Comments

1. 

   Christina Chambreau

   The safest may take more patience while discovering what works best for each dog/person/location. 

   http://www.ShooTags.com make tags for people, dogs and cats that work in milder situations.

   Noni – http://www.real-noni.com – orally as a treat. Several veterinarians started taking it and giving it to their dogs and cats after an herbal conference in Kauai (where it is 

   raised) and reported dramatic reductions in ticks. 

   Many essential oil sprays – VEtriScience has VetriRepel that you can get through my website, http://www.Myhealthyanimals.com; http://www.cedarcide is good to spray the perimiter

   of your property and use topically; wondercide.com (similar); and others; Neem & lemon grass are best per Dr. Winston; 

   Other internal products: by Earth Animal; 

   dog wise has a great tick puller. Mostly I do not mind if there are one or two ticks to pull. 

   finally, if a pet is healthy, they will be MUCH less likely to acquire an active tick borne disease, so that is still the main goal. 

2. 

   PK Dennis

   I haven’t tried the Shoo Tags yet, but I have found nothing really work for ticks — that is also not harmful to dogs and cats in the long run.  I take the management approach:

   After every walk where the dogs get into tall grass or shrubs, or into piles of leaves, each dog gets a quick comb with a very fine comb (similar to a flea comb — I use a Greyhound brand extra find tooth comb with 1 inch long teeth) that captures even the smallest tick.  Some days I will comb as many as 20 ticks from my terrier that needs to put his head into every hole he finds.

   Then that night or the next morning while we are relaxing on the sofa or in bed, I slowly work my finger tips thru their fur all around their head, ears, collar and chest (where most ticks attach), feeling for the tick or two that got missed by the comb.  I keep an air-tight jar on the coffee table and one on my night stand to drop the ticks I find into so I am not jumping up to flush the little buggers, then I empty the jar every few days into the toilet and flush.

   The last thing I do, just to be sure — is have my dogs tested for Lyme and the other tick diseases each time they go to the vet (once or twice a year usually).  Three of my 4 dogs have popped positive for a tick delivered disease in the last 3 years (different diseases, different times of the year) — dispite having all my dogs on Revolution year round (to prevent heartworm and mange since we have mange in the foxes on the property).  Revolution doesn’t seem to kill the ticks in my experience, and it so it cannot prevent them from giving Lyme and the other diseases to my boys.

   I am going to give Christina’s recommendation of Shoo Tags a try.