Tick Prevention?

[SizzleDog]

We use rose geranium oil specifically as a tick repellent.. seems to work well, even in the woodlands.

[Aleron]

Originally Posted by Southpaw

We sell "Sentry Natural Defense" but I don't know much about its efficacy. Its got like peppermint, thyme, and other herby stuff like that in it.

I tried this when it first came out and it didn't seem to do anything for fleas :/

As for Advantix, the company just says to avoid letting the cats and dogs together until it is dry and not to allow the cats to groom the application site:

This product is extremely poisonous to cats and could be fatal due to the unique physiology of this species which is unable to metabolise certain compounds including permethrin. To prevent cats from being accidentally exposed to the product, keep treated dogs away from cats after treatment until the application site is dry. It is important to ensure that cats do not groom the site of application on a dog, which has been treated with this product. Seek veterinary advice immediately if this occurs.

http://www.animalhealth.bayerhealthcare.com/4715.0.html

And

Can advantix not be used in dogs and cats which live together?

advantix can be used in dogs which live with cats, as reported in the study by Knoppe (2002), where no adverse effects were found in the cats. In animals which live in close proximity and at any rate basically for the owner's peace of mind, it is a good rule to avoid contact in the first few hours after application, to apply the product in the evening, and to keep the animals separate during the night.

http://www.animalhealth.bayerhealthc....0.html#c13012


While it seems a lot of people on internet forums say that Advantix will kill your cat if they rub against a treated dog, I haven't found anything that would indicate there's truth to that. It seems most cases I was able to find on the internet were the result of the cat coming into direct contact with the medication - either owners putting it onto the cat, the cat coming in contact with the tube and licking it, the cat grooming the dog's still wet application site, the cat and the dog sharing bedding when the application was still wet, etc. IOWs the suggested precautions were not taken or the product was misused (used on a cat). If anyone can point me to stories where the suggested precautions were taken and the cat still became ill from Advantix I would definitely be interested.

[Candice007]

We put advantix on our dogs every 2 weeks, as ticks in our area are common.

We have the bad bad paralysis ticks here, dont know if anyone else does?

But Oscar has been in the vets 2 times wth paralysis and not being able to walk, once for 5nights another for 3nights, they are just so bad. So now its every 2 weeks instead of monthly application.

[AllieMackie]

Originally Posted by SizzleDog

We use rose geranium oil specifically as a tick repellent.. seems to work well, even in the woodlands.

Forgot about that one!

We sell Halo Brand herbal dip at work, good as a moderate, gentle preventative for both fleas and ticks... it's another one I've heard pretty amazing things about. It's just a cocktail of essential oils that you dilute with water and can spray onto the dog.

But again, mileage varies in bug-heavy areas.

http://shop.halopets.com/Herbal-Dip-5oz

[JessLough]

I should clarify, it's not really a tick-heavy area compared to others, ticks have never been a problem before now. (Like, not only for us, there's a bunch of people that frequent the woods and they've never had issues, despite not using preventative) So really, it's just now there are ticks, rather than the very rare problems we had before.

[Kat09Tails]

I find the best way to control ticks is to control where they like to live. Fire via controlled burn is SUPER effective. You can almost hear the little bastards scream when the torch comes out. Also guinea hens love to eat ticks so if you can have yard birds... it's something to think about. buc - wee!

The only repellent that I know of to be worth it's salt is permethrin. You can't apply it to skin though but you can to clothing so... treating a vest and a collar that the dog wears when it goes out might be helpful. Strong deet is only so - so effective.

[JessLough]

Yah, definitely cannot burn the woods where the foxes live, that's not my property

[CharlieDog]

Guinea hens! Dude! I totally have an excuse now! "Honey, they're here to control the tick problem in the backyard!"

[Kat09Tails]

Originally Posted by CharlieDog

Guinea hens! Dude! I totally have an excuse now! "Honey, they're here to control the tick problem in the backyard!"

It is a thing of a tick's nightmares... buc - wee!

[CharlieDog]

That is one ugly bird.