Ticks, Ticks, Ticks and more Ticks on Sassafras.

[MarkChambers]

Well it's been awhile since I checked in so I've attached a photo of the ball, frisbee, anything that can be thrown driven maniac. Sassy is almost four now, healthy and has been rock steady at 65-67 lbs for longer than I can remember. Has she slowed down now that she's a mature woman? MUWAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

But to the point, ticks here in Western Michigan are out of control and we have tried every naturopathic product on the market. None of them work. NONE OF THEM WORK and something has to be done. Reading and researching products on the net is useless. So here I am looking for some of the positives and negatives from a breed specific point of view. Opinions anyone?

 

[Firestar Dobe]

I just recently heard that 1 part Listerene and 3 parts water in a mist bottle will keep ticks off. I have not tried this but have several people swear it works.

 

[CRDobe]

I have NEVER found a natural product that works for my girl. After much research, I went with the Seresto collar, which is very effective. Where I live ticks are rampant and carriers of erlichia, which has killed more dogs here than I can count. So for me the positives outweigh the negatives.

 

[MarkChambers]

The ticks are so bad here that I tried the Seresto in spite of the negative reports I’ve read and heard. We have woods on two sides and a heavy deer population and it is a rare day when we don’t pick off a couple. Sometimes dog ticks but usually black legged deer type. Several times both my wife and I found one crawling up our arms after searching her. About the collar, I found two an inch apart immediately under it, several within an inch of it and quite a few at the base of her ears. My daughter has an 8 month old Australian Shepherd and she is having very good luck with Vectra 3D so I’m about to give in and go that route. A lot of lime in these parts.

 

[Ravenbird]

I envy everyones green grass and rain until I read a post like this. Then my dirt & rocks & cactus start looking good again. I haven't seen a tick in 20 years. Everything has a trade off, I guess.

 

[Doberman Gang]

We use wondercide, hooks to the hose and spray everything on site (deck, house, trees ect… safe for bees but kills fleas, ticks mosquitoes, ants, spiders. Treat once a month. They also have a spray that is scented you spray directly on your pets before you go outside, works great and smells good too. They have Lemongrass, peppermint, cedarwood and rosemary scents.

 

[Tropicalbri's]

We use wondercide, hooks to the hose and spray everything on site (deck, house, trees ect… safe for bees but kills fleas, ticks mosquitoes, ants, spiders. Treat once a month. They also have a spray that is scented you spray directly on your pets before you go outside, works great and smells good too. They have Lemongrass, peppermint, cedarwood and rosemary scents.
View attachment 118667View attachment 118668

This is what I use. It works great for mosquitoes too. I can’t use the Lemongrass scent on my dobes because it made them nuts with rolling, sneezing and mouth foaming.
I use it for mosquitoes, fruit flies, ants weevils, aphids, mealy bugs, black palm flies and scale. It is amazing stuff.

 

[Tropicalbri's]

The ticks are so bad here that I tried the Seresto in spite of the negative reports I’ve read and heard.

Be careful if you order Seresto collars online. If they come from China they are most likely fake. You need to check the packaging and lot number and call the 800 # and have Bayer check to make sure it is from their facility. It’s made in Germany but China has been mass producing fake ones and selling them for less.
I purchased about 25 of the Seresto collars to donate to the Animal Rescue in Roatán due to a high incidence of Ehrlichia there, same as where @CRDobe is located.

 

[MarkChambers]

I've used Wondercide on Sass and find that it's not a great repellent. It needs to be refreshed almost daily. It does kill ticks if it hits them while spraying but is poor once it dries. And it doesn't kill quickly. I pulled two deer ticks from just inside her ear and dropped them alive in a baggy with the stuff and watched them swim around in it till I tired of watching. Went back in an hour and they were dead. Kind of a moot point for us though as I have a 31/2 acre yard and about 1/2 of it is woods.

 

[LifeofRubie]

uuuuugh.... I wasn't surprised when we found 3 dog ticks on us after a hike the other day (dogs didn't come, luckily) but my husband found one on him after being in the car all day last week. Like... WHAT? We have Vets Best Flea + Tick Spray that we've used camping (on ourselves and the dogs). Not sure if we got lucky on those trips but we didn't see any ticks when we used it. Peppermint Oil, Eugenol, and Sodium Lauryl Sulfate are listed as the active ingredients.

 

[JanS]

We have a million ticks here too and no natural remedies work (we've tried) so we use the Nexgard chewables. I've never found a tick stuck on the dogs but we have plenty on ourselves so I'm convinced it works. I don't like/won't use any topicals like the Frontline or collars so the Nexgard was our best choice.