Ticks!

[Pullstart 62,791]

I’m going to take the EB approach and ask you all for some remedies to rid your property of ticks.

 

We have had ticks bad this year!  Most sprays we find will either harm dogs, cats or chickens.  We have cats and chickens, and sometimes dogs come by.  

 

Yesterday, we removed a tick from my 1 year old niece’s ear (invest in a “Tick Tornado”, they’re so much easier than tweezers!), they are on our treated cats daily, and even this morning I had one crawl down my glasses in the middle of the grocery store.

 

I mow about 3 acres around the house, try to bag the clippings and deliver them to the chicken coop as often as possible, our 16 hens free range all day, but the pests seem to still find their way inside.

 

Does anyone have any home brew concoctions that are safe for humans, pets and livestock, but go the distance with ticks?

[WHNJ701 4,165]

Guinea hens

[Pullstart 62,791]

Just now, jabelman said:

Guinea hens

 

Do our laying hens not cut the mustard?  Mrs. Pullstart mentioned getting more chickens, will they play nice in the same coop once they accustom themselves?

[WHX?? 48,779]

Does seem to be a bad year for them. Had three on me from just running around in the woods on a side x side. Usually feel them crawling before they get dug in. Pick them off and hit them with a bic lighter. Cindy was reading the other day if they are dug in put some dish soap on a cotton ball or q tip and they will back out and stick to the soap.

 

Yeah Jason ..heard guineas love them.

[ebinmaine 67,274]

2 minutes ago, pullstart said:

I’m going to take the EB approach

Well played sir.

 

 

I can't actually give you any help with getting rid of the ticks themselves. You've probably done similar research to us. The last couple years have not been super horrific for the tick population here in Maine. We've basically been keeping an eye on our bodies about every 12 hours or so.

Or if one of our clan of hikers or friends seas I check on any other we immediately get rid of it and kill it.

 

There is a repellent I've been experimenting with lately that is called NATRAPEL. The main ingredient is PICARIDIN.

Lots of people really like it. I've actually only just started using it last week so I really don't have an opinion formed yet. supposed to be much much much less harmful than other chemical related repellent.

 

If you're looking for a way to have nature sort itself out you should get some guinea hens.

My neighbors across the street have had them in the past and they did perfectly fine with all the other animals around them.

From their experience and stuff I've read online ... us doing research on our own chickens, guinea hens definitely have more of a tendency to eat ticks than most breeds of chicken.

 

[WHNJ701 4,165]

we had them years ago, guinea hens are dumber then chickens, they like to wander off, and seem to be attracted to the road and cars,  loud too.  the eggs are great from them!

[LengerichKA88 1,883]

11 minutes ago, jabelman said:

we had them years ago, guinea hens are dumber then chickens, they like to wander off, and seem to be attracted to the road and cars,  loud too.  the eggs are great from them!

Or they just move 😂. If they don’t like ya, they’ll find a place they do, my aunt and uncle ended up with a guinea hen because she didn’t like the farm a few miles down the road.... they can’t get her to leave. 

 

She does well with the chickens, and I was going to suggest guineas too, the only thing is they “talk” a lot. 

The make better alarms for the coop than some roosters too. 

[Achto 27,504]

36 minutes ago, pullstart said:

, will they play nice in the same coop once they accustom themselves?

 

Guinea's love ticks!!

Guinea's will get along with the chickens but they don't usually coop or pen very well. They would much rather free range as adults. Once they are old enough to be let out, you would be better off to build a small roost outside of the chicken coop for them to go in & out by them selves.  Guinea's are not bad eating either, when their job is done for the summer/fall season you can store them in the freezer and enjoy them at the table through out the winter.

[Kenneth R Cluley 515]

They are bad in our area this year too. Read in a hikers blog about using Dryer sheets to repel? He put half in top of each boot, one in each pocket and one under his hat. Claimed it kept ticks off. He also said the lilac scent made him smell a little better.

[formariz 11,987]

It looks also like some people are more susceptible to them than others. My oldest son and his children can't go outside without having one stuck to them. This weekend three were on my grandson. On the other hand I can roll around on the ground all day and never get one. I never had one stuck to me ever.

[oliver2-44 9,684]

If you wanted to spray an area immediately around the house, "Neem Oil" is an environmentally friendly spray to pets. You can actually spray pets with Neem Oil.  One drawback, is it has no residual, when the oil has evaporated from the suns heat in a day or two, its gone.  There are some "Safer Soap" products that are friendly, I've heard of them but never used them.  

 

Here in Central Texas (or at least my area) the fleas are are really bad this Spring heading into summer.  We've had a wetter and cooler than average spring this year and I wonder if that has made them worse.  Our dog has a flea collar and we also use a Vet supplied product that soaks into there skin one a month.  Our dog is an outside dog, but we've been bathing him in flea shampoo one a week because he's covered with the pesty rascals.  I'm about ready to break out the Malathion spray and nuke everything.       

[pfrederi 17,665]

A friend who raises Chickens and has guineas confirmed guineas make Chickens look like rocket scientists.  also as they do not like to come into the hen house once they are grown they are highly likely to get eaten by coyotes foxes  etc...His population is almost erased every year....but the are big tick eaters....

[WVHillbilly520H 10,373]

2 hours ago, Achto said:

  Guinea's are not bad eating either, when their job is done for the summer/fall season you can store them in the freezer and enjoy them at the table through out the winter.

Oh you savage ...

[The Tuul Crib 7,336]

3 hours ago, jabelman said:

Guinea hens

[ebinmaine 67,274]

36 minutes ago, WVHillbilly520H said:

Oh you savage ...

Don't these look delicious?

 

 

 

 

 

[WVHillbilly520H 10,373]

1 hour ago, ebinmaine said:

Don't these look delicious?

 

 

 

 

 

I know these are being cared for and later slaughtered for your own consumption later... but ever since I worked a few weeks in a poultry processing plant some 23 years ago I'm just not a fan of poultry products anymore... now the 4 legged varieties I'll help you out with.

[WHX?? 48,779]

I hear ya Billy... had to work on refrigeration equipment in a big chicken processing plant once and ever since then no Mcnuggets for me.

[ebinmaine 67,274]

21 minutes ago, WVHillbilly520H said:

I know these are being cared for and later slaughtered for your own consumption later... but ever since I worked a few weeks in a poultry processing plant some 23 years ago I'm just not a fan of poultry products anymore... now the 4 legged varieties I'll help you out with.

 

1 minute ago, WHX22 said:

I hear ya Billy... had to work on refrigeration equipment in a big chicken processing plant once and ever since then no Mcnuggets for me.

 

 

 

Can't say as I blame either one of you there.

 

[ericj 1,578]

I came home from down at the spring fling at Steam-O-Rama wed or thur night and felt something on the back of my neck and pulled a tick off myself. I wasn't even in woods or tall grass, I was parked beside the tall grass down at the show ground, so maybe ? Then on night last week I was out side here at the house and came in and thought I felt something again on the back of my neck . pulled a another tick off my neck. I haven't had any tick on myself for years till this year. Figured they must be bad or something

 

 

 

 

eric j 

[JCM 9,130]

Eric, are you sure you are not raising Cornish game hens there, I have been in the woods and the yard since the snow has melted and have only found 1 tick on me so far, last year I found 1 also, not bad for the time I spend out there, I usually put down a product in the broadcast spreader to control the ticks if I consider them a problem, have not had to apply it yet.