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blowin · Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 1:50 am Post subject: removing ticks

The little b*ggers are out in force ! Evil or Very Mad

I think this is the worst time of year because they congregate on tall grass and rushes then grab anything that brushes against them . Fortunately they seem to have a distinct preference for animals rather than humans .
They have an unusual lie cycle
http://images.google.ie/images?hl...life+cycle+&um=1&ie=UTF-8

http://frontline.us.merial.com/fleas/sub5_tick1.asp

I believe you can get them to drop off if you cover them in something oily or gelatinous , which clogs up their breathing apparatus , but the link below says don't use petroleum jelly aka vasseline . Any idea why not ? How long does the process take , and is there anything which is particularly effective ?
I tend to remove them by hand but wouldn't recommend that to everyone . It is important to twist as you pull , otherwise the mouthpart is likely to break off under the skin . However it does appear to be a myth that you have to twist in a particular direction eg anti or clockwise , so just do it whichever way comes naturally to you .
I haven't come across this tick-removal gadget before :
http://www.otom.com/technology.htm
Has anyone tried it ? On an animal with a long and very dense coat ?

quarryman · Joined: 14 Dec 2006 Posts: 417 Location: Sligo

My oldest dog, Sally, has a long coat and picks them up on a regular basis. I still use my finger nails to pick them off. Most of the little feckers are still alive and kicking but not for long. I am off to the vet for the dogs' boosters so I will have them treated with Frontline as well. My vet did say to smear them with vaseline but I remember from a previous post on this forum, that some of you chicken owners use it for other reasons.......!

Blowin I would love to see you trying to use that tick hook on Nemo......You could put that up on Youtube Laughing

blowin · Posted: Wed May 28, 2008 12:51 am Post subject:

Hmmm , I tried coating one with barrier cream ( for hands ) but this seems to have dried it up and killed it while its head was still stuck in so that is not a good idea .

Graney · Joined: 02 Dec 2007 Posts: 81 Location: East Clare

I usually spot them when I realise I've been scratching an itch for a while - usually just above the trouser line. They're usually pretty small and I just pull the feckers off - no careful thoughts about twisting. They just get yanked off.

Maybe I've been lucky, but no mouthparts left behind so far.

blowin · Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2008 12:45 pm Post subject:

Me too . I don't think there is much else you can do with the very small ones if you just want them off in a hurry . The mouthparts can't be very long anyway .
A local farmer says he started feeding garlic to his animals a couple of weeks ago and all the ticks dropped off within a few days . That would be quite something as these mountain sheep are infested with the horrible things . No surprise to Camile , I am sure , who advocates garlic as the best wormer Wink

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