Dog Ticks! We have zillions! Any suggestions to eliminate them - praying mantis, poultry?

Question

We live on a ranch in SD - the only thing I hate about it is the unbelievable amount of dog ticks every spring and summer. GROSS! I can remove a tick a minute (or faster!) from our animals but I'll never get used to them. We do use a rub-on gel (Advantix I think?) and tick collars for the animals and I guess they help... We keep the ground cover near the house very short. I'm wondering if anyone has had any luck with a particular type of poultry (2 geese didn't seem to make a dent in our tick population!) or maybe someone has tried praying mantis? Which wild birds would help the most - maybe I could encourage them through plantings and feeding? We have robins & sparrows around now. I would like to be more prepared this spring, if I can. Thank you for any help or suggestions!! ps I'm one of the only two people I know who tics never attach to - they must know how much I hate them! LOL

Answer 1

from what I have heard I would try guinea hens. they are noisy and not very bright, but they eat ticks and other insects and don't scratch like chickens do.
you would need thousands of praying mantis to do the job, which isn't practical, and geese are vegetarians for the most part, so they really wouldn't help much.
as far as landscaping goes, keep your animals out of anywhere there is tall grass, and try to keep the ticks off as best you can.
also, frontline has worked well for us, but you'd have to try it and see. good luck!

Answer 2

As you're in all probability conscious, ticks are the vector for Lyme ailment, to boot as Rocky Mountain observed fever. not a good factor. Ticks would be carried by using many animals (and birds), yet are commonly unfold by using field mice. in case you may capture or kill adequate mice, you may see a help in ticks. Permethrin spray (an insecticide) could be good, yet once you have cattle, this is not an selection. What you may desire to do is manage tufts of cotton with permethrin, and stuff them into cardboard tubes. positioned the tubes in locations that mice are probable to discover them...alongside wall baseboards in barns, under shrubs, and so on. The mice will thieve the cotton to make nests, and the insecticide will kill the ticks. Guineafowl are stated to have a style for ticks (checklist of hatcheries in link below). Animals that hunt mice would help: hawks, owls, great snakes. there's a wasp, Ixodiphagus hookeri, that has a style for ticks, yet I have not have been given any concept the thank you to motivate them.

Answer 3

Get a flock of chickens and you´ll get rid of the ticks, chiggers, and fleas. But make sure they have the run of the place and that they have lots of room to run in. Chickens eat anything and everything. They will strip the grass to the bare ground and they will eat all low leaves. But, with enough room to run in, they will get rid of the pests, including mice, and won´t cause the damage I´m describing. I´m a chicken raiser and have had the experience you´re going through. Good luck.

Answer 4

No help but chemicals. The best way is to keep your pet and yourself far from ticks. Check your pet thoroughly after walks. Are you a hard smoker?

Answer 5

For cats and dogs I use Frontline and Revolution. I use Seven powder around the house and yard. I hate them too, we have pine trees and I even find them on me, so I have been using a spray for mosquitoes and ticks. Good Luck

Answer 6

Insecticide
Better living through chemicals

Answer 7

I have asked the same question so many times, and did not receive a proper answer

Answer 8

very confusing problem. research using the search engines. this can assist!

Answer 9

I was interested to know this as well