Tick Tockery
Well we may need to move further north to see the aurora (Seth, I think you hold the record for southern observations). But we may need to move above the Artic Circle to get beyond the realm of TICKS! Dang, almost November and this past week has been the worst week for these weensy bloodsuckers we've had all season. There had been dog ticks around every spring and fall; they are slow and relatively large, easy to see, slow to start feeding. They bothered Buster quite a bit, and being black, we couldn't detect them until they were engorged and lumpy. With Tsuga being a yellow lab, we thought it would be easier. But now for some reason, we have "seed ticks" (sp unknown) that are about the size of the period at the end of this sentence. And quick to set up housekeeping.
The PreventTic collar (a hefty $17) hopefully will do its work. Matter of fact, Ann and I are thinking about giving each other one of these as stocking stuffers this Christmas. I think a rugged leather tick collar might be sort of macho; a slender pink one for the missus. Whaddaya think?
Comments
>I think a rugged leather tick collar might be sort of macho.
LOL! That sentence should spike your deviant search engine traffic considerabably. ;-)
Posted by: feste | October 31, 2003 11:48 AM
Fred:
For now, this late in the season, a collar should work. But if you find next summer that the problem is really bad, check out Biocontrol Network at http://www.biocontrolnetwork.com/. They sell diatomaceous earth (DE), a harmless powder that some people actually comb into their pet's coat. It's both a repellent AND an insecticide. We don't use it on our pets because we don't have to...we applied it to our lawn, where the dogs are fenced in, and we haven't seen a flea or tick on them in ages. On the website, it goes by the name of "Permaguard Dog & Cat D-20."
Posted by: Curt | October 31, 2003 12:17 PM
if you can stand stinky chemicals, Frontline is a topical ointment for dogs. It takes a few hours for the ointment to be fully absorbed, and the sticky patch goes away in a few days, but it's another alternative. Its effectiveness lasts about 3 months, so they say.
I've relied on it, with some skepticism, for my dog, and generally found it effective in some heavy tick-infested areas. And yeah, I've been tempted to strap a couple of collars around my ankles, too. Ticks, yecch!
Posted by: lyn | October 31, 2003 5:55 PM
. . . remember that AARP article I referenced?
Posted by: Beth | October 31, 2003 8:35 PM
We use Frontline on our two beagles and did not see a flea or tick all year. You apply it to the back of the dogs neck and then their body oil spreads it throughout. I was somewhat skeptical at first, but I can't argue with the results. We apply once a month , must be using a weaker dose than Lyn.
Posted by: Chris | November 1, 2003 9:06 AM
Studs on yours, diamonds on Ann's.
Posted by: Cop Car | November 1, 2003 11:30 AM
Chris was right; reapply Frontline once a month for ticks (the three months' effectiveness was for fleas). My bad. Chalk it up to a light tick year in California.
Posted by: lyn | November 3, 2003 11:13 AM