Well since you'll started it, I got a seed tick off of me last night--after my shower. I have to quit mowing the woods.


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## marjrc (Jan 13, 2007)

O.k., this is a very gross subject! I'm a city girl and can't stand bugs!!!


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## susieg (Aug 28, 2009)

marjrc said:


> O.k., this is a very gross subject! I'm a city girl and can't stand bugs!!!


I'm with you on that Marj!!

Lola was infested with ticks the day I brought her home from her breeder. I was HORRIFIED!! Ticks aren't a problem in the "city", if you can call LA a city , so haven't seen one since. Phew, they were GROSS! I pulled them off and put them in a water bottle so I could show them to the vet. Thought I had found them all, but the vet found one in her ear on her first check up visit. YUCK! The vet asked if she was a rescue.....nope, I paid a pretty penny for her. So he now calls her a breeder rescue


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## ama0722 (Nov 28, 2006)

I found the first tick of the season on Dasher. It wasn't attached but it was in his hair making its way after he helped me carry fallen branches in the woods. yuck yuck yuck!


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## Missy (Nov 6, 2006)

Just wanted to say, we used the Mosquito Barrier last weekend. and have been out way past dusk and not been bit. we don't usually have a problem during the day around here unless you are near still water. But to be able to stay out after dark and not get bit is a biggy. I can't say about the ticks as I have not seen any on the boys since december (very strange) but I feel like if we do it once a month through fall the buggers won't be attracted to our yard.


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## marjrc (Jan 13, 2007)

Great news, Missy!! I hate going out at certain times because of the mosquitoes so it would be a blessing not having any.

Susie, that's terrible! Poor little Lola.


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## Luciledodd (Sep 5, 2009)

I hate to post because I may jinz it; but so far no ticks or fleas and no frontline or any other deterent on Rosie. Also no mosquitos. I have a swimming pool and chickens running loose in the back yard. Maybe the chlorine and the chickens are taking care of the pests. I probably will put Rosie out in the morning and she will be covered with fleas just because I posted this. But we sat outside until 9pm tonight and not one mosquito. I am counting my blessings.


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## brugmansia (Dec 6, 2007)

We just pulled out a wood tick on both Luna and Dickson the past couple of days. I'll have to try the liquid soap and cotton ball suggestion mentioned. We had used rubbing alcohol on a cotton ball and tweezers. I finally gave Luna a dose of Frontline Plus. I seldom give it to her anymore, since we really haven't had fleas and I usually keep them away from anywhere that has ticks. I'm sure I saw a flea on her last week and the tick the other day. We don't have a tick problem at all where I live, but I have been taking them for walks in the woods, and Luna went to the beach house with DH this past weekend, where wood ticks are usually present. I have never put anything on Dickson since we've had him because I'm afraid of him having a bad reaction. The past two summers I have used the Frontline on Luna only once. I don't like the idea of chemicals and topicals, but if I need to, then I need to, especially for those times we go near deer tick areas. I was going to try Advantix on Dickson, but I just haven't gotten around to purchasing it. Hard to find around here.


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