Ticks, my solution

[cooked]

I don't claim to be an expert but I have been going to a deal of trouble to get our dogs, house and garden free of ticks.

1. They get En-dex 4000 every month, This contains Ivermectin which is the name to look for if they don't have En-dex. Good for other ecto parasites also.

2. Every two weeks during intense infestation, otherwise every four months, they get flea shampoo which contains Permethrin. We make sure to keep their feet in a bath containing this shampoo. I have read through literature and this is pretty harmless and does not get absorbed through the skin.

3. We leave this on the beasts for 5 to 10 minutes and then rinse them off.

4. Next comes Bayticol, containing Flumethrin at 3ml to 5 litres. Again they get their feet in the solution and I sponge them down. I just let it dry on. We find many dead ticks when we brush or comb them. Of course I can't apply this near the eyes or mouth so they get flea collars every three months.

5. We go over them manually every day. Ticks are dangerous if they themselves are infected and are allowed to stay on the dog for more than two or three days. We kill them by disposing them on a newspaper which we then fold over on top of them and squash, most satisfying and no blood spraying around. Pull out with tweezers or finger nails without twisting.

In the house and in the dog pound:

1. When we have finished with the Bayticol we sluice the floors with the solution.

2. A recent discovery: Stretching an adhesive tape along the walls looks really nice, especially when you see all the ticks trapped in there. After gorging themselves, they go up the walls to moult and eventually descend. Both migrations get trapped. We now know where there are problems (near the places where the animals lie generally). Pulling the tape off removes the ticks without leaving squash marks on the wall. You don't believe you have ticks going up your walls? Try it and buy a magnifying glass. We then spray accordingly with.....

3. A cockroach spray. The cheap one we have contains Improthrin and Permethrin, both good tick killers. I believe Chaindrite has a third chemical, cypermethrin. All good tick killers.

4. The US army uses Permethrin to kill and repel ticks. So if you have a bedding/ pillow/carpet problem this can be used without problem. http://www.tickinfo.com/permethrin.htm

5. I spray the foliage and grass areas occasionally with Bayticol.

All of this gets a bit expensive and time consuming but it's better than burning the house down. We have much less problems during the dry season. I took some time getting our act together and I hope this helps, most stuff on the internet seems to come from people that see one tick a year. I even saw advice like 'put it in a small plastic bottle, push toilet paper down on top and add alcohol'.

[NeverSure]

I used to have that problem and someone suggested cutting some cedar boughs and putting them near the dog's bed, and under other beds and it worked for both ticks and fleas for the whole house. Then I got tired of going into the woods to find a cedar tree so I started buying real cedar oil, pouring some on a stick of wood and doing the same and it worked like a charm.

The smell of the cedar somehow disrupts their lifecycle and their interest in eating and they disappear completely.

Worth a try.

Edit - I had to replace the boughs or add new oil every 2 or 3 months or it quit working.

Edit again - There's something about cedar that repels a lot of things. Pine trees will die from pine beetle while cedars all around them are untouched. Cedar is the softwood of choice for fence posts because it takes it years longer to rot in the ground that would pine or fir. It somehow even resists the bugs and microorganisms that would otherwise decay it.

Edited September 29, 2014 by NeverSure

[cooked]

Interesting. Unfortunately there are no cedars in Thailand... I'll look in a paint shop.

[NeverSure]

You can certainly buy real cedar oil which has what you need, concentrated, online, at least from the US. That stuff kept our whole house clear, even fleas and ticks from our beds. This was along the coast of NW Washington State US where they thrive and everyone has trouble. It was the natives from the area who told me.

All it took was placing it in those 4 spots - under 3 beds and near the dogs' bed and by the next morning we had no hint of them again.

[ClutchClark]

That was a very detailed and informative post. I recall you have a habit of that. The only thing you might research a bit more is the use of tweezers to remove ticks. The problem is if you squish their body while pulling them free then any disease they are carrying has a greater risk of being pushed into the bite opening.

Perhaps you are already taking this precaution but be sure to use the tweezers all the way at the head of the tick so that you aren't actually grabbing the tick itself but mostly scraping it away from the skin.

Plus, the outer shell of ticks is very hard. You may think smashing them has killed them but unless you actually feel the "splat" under your thumb they will surprise you by crawling away after several minutes. Best to burn them.

I use Frontline Plus on my dogs in the US. I prefer it over tick collars.

Worked in the woods a good part of my life and had some manifestations in the house--caught a few diseases from them over the years.

Keep up the good fight.

[cooked]

Thanks, I thought I'd get it down on digital paper somewhere. Tweezers: my wife can use chop sticks but not tweezers. I'm not sure that it is better to pull the b%%%gers out with the finger nails though.

Squashing them under paper definitely lets you feel the ticks going splat. I occasionally found ticks on my body, one time on my favourite bit, mostly when getting up in the morning for some reason, and got a strange infection once that I had to doctor myself as the doctor poo poohed my suggestion that ticks had caused it. (Every injury, no matter how small, became swollen with pus. Not a good idea when you are a gardener).

[ClutchClark]

Thanks, I thought I'd get it down on digital paper somewhere. Tweezers: my wife can use chop sticks but not tweezers. I'm not sure that it is better to pull the b%%%gers out with the finger nails though.

Squashing them under paper definitely lets you feel the ticks going splat. I occasionally found ticks on my body, one time on my favourite bit, mostly when getting up in the morning for some reason, and got a strange infection once that I had to doctor myself as the doctor poo poohed my suggestion that ticks had caused it. (Every injury, no matter how small, became swollen with pus. Not a good idea when you are a gardener).

Fingernails are good because they allow the "scraping" method which is suggested.

We even used to heat up a needle with a match til it was red-hot and then hold it to the tick--they scoot out from their bite "grip" pretty fast when they feel that scorch.

And ticks will always go for your privates and your armpits if they can.

As you can tell, ticks and I have a long history. But I have to admit I have learned a bit from your impressive arsenal.

[schondie]

Very good post. I'll be buying some of the oil before coming back to Thailand as it sounds very handy to have.

We used to have a bad tick problem around our house but we found that the only thing that worked for us was a cheap oral medicine from the pet shop. One sachet of white powder for around 65 baht and all you do is add it into the dog's food when a tick has been spotted. After a few days the ticks on the dogs dry up and die. After using this stuff over the post couple of years we have very few ticks around or in the house.

I can't remember the name of the powder but if anyone wants to know the name of it, PM me and I'll get the wife to take a picture of the packet.

[wayned]

There are actually soft and hard ticks. The soft ticks are smaller and normally infest and live in the animals bedding. They can be killed by squeezing them between your fingers. The hard ticks normally are on vegetation and transfer to the dog as they pass by or walk through the grass. The area between the toes and the pads of the feet are usually the first areas infested. They have a hard shell and as stated are hard to kill. You should never use heat to remove them as it will cause them to regurgitate and infect the wound. Fingernails are best if approached from behind and scraped out but sometimes tweezers have to be used to remove them when they are in areas hard to access, especially the ears. If the dog has long hair you can easily remove the tick if you roll it between your fingers as you pull it out of the hair.

I've raised Golden Retrievers both here and in the US before I moved here 16 years ago and ticks are a real PITA. They like me but won't go near my wife! Smarter the me I guess!

[meatboy]

we are getting more than usual,maybe its him laying under the car.thursday we showered him and put some tick repellant from the vet supplies,3 doses per 25-30kilo dog.the wife just found out this because we got 3 females and 4 males last night in bed.she had only put 1 dose on him.

we use chainedgaurd for bedding,so i will get some bayticol ect.as his coat is so thick we both have to feel him up every night no wonder he loves it,on his back with legs in the air.

got a few bites on me to.

Edited October 4, 2014 by meatboy

[WitawatWatawit]

Had the same problem with my two dogs in Bkk. Tried many of the methods above, but the ticks just kept coming. So I had the dogs injected, which stopped the ticks from feeding. Then I painstakingly pulled the moribund ticks off the dogs every day for a couple of weeks and burnt them, and eventually I won the battle. I also used to patrol the house with a gas stove lighter (the gas powered one with the flame) and burn the ticks when i found them. Closest I've ever been to the great white hunter. The dogs weren't allowed in the house and I never saw any ticks inside, but always had to carefully inspect the shoes left outside. The hard shell ticks are amazingly tough. I bought a small steam cleaner thing for various purposes, so I tried it on the ticks. I kid you not, but I held that steamer spewing piping hot steam on a tick for a full 15 seconds, and the bloody thing just got up and walked away. Repeated it, same thing. I've still got the steamer, so if anyone wants to try it, you're welcome.

[Keesters]

Was using En-Dex tablets for my dog but recently have changed to injecting Ivermec. Not had any ticks or fleas on my dog since using either of these treatments. Great stuff.

As for killing removed ticks I found that blue rubbing alcohol is the best. The ticks seem to die quite quickly. Don't recommend squishing them as it leaves, possibly infected, blood around which then needs to be cleaned up. The ticks and alcohol then get flushed down the toilet and into the septic tank.

Had a previous dog die from tick infection even though she had been treated regularly with Frontline by qualified vet here. Since heard that there is a lot of fake Frontline about.

[cooked]

There are actually soft and hard ticks. The soft ticks are smaller and normally infest and live in the animals bedding. They can be killed by squeezing them between your fingers. The hard ticks normally are on vegetation and transfer to the dog as they pass by or walk through the grass. The area between the toes and the pads of the feet are usually the first areas infested. They have a hard shell and as stated are hard to kill. You should never use heat to remove them as it will cause them to regurgitate and infect the wound. Fingernails are best if approached from behind and scraped out but sometimes tweezers have to be used to remove them when they are in areas hard to access, especially the ears. If the dog has long hair you can easily remove the tick if you roll it between your fingers as you pull it out of the hair.

I've raised Golden Retrievers both here and in the US before I moved here 16 years ago and ticks are a real PITA. They like me but won't go near my wife! Smarter the me I guess!

I am wondering about this: you are aware that ticks go through several stages in their lives? One of the earlier stages of the ticks that we have here is what we call the seed tick, a small, harder beast, that is easy to kill if you put it between two pieces of paper and squash, no mess. The feet are first infected as the dogs pick the ticks up when passing through wet grass.

[Mosha]

I feed the ticks to the fish.

[ClutchClark]

There are actually soft and hard ticks. The soft ticks are smaller and normally infest and live in the animals bedding. They can be killed by squeezing them between your fingers. The hard ticks normally are on vegetation and transfer to the dog as they pass by or walk through the grass. The area between the toes and the pads of the feet are usually the first areas infested. They have a hard shell and as stated are hard to kill. You should never use heat to remove them as it will cause them to regurgitate and infect the wound. Fingernails are best if approached from behind and scraped out but sometimes tweezers have to be used to remove them when they are in areas hard to access, especially the ears. If the dog has long hair you can easily remove the tick if you roll it between your fingers as you pull it out of the hair.

I've raised Golden Retrievers both here and in the US before I moved here 16 years ago and ticks are a real PITA. They like me but won't go near my wife! Smarter the me I guess!

A good post and I see your concern about applying heat. I would say if a person does not have experience at this then I can see how it could cause the tick to regurgitate disease into the wound; however, the application of a heated needle at the head of a tick results in the instantaneous release of the tick from the skin. It is a substantially quicker release than when scraping off with finger nail or other object.

But then I have removed ticks in this manner for many years along with other methods and have quite good form. The other advantage to the hot needle to the head is the tick pulls out and does not risk leaving parts of its body still attached into the skin which can become infected. No doubt you have had some small swollen lumps remain at a bite on rare occasions from just such an occurrence?

Very thorough post from the OP--Cooked.

[meatboy]

we got the vet to come and give ours an injection and we got some small bottles of amitraz simuler to baycol to spray around the house.its 6days since the injection and we have not had 1 female[the ones that suck the blood]

but we have had a few small male brown ones that seem to abandon ship as we have coated him with bearings tick powder.

he must be picking these up when he's out walking as he likes to get into the bush when having a pee[many as he's a good pisser]

[ClutchClark]

we got the vet to come and give ours an injection and we got some small bottles of amitraz simuler to baycol to spray around the house.its 6days since the injection and we have not had 1 female[the ones that suck the blood]

but we have had a few small male brown ones that seem to abandon ship as we have coated him with bearings tick powder.

he must be picking these up when he's out walking as he likes to get into the bush when having a pee[many as he's a good pisser]

For US varieties, the male bites also but does not become engorged lime the female .

[cooked]

You can certainly buy real cedar oil which has what you need, concentrated, online, at least from the US. That stuff kept our whole house clear, even fleas and ticks from our beds. This was along the coast of NW Washington State US where they thrive and everyone has trouble. It was the natives from the area who told me.

All it took was placing it in those 4 spots - under 3 beds and near the dogs' bed and by the next morning we had no hint of them again.

I would certainly be interested in using anything that obviated the need for chemical products. Can you please give an exact description of the oil? Googling it shows that some people confuse Thuja with Cedar. I know a guy that can find it for me in Bangkok if I have a brand name or description... thanks.

[cooked]

Was using En-Dex tablets for my dog but recently have changed to injecting Ivermec. Not had any ticks or fleas on my dog since using either of these treatments. Great stuff.

As for killing removed ticks I found that blue rubbing alcohol is the best. The ticks seem to die quite quickly. Don't recommend squishing them as it leaves, possibly infected, blood around which then needs to be cleaned up. The ticks and alcohol then get flushed down the toilet and into the septic tank.

Had a previous dog die from tick infection even though she had been treated regularly with Frontline by qualified vet here. Since heard that there is a lot of fake Frontline about.

We tried the injections, didn't seem to make any difference at all. The beasts do ger En-dex 4000 every month though.

[WitawatWatawit]

Was using En-Dex tablets for my dog but recently have changed to injecting Ivermec. Not had any ticks or fleas on my dog since using either of these treatments. Great stuff.

As for killing removed ticks I found that blue rubbing alcohol is the best. The ticks seem to die quite quickly. Don't recommend squishing them as it leaves, possibly infected, blood around which then needs to be cleaned up. The ticks and alcohol then get flushed down the toilet and into the septic tank.

Had a previous dog die from tick infection even though she had been treated regularly with Frontline by qualified vet here. Since heard that there is a lot of fake Frontline about.

We tried the injections, didn't seem to make any difference at all. The beasts do ger En-dex 4000 every month though.

What I found with the injections is that the ticks stopped feeding (and thus reproducing). That made it easier to pull them off the dogs without any problems, and gave me time to exterminate them. It was a slow and laborious process, but worked in the end. It also meant no chemicals - I had bought some stuff with permethrine (which I read was just about the only stuff that kills ticks), but wasn't too happy about spraying it around my house.

[wayned]

Be careful with the injections. The doses of ivermectin that are required to kill ticks and mites are very high and could be lethal especially if your dog has heart worm. It will kill them but not protect the animal from further infestation. I use Ivermectin injections for heart worm control and have used it to treat a mite infection, but I do not give the large doses required to kill ticks. My dogs rub loose in a farm environment and I have not found anything that effectively controls the ticks.

[meatboy]

we got the vet to come and give ours an injection and we got some small bottles of amitraz simuler to baycol to spray around the house.its 6days since the injection and we have not had 1 female[the ones that suck the blood]

but we have had a few small male brown ones that seem to abandon ship as we have coated him with bearings tick powder.

he must be picking these up when he's out walking as he likes to get into the bush when having a pee[many as he's a good pisser]

For US varieties, the male bites also but does not become engorged lime the female .

the male bites also,yes cc.and their f-----g sore for days.

[meatboy]

Was using En-Dex tablets for my dog but recently have changed to injecting Ivermec. Not had any ticks or fleas on my dog since using either of these treatments. Great stuff.

As for killing removed ticks I found that blue rubbing alcohol is the best. The ticks seem to die quite quickly. Don't recommend squishing them as it leaves, possibly infected, blood around which then needs to be cleaned up. The ticks and alcohol then get flushed down the toilet and into the septic tank.

Had a previous dog die from tick infection even though she had been treated regularly with Frontline by qualified vet here. Since heard that there is a lot of fake Frontline about.

We tried the injections, didn't seem to make any difference at all. The beasts do ger En-dex 4000 every month though.

i am not keen on useing en-dex 4000,3yrs.ago we bought some and binned it straight away as there is or was no guidence on dosage ect.also i understand its used for farm animals.

[WitawatWatawit]

Be careful with the injections. The doses of ivermectin that are required to kill ticks and mites are very high and could be lethal especially if your dog has heart worm. It will kill them but not protect the animal from further infestation. I use Ivermectin injections for heart worm control and have used it to treat a mite infection, but I do not give the large doses required to kill ticks. My dogs rub loose in a farm environment and I have not found anything that effectively controls the ticks.

And therein lies the rub - or the scratch . But the vet must have used a low dose as the ticks weren't dying - they just stopped feeding, which allowed me to pick them off easily and burn them. It was slow and, as I said, laborious, but helped greatly in the end with my two dogs. I don't envy you on the farm trying to keep it under control. A suburban environment is bad enough.

[aarn]

Firstly, a great tool to remove ticks can be fashioned from any-old plastic spoon, just note the catching notch

as depicted in images such as www.ticktwister.com.

Second, and perhaps this is redundant info., in a former life your correspondent battled, on a daily basis,

the scourge of ticks toxic (where I was working) to doggies and moggies.

There was a lot of snake-oil on sale.

Do some googling to check the currently recommended products, not that anything will work 100% on all animals.

Cheers, AA

[Keesters]

Was using En-Dex tablets for my dog but recently have changed to injecting Ivermec. Not had any ticks or fleas on my dog since using either of these treatments. Great stuff.

As for killing removed ticks I found that blue rubbing alcohol is the best. The ticks seem to die quite quickly. Don't recommend squishing them as it leaves, possibly infected, blood around which then needs to be cleaned up. The ticks and alcohol then get flushed down the toilet and into the septic tank.

Had a previous dog die from tick infection even though she had been treated regularly with Frontline by qualified vet here. Since heard that there is a lot of fake Frontline about.

We tried the injections, didn't seem to make any difference at all. The beasts do ger En-dex 4000 every month though.

What I found with the injections is that the ticks stopped feeding (and thus reproducing). That made it easier to pull them off the dogs without any problems, and gave me time to exterminate them. It was a slow and laborious process, but worked in the end. It also meant no chemicals - I had bought some stuff with permethrine (which I read was just about the only stuff that kills ticks), but wasn't too happy about spraying it around my house.

I've used permethrin 0.4% w/v around the inside and outside of my house with no ill effects to me, my family, my dog or my cat. Brand I used is Permedan manufactured by Antex Thai Chemie.

[Keesters]

Was using En-Dex tablets for my dog but recently have changed to injecting Ivermec. Not had any ticks or fleas on my dog since using either of these treatments. Great stuff.

As for killing removed ticks I found that blue rubbing alcohol is the best. The ticks seem to die quite quickly. Don't recommend squishing them as it leaves, possibly infected, blood around which then needs to be cleaned up. The ticks and alcohol then get flushed down the toilet and into the septic tank.

Had a previous dog die from tick infection even though she had been treated regularly with Frontline by qualified vet here. Since heard that there is a lot of fake Frontline about.

We tried the injections, didn't seem to make any difference at all. The beasts do ger En-dex 4000 every month though.

Should contain EXACTLY the same drug "Ivermectin". Dosage for injections is 1ml per 15kg when solution is Ivermectin 1.5%.

[Keesters]

Was using En-Dex tablets for my dog but recently have changed to injecting Ivermec. Not had any ticks or fleas on my dog since using either of these treatments. Great stuff.

As for killing removed ticks I found that blue rubbing alcohol is the best. The ticks seem to die quite quickly. Don't recommend squishing them as it leaves, possibly infected, blood around which then needs to be cleaned up. The ticks and alcohol then get flushed down the toilet and into the septic tank.

Had a previous dog die from tick infection even though she had been treated regularly with Frontline by qualified vet here. Since heard that there is a lot of fake Frontline about.

We tried the injections, didn't seem to make any difference at all. The beasts do ger En-dex 4000 every month though.

i am not keen on useing en-dex 4000,3yrs.ago we bought some and binned it straight away as there is or was no guidence on dosage ect.also i understand its used for farm animals.

En-Dex tablets I buy do have dosage instructions in Thai language. Packet has pictures of dogs and cats but no manufacturer name, address, contact details. All I can say is it works for my dog after an initial double dosage when she was heavily infected with ticks and the following 3+ years a normal dosage once a month. No ticks at all since. I have to admit that vets don't like it at 20 baht/month and prefer 500 baht/month Frontline that did not protect one dog and resulted in 16,000 baht hospitalization bills before she died.

[cooked]

Was using En-Dex tablets for my dog but recently have changed to injecting Ivermec. Not had any ticks or fleas on my dog since using either of these treatments. Great stuff.

As for killing removed ticks I found that blue rubbing alcohol is the best. The ticks seem to die quite quickly. Don't recommend squishing them as it leaves, possibly infected, blood around which then needs to be cleaned up. The ticks and alcohol then get flushed down the toilet and into the septic tank.

Had a previous dog die from tick infection even though she had been treated regularly with Frontline by qualified vet here. Since heard that there is a lot of fake Frontline about.

We tried the injections, didn't seem to make any difference at all. The beasts do ger En-dex 4000 every month though.

i am not keen on useing en-dex 4000,3yrs.ago we bought some and binned it straight away as there is or was no guidence on dosage ect.also i understand its used for farm animals.

Well, I googled the name for instructions as I do with many products that I buy in Thailand. Bayticol is also used as a sheep dip, most of these tick products are developed for farm animals anyway. I don't use Frontline any more.

[meatboy]

Was using En-Dex tablets for my dog but recently have changed to injecting Ivermec. Not had any ticks or fleas on my dog since using either of these treatments. Great stuff.

As for killing removed ticks I found that blue rubbing alcohol is the best. The ticks seem to die quite quickly. Don't recommend squishing them as it leaves, possibly infected, blood around which then needs to be cleaned up. The ticks and alcohol then get flushed down the toilet and into the septic tank.

Had a previous dog die from tick infection even though she had been treated regularly with Frontline by qualified vet here. Since heard that there is a lot of fake Frontline about.

We tried the injections, didn't seem to make any difference at all. The beasts do ger En-dex 4000 every month though.

i am not keen on useing en-dex 4000,3yrs.ago we bought some and binned it straight away as there is or was no guidence on dosage ect.also i understand its used for farm animals.

Well, I googled the name for instructions as I do with many products that I buy in Thailand. Bayticol is also used as a sheep dip, most of these tick products are developed for farm animals anyway. I don't use Frontline any more.

as you have mentioned frontline i have never used it ,only heartgard plus for heartworm,but i have noticed the supplier who i get it off in bkk has not advertised either in their last magazine.i was wondering has this anything to do with the big raid on jj.market 2months ago.a lot of unlicenced dealers and vets.