Ticks on Doggies

[101RRS]

My mum's white furrball of a lap dog picked up a tick in her Newcastle suburban back yard. Not sure where the tick came from maybe eggs flown in or dropped by a bird - never had ticks in the garden before - the dog only goes outside to crap so is not normally in the garden.

Anyway other than checking the fur ball on a regular basis what preventative treatments can be applied to the mutt (last time I visited my Mum, the bitch bit me twice - hmmm the dog not my Mum) to stop the little blood suckers getting their teeth into the dog.

My Mum has bought a anti-tick collar but I have heard these things are not all that safe for the dog.

Ideas please.

Oh - you might have realised I am not a fan of this mutt - it bites :o.

Thanks

Garry

[bigdog]

My mum's white furrball of a lap dog picked up a tick in her Newcastle suburban back yard. Not sure where the tick came from maybe eggs flown in or dropped by a bird - never had ticks in the garden before - the dog only goes outside to crap so is not normally in the garden.

Anyway other than checking the fur ball on a regular basis what preventative treatments can be applied to the mutt (last time I visited my Mum, the bitch bit me twice - hmmm the dog not my Mum) to stop the little blood suckers getting their teeth into the dog.

My Mum has bought a anti-tick collar but I have heard these things are not all that safe for the dog.

Ideas please.

Oh - you might have realised I am not a fan of this mutt - it bites :o.

Thanks

Garry

Advantix and Frontline are the two we use. Still not 100% as we have found ticks on the dogs even after treatment. Not cheap but good insurance. Alternatively a bit of lead in the dogs ear will remove both problems :wasntme:

[R Miller]

we use a spray around the yard, its really strong so if there a re any little kids nearby make sure you tell there parents to keep clear its pigeon brand, our local produce sells it not real sure of the exact name but it kills all the bugs,

and advantix on the dogs,

make sure u spray the dogs bed and everything, I know a mate has sprayed his carpet with it as his dog is a inside dog. but not sure id like it in my house with 3 little kids

[debruiser]

we use cocoroach bombs under the house (500mm stumps, the dogs pretty much live under there), just throw a few under on the way to work. Obviously the dogs have to stay away for a few hours.

[joel0407]

I have recently become an expert on this subject since being absolutely over run about 6 - 8 weeks ago. I mean thousands in the yard with them crawling up the walls of the house. I'm on top of them now and my wife has only found one in the house in the past week.

They will get immune to Advantix and Front line after a while. I suspect this is what happened to us as we had been using Advantix monthly since moving to Darwin. Tick were never an issue in Blayney or Canberra.

We had been using Advantix, my wife found one tick on each of our 2 dogs then about 3 weeks later they just went mad.

They have a life cycle of 30 - 40 days or something and most stuff only kills one stage so once you get them it will take that long at least to get rid of them. If you miss some on the first cycle, you can expect up to 80 days before they are gone.

Malawash is reported as being pretty good but it's a poison and not recommended to get in the eyes or mount of the dogs.

We used Permoxin which seamed to work pretty well but it only kills whats on the dog at the time.

I used Permoxin in a spray can around the yard as well as the Malawash at different times. I dont know if it worked but I couldn't have hurt and we are pretty well rid of them now. I can show you multiple photos of an adult tick that I sprayed with Malawash in a jar. It lived for 5 days, laid eggs then died. I guess Malawash doesnt kill adult ticks. Maybe it kills nymphs.

I have some other stuff in the shed which I can check tomorrow. It cost about $50 per litre but it's pretty strong stuff. It meant fully suiting up in disposable Overalls, gloves, boot covers and goggles. Also had to fence the yard in 2 and have the dogs out of the sprayed area for 24 hours. It's bad when it's wet but it can be used on fruit which can be sold for human consumption after 24 hours. I think this worked the best.

The best results was with a Tick injection from the Vet. The first injection costs about $75 per dog here in Darwin because the dog has to stay at the vet for obs on the first injection to check for adverse affects. After that it's $20 per injection which is usually monthly. It doesnt work for the whole month but for the time it works it's enough to break the growth cycle of the ticks.

Lime is excellent for getting them out of your yard as well but you have to use Calcium Carbonate. Normal brickies or garden lime is not fine enough. It's cheap but can be dangerous to use as it's such a fine dust. Just use breathing mask and wash off well afterwards. And dont get it on the walls or concrete as it will dry like white paint. It will go away eventually but not for a good while. It dries out the ticks and they cant survive.

Dont worry about the old wives tails of vinigar spray, Basil plants and all that stuff. It doesn't work. I spent $50 on Basil plants and they are meant to repel flies as well. I can send you pictures of 2 flies sitting on a Basil plant and they were still there in the morning until I shewed them away.

PM me for anything else you need to know. I'll probably just respond with my Mobile number,

Happy Days.

[R Miller]

I have some other stuff in the shed which I can check tomorrow. It cost about $50 per litre but it's pretty strong stuff. It meant fully suiting up in disposable Overalls, gloves, boot covers and goggles. Also had to fence the yard in 2 and have the dogs out of the sprayed area for 24 hours. It's bad when it's wet but it can be used on fruit which can be sold for human consumption after 24 hours. I think this worked the best.



that sounds like the stuff I was using aswell, bit scary the first time you use it

[101RRS]

Well - lots of different options - some not really suitable for use by an 85yo women but others more owner friendly. Advantix might be the go in her circumstance but with the caveat it might not work 100%,

Thanks for the input

I appreciate it

Garry

[bigdog]

.......and apparently chooks do a great job of keeping ticks out of the back yard but these may not survive a feisty dog....

[Brad110]

army dogs used to use Malawash or Gamawash.

No ticks but my hair fell out.....

I don't know wether they are available as they are kin to chemical agents.

[101RRS]

My Mum just rang to say the dog is now at the Vet suffering the early symptoms of a paralysis tick (breathing issues and early weakness in the back legs). The tick was removed last Saturday with symptoms just starting to show when the dog was at the dog washers this morning - so now suspecting that there was a second tick. Overnight stay at the Vet and treatment will be $600.

I am a bit annoyed with the vet practice as I just found out that when the dog was taken to the vet on Saturday it was not seen by a vet but dealt with by the receptionist - who examined the dog and removed the tick but did not administer any antivenin as a precaution - the tick was engorged but still small, smaller than a pea. Likewise when the shaggy dog was searched no second tick was found but they did not give the dog a trim to assist in the search.

It looks as if the anti flea wash that the dog washer uses had dislodged the second tick and has fallen away with the dog fur when being trimmed. With the fur gone the vet has not found a second tick but has administered the antivenin so the prognosis is just good but expensive for my mum who is on a single aged pension.

I am just a bit annoyed that the dog was not seen by a vet when first taken up for treatment.

[joel0407]

army dogs used to use Malawash or Gamawash.

No ticks but my hair fell out.....

I don't know wether they are available as they are kin to chemical agents.


You can still get Malawash but it's made by a different company now. I bought a tin only about 4 - 5 weeks ago. Malawash used to be available from supermarkets, years ago. I could only find it at a pet shop.

Malawash looks like this

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/attachment.php?attachmentid=67039&stc=1&d=1381806175

And the other stuff. Knowing what I know now. I wish I bought this stuff first. I thought I'd save some money because I thought the cheaper stuff would do. Turned out I bought Malawash for $20, Permoxin for $20 and then still needed this stuff for $50. I could have saved $40 if I just bought this stuff in the first place.

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/attachment.php?attachmentid=67040&stc=1&d=1381806175

[joel0407]

There is a really good NT government document that tells you all about ticks and how to get rid of them. Do a Google and I'm pretty sure you'll find it relatively easily.

Happy Days.