Ticks, ticks, ticks

[HashRouge]

After a field change 5 or 6 days ago, I noticed that my veteran mare's legs were looking quite scabby. I had a proper poke around today and, as expected, she's got quite a few ticks on her. They are the really small ones that are quite hard to remove even with the tic tools. I've got a set of three different sizes but with the ticks being on her legs I'm struggling to see them due to their size, and am worried about not removing them properly. Her Welsh companion presumably has them as well, but the extra hair is going to make it even harder for me to spot them, especially if they're mainly on his legs. I'd like to ring my vet for advice, but sadly that will have to wait till Tuesday. So, some questions for you all!

1. Are there any products that will help to remove these tiny ticks, or should I just do my best with my tick tool (worried about not removing them properly though). Google suggests that ivermectin wormers can kill ticks, but can't find anything official and none of the wormers mention it in their blurb. What about Frontline spray? Will that kill them? Does it work as a preventative too?

2. What products are best for prevention? I've heard good things about Tri-Tec, but the packaging says not to use directly on the horse? What about Deosect? My YO says it repels ticks but the packaging only says flies and lice I think.

I'm going to fence off a smaller section of field and hopefully get the grass nice and short, as apparently that also helps deter ticks, but could do some stop gaps while they graze that down and to help remove the ticks we've already got.

 

[Red-1]

I've not had tics, but I do use Tri Tec on my horse. It is licenced for use on horses in the US, and that is good enough for me. My tack shop assured me that it is the same stuff.

 

[PapaverFollis]

Icaridin spray keeps the little blighters off mine. I spray legs, necks, noses, bellies and tails twice a day. Go through a lot and it is expensive though so I may look into a spot on type thing next year.

The teeny tiny ones I've always just pulled out with tweezers or finger nails.

Bliddy horrible things.

 

[olop]

I’ve had a nightmare with tics this summer, I’ve kept them at bay with spot on (the spray not the actually pipelles).

 

[Gloi]

Deosect or similar on a regular basis.
If there are loads of little ones, wash with strong salt solution and they'll drop off.
Neem on the legs will help too

 

[Not_so_brave_anymore]

Coopers spot on- not licensed for horses but I get it on prescription from the vet. I do most of the syringe down the withers where it's meant to go, but I do put some on a cloth to apply directly to legs if there's an actual infestation (probably not the right thing to do!) But i did have one pony who reacted to it - not a bad reaction, but she lost a small patch of hair.

The teeny tiny nymph ticks will drop off by themselves, but I prefer to get them off and destroy them if possible. I use tweezers.

 

[HashRouge]

Coopers spot on- not licensed for horses but I get it on prescription from the vet. I do most of the syringe down the withers where it's meant to go, but I do put some on a cloth to apply directly to legs if there's an actual infestation (probably not the right thing to do!) But i did have one pony who reacted to it - not a bad reaction, but she lost a small patch of hair.

The teeny tiny nymph ticks will drop off by themselves, but I prefer to get them off and destroy them if possible. I use tweezers.

I think I am going to need similar certainly to start with - I'm going to speak to my vet once they are open on Tuesday. I went to the tack shop today but they didn't have Deosect or Tri-Tec, and I'm also reluctant to use either while both are so scabby where they've reacted to the ticks. I spent an hour today removing horrible tiny ticks from my Arab and got at least 15 off, which I think was most of them. It was very very hard to see them because of where they were (fetlock down) - luckily she has pink skin on three of her legs! They were also coming off really easily, including head and legs - possibly because they're very small so don't get dug in as deep? But when I got my Welsh out of the stable I'm afraid I gave up and just turned them back out - I couldn't face doing another hour of tick removal and his legs are so hairy it was almost impossible to see them. I know he's got them though, as he's all scabby. I felt really guilty leaving him - I kept telling him I do love him too!

So I think speaking to the vet is probably the next thing to do and hopefully they will be able to prescribe me something that will help get rid of the ticks already there. Then I can start with Deosect or Tri-Tec once they're a bit less scabby.

I've also sectioned off their field as I believe ticks don't like shorter grass as much. So they've now got a long, thin strip of the field well away from the bottom section, where I know the deer come through the fence. Hopefully they'll get it grazed down quickly!

 

[Gloi]

wash the legs with salt and water and they soon let go and fall off. Neem oiled legs put them off biting on and kills them if they do.

 

[HashRouge]

wash the legs with salt and water and they soon let go and fall off. Neem oiled legs put them off biting on and kills them if they do.

Brill I'll try that tomorrow on the Welsh. He's not had his legs washed in years, he'll have a heart attack!

 

[Gloi]

I d

Brill I'll try that tomorrow on the Welsh. He's not had his legs washed in years, he'll have a heart attack!

I did mine like that when he was in a field with ticks, just putting wet salt on them got them off you don't have to do a proper wash. Mine always got them round his nose

 

[meleeka]

My vet said frontline to kill them and Deosect to stop them getting them.

 

[HashRouge]

My vet said frontline to kill them and Deosect to stop them getting them.

Was it the Frontline spray do you know?

 

[HorsesRule2009]

One of my old bosses used to put Vaseline or even fairy liquid on a tick and they always dropped off.
This was for any stubborn ones we struggled to remove.
Never had any ill effect from doing so.

 

[meleeka]

Was it the Frontline spray do you know?

I think it was yes. I didn’t actually need it as vet removed the one I found, but do still use Deosect and no ticks since.

 

[Zuzan]

Tick Tweezers are by far the best removal tool.. the wee green plastic jobs aren't much use I find .. not sure if this is allowed but these are the ones I use https://www.firstaid.co.uk/burns/hy...ZAXGHNo6B7bWDFhqoH-9tNz-g-cMuJZhoCUxEQAvD_BwE

 

[sport horse]

Be very aware that horses can get Lyme Disease as well as humans. Speak to your vet - in humas bitten by ticks they often give a course of anti biotic. If the long grass is carrying ticks I would be cutting it down!

 

[PurBee]

Ticks and long grass tend to go hand in hand.
I have to keep my pastures topped, as herds of deer also graze here and all us mammals here get exposure to ticks easily. Im constantly topping areas during grow season!

The tiny black bodies ticked are soooo small…pin-prick size when not full of blood - you barely see them. When they are full of blood on the animal they tend to drop off easily.

Its important the tick is removed whole, head included. squeezing of the tick can cause it to ‘vomit’ into the bite place it has on the skin and infect the bite. Pulling on them can sometimes decapitate them. Both methods can lead to the risk of germs and lyme. So despite it sounding counter-intuitive, its safer to allow the teeny-tiny ticks to do their thing, engorge and naturally fall off.

With larger ticks that you can easily hold between finger and thumb, gentle hold the body and gently pull….the tick feels the pulling and has a choice - let go of the skin bite or be decapitated….they tend to favour self-preservation like all living things, and let go of biting.
Dont twist and pull…never ever twist. Decapitation of tick head remaining in skin and risk of infected bite.

I use essential oils in vinegar/water 50/50 1 litre mix homemade spray for biting flies. While using this in fly season they dont suffer ticks - so perhaps the essential oils help repel ticks. So you could try that as a spray onto established ticks might repel them and they let go of their bite site.
- i use about 10 drops each tea tree, citrionella, and olbas oil. My sensitive skinned horses do fine with this concoction - many commercial chemical fly repellant sprays they get skin hives with….so i was forced to make my own.

With heavy feathered horses i’d separate the hairs while spraying to get the spray onto skin and hair. Test one leg first for 24hrs before doing a full spray to test sensitivity.

Friggin’ ticks…i do hate ‘em! ?

 

[PurBee]

wash the legs with salt and water and they soon let go and fall off. Neem oiled legs put them off biting on and kills them if they do.

Thanks Gloi! I never ever considered salt water! Does it really make them fall off? The salt would be good for the bite site too…

 

[HashRouge]

Thanks all!
I'm going to try salt water today to see if the ticks do drop off, but will obviously be speaking to the vet once they're back open on Tuesday.

Re the field, just to clarify that they are not actually turned out on long grass. The field they are on was cut for hay last week and I believe when they were first moved they also had some of the headland, where the grass was still long. I'm not sure if they picked the ticks up from the longer grass on the headland, or if the ticks are still thriving on the newly cut grass. Either way, I've now got mine on a smaller area so they can graze it even shorter and well away from the longer grass as the edge of the field and the bottom section where I know the deer come through the fence.

PurBee that is good advice about leaving the tiny ticks at least until I've spoken to the vet. They were coming off very easily yesterday (heads included) but obviously my hairy gelding will be trickier as it is hard to see what you're doing with all the hair.

I might try your essential oils mix too!

 

[Gloi]

Thanks Gloi! I never ever considered salt water! Does it really make them fall off? The salt would be good for the bite site too…

It worked for me. You need it quite strong. It dehydrates them and they drop off.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

I am not sure if it works for ticks but tea-tree oil spray works well for fly-strike in sheep in an emergency, as does salt water, and tea-tree also acts as a fly repellent on the horses.

 

[HashRouge]

Well I couldn't see anymore ticks on my mare's legs after my epic de-ticking session yesterday, although I removed a small one from her nose. I opted to try Gloi's salt solution as I thought it couldn't hurt. I used quite a lot of salt! I let them stand for 10-15 mins then rinsed their legs and I couldn't see any ticks on the gelding when I had a poke around. Not sure if that is because there weren't any or they were just hiding in his hair! Anyway, I felt confident enough to put sudocreme on their scabby bits, and then I put some Tam Tam Vet cream on the rest of their legs - it says it repels ticks and it was the only thing they had in the tack shop so worth a try! I think I need to order Deosect as I couldn't find it in any of the local tack shops, but I'm going to just wait and speak to the vet on Tuesday first. I'll use the Tam Tam Vet stuff in the meantime.

I'm a bit antsy about things like Deosect I have to say, I worry about the effect on other insects

 

[tda]

You might have to get Deosect from an agricultural merchant, or online.

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

Be very aware that horses can get Lyme Disease as well as humans. Speak to your vet - in humas bitten by ticks they often give a course of anti biotic. If the long grass is carrying ticks I would be cutting it down!

Agreed. They certainly do get Lymes and some appear to recover after aggressive specialist imported antibiotics from the US but can go downhill again even months later.

FLF who I was lent only a few years ago contracted Lymes 2 months after she returned home. Her owners vet poo poo'd the idea but grudgingly blood tested her and was amazed she tested positive. 4 months later after aggressive treatment you would never have known except she was still a bit ribby after previously been a hefty breed specimen who then went down to a walking gaunt frame. Next autumn she went downhill again and was pts.

Never mess about with thinking of it, get bloods run asap if its suspected.

 

[HashRouge]

Agreed. They certainly do get Lymes and some appear to recover after aggressive specialist imported antibiotics from the US but can go downhill again even months later.

FLF who I was lent only a few years ago contracted Lymes 2 months after she returned home. Her owners vet poo poo'd the idea but grudgingly blood tested her and was amazed she tested positive. 4 months later after aggressive treatment you would never have known except she was still a bit ribby after previously been a hefty breed specimen who then went down to a walking gaunt frame. Next autumn she went downhill again and was pts.

Never mess about with thinking of it, get bloods run asap if its suspected.

Yes I'm super paranoid about Lymes! As above I'll be speaking to the vet on Tuesday for some advice, it's just a case of what I can do in the meantime to reduce the risk. I probably should stop wearing shorts while poo picking too...

 

[HashRouge]

Also, thanks everyone for your advice - it has all been taken onboard and hugely helpful. Ideally I'd have spoken to the vet sooner but the timing wasn't great and I'm not sure the on-call emergency vet would really appreciate being phoned for advice about tick prevention!

 

[GSD Woman]

If you can get some Guinea fowl they're wonderful for deticking an area. That and keep the grass short.