Hi everyone- Anyone living in a climate where the temps are warming up
(like New England) the ticks are out! I had to bring my dog to the vet today because she had one in her foot that I couldn't get out.It turned out to be a deer tick. She had a fever and is on antibiotics. She did have a Lyme vaccine last week and has Advantix on.

[Rani08]

I absolutely HATE Ticks... They're everywhere where I'm from the weather never seems to matter...

[Fresia]

It's good you caught it, unusual place to find one. I hope the treatment goes well and sending good wishes you way. One of mine came down with lyme about 10 years ago, with fever and recovered, was symptom free for years after. He tested positive for a long time but finally stopped, and showed no effects or symptoms after the initial treatment.

I'm in New England. B/c of bringing in firewood, I have to use flea & tick treatment year round as they'll come in off the firewood. Just 'love' the little buggers. The treatments are a deterrent for some of them but allow others to attach and then kills them in less than 24 hours, so that may have been the case. It takes close up to 24 hours for lyme to get transmitted back to the host so they are killed off before this happens, with them falling off at times and other times remaining attached but dead. I still remove them too and am constantly checking the dogs every time they come in from outside and at times even when they are just in the house, due to the firewood.

I started using K9-Advantix a few years ago, since it repels mosquitos and black flies too, and seems to stay on in the water better, lasts longer; my babies just love going in the river and to the beach. I seem to have better coverage with this one.

Meanwhile, Sending best wishes for a speedy and healthy recovery for your little one!

[Yoda]

Originally Posted by Fresia

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I'm in New England. B/c of bringing in firewood, I have to use flea & tick treatment year round as they'll come in off the firewood.

How so? You treat your pets year round or set off flea and tick bombs in the house or what?

[Fresia]

I use the topical treatment on the dogs year round and spray the area around where the firewood is kept for a barrier. However, I still find ticks outside of it at times but it has lessened them. I can't use bombs b/c of my asthma and also I worry about the dogs licking or eating some of it if it gets on something it shouldn't have; some neighbors do though. (Burning wood isn't so good for my asthma either, but it is a cheaper source of heat.)

[eskielover]

Ugh, the ticks in Kentucky are horrible this year...more than the other 3 years I lived here. Just the other day, I was outside.....my friend came over to help me mow because of my fractured back.....but I couldn't get the battery started.....forgot that it hadn't been used all winter just like last year.....& my jump starter was dead also......

anyway, she left, I walked next to my porch to turn on my water to wash off a couple of tarps I was using over the winter with the hose. Put my dog on a leash under my maple tree.......came in just as it was getting dark. I looked in the mirror in the bathroom I never use & found a tick in my hair. I decided to take a shower.....but before I did, I decided to brush my hair.....I ended up finding 5 ticks in my hair, 2 crawling on the floor, another crawling on my arm just before taking my shower. 3 on my one dog & 2 on my other.

It got me feeling so crawly that after my shower, I felt something crawling in the middle of my back.....felt a lump & tried to get under it with my fingernail....then thought...maybe I need to look in the mirror to see if it's a tick.....it wasn't....it was just a flat mole that I had dug at enough to make it bleed ....oops.

I think they are all over the tree & the evergreen next to my porch. I know I can just spray with insecticide which I will do if it ever stops raining long enough.

I have never seen it so bad.....we had a long cold winter this year....thought it would have killed them rather than make them thrive.

Lucky they are the dog ticks & not the deer ticks here....but none the less, I really hate them.

I have a container filled with alcohol....other years I'm only had a few...this year, it's almost filled already.

[kitty004567]

I use revolution (flea/tick/heartworm topical treatment) on both my dogs year round. I've yet to have a serious problem since I switched. Also, I'm in the process of buying a house and my inspector (who also does pest control) said he could spray something that keeps termites away, kills ants for a year and a half and controls other bugs...now if only I could remember what it was called.

[sundog]

The ticks are terrible here in California too. Deer ticks mainly. They are crawling all over our dogs, and all over hubby and me too. I use Frontline on our dogs during tick season, but I don't find it very effective. They are still crawling in ticks. Luckily one of our dogs is white so it's super easy to spot the ticks on her.

I hope your doggie is ok ((((((((((((((rox))))))))))))))))

[(JD)]

My previous dog was a purebred lab, and my dog now is labradoodle... so they have an inherited taste that ticks and fleas don't like. I don't know about the chemicals, never wanted to use them anyway (and my vet said that by the time they affect a flea or tick, they've fallen off anyway)

With that said, there were 2 years that were really bad flea/tick seasons...during my black lab's lifetime...the year after the hurricane, and another after we had moved. I gave him garllic capsules. The garlic comes out through the skin and the ticks wanted none of it. Worth a try imo.

However, you must treat all 3 at the same time, for the same duration: yard, house, dog. And since flea eggs last a while, I did this 3 series 3x to be sure ...every 5 weeks (6 weeks is egg cycle I think and I wanted to be sure ) treat yard, treat rugs, fabrics in house, animal.

[leawalnut]

That was part of the deciding factor for me to get a dog with short fur. I'm almost compulsive about checking her for ticks after camping or hikes.

frontline lost its patent so now you can buy "pet armor" which is the same product only much cheaper...good news for all...as everything is so very expensive....

nasty ticks. hate the little things.