spitfirebill said:Why can’t we import a species that eats fire ants?
Chimney Swifts will eat swarming fire ants.
spitfirebill said:Why can’t we import a species that eats fire ants?
Chimney Swifts will eat swarming fire ants.
In reply to dculberson :
I have picked up ticks walking across a freshly mown lawn. That year was especially bad, but yes, we get them pretty bad down in Southern New Jersey. Down here it is either beaches or pine barrens
In reply to Floating Doc :
There's probably an exception or two to every rule. I suffered through RMSF for most of the fall of '15, sucked a big fat one. 0/10 would not recommend.
I removed a wood/dog tick from my waste line, it had been on me less than 8 hours for sure, probably more like 6.
When I went to my GP to figure out why I felt like I was dying, I answered a few dozen questions, when he asked about tick bites, I said, "actually yeah, but it wasn't on me long enough to have infected me, it was way less than the 24 hours." I showed the Doc the little red bump, we discussed the timeframe and he agreed it was pretty unlikely to have infected me.
When listing off the litany of tests the my GP wanted to run, I suggested that we go ahead and do a tick panel too. Doc, didn't say no, but did tell me it would take a couple days to get the results, had to ship the test to Missouri I think, and he didn't think they'd find anything. Doc, didn't put up much of a fight, but had I not insisted he wouldn't haver requested a tick panel on my blood work.
A few days later, I get a call, and what do ya know? I've got RMSF.
It sucked but the infection caused a flair up of some other underlying issues I was unaware of, until the Doc checked just about every box on the lab work paperwork.
So the common, 24 hours before ticks can infect you claim, isn't always the case.
MazdaFace said:Jerry said:
I like the new Tick.
This was my first thought too. Love that show
Coincidentally, my family and I just watched the trailer and first episode a couple of nights ago. We're all looking forward to continuing. The lines for The Tick sound like something from a 1949 comic book. It's a really funny show!
I’ll take ticks over chiggers. At least you can SEE the motherberkeleyers. I’ve got nasty scars all over my legs & feet from where those motherberkeleyers tore me up last year.
We've made it a habit to tick check every time we're off of the pavement. That include the yard around the house- I got a tick a few years ago from one of our shrubs. I'm pretty sure a transient deer or other animal brought it in.
mtn said:Dr. Hess said:Teh Googlez say it's about the same E36 M3. One synthetic, one "natural." Actually, as I look at it, I think it is the permethrin 10% that I dilute down. Like this:
The rubbing alcohol evaporates really fast, so it makes clothes treating easy. I put some in water for the dog and general bug killin' in the garage. Water being fairly cheap. Adam's Flea Spray used to have it, then they stopped and the stuff stopped working.
THat looks like the same stuff I have. Different label, but same bottle and same ingredients.
I just use water and soak the clothes in the mixture in a bucket for about an hour, then hang them up to dry. Then send them through the wash a couple times--Even after months and probably 5 washes, I've watched a tick crawl up my pants and fall off, dead, by the time it got to my belt. So it seems to last quite a while.
I'm gonna have to give this a go. I'll test something small to make sure the kid doesn't have an adverse reaction (she's got weird skin. She actually had a rash on her neck from having her hair pulled up too tight), but this might be the summer clothes go-to. Are there directions on the bottle or a ratio to mix for for clothing treatment?
I've been using some kind of eucalyptus spray someones mom makes with lackluster results. It stinks and it's really a pain to hold the child and dog still to spray their legs with.
8 chickens isn't enough to handle 2 acres of yard, at least not yet.
If you mix the stuff up yourself, you're going way off the Res. Ain't gonna be no directions on the label for that.
Now, how I do it, I get the bottle like in the link with the measuring thing on top. I measure out 3.2 oz of 10% stuff, pour it in a 32 oz spray bottle like an empty, rinsed out 409 bottle or something, then fill up to the top with 91% rubbing alcohol. You now have 1% stuff. Shake it if it makes you feel good. Then I take my clothes, lay them on the floor, spray gently both sides, turn pants inside out, spray gently both sides. Let dry. Done. Wear for a week or three like that and it will be fine. When they are really bad, I will do my socks and shoes before walking outside, and maybe an extra spray on the bottom of my pants legs.
We have ticks here in central Maryland. I just pulled one off my daughter's head a few days ago....with my hands. Ugh. Wont' do that again after reading about the anus. I was shouting for Mrs. VCH to get me the tweezers from the other bathroom. Maybe I'll buy us a second set....
We have 3+ acres, and I keep it pretty well mowed, but about an acre of it is wooded (and backs to more woods) and we have corn fields nearby....so yeah, we got deer. And the kids love playing in the woods, because they're kids. Mrs. VCH is anti-chemicals, so I need to see if pemithrin (sp?) is "OK" by her.
The dog has been on Bravecto for 5 or 6 years now, and has yet to have a single tick. Pre-Bravecto she would get them regularly.
In reply to volvoclearinghouse :
We've used the Tick Key for removing ticks. It works nice and you don't have to touch it. Plus you can keep it on your key ring.
Not a canoe, just a happy user.
Keep these guys around and you'll have less ticks. They eat ANYTHING and need lots of calcium.
In reply to N Sperlo :
I usually recommend these guys.
Growing up in the woods in Southwest Ohio and Southeast Indiana, I had ticks on me all the time. When we found them we pulled them off. It was just a common thing. Then one time I found one on the top of my head while I was in school, it was really stuck in there. The panic that happened really threw me off guard. I was expecting them just to pull it off but they went into full on CDC infectious disease level panic. It was the strangest thing to me. It's just a tick, pull it off and go on as that's what I was used to.
In reply to Wxdude10 - Mike :
Thanks, I'll have a look.
Yep, crunchy Mrs. VCH is anti-Deet, anti-pemethrim(sp). I sometimes tell her, she opposes anything that actually works. She was grumbling about Bravecto the other day (big pharma mfr) but so far she seems to prefer that evil to the evil of picking ticks off doggo.
Floating Doc said:In reply to Dr. Hess :
I've never know ivermectin to be effective, but if it's working for you, that's great. When tested at a greater than 100X labelled dose, it showed zero efficacy.
Well, I dunno. All I can say is that I've been giving my dogs Tractor Supply sourced horse type "tasty paste" stuff at the horse dosage twice a month for years and have zero flea issues with them. I have had an occasional flea issue in the house with the cats (which stay inside all the time) and after going nuclear with virtually zero effect, started giving them some ivermectin mixed in with their dry food every 2 weeks when there are fleas around. This has eliminated the fleas on the cat(s) and in the house, generally after 2 doses. So, maybe Arkansas fleas are immune to all known growth inhibitors and insecticides but susceptible to ivermectin. I can only speak from anecdotal experience.
volvoclearinghouse said:In reply to Wxdude10 - Mike :
Thanks, I'll have a look.
Yep, crunchy Mrs. VCH is anti-Deet, anti-pemethrim(sp). I sometimes tell her, she opposes anything that actually works. She was grumbling about Bravecto the other day (big pharma mfr) but so far she seems to prefer that evil to the evil of picking ticks off doggo.
What is wrong with Deet? She just a big fan of West Nile, Zika, and Malaria? I guess I could understand not wanting to use the lower concentrations, if it doesn't melt plastic it won't repel bugs, but still...
Obviously there are issues with Permethrin while wet, but once dried it will have bonded whatever it was applied to (this is why I use the soak method instead of the spray method, easier to contain)
volvoclearinghouse said:Mrs. VCH is anti-chemicals, so I need to see if pemithrin (sp?) is "OK" by her.
Don't tell her that water is a chemical. Alcohol too.
Around here, DEET of at least 40% will discourage mosquitos, but do nothing at all for ticks. My theory is that the ticks get high off it and seek it out. Regardless, DEET is good for an extra squirt, especially on the hat and bare elbows, primarily for skeeter repellant. The permethrin is the only thing I've found to work at keeping the ticks off.
Neither of those chemicals is "good" for you. It is a question of what is worse for you: The tick bites or the chemical. I'll take the chemical.
Lee, I've thought about getting some Guinea hens. I've heard they will eat everything in the yard, snakes, mice, ticks, etc. and patrol in squad formation.
In reply to mtn :
She's smart enough to not say dumb things, but we still have "debates" over stuff that's classified as "reasonably safe" by CDC/EPA/insert your favorite government agency here. We're not on completely opposite ends of the spectrum, but she's defintely more "tin foil hat" ish. Well, except that aluminum is bad for you. 
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