Ticks

Yes, Dr. Hess at Island Animal Clinic has something that works great! We had the same problem as you and they were jumping off my dog and crawling around the house too! Got on this stuff and it works great - ticks are gone. Works for heartworm as well. Cheaper than HW and tick prevention medicine together. He will require a heartworm test for your dog prior to giving it to you.

Ivermectin!! Works like a dream and also replaces expensive heartguard.

Where we used to live we had a real problem on the North Shore of STX. We had 2 German Sheperds and 2 mixed breeds all suffering. We tried everything! Even had Oliver Exterminating come and poison (spray) the entire property.

Our Vet requires you bring them in to ensure they are heartworm negative, then prescribes Ivermectin which is actually a swine wormer.
When we see ticks (which is rare now) we give them .1CC per 10 pounds orally. Please note point one CC, not one CC. We were told to give it to them daily until we saw zero ticks for one week, then give it to them once a week for a month, then monthly as a heartworm preventative. WORKS LIKE A CHARM!! We actually didn't even have to give it as long as prescribed. You don't need to Dip, Spray, Drops, etc......ever again!

I think some will say not to do it as it is unconventional treatment. I say....All my dogs live to a ripe old age and Tick Fever is no joke. It can kill your dogs!

After treatment and success you will find that monthly will generally take care of the problem. You've killed the cycle and maintenence is simple. See a few ticks? Get out the Ivermectin for a few days. We use a syringe and just squirt it in there mouth. Once they figured out that MilkBones follow they are lined up for there dosage, no problem.

BTW we used to have a bowl of soapy water for drowning the ones we picked off. Talk about nasty! Tick soup anyone?

Call Island Animal Clinic on STX, Talk to Paul. 718-3106

I have always used front line, then after a while switch back to advantix. That has helped. I have been told of using cow tags,the ticks are supposed to drop off quickly, but I have know idea how safe it is for dogs or cats.

Hope that helps, good luck.

Key word "Help" Advantix and Frontline "Help". This absolutely eradicates the situation.
And those drops are expensive when you have several dogs. Ivermectin is very cost effective.
We had an old dog named Booger that lived over 19 yrs. He was able to tolerate it even as a senior.
I know, I know ..........Booger? WE didn't name him and had no idea how long he would live. Looked like a Chow/Lab mix and was so special. Practically trained himself into a perfectly behaved dog.

Anyway, No joke. If you want to be finally rid of ticks this works.

Does Ivermectin work for fleas too?

You will find several good dog breeders that use ivermectin .

Prevention of ticks is one thing, but to remove them is another. Before you attempt to pull the tick off your pet, soak it (the tick) in oil and wait 10 minutes sometimes they fall off, but you can extract them a lot easier from your pet after a good oil soak. I have used baby oil, olive oil, an 4 in One household oil. Check your pet everyday the longer you wait the bigger the tick gets.

My dogs have ticks too. I've never seen the like this before! As many of you know I am severely underemployed and paying for heartworm checks before they are again due is not in the immediate budget. The dogs are up to date on the shots, heartworm checks, nuetered, etc. I don't believe my vet carries that stuff. I have tried everything I can think of that will probably not kill the dogs. i agree with the original poster that the damn things just laugh and say "you can't kill me with your stinking poison". We've taken to running one of those things you use to get dog hair off your clothes (the lint rollers) on the bed before we lie down at night. And kicking the dogs out of bed.

Ticks have been an issue on this island since the beginning of time. Surely there is some old witchy woman cure for this??? Anyone heard of any local remedies?

Pamela

Pamela,
Here is a local crucian remedy, Let your dog roll in the sand, Pour 151 rum on him/her, the ticks get drunk and pick up the sand that is equal to a boulder in human terms, they (the ticks) pick up the boulders throw it at one another and kill themselves.

Bug bomb your house because your house is infested too unless the dogs are outside pets only. When I had 2 dogs, one was a tick magnet & the other one maybe got one or 2 only. The one that got the ticks used to just love this one spot on her walks that had these plants that were very leafy & low-growing. I suspect that's where the ticks were living because the other dog didn't go near there.

I hear SC Johnson's coming out with a new product; TICKED OFF! :}

yes, I am going to bomb the house once I get the little doggies clean. And they are inside/outside - we live in the country and there is no keeping a chihuahua where they don't want to me. They come and go as they like.

So i will get them clean, take them and the hubby to the boat and bomb the house. I've never seen anything like this before!

Pamela

Suzette,

I called the local horse feed store and asked what they used for horses. We bought something made by FARNAM called WIPE. They use it at the race track on the horses for flies and ticks. $25 for a pint. I'll let you know if it works. Smells sort of piney. Wiped the dogs down about 1/2 hours ago.

Keep your fingers crossed.

Pamela

Thanks Pamela,

Today we sprayed the outside jungle / driveway as much as we could (used malathion)
Now we are out on the deck and the house is being fogged (I don't like using the word 'bombed' lol)
2 hours to go before we can go back inside. We gave the dogs benadryl so that they would calm down and make it easier to check them thoroughly, besides it keeps them from scratching...
You have chihuahuas ? At least yours are little with short hair - ours are a great big 100 pound Black Lab, and an island cutie who is about 50 pounds. Lots of hair. UGH.

Did Noah actually allow these horrible things on the Ark ??? What in the world was he THINKING ?!?!?!

Next step will be ivermectin - read up on it and from what people here say it sounds like the way to go --- it's just that I am also unemployed and I can't afford another trip to the vet right now. I would bet that Doc (OMG I forgot his name!) at Imperial will want to see both girls before giving me a script for the stuff. I saw they have it on PetMeds;.. I just got 6 months worth of Advantix and I'm not happy that I spent all that money on it now.

Does anyone ever spray the dogs with Off ?

Off doesn't work, sorry. And it pisses the dogs off. I have two short hair chihuahuas and two long haired mutts. Not more than 50 pounds all together but this is miserable. So far so good - I can see dead seed ticks on the floor where the two long haired ones were laying.

Why not call me Monday morning and maybe we can gang up on the vet? How much is Ivermection? As two underemployed women perhaps we can get a deal from the vet?

Pamela

Aussie,
Ivermectin does not work for fleas. Just ticks and heartworm.

Pamela,
Ivermectin is relatively cheap compared to you buying heartworm prevention and flea/tick prevention. The upfront cost is the initial heartworm test which is about $35.

The ticks are sooo bad this year. Lots of dogs with tick fever.... crazy!

Christineg,

What are the symtoms of tick fever ?
I would google it, but at this point I am so tired of seeing pictures of ticks on websites, seeing them in person ... I just don't have the ooomph to go look it up.

Christineg,

What are the symptoms of tick fever ?
I would google it, but at this point I am so tired of seeing pictures of ticks on websites, seeing them in person ... I just don't have the ooomph to go look it up.

The dog get very lethargic; you will notice the change right away.

Lethargic, not eating well, and in advanced stages, bleeding from the nose.

Chris, we need to get some of that stuff for Angel. Pulled about 20 ticks off her yesterday.:S

As for the cost of Ivermectin I don't remember the exact cost but I want to say a 4 oz bottle is about $50 and has lasted several yrs with 4 dogs. Our dogs had a few ticks 2 or 3 weeks ago and with 3 days of dosage they have zero ticks. It's amazing how well it kills the whole cycle. And like I said,...Very cost effective.

Tick Fever is a very expensive thing to take care of, once they have it. If you notice that their tongue and gums are pale and that they are lethargic, take them in. We had a dog that started bleeding from the mouth and nose - not a good sight. The ticks are always bad here - the horses and other livestock roaming do not make it any easier. I am going to try that medicine Ivermectin, that sounds like a good thing! It really is an uphill battle dealing with these critters.

This sounds awful for the dogs. My dog has had one or two ticks here and there, but not so bad (here in NJ ). Do you have a problem with the ticks on people also? Is there a lot of Lyme Disease or are these a different kind of tick?
KHames