Ticks! Ri-

[bastaya]

Hey mamas-

It's(amazingly) that season again already. We just plucked a tick off of DS. Just wanted to give folks the heads-up that they are out again, so you can start checking your sweet peas over.

Man!
basta

PS- We're in Greenville/Smithfield

[DaughterOfKali]

There are already so many people who are getting Lyme disease already here.

I'm so afraid that I won't be able to see a deer tick in ds's hair. (his hair has darkened)

Plus, my hair is VERY dark and I don't have anyone to check my head.
Ugh, just the thought of ticks makes me shiver.

[Sage Green]

Ugh, I know. I picked 3 off of us today (maybe a deer tick on my 8 month old!) and I am freaked out. I just don't know what to do to prevent them. One bit my back but just briefly.

[belltree]

It wasn't that cold this winter and spring started early plus the rainy summer last year. All that was probably feast for the Tick population.

We just check regulary after being outside.

[She2dancer]

Yup, we've pulled a few off of us already too! Uck!!!! Has anyone used the Daminix Tick Tubes? We did a group buy (with family last year), so this is our first season using them (so I don't know how well they work). But it appears that mice, who are the major carriers of ticks, are using the tubes in our yard. I have high hopes that they will help reduce the number of ticks in our yard, as we live in the woods.

They say to place tubes out again in September, so I may place another bulk order if anyone is interested.

[JustAnotherJenny]

I haven't tried the tubes yet, but I am considering it. I just bought some concentrated garlic juice called Mosquito Barrier. I haven't put it down in the yard yet, but it is supposed to repel ticks and mosquitoes (and other annoying biting bugs). It got a lot of good reviews. I'll report back once I've put it down. Although we've got rain in the forecast for the next couple of days and it needs to be on for about 48 hours before it rains. It might be awhile at the rate we're going. :-)

We've started putting garlic in the dogs' food because they were bringing ticks into the house which were then transferring to us! GROSS! Since I've started that, I haven't found any ticks on them or on us!

There's a place in Exeter, RI that carries the tubes too if you need them on the quick, quick.

[Lemon Juice]

Originally Posted by bastaya

Hey mamas-

It's(amazingly) that season again already. We just plucked a tick off of DS. Just wanted to give folks the heads-up that they are out again, so you can start checking your sweet peas over.

Man!
basta

PS- We're in Greenville/Smithfield

You live near us, mama!! We have picked off a few ticks and starting seeing them in the beginning of March. I read a study URI did about ticks and b/c of the rains last summer there was a surge then, there is suppose to be even more this summer b/c of the amount that laid eggs last summer/fall. Sigh. We had a lot of water flood our yard and since then we haven't found one tick on the kids! Thinking it was high enough and stayed long enough to kill some nests/eggs/hatchlings maybe?? I hope so!

Jenny, when we found out we were moving to RI I searched for natural tick sprays and found Mosquito Barrier. We never did buy/use it, how did it work?

In the 2 years we have lived here I have come to know far too many people w/ Lyme's. It's terrible. I have seen it do some awful things and wish you all the best with tick season! Our family is moving back to the NW where there is no worry about bugs like ticks, black flies, mosquitos, etc. Good, luck mamas s

[Doberbrat]

Halo Purely for Pets makes a Flea & Tick Dip that is made from essentail oils. You can also make it up in a spray bottle. I've been using it on myself and my kids for years. I've never had a tick on me and rarely get them on the dogs.

I do use frontline 1x a year at the beg of the season on the dogs b/c I dont spray the dogs daily only when we all go out into the woods.

also keeps mosquitos and gnats away.

I used to be able to get it at whole foods but the last time I tried, they had to order it for me.

[pjsmom30]

Originally Posted by JustAnotherJenny

I haven't tried the tubes yet, but I am considering it. I just bought some concentrated garlic juice called Mosquito Barrier. I haven't put it down in the yard yet, but it is supposed to repel ticks and mosquitoes (and other annoying biting bugs). It got a lot of good reviews. I'll report back once I've put it down. Although we've got rain in the forecast for the next couple of days and it needs to be on for about 48 hours before it rains. It might be awhile at the rate we're going. :-)

We've started putting garlic in the dogs' food because they were bringing ticks into the house which were then transferring to us! GROSS! Since I've started that, I haven't found any ticks on them or on us!

There's a place in Exeter, RI that carries the tubes too if you need them on the quick, quick.

I just bought the Mosquito Barrier too. I sprayed the whole yard in hopes that it would keep the black flies at bay. No luck, they are horrible! Maybe after another spraying it will help with the mosquitos....

[mumm]

Ticks are actually active all year.

They only need a day above 35 to get going again. Dd has already been treated for lyme again this year and we are estimating that the tick that infected her got her in late Feb. (and sadly, no we weren't vacationing this winter!) We check so carefully, but it is the one you miss that gets you.

[caramitch]

I looked up Halo Purely Herbal Dip. Is that the one you mean?
Can we actually make THIS into a spray or did you mean that we read the ingredients and use the essential oils mentioned and make such a spray? I would love to know what the essential oils are if you have a bottle of the dip handy. thnx

I have used Misquito Barrier on my lawn in Rehoboth (in the woods surrounded by a swamp), keep the lawn cut short, have the lawn guys carry what they cut away (lawn guy feeds it to his cows b/c we use no chems) and have had no real problems.

I don't know if it matters, but I also use a lavender shampoo and conditioner on everyone in the house and we do use Frontline on the outside cat (though I am investigating natural alternatives).

We have a billion rodents that run through the yard and occassionally the house so I am going to use the Daminix Tick Tubes. Again, I don't know if it will make any difference, but I am thinking of planting lavender all around the yard - this will be quite an undertaking!

Additionally, if giving the pets garlic helps against ticks, couldn't we eat it too?

BTW, you all are picking Deer Ticks off you, right? I was under the impression that we did not have to worry about non-Deer ticks. Is this what you all believe to be true as well?

[justmama]

Originally Posted by Lemon Juice

Sigh. We had a lot of water flood our yard and since then we haven't found one tick on the kids! Thinking it was high enough and stayed long enough to kill some nests/eggs/hatchlings maybe?? I hope so!

hopefully there's some truth in that. we had 10ft pf water in the basement and 2ft against our foundation and at the bottom of the property line(it's a hill from the house to the property line) we had 6 ft. Our grass took off like wildfire this year. Must be all that nice raw sewage fertilizer. But hopefully that killed the eggs too?

[RImomma]

We had flooding in our backyard, but I've gotten 2 ticks off of the kids and 3 off of the dog these past two days. Thank you for the post. I'm going to get some tick tubes and try that.

[chlobo]

Originally Posted by She2dancer

Yup, we've pulled a few off of us already too! Uck!!!! Has anyone used the Daminix Tick Tubes? We did a group buy (with family last year), so this is our first season using them (so I don't know how well they work). But it appears that mice, who are the major carriers of ticks, are using the tubes in our yard. I have high hopes that they will help reduce the number of ticks in our yard, as we live in the woods.

They say to place tubes out again in September, so I may place another bulk order if anyone is interested.

we use the tick tubes. We also sprayed the yard two years in a row. Be aware that it takes 3 years to break the "tick" cycle and really reduce the #s. We are just using tubes this year and hope they are effective.

It's also helpful to make your yard less tick friendly by getting rid of debris & putting a "barrier" (like mulch) between any woods & the yard.