Tick&Fleas

turtle

Explorer
Feb 4, 2009
653
213
a village...in the pines
or ebay, or Petmeds.com, or medi-vet.com.

It's very readily available. Are you having a particular problem or are you just preventing?

Sue,

How is the tick and chigger thing in Michigan? Do you even suffer from them at all? Also, as I have been thinking of your move during this winter, I have also wondered if you had the opportunity to find yourself some forested havens to wander.

turtle
 

Boyd

Administrator
Staff member
Site Administrator
Jul 31, 2004
9,502
2,765
Ben's Branch, Stephen Creek
How is the tick and chigger thing in Michigan? Do you even suffer from them at all?

I'll bet they aren't an issue there. When I lived in upstate NY, I never saw either during about 20 years. I think the cold winters are more than they can handle.

Personally, I think the ticks and chiggers are a reasonable trade for those long, COLD winters though. :)
 

noboat

Explorer
Feb 1, 2010
323
155
63
Waterford Works
or ebay, or Petmeds.com, or medi-vet.com.

It's very readily available. Are you having a particular problem or are you just preventing?
No particular problem just preventing as i run my dogs in the woods and let them swim we get it from the vet but do to layoff $$ a little tight just trying to get a good price and not have to pay a un scheduled vet bill.
Thank you very much.
Al
 

wayne larsen

New Member
Mar 27, 2010
2
0
65
frontline

I did see a warning about it making some pets sick. I do use frontline on my cat and capstar. Costco sells it at a discount if you have a card to there. 1 800 petmeds, I've had no problem with them either
 

Sue Gremlin

Piney
Sep 13, 2005
1,277
233
61
Vicksburg, Michigan
Sue,

How is the tick and chigger thing in Michigan? Do you even suffer from them at all? Also, as I have been thinking of your move during this winter, I have also wondered if you had the opportunity to find yourself some forested havens to wander.

turtle
So far, we haven't found any chiggers yet, but it's still cool out. I did get a tick bite but I think the culprit was one of my research subjects. The ecology of this area is similar to the pines--acid swamps, sandy soil and peat bogs, so I totally expect that to happen. And oh my goodness yes, we have found some forested havens. Namely, on our property. :) We have 5.3 acres of paradise, seriously.
We have a LOT of MI exploring to do. I have not had the time to catch my breath at all in the two months that we have lived here, but that's coming soon. We moved here at a great time of year, it's very exciting. From what I can tell there are a lot of vast hemlock forests. Yay. :)

This is shot from our dock on Portage creek. Not too shabby.
30ljfbr.jpg
 

Sue Gremlin

Piney
Sep 13, 2005
1,277
233
61
Vicksburg, Michigan
There has been a new warning issued regarding some of the spot flea and tick pet treatments. I've stopped using them and reverted back to a collar when in the field.

http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/health/petproductseval.html
This is what bothers me about this market. People assume that because it's in the grocery store, it's safer than what you can get at the vet's.
Let me assure you, NOTHING is further from the truth. Modern chemistry is far more insect specific than the old pyrethroids they sell in the pet food aisle. And I like to call pyrethroids "caticides" because that's exactly what happens when you give them to cats, which, startlingly, they are often labeled for. This is my industry and for the life of me I do not understand why things evolved the way they did. I would not recommend these things and would never use them on my dog. They don't work that well, first of all. Or, at least, not for long enough.

If you are on a budget and want to keep your dogs from getting ticks, I highly recommend a PrevenTic collar. They are not expensive, relatively speaking. You can get them through your vet, I think you may need an Rx to get them, but I am not 100% sure about that. They contain Amitraz, highly effective against tick bites, and can last three months. Ticks are far too nasty to risk using something that doesn't really work. We now have not only borrellia (lyme disease), but rickettsia (rocky mountain spotted fever, which is almost always fatal to dogs and often to people), ehrlichia and babesia right in NJ. Tick bites are always bad news.
 

Medford Piney

Explorer
Feb 25, 2008
121
1
Medford
Many years back I had a Golden Retriever, he had a habit of "collecting" ticks on a daily basis... Our vet told us to add chopped up fresh garlic in his food a few times a week, add more and more often if they were still present and less and less often if they were not present. I must say, it works.. Even switched to the jarred chopped stuff and still had great results... In fact if I know I am going to spend alot of time in the woods, I like to "load" up on it the night before...
 

noboat

Explorer
Feb 1, 2010
323
155
63
Waterford Works
Thanks everyone

We got it. A coupond came in the mail on a good deal now i feel better letting the dogs play in the woods as they just love it there. Thanks

AL
 

Sue Gremlin

Piney
Sep 13, 2005
1,277
233
61
Vicksburg, Michigan
Very nice Sue! How are the taxes up there?
Amazing. Our 1200 sf 2 br, 1 bath cape with 0.2 acres in a semi not-so-great neighborhood in NJ had a $6000 tax bill. Our present, fairly magnificent 3000 SF house with 5+ acres in solitude has a $2300 tax bill. :dance:

But the car insurance here is higher. Not sure why. Weird, eh?
 

Sue Gremlin

Piney
Sep 13, 2005
1,277
233
61
Vicksburg, Michigan
Oh, and allow me to add that the mosquitoes out here are flying pit bulls. I have never in my life. :jeffd:

Fortunately, the bats will move in a few weeks from now, we are told.
 

wanderlust

New Member
Mar 4, 2009
18
0
49
South Jersey
Thanks for the info on the tick collar Sue. I'll be calling our vet tomorrow. After Max's experience with RMSF last summer, not taking any chances.

We have an amazing amount of standing water in our backyard right, for a good month now, and the mosquitoes are just horrendous. Someone mentioned garlic oil (or soap, or any oil for that matter). Think that will have any affect on the ticks? We're letting our chickens free range a lot more often, hopefully that helps some but with 15-30 deer every night, I can't imagine it will help that much.
 

jburd641

Explorer
Jan 16, 2008
410
22
Port Charlotte, Fl.
Amazing. Our 1200 sf 2 br, 1 bath cape with 0.2 acres in a semi not-so-great neighborhood in NJ had a $6000 tax bill. Our present, fairly magnificent 3000 SF house with 5+ acres in solitude has a $2300 tax bill. :dance:

But the car insurance here is higher. Not sure why. Weird, eh?

That is strange about the car insurance. Florida taxes are cheap, $1000 on a tract home of 1100 sf, at least here in Port Charlotte (about 90 miles south of Tampa) but it's Florida, lol. Too hot but too cheap to pass up.
Good luck and congrats on the slice of heaven. :)
 
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