Ticks??

[ARS]

Hi all,

Has anyone here dealt with a infestation of ticks at your property?

We are on a residential block in Brisbane and have been battling ticks for the past two months.

We first noticed a problem about two weeks after moving in, in early June this year when I found 30ish on my dog. He hadn’t been out of the yard since I checked him the day before so he picked them up in the backyard.

We had the yard sprayed and all leaves at the back picked up. The pest people sprayed about 6 times over the course of three weeks.

Three weeks ago we discover they are back! The property has now been treated again another 5 times, twice in the first week and three times since.

Does anyone have any experience dealing with these critters? A workman reported that he had found them in the soil next to our courtyard so next week we are having it dug up and sprayed down there too.

Any ideas?

Many thanks

edit: Should have said 'Hi, I'm new here and hoping to learn about property investing as I know very very little'

 

[froggy]

I used to live near mt isa so heaps of ticks there also, the only thing i found helped was the brown tick collars you can get from the vet , front line for ticks also... abit pricey i know but does help also we sprayed cattle tick spray around the boundrys (you can get from live stock agent) and on the grass this seemed to keep them at bay but we would still get the odd 1 or 2 , they are a very annoying pest so i feel for you, you just have to keep up the treatments we never could get fully rid of them but it controlled them.
Best of luck though and hope this has helped abit

 

[fokas]

Get a spray bottle of permoxin and regularly spray your dog. I would be doing it at least daily and getting efficient and checking my dogs over to pull any off that still attach.

 

[karina]

we have ticks on the nothern beaches of sydney.

I use a product called PROBAN on my dogs as one of my dogs is allergic to the collar.

You need to check your dog regularly for ticks (daily) if you are in an area that is known to have ticks and make sure you get them urgently to a vet if they show signs of breathing problems, start walking funny or legs collapse or vomiting etc.

 

[tourist]

Years ago we moved into a house in Darwin and the ticks were so bad they were climbing the bedroom walls. I would come home from work and the first thing I did was sit down with the dog and remove many more than 30 ticks every day.

We sprayed the garden and tried all the recommeded treatments but nothing worked until I bought a product for cattle, I think it was called Baitickol. I had to lie to get it and say we owned a cow but our poor dog was suffering so much it was worth it.

The ticks can stay dormant until a suitable host (dog) arrives on te scene so the best solution was to let them attach to the dog and kill them once and for all via the dog.

 

[ARS]

Thanks all, I am trying to figure out if they live in the soil or if they hatch on the ground then climb up the leaf folliage.

Not sure if it is worth digging up the soil patch next to our courtyard or not.

Tourist, did you apply that to your dog or in your yard?

 

[tourist]

We put a small dose on the dogs neck, similar to the flea treatments, then we repeated in about 3 months to pick up any recently hatched. She was a little off colour for a day but it was a serious case of ticks. She really hated the ticks on her and if she could talk she would have chosen the medicine.

Ticks go through a couple of different stages and when a dog moves into an area they can come out of a dormant stage and climb up the plants to wait for a passing dog.

I think the ticks in Darwin may be a different breed of tick to QLD but I expect their life isn't too different. The Darwin tick isn't poisonous but if enough ticks attach to the dog then the dog can become anaemic and die.

 

[MichaelW]

Hi ARS,

I used to live on Sydney's Northern Beaches on a bush block with loads of paralysis ticks and two dogs so know what you're up against. We also use Frontline+ but its not as good as it used to be now that they've scaled back the nasty chemicals a bit. But it still helps. We also use the tick collars on both dogs.

There's heaps of information available online about how to limit their propogation on your property. Search the Pittwater sites and you'll be amazed what you turn up. From memory they love moisture and shade, so you need to make sure you keep your yard clear of debris where they can shelter from the heat and keep moist.

If you've been working in the yard, then its a good idea to throw your workclothes in the dryer for a cycle which can kill the ticks. If they're all over you when they're still a tiny pre-nymph lifestage then they're almost impossible to remove and end up looking like bad mosquito bights. Once they reach nymph lifecycle you can remove them with the green tick forks available at petshops which come in two sizes sold together. Once they're at the adult lifestage then you'll need the larger fork. Just slide it under the tick and twist and pull simultaneously.

I used to check both dogs every day after work and pull the ticks off as I found them. They're easy to feel through their fur, or at least they were on our two long haired Border Collies. Even on a bush block in Narrabeen, we still didn't have too many problems if I was diligent in checking the dogs. My father used to always get at least one tick when he helped me working in the yard, but I always seemed to dodge them. Again the trick is to avoid touching the green foliage where possible. We had bracken fern all over the block which they love.

Regular spraying of the block with pyrethrum based product does help. But as soon as it rains it all gets washed off and you have to respray so we gave up. We found the cure easier than prevention so focussed on getting them off the dogs when we found them. Only once got to the stage where we had to take our dog Gerry to the vet and even he couldn't find the tick on him. Gave him 3 proban tablets which killed it and the dog came good. I found it about a week later attached at the very base of his whiskers on his face. When feeling it, it just felt like whiskers unless you were very aware. They are sneaky blighters!

Here's the Pittwater Council page on Tick prevention to get you started:

Pittwater Council Ticks

Good luck.

Cheers,
Michael

 

[zenq]

Ok, I'm a vet and deal with this for a living.
Firstly, the ticks you are describing are likely brown dog ticks. Its important to identify if there may be paralysis ticks as these can be much more serious. Dog ticks are sort of like large fleas, the parasitise dogs and can carry disease and are disgusting, but not deadly.
As you guessed the tick eggs are in the soil, mulch etc and when they hatch they climb up foliage or walls or dogs etc looking for a blood meal.
They have 3 life stages, each needs a blood meal to progress. After feeding each stage drops off, moults, then climbs up again to try to feed. This means each adult tick you find has previously fed off (probably your) a dog twice before.
Thus on-dog tick control is essential. Frontline or Advantix 2-weekly (+ if required) Permoxin or a tick collar is very effective and relatively safe. The supermarket products are hopeless and expensive.
Spraying the yard is helpful, but the sprays won't penetrate to where the ticks are. I have heard liming and heavy fertilising help. Replacing mulch or lawn can give you a fresh start.
It takes time...... for every adult tick you find there are thousands, nay 10s000s of eggs and larvae etc. Until they ar dead you will keep seeing them. Start now, throughly. You will see results.
Your vet should be able to give you relevant local advice.