Posted on 11/10/2011 9:40:38 AM PST by BuckeyeTexan
Does anyone have recommendations for treating heavily wooded property for ticks? My one-year-old basset hound (Sophie) is an indoor dog, but she has free access to a little over an acre of heavily wooded property. (300+ oaks and pecans.)
I've tried every treatment I can find to put on Sophie to prevent ticks, but I'm still finding them on her once every few days. She sleeps on my daughter's bed, so I'm worried about a tick dropping off in the bed. She's a lemon basset hound so the ticks are easy to see unless they're really small.
Is there anything I can do to treat the property? I don't want to poison the land or kill the trees, so I'd prefer something natural, but I'm not strictly opposed to pesticide if it'll work.
Tex
Chickens
Positive all around - they clean out the ticks plus you get eggs.
Guineau Hens? Supposedly those eat ticks when they forage. You see them around farms and such, so they seem to stick close. Maybe somebody else can amplify.
invite iran to use the property as a nuclear test ground?
Fire
Bring in a truck load of fire ants, Tex.
Not that I know of.
I don’t like to give my dogs a lot of crap but I’ve found that I tend to check them over multiple times during the day and find ticks before they become attached.
If you can channel all of the illegals through your property as they ingress, they will pick up most of them to eat; the rest they wear.
http://www.dirtworks.net/Diatomaceous-Earth.html
Pets:
In case a bug decides to take up residence in their fur. You can protect them and yourself with Fossil Shell Flour (diatomaceous earth). When lightly rubbed into their coats it is very effective against fleas, ticks, lice, and other pests on pet dogs, cats, and their premises. You can puff it into the soft furniture in your house, the rug and all over the basement too.
Diatomaceous Earth Kills Pests Naturally - It is a mineral dust mined from quarries that kills the insects when they come in contact with it and it does vaporize or go away over time. Once it’s in place it works every time and it’s nontoxic.
Good remedy!
Clearing out the underbrush and keeping the weeds cut short will help a lot.
I’ve had success with a non toxic spray called Cedarcide’s ‘Best Yet Biting Insect Spray’. It smells good and makes his blonde coat shiny too.
Keep wild grassey areas cut as short as you can get them and make sure you have nothing that will attract deer.Deer are notorious tick carriers.
The only other thing you can do is spray the area with insecticide but that’s one thing I would not do.since I’d be affraid of poisoning the water supply.
Chickens or Guinea Fowl. The Guinea Fowl are more hardy left on their own, they are great foragers. You can train any of them to come to a shed at night with a little bit of feed.
Ditto on the chickens - my sister-in-law has them & there are NO ticks to be found around their place or on their two dogs. The fresh eggs are a really nice bonus - she shares! :-)
There are pro and con on this but I feed my border collie a tablespoon of olive oil with a half teaspoon of garlic. Never had a tick and she lives on six acres heavily wooded and deep brush. She’s in it all the time.
No ideas for the property but you might try putting some apple cider vinegar in the dog’s water dish. That will help prevent fleas and ticks from getting on the dog.
Guinea Hens: eat ticks all year round. You have to train them in the spring when they are chicks, but it is well worth it. Never had ticks on my dogs.
Get a pair of Guinea hens. They will keep 2 acres free of ticks. They are tick eating machines.
Got the fire ants. Check. Got ground-burrowing wasps too. Doesn’t seem to help.
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