Ticks!

[BNM1980]

Early spring is tick season, a time to avoid the woods and especially long grass.

 

I have just learnt this the hard way.

 

Last week it started to get warm here in South Korea. I took Blake into the woods, as usual, for his morning hike. On Tuesday there were some people picnicking on the grass slope where we usually play. Idiot that I am, I decided to go trailblazing down on old, almost-overgrown path that led to another slope, also grassy, but the grass around knee-height. Little did I know I had walked right into tick city.

 

This morning I found the first engorged tick and removed it with a pair of tweezers. Thus began a two-hour grooming session, during which I removed another 6 ticks. Add to this a tick that I found crawling across his nose, and we have a grand total of 8. And there are probably a few more that I haven't found. Blake has a very long coat and it is hard work hunting them out, especially in the black patches, and especially around his rear as he gets especially frisky and uncomfortable when I try to look there.

 

We gave him two Spot On treatments. However, I'm wondering if I should give him a dip of some kind.

 

I have here a bottle of something called "Greentix", the active ingredient of which is Amitraz. The bottle is 100mL, with 12.5g of the active ingredient. Troublingly, the bottle has "Veternary Use Only" written on it, though I bought it over the counter at the local pharmacy. The instructions say to add one part to 700 of water, and it is apparently very potent. The pharmacist told us to put an eliz-collar on the dog after the dip. I'm not really sure if I feel confident enough to use it.

 

Blake is 8 months old, about 19 inches at the withers, and I have to guess his weight because the scale is broken, but I think it's about 20 kg.

 

Believe it or not, this is my first experience with ticks. I find them indescribably repulsive, and it bothers me to think there may be more, especially given they are vectors for all kinds of nasty problems, like Lyme disease, etc.

 

Your tips, suggestions, advice, Amitraz dip measurements or even tick-related anecdotes will be greatly appreciated.

[juliepoudrier]

I'd say that if you've already given him two spot-on treatments that now dipping him in something else would be overkill. Not to mention I'd worry about the toxicity of all that stuff on him at once. Most tick treatments do allow a tick to attach before killing it, so unfortunately nothing is going to save you from checking him thoroughly and pulling ticks off if you go in areas with lots of ticks.

 

J.

[desertranger]

I can't stand ticks either. Fortunately fleas don't live here and ticks are relative strangers to the desert although there was a period of several years where the dogs were bringing ticks home from, their wanderings. We never did find the source, whether they came from the wash, or plants in the area or our own yard. The tick epidemic seems to come to and end a few years ago with an excessively hot dry summer.

 

On tick removal make sure you get all if it including the head and mouth which may have to be scraped out. Kill ticks by squashing them or putting them in alcohol. Some people say not to use alcohol in removing ticks. I usually swab the tick in alcohol to make it relax. That makes removing it easier. Do not use a hot needle like some people suggest. I also gave the dogs a regular bath with a flea and tick shampoo. That seemed to control them. Frontline tick control also seemed to work well. As a defense for the yard and house I sprayed everything to keep the ticks under control.

[BNM1980]

Thanks for the feedback.

 

After posting this I went tick hunting again and found another 3. That brings us up to a total of 11. Ew!

 

I was wondering, with Blake having been virtually mobbed by ticks, does that increase his chances of contracting something? Should I get him tested, or am I being a worrywart? What are the chances?

 

I've been reading up on Lyme disease and it does not sound pretty, for man or beast.

[sweet_ceana]

We brought home a foster last year that was COVERED in ticks and we have been fighting off the nasty little things ever since. We have gotten to the point where we don't want to put any more chemicals on the dogs so we just pick them off. (Actually Chris picks them off, parisites give me the heeby jeebies I just say "EWWWW found a tick," and pass the dog to him.) My best advice is to stay resiliant in your grooming and checking. We almost have them all finished off!

[Rebecca, Irena Farm]

I've heard all over the net this year that people are getting overrun by ticks. I'm very much afraid that while last year we may have started to see the start of spot treatment resistant fleas, we now are seeing spot treatment resistant ticks. That's really bad news because I can use Program to control the fleas and good practices to keep fleas under control - but only meds keep the ticks off the dogs and they are really, really bad this year, judging from the start we are getting. Every warm day we get (like yesterday and today), we have seen ticks in droves.

 

Ticks rhyme with ICK for a reason!

 

Today I put the amitraz collar on Ted, who works in the woods several times a day. I put a Sevin (carbaryl) collar on Gus, who is violently allergic to fleas, and who also works in the woods a couple times a day. The rest of the dogs I dusted down with 5% Sevin dust, packed it right down to the skin, and left it on all day. I brushed it out tonight completely (ugh, my hands, I hate powdery stuff), and that will hold them until I can order more carbaryl collars.

 

Those carbaryl collars are the only thing that will get both ticks and fleas now. Surprisingly, they are super, super cheap and very effective. Well, combined with Program on board, no carpets, daily vacuuming, and poultry in the yard.

[urge to herd]

BNM, you're in Korea, aren't you? Or Asia at least, unless I'm really losing my memory, which shouldn't be that much of a surprise.

 

If you are on a different continent, I'd look first to see what Tick Borne Diseases are around your area. That might sooth your worries, if they're not generally found where you are.

 

And, some people won't like this recommendation, but if your boy has a thick coat, consider having him trimmed down to half an inch or so all around. I've done it to both my dogs, it makes grooming/bathing in the summer sooooooo much easier, and finding ticks takes a lot less time. The first summer I had the girls trimmed happened to be the Tick Free For All, and having short haired dogs made it all much easier.

 

Good luck, be sure you check yourself for ticks as well. I started wearing my barn boots when I walked the dogs, and the ticks can't climb up their slippery sides.

 

Ruth

[Rebecca, Irena Farm]

Per a 2007 USAF document:

 

Known Tick-Borne Disease in ROK (*Disease list created from literature sources primarily individual articles about each disease. List to eventually associate vectors with each disease.)

 

* Anaplasma equi

* Anaplasma phagocytophila

* Borrelia burgdorferi

* Ehrlichia bovis

* Ehrlichia canis

* Ehrlichia chaffeensis

* Spotted Fever Group Rickettsia

* Theileria sergenti

* Tick-borne encephalitis

 

www.afpmb.org/meetings/TriService2007/Presentations/Tuesday/BOQMorning/Sames.ppt

[juliepoudrier]

Wow, so it looks like the only TBD you don't have to worry about is Lyme!

 

So far Advantix is still working for me, but I do sometimes find ticks on the dogs. I think ticks around the house and pasture are not a problem thanks to the poultry here. I'll continue to use Advantix until I find it's not working (and always check the dogs over with my hands to make sure nothing has been missed). Ticks are gross, but better to pull the ticks off than deal with the diseases later.

 

BNM,

In most cases, the tick doesn't transmit the disease immediately upon biting, so vigilance and quick, careful removal can go a long way toward protecting your dog. You may also end up choosing to stay away from the worst tick infested areas, even if it means curtailing some activity. Also pay close attention to proper tick removal. Squeezing the tick's body while you try to remove it can cause the tick to disgorge stomach contents into the bite, thereby increasing the likelihood of disease transmission.

 

If you're concerned about TBDs and want to test, talk to your veterinarian about test availability and how long after a tick bite you should test. You can't do it immediately or you'll get a false negative response on the test because the immune system takes a little time to gear up against the invading organism, so testing too early might very well miss a disease. That said, you could break the bank testing every time your dog gets bit by a tick, so in my opinion the best approach is just to be super-observant of your dog. As the one who spends the most time with him, I think you'll likely notice if he seems to be off--less energetic, not quite right, whatever you want to call it. So use the best precautionary/preventive methods you can, check daily and remove any ticks you find, and then just be aware of any changes that might signal Blake isn't feeling well and go from there.

 

Ticks are a neverending reality here in the southeastern US. I don't panic over them, but just use the best control methods I can, and if I'm suspicious I'll have a test done. Note, here we can get either a Snap-3 or Snap-4 test; the Snap-3 checks for heartworm, Lyme, and Ehrlichia (anaplasma). I don't remember what the fourth item is in the Snap-4, maybe Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. It's probably not the most sensitive test, but if I have a dog with unexplained intermittent lameness that travels from leg to leg (hallmark sign of Lyme), I'd have a Snap test run as the first check and then go from there. Snap tests are pretty inexpensive compared to full-blown tick panels.

 

J.

[Beach BCs]

I pulled a tick off Tex the other night. Nasty little bugger. Becca, the collars that you mentioned...would they still be effective if I removed them occasionally while indoors?

 

I really miss my neighbor's chickens.

[jrid]

Rebecca, what brand flea/tick collar are you using other than the Preventic collar? I used to use a Zema collar that really worked well for ticks and smelled good to boot. I only found 1 tick on my dogs last year and it was dead. Virbac no longer makes it, so I guess I will have to use another brand.

[Rebecca, Irena Farm]

Here's where and what:

 

Jeffers flea and tick selection

 

They have the Zema collar you mentioned (I had some left from last year). It seems like they've still got them in stock. You are right, they do smell much nicer than the Preventic - those are actually the ones I use.

 

I use the Fleatrol collars by Zodiac. For protection against deer ticks or in deep woods I switch to the amitraz collars but these work just fine for casual use around the house and on social outings.

 

I do take them off for baths and swimming and it works fine if you just put them back on - or you can replace them at that point. I replace them once a month.

 

These wouldn't work just by themselves but it's just enough of a repellent that Gus, who is super allergic to fleas is comfortable. So I'm thinking the repellent value is similar for ticks and probably mosquitoes too, by the way. I noticed last year that when I put them on the guard dogs they stopped getting bothered by the black flies that attack their noses every year.

 

Sevin dust. Who knew? It's supposed to be safe to dust your garden veggies, too.

[AdmiralGonsiorowski]

I know one way to manage ticks if you live on a farm, or have a fenced in area, is to buy a flock of guinea fowl. They tend to roam, but they are absolutely excellent at eating up ticks. It won't keep all the ticks off your dog, but it will drastically cut down the ticks in the areas you let them feed.

[juliepoudrier]

Becca,

My mom used to use Sevin dust on all our dogs for pest control, back in "the day."

 

J.

[RMSBORDERCOLLIES]

Becca,

My mom used to use Sevin dust on all our dogs for pest control, back in "the day."

 

J.

Nancy and I use "Revolution" as a tick and flea control as well as heartworm control. We travel all over North America with our trialling and in and out of heavily infested tick areas and have found that this works best for us. One time application per month (systemic), different doses for different weights of dog and we have never run into tick problems since 2001 using this. We used to go to the North American Championships in Tejon, CA in June which was absolutely tick infested by then and were treating with just a spray of some kind which did not work at all. At times we would pull as many as 50 ticks off some of our dogs. Some seemed to be more succeptible than others. Since then, with the start of using Revolution, we have not had any problems with ticks. Bob

[BNM1980]

Thank you for your feedback.

 

I know where the ticks game from, and will avoid that area until tick season is over. Meanwhile, it's just a question of managing the ticks he already has.

 

I found another one on his head this morning, which makes 14.

 

That has to be some kind of record.

[Caerus]

Yuck, I hate even thinking about ticks. We have a terrible time with them, even in the winter since it doesn't get very cold here. The dogs main place to play and exercise is my grandmother's acreage and it is completely infested with ticks. We use Advantix or Revolution most of the time, and occasionally Preventic collars if I notice ticks on them. That is usually enough to keep the dogs safe.

 

I started wearing my barn boots when I walked the dogs, and the ticks can't climb up their slippery sides.

 

That is a WONDERFUL idea. I usually just wear long socks so I can tuck my pants into them, but that would make it even better. I usually have more ticks on me than the dogs.

[mbc1963]

TICKS.

 

Ugh.

 

They are disgusting. When I was a girl, we had an unfixed, free-range male dog. (Don't ask me; ask my parents.) He would disappear into the wild with a pack of dogs when females came into heat, and come home 6 or 7 days later: happy, thin, and CRAWLING with fully-engorged ticks. I kid you not, they were the sizes of dimes and quarters - all around his ears. Silver, too.

 

In fact, when I see people with pierced eyebrows or lips and little metal balls through them, all I can think of is engorged ticks. Repulsive.

 

I took my dog to a local park once and found something like twenty tiny deer tick nymphs or larvae on his white chest when we came out. I shudder to think how many were scattered on his black fur without my knowing.

 

Just about everyone's dog around here gets Lyme at one point or another. Lots of people get it, too. We're kind of at the Lyme Disease epicenter. I'm just waiting until they find a good, safe, effective Lyme vaccine.

 

Mary