# HELP! Just pulled 10 ticks off 2 of my dogs after literally minutes on a hike.



## counter

We went to Bruneau Dunes State Park to hike and climb the giant sand dune mountains/hills. After going off trail a bit near the water, we passed through an area of mosquitos. Once away from the water, I thought I saw a mosquito stuck in Beowulf's fur, so I went to get it off him. That's when I realized it was a pretty large tick. After searching Kaze and Beowulf's fur, we found a bunch more. I was able to get off every one I found as the ticks were still trying to get through the thick fur. None of them reached their skin. I've had all of the dogs on Springtime Bug Off Garlic, but Beowulf doesn't seem to eat his supplement meal when I add the garlic, so I'm most worried about him. All 3 other dogs gobble up the garlic, so I'm hoping they're safe. Paw Paw and Nara stayed home. Beowulf has the thickest fur that the ticks couldn't seem to find their way through. I'm not sure if the garlic is working, as it seemed the ticks were staying near the surface of their fur in plain visibility. Was this luck or do the ticks smell the garlic and they're purposely staying away? If so, that would be amazing. I will have to write to Springtime to tell them. 










I'm wondering what else I should do to ensure none of these ticks implant their head. Even as we were driving home and the dogs were in a crate, the ticks were crawling out of the crate to the outside. Maybe the garlic really IS working and the ticks are fleeing for their lives. I hope so. I've checked over both dogs multiple times and find a tick every now and then. I don't want them to transfer ticks to the other dogs or our children. I've only ever seen 1 tick at a time in my life, never 10+ at once. We were only off trail for a few minutes. Where did all of these ticks come from? It's a good thing that these are the largest ticks I've ever seen. If they were any smaller, especially on Kaze's fur, they'd disappear and blend right in. Any other recommendations? The dogs are not on any flea or tick medication.


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## counter

Doing some quick research. It looks like these ticks are Dog Ticks. I'm also reading that the only ticks that carry Lyme disease in Idaho are Deer Ticks and Black Legged Ticks. So we are hopefully safe there. I just don't want any creepy crawlies on my children or pets.


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## Magwart

A bath might be a good idea -- if you have Wondercide's REPEL soap (with neem and cedar oil), that's what I'd use.


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## Jax08

First, use a real preventative like a Seresto collar or a topical.

Second, I believe you have to worry about things like Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.
American Lyme Disease Foundation


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## Kahrg4

I've never tried garlic, but if you found that many ticks on multiple dogs I'd be inclined to say it isn't working for that particular species of tick. Might be time to revisit a topical or tick collar as Jax08 suggested. Glad you got 'em before they'd latched on!


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## Pretzels

The bad thing about dog ticks is that they can actually live in/infest your house or car, so I would recommend giving the dogs a bath with shampoo that kills ticks asap! You also do have to worry about Rocky Mountain spotted fever as well. 
Ughhhhhh I am currently freaking out about ticks in my area. The ones here have all been deer ticks so far. Trying garlic and wondercide repellent this week and hoping it will make a difference on our daily hikes!


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## llombardo

I use the garlic and Scalibor Collar. For added protection in the woods, I also use cedar oil on them.


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## NancyJ

Dog ticks seem to be the only ones my dog has picked up on the springtime


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## HOBY

I use cedar shaving in the dogs bedding and dog house. You can never do enough prevention. Ticks are tuff.


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## dhaney81

Pulled 2 off this weekend myself, and I had just put a fresh coat of wondercide on my dog. They are "tuff"


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## counter

Called the vet to see what is local to this area. They said I don't have much to worry about. I found an 11th tick, still stuck in the fur and not biting the dog yet, so that's good. I'm really wondering if the garlic is working. None of the ticks are at the skin. This 11th tick had over 24 hours to bite, and it didn't. Weird. I'm still looking for more ticks just to be sure.


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## counter

Pics of the dogs at the dunes right after I pulled the first 8 or so ticks off of them:


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## wick

Your pics just say missing image  I pulled a tick off wick last week (a deer tick-the tiny ones) gross little buggers! Do you have the tick twister in case they do embed ? I've never used one but the vet said they work great on people and dogs. We bought one for the future just in case 5$.


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## counter

wick said:


> Your pics just say missing image  I pulled a tick off wick last week (a deer tick-the tiny ones) gross little buggers! Do you have the tick twister in case they do embed ? I've never used one but the vet said they work great on people and dogs. We bought one for the future just in case 5$.


 Weird. The pics are working for me.

I've always been able to get ticks out by using my fingernail or tweezers to just put pressure on them and push them out the way they came in. I make sure not to rip the heads off. I've heard about touching them with a hot needle which burns them enough that they back themselves out of the hole. Never had to try that method though...at least not yet. We've also never been THIS infested! Ha. Just glad none of them have bit the dogs yet.


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## KathrynApril

I feel your pain! These ticks are really ticking me off! Hee hee

Since the spring I have pulled 15 ticks off of Dinozzo. A couple days ago I pulled four all from just behind his ear. When I pulled one I thought it was one big one but turned out to be three little ones all grouped together. It was so gross. I know this is in the holistic forum so I don't have much help as far as that goes. I did pick up Nexgard from the vet though as I was sick of dealing with the ticks. So far I haven't seen anymore luckily!


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## Saphire

I can see the pics....looks like fun.


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## wick

They are showing up now! Must have been my phone or something  sorry! Great pics.... What a gorgeous family trip!


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## Nikitta

Ticks have been predicted to be awful this year in my area. I got a tick repelent from the vet that promises to repel ticks before they get on your dog Let me go see what it's called-----Vectra 3D. It doesn't wait to kill them after they attach but keeps them from attaching. It's kind of a pain to apply. You have to drizzle it all the way down their back on the skin.


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## Traveler's Mom

Counter,

Looks like your ticks live in pretty classy surroundings. Beautiful pictures.

I just pulled 4 off Traveler shortly after this was taken. First of the season for us. We actually had almost 4 months of no ticks. Brown dog ticks are the bane of my existence.

Lynn & Traveler


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## Saphire

I've seen 1 tick in my life and it was attached to me. I'm so very thankful it doesn't seem to be a big issue in my area or I've been very lucky to avoid.


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## Traveler's Mom

Saphire,

Are you taking in boarders?:help:


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## Shade

Delgado's had two ticks in his entire life and Jazzy has had one. No preventative, just normal body checks and SNAP tests every year. It's all in where you live, if I was in a high risk area I would be doing whatever was needed to keep my dog safe.


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## Saphire

Traveler's Mom said:


> Saphire,
> 
> Are you taking in boarders?:help:


Anytime!!

I've never used flea/tick or heartworm topicals. This dog goes everywhere and so far zip for any of it. With the exception of fleas, the others aren't a common issue for our area.


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## Traveler's Mom

We could house trade! 3 bedroom in South Florida with lots of fleas and ticks in the neighborhood; just so you can experience it. Hot tub that you never have to run the heater with since the water naturally stays ambient temp of +90 today and for the next 5 months. Don't worry about the price of orange juice- got one in the backyard. Grass grows overnight so you get to enjoy mowing every single weekend! On days you are bored, you nuke the house to kill freeloaders like roaches, ants, spiders, and the like. The hibiscus bushes produce nice flowers that you can enjoy until the iguana population finds them. 

Then! When you take dogs for a walk you have your choice of swimming holes. Of course you need to watch for gators and water moccasins but hey, it's all nature, right?

House available until your temps reach below 70°. Then I'm coming home


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## Saphire

Traveler's Mom said:


> We could house trade! 3 bedroom in South Florida with lots of fleas and ticks in the neighborhood; just so you can experience it. Hot tub that you never have to run the heater with since the water naturally stays ambient temp of +90 today and for the next 5 months. Don't worry about the price of orange juice- got one in the backyard. Grass grows overnight so you get to enjoy mowing every single weekend! On days you are bored, you nuke the house to kill freeloaders like roaches, ants, spiders, and the like. The hibiscus bushes produce nice flowers that you can enjoy until the iguana population finds them.
> 
> Then! When you take dogs for a walk you have your choice of swimming holes. Of course you need to watch for gators and water moccasins but hey, it's all nature, right?
> 
> House available until your temps reach below 70°. Then I'm coming home


Ahahahahahahaha


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## Pax8

Yeah, I've had a similar experience as far as the dog ticks sticking around even while on the Springtime. Though still haven't had any attach. I've solved it by dousing mine in Wondercide before doing hikes. After I started layering occassional use of the Wondercide on top of the use of the garlic, I haven't seen any.


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## jaudlee

May sound idiotic, but if youre worried about them hiding..I actually saw a picture somebody was using a sticky lint roller to pick up ticks off of their dog. Who knows? might work


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## Traveler's Mom

Hi Pax*,

That's great if it's working for you. Traveler won't touch the springtime garlic. I have a whole jug of the stuff. Can't bring myself to toss it yet since it was expensive but he can smell it a mile away.
I do spray with wondercide and my house was just about dripping in it up until we finally killed of the last of them a very few months ago.

Back to smelling like grandma's closet again this year.


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## dhaney81

I've just started using wondercide a couple weeks ago and I've already found 2 attached and another one in my dogs hair. Gonna have to look into springtime garlic, I guess


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## NancyJ

I love the tick twister. They come off fully intact. There are two sizes. I think they only sell one at Petco and it is too big for the seed ticks.


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## Pax8

Traveler's Mom said:


> Hi Pax*,
> 
> That's great if it's working for you. Traveler won't touch the springtime garlic. I have a whole jug of the stuff. Can't bring myself to toss it yet since it was expensive but he can smell it a mile away.
> I do spray with wondercide and my house was just about dripping in it up until we finally killed of the last of them a very few months ago.
> 
> Back to smelling like grandma's closet again this year.


Yeah, Kaiju is not a fan either, so I have to put it in the really good stuff to get him to eat it. So he gets it about four times a week with his raw green tripe. It's so stinky I don't know if he even realizes I'm hiding the garlic in it!


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## Hineni7

Ticks are nasty this year and I don't want to go the Frontline way so I looked up natural remedies and have tried essential oils.. IT WORKS!! Rose geranium oil smells wonderful and a few drops on their shoulder blades and dock of tail have done AMAZINGLY! I have now made a concoction of rose geranium, lavender, lemongrass, terrashield (which is pre-made mix of 10 different woodsy smelling bug repelling oils), water and a light base oil. Smells good, lightly spray over their bodies and I haven't had one tick on them since. Just using the rose geranium oil was working well, but I needed to rub a bit around their ears. The one tick I found before making my little potion (some just use lavender oil with water and terrashield, or rose geranium... I like to cover all my bases, lol) never latched on and seemed relieved when pulled off the thin fur of the ear of Akivah. 

I've read peppermint, oregano, cinnamon, tea tree, and rosemary works too... Studies have been done for rose geranium and rosemary oil on ticks and proven successful. So for those looking for a nice smelling holistic approach, here ya go


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## Traveler's Mom

Hineni7,
I have been down the essential oil road plenty of times. I have so many bottles of the real essential oils I could open a shop. Those you named and a few more which were all tooted as being tick deterrents. 

Yes, the rose geranium worked the best but even that along or in combination wasn't enough to deter ticks from munching on Traveler. I am not giving up and even more committed after hearing they worked for you but in the mean time I have a nice smelling dog that is also on Advanix


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## Hineni7

I'm sorry they didn't work for Traveler... Just like some people, bugs can like certain dogs more. Not to mention the reason a variety of pest control options out there are because of differences in chemical make up of each person /animal... Glad you found something that works for Traveler  I have used Frontline before on my dogs long ago without any adverse reactions... But that was when they first came on the market and probably before the saturation of chemicals our dogs face lol... Still, what is worse? The chance of a reaction or the promise of a tick bite and possible disease? If the oils didn't work for my pups, I would be buying a product, lol. 

Thus far, for my dogs, the oils work wonderfully - and our area has been hit hard with them this year due to an almost non existent winter and mild spring...


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## Traveler's Mom

Hineni7 said:


> Still, what is worse? The chance of a reaction or the promise of a tick bite and possible disease? .


This is exactly what Traveler's vet told me when I was desperately trying to avoid the one drop chems. 

Unfortunately, even the chemicals aren't keeping him 100% safe as I mentioned earlier in this thread. That is the real kick in the pants.

Good luck this year. 

Lynn & Traveler


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## counter

Thanks for the comments on the pics. It was a fun day, other than the ticks. I have been checking the dogs daily, and still no ticks latching on. I haven't found #12 yet, so hopefully there were only 11. I'm going to keep searching them for another week or so. It seems like it only takes about 8 days (based on my research) for the ticks to puff up to their engorged size with blood. 

Those giant sand dunes are amazing, right smack dab in the middle of a dry high plain desert. They are the only dunes around that I know of. The tallest dunes are the size of mountains and are very steep. My 2 daughters and I, along with Nara, climbed to the top over the winter. It took us hours to get all the way to the narrow ridgeline. It's so steep you literally had to hang one leg over one side and the other over the other side, to keep yourself from sliding/falling back down to the bottom. I'm afraid of heights, so it was a bit scary, but my daughters took on the challenge of climbing to the tippy top, so I made sure I overcame my fears to be there with them in support, and also for obvious safety reasons. To give you a better idea, here is a pic of my son just starting up from the bottom of one of the smallest dunes, with me, my 2 daughters, Kaze and Beowulf at the top looking so small:










And here are my daughters "swimming" down the front side of the same small dune. It doesn't really look steep in this pic, but it is steep enough that gravity alone pulls you down, so with their kicking and flailing as if they were in water, they sped on down to the bottom laughing the entire way. Look at those smiles and sandy faces!!


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## llombardo

Traveler's Mom said:


> This is exactly what Traveler's vet told me when I was desperately trying to avoid the one drop chems.
> 
> Unfortunately, even the chemicals aren't keeping him 100% safe as I mentioned earlier in this thread. That is the real kick in the pants.
> 
> Good luck this year.
> 
> Lynn & Traveler


Have you thought about trying the Scalibor Collar? I use that and the garlic plus cedar in the woods.


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## Traveler's Mom

You are lucky, Counter. Beautiful pups and beautiful girls. I really enjoyed the new pics.

llombardo,
No, I haven't tried a collar recently. I remember some years ago I tried a collar on Traveler and he wasn't himself-wasn't acting "right" and I took it off. Can't remember the name of the manufacturer. It was either the scalibor or the seresto maybe? I know it wasn't just the dime store Hartz. I may have to revisit that option again since nothing I'm doing now is working.

Lynn & Traveler


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## Magwart

The world of flea collars has changed dramatically with the introduction of some that are now sold primarily through vets (like other higher-end flea/tick solutions). Seresto is made by Bayer, and Scalibor by Merck Animal Health. They just came on the market in the last year or two.

Seresto costs about $60, and Scalibor's around $40 I think. Seresto allegedly lasts 8 months; Scalibor is labeled for 6 months. I've been hearing pretty good things about effectiveness, but I haven't used either one.

The chemical that I keep hearing great things about for ticks locally is Vectra3D. I have friends who use it who go often into tick-filled woods, and it's working for them. It's only available from vets.


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## dogma13

I started using Seresto collars last year with excellent results.I'm intrigued by the use of essential oils,definitely going to give it a try.


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## counter

Update: I finally found a tick attached on Kaze's neck. I took him into my daughters' bedroom to show them what it looks like, as they've never seen a tick attached yet. It was another educational opportunity for everyone. I had a pair of tweezers and wrestled with the tick for many minutes, putting pressure on the skin and forcing it to back itself out with a little force. I was careful to not tear the tick apart and leave the head in. I was able to get it out. We put hydrogen peroxide on the bite wound and all is well. No inflammation or infection yet. I can't even find the bite this morning, so he must be healing up. I have been searching for more ticks on Kaze and Beowulf after finding this one. I thought I got them all off already.

Ironically, Beowulf has been sick for a few days. I'm monitoring him. I checked into Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever for dogs, and also talked with the vet. She said the fever is not common around here and that I shouldn't worry about it. The symptoms of Beowulf's sickness were not listed under symptoms for RMSF, so I'm not too worried right now. I think it's just a stomach bug. He seems to get them more than the other dogs.

I'm watching like a HAWK, ready to pounce like a LION!


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## counter

NEW UPDATE: Beowulf is back to normal. Yay! I found tick #13 attached to Nara's outer ear yesterday, and she wasn't even with us at the Dunes. That means it must've hopped off Kaze or Beowulf and got on Nara. Kaze's bite site is raised up so we're monitoring it and treating it in case of infection. We are also monitoring Nara's ear. Nothing yet. I'm thinking the Springtime Garlic isn't working since I've found 2 ticks attached so far. Not sure if the Bug Off Garlic is supposed to be full proof or what sort of coverage they project to protect. I guess 2 out of 13 isn't bad. I'd rather have 0 out of 13 though. I'm going to research the items you guys have mentioned, and pair that up with the Bug Off Garlic. If we have more issues with ticks, I'll just discontinue use of the Bug Off Garlic once we run out of these 3 ginormous containers.


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## Dainerra

Natural Chemistry Natural Flea & Tick Spray for Dogs, 24-oz, spray

I use this. It helps keep the ticks from even getting on the dog unlike most topicals that kill the tick after it has walked on the dog for a while. 
I just spray it on the dogs before we go out for a hike. It also works to spray your own shoes and socks


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## CaliGSD3

Wow! That's quite a while afterwards to be still finding ticks! Maybe to garlic kept them from biting earlier? I'm surprised they would hang around for so long before biting. 
Recently my dog has been picking up ticks pretty frequently so almost 3 weeks ago I started giving him 1/4 tsp of just regular granulated garlic twice per day. Just this week we've been going back to our tick-y hiking spots daily again. No ticks yet! Except for one, two days ago, I felt a tick on his neck that had just barely attached and was not engorged yet. We were out and about running errands so as going to wait till we got home so I could use my tick remover thing. Well when I got him, the tick was gone! I could just feel a little tiny bump where it had been attached. 
Wondering if it was the garlic? Its so far seeming like it's helping. I was wondering, for pringtime garlic users, how much garlic the springtime dosages equate to? im wanting to order some just because it's been tried and true at the dosages they give for long term safety.


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## llombardo

I was giving my dogs one scoop a day of the garlic, but I've increased that to two scoops since reading this thread.


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## counter

Just found tick #14 on the soft side flap/pocket of Kaze's left ear. Another dog tick. Can these still be on him from 14 days ago? Insane. I saw pictures of dog ticks at 8 days engorged and they were HUGE. These are only slightly filled with blood, but I'm thinking that's because the one on Nara and now Kaze were sucking from his ear cartilage, which wouldn't provide a lot of blood to fill them up. Either way, another tick is dead. How many more will I find? I was up to feeding 2 scoops of Bug Off Garlic a day, but I could tell that the dogs were not eating their food like they used to. Beowulf won't eat at all if there is garlic in his bowl. I had to decrease him down to barely a half a scoop and the other dogs are getting 1 scoop. I know the package recommends 3 scoops per dog per day at their size/weight, but they barely touch their food with 2 scoops. I am not sure if we'll ever get them to eat 3 scoops. I drown their supplement meal in fish oil and chicken blood, etc. to "hide" the garlic, but it is still too strong for them.


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## WesS

Been having problems for a while during 'the season'. 
After spending hours removing, and then took them to be groomed. (Routine).

Took to vet, got the tick pill, so far no ticks. First time I gave the tick pill. Felt strange giving some 'miracle' pill that stops ticks apparently. Well so far no ticks. Fingers crossed. Seems to be working. Haven't found any since.

Apparently no side effects the vet said. Still hard for me to believe that. But ticks were ticking me and my dogs off.


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## Myah's Mom

Counter, I've just read through your ordeal, horrified. I hate ticks! 

I just bought the Bug Off garlic pills. Even taking the sealed bottle out of the package was smelly - wow. It supposedly takes a couple weeks to build up. Not enough time for us since we leave this weekend to camp...but will start. 

Read on collars. Mixed results, including the need to shave their necks to let the collar sit on the skin. Myah is on SimpleGuard3 (same ingredients as Vectra3D, but from VCA vets). Crossing fingers...

Have the Natures Chemistry stuff, but eucalyptus isn't an ingredient, neither is Rose geranium. Will use it (can't hurt) and picked up Repel Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus. 

She will smell good. Lol. The garlic won't have kicked in. Hoping the topical works. 

Have Permethrin camp gear spray for the outside of our tent and **** sure I'll spray the ground before I put her towel down around the campsite. 

Ticks better steer clear: I'm armed and dangerous!! 

Thank god we don't live where we battle every day. I realize I'm toting some toxic stuff and can't imagine living with it all the time. Ugh.


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## dogma13

I started using the Seresto collars last summer.Not one tick or flea on the dogs and we are in woods,ponds, and fields daily.No need to shave the neck,and they are stretchy just in case they get hung up on a branch or something.I really like them


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## Myah's Mom

I'm reading mixed reviews on that collar. Done a lot of research. Seems hit or miss...really works/no bad reactions all the way to ineffective and seizures. Of course, that's with any type of poison, topical or otherwise. I'm of the philosophy that the entire continuum exists, and I'd be willing to try it, but she's on topical and I can't double dose her.


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## Myah's Mom

Counter, how are you doing with all of this? Update?


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## counter

Myah's Mom said:


> Counter, how are you doing with all of this? Update?


OK, update: everything is fine now. 5-6 weeks after I started posting this, I was still finding ticks on the dogs. I think the husky fur kept them protected, as I couldn't find any ticks that actually got down to the skin to latch on. Both GSDs had ticks biting them. I was able to pull each tick off without issue. The place where they bit swelled up, scabbed over, and eventually faded away. We put ointment and hydrogen peroxide on the wounds immediately after I removed the tick. Both GSDs had ticks imbedded somewhere on their ears, neck, and/or belly. I can't believe a month to a month and a half and I was still finding ticks on them. Unbelievable. My wife mentioned that maybe we had them out in our backyard, but since finally finding and removing all ticks, there haven't been any more in a month or longer, so they're not in the backyard or any of the places we go for walks on base.

My tick hysteria is over for now. I stopped giving the Bug Off garlic powder, because it was obvious they were not enjoying meal time anymore when the garlic was added. Some of the dogs refused to eat. The garlic odor is SO strong, and I know dogs can smell things so much stronger than we can. I tried sneaking it into their food, but nope, they weren't going to fall for that. Now I have 3 huge buckets of the stuff with no use for it.


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