lime for ticks?

Question

Our dog keeps getting ticks on her even after we purchased the most expensive tick preventive (supposely). Someone told us to pour lime dust over our back yard. We have woods behind our home, Thank you.

Answer 1

I'd avoid that, unless you don't really like your yard -- the alkaline nature of the lime will most likely kill the grass and keep it from coming back for a couple of years. In a way, that would be one way of eliminating the ticks, since they tend to breed and hide out in tall grass, but it's rather extreme. There are other insecticidal products on the market specifically for controlling fleas and ticks in your yard. Some products I know of are Virbac Yard Spray, Adams Yard Spray, Vet-Kem Siphotrol yard spray. Use products containing pyriproxyfen as an outdoor insect development inhibitor.

Most of these products are meant to be used in conjunction with a topical treatment on your dog, like Advantage, and because they tend to break down or wash away, are recommended to be reapplied every 2-3 weeks. Other things you can do are to keep the grass cut short, wash bedding and keep your carpets vacuumed up, and groom your dog regularly. If the medications don't seem to work, your dog might either be exposed to higher concentrations of ticks than the manufacturer expected or might be doing something that exposes her to them more often, or you might have a species of tick in your area that is less susceptible to the active ingredients in your chosen brand of preventative -- in any of these cases, you should see your vet for recommended alternatives.

Answer 2

Lime is not a tick deterant at all. All lime does is sweeten the ground.
With any product you put on your lawn your dog cant walk on it for at least 2 days. So choose carefully when you buy anything