Frontline for humans?

[CityGirlintheCountry]

I am already having tick problems. It has been monsooning for weeks now, the yard is out of control and the chickens haven't had as much free range time as they usually get. I have found two ticks walking on me in the last three weeks. They completely ook me out.
I have Frontlined the dogs and cats and they are tick free. The chickens eat them up rather than harbor them. But what about me? Is there something I can do to repel them from me? I cannot tell you how ooky I find them to be. My skin crawls just thinking about it.

Help!

 

[TexasVet]

It probably wasn't the right thing to do, but Mom always sprayed our legs with bug spray. Not repellent, killer spray. But who knew back in the 50s? Now that I'm older (and smarter) I just spray my shoes and socks, not bare skin.

Helps if you don't walk through tall grass. Would also help if you got some guineas; they love ticks.


Kathy, Bellville TX
www.CountryChickens.com

 

[luvmychicknkids]

I have already threatened frontline for my kiddos!!!! I have picked 5 YES, 5 off me that were biting already this year. We always have a LOT of ticks out here.

 

[FrizzleFreak]

HAHA! Pacific Northwest = no ticks!!!
They make me feel icky inside.

 

[Southernbelle]

Me thinks you need some guineas AND they're so noisy no little kid will be able to come into the yard unannounced. There, two problems solved!

Seriously, we use bug spray. I'm highly allergic to fleas, ticks and mosquitos - the second they bite me I itch like mad. When it comes to ticks, I consider my allergy a gift because I know it the second they bite me and can get them off right away. They are the creepiest little monsters and now I itch all over just thinking about them.

Nice to see you, Anne!

 

[rufus]

Try putting those clothes dryer sheets in your socks and pant legs.

The brown dog tick is the most aggravating and all enduring pest. I had a friend that was an entomologist, and he had some brown dog ticks sealed up in a jar. They had been in this jar for over ten years, and they were still alive.

Ever once in a while, he would shake the jar and they would still move.

Whoever lived in our house before us had a dog. Every once in a while we would see a tick crawling out of the woodwork. Nothing seemed to work. In frustration, we kept a small hammer handy. They never survived that.

Oddly, they infested the living room, but never climbed upon the furniture. We have been in this house for thirty years now, but we have not seen a tick in the last four or five years.

Rufus

 

[Tala]

I've threatened to Fronline DH before.

Unfortunately I don't have enough left to treat his bodyweight!

My grandma used to coat our ankles with a ring of Campho-Phenique above the sock line to keep ticks off. I think it worked, but I was pretty young at the time. Good thing is, it doesn't kill you like bug spray might

 

[RuffTuffCreampuff]

Some ole timer methods.


Seriously, guineas work!

Roll up cuffs of pants, and fill cuff with sulpher....of course this comes from a time, when they wore pants even in the summer.

My Great Uncle John's method, bath in Pinesol....yep, the stuff you mop floors with, he just added a capfull to his bath water. Helps kill them that are on you and the scent that's left helps repel them, however this comes from a man that would cure your earache, by spitting his tobacco juice in your ear. Learn to bare the pain of swimmer's ear in silence on that one, the hard way

. He was also a fan of DDT, so I would pass on his method, because I am not sure of the toxicity of Pinesol(but it does work), and just get some guineas.

Pam

 

[Tala]

I've had a Pinesol bath to get seed ticks off.

It REEEEALLY burns girly bits and I don't recommend it unless you are already infested.

 

[lengel]

Quote:
DH lives in terror of ticks. He would have a coronary on the spot if I showed him your e-mail, Rufus. We have Lyme in the area like you would not believe and had one doctor suggest that MIL's dementia was Lyme related (deer ticks - the really tiny ones). She had to be treated for it twice. Our neighbor thought that her two year old had a neurological disorder until he tested positive for Lyme.

The Deep Woods Off with DEET is supposed to be *the* thing. DH won't even take the dogs on a walk unless he's wearing his "sprayed" clothes.

Our property is next to the woods. I wear knee high rubber rain boots to do yard work even though the birds have handled most of the problem. Then I take a shower and wash my clothes immediately afterward. When we first moved here four years ago, we avoided stone walls and wood piles because the common wisdom was that chipmunks, mice and squirrels (the most common carriers) lived there. Then we started a project on the driveway and could see the ticks walking across the pavement en masse. Even I freaked out. This is why we got chickens and guineas.

Last story: dogs are the best indicators for when ticks become active in your area. A light colored short haired dog will show ticks the minute they become active. We fostered a puppy and had the adopters call us two days after they took him home. They had taken the puppy into the woods next to the house that they bought a few months before. The puppy came back covered in ticks. They called to ask if the puppy had somehow attracted these things because they had never noticed them before (and to ask if they could start Frontline on him). Can you imagine how many of these things they've brought into their home because they haven't noticed? Icky. I told them to keep a bottle of isopropyl alcohol and a pair of tweezers next to the front door and have indoor/outdoor shoes for themselves at the very least.