TICKS!!

[petal.petal]

Hi everyone, I'm New. I'm also having a issue with ticks- have recently moved my boys to my house. Well have a lot of deer, my boys are getting ticks regularly on their armpits and face- doesn't bother them. However it bothers me massively!! Please can someone help spread some light on:
- can u avoid them in anyway?
-are their any sprays or ointments to repel them?
- what do you do when they have a tick? Leave it or remove it ?
- if you leave it what happens?
- I'm also worried about me getting one! How can I prevent that?

MANY THANKS IN ADVANCE!

 

[Foxhunter49]

Best thing for ticks and any parasitic creepy crawlies is Neem Oil. (Google Neem Team)

2 tablespoons Neem
2 Tablespoons liquid soap or shampoo
1 litre of hot water.
Mix and sponge that over the horse - or dog.

Neem stinks like nothing else but it does wear off the mix fast once applied. You might need to stand the oil in hot water to liquify it and you do need hot water to keep it mixed up.

 

[petal.petal]

Brilliant- thank u that's great advice.

 

[maletto]

also get a little tick remover tool from vet/ebay or something, use this to get them off. I would not advocate leaving ticks on-they can get infected if inadvertently pulled off and the mouthpiece gets left in

 

[petal.petal]

Again thank u. Any one else got any advice?

 

[Sophstar]

my pony had about 5 tiny ones on his top lip last week!the fact he is a fidget and wouldn't stand still i just slapped on a thick layer of vaseline to suffocate them...did the trick as they're all gone now!

 

[Tangaroo]

Do make sure you get them all off. Some years ago one of my horses got Lymes disease through ticks and he had to be retired and eventually PTS due to it.

 

[petal.petal]

Just about to make my neem concoction!

 

[Rhubarb]

Never squeeze them or use tweezers to remove them as the contents of the tick can be squeezed into the animal (or human) causing infection or at worst lyme disease. As already said, a tick remover is your best bet.

 

[petal.petal]

Thanks for the great advice everyone.

 

[Randonneuse]

Thanks for posting petal.petal as I was about to post a thread with same title!

 

[petal.petal]

Little blighters aren't they!! I'm actually scared of them!!

 

[Randonneuse]

Horrible things!

 

[Dexter]

Butox Swish, 30ml applied every 6 weeks and my ponies are tick free, without it I can find up to 20 a day on them

 

[jeeve]

methylated spirits helps encourage them to drop out, esp if little ones. with the big ones I tweezer them out but you do need to get them down low near the head, and not squeeze their bodies.

Used to have a huge tick problem at our old place, lost some dogs and goats (baby) from them, the horses would sometimes get swelling if on sheath or somewhere sensitive, and my children were always covered in them after a day outside in summer.

 

[petal.petal]

Is butox safe to use on horses?

 

[Devonshire dumpling]

OKayy I am a tick expert lol.... My horses live in paddocks surrounded by woods and Deer..... Freddie has about 150 ticks on his sheath and nose and Foxy is the same, have had massive talks with my vets, who said we could treat the fields, but nothing will stop them really, we buy frontline and when they are covered in the nymphs we just rub some Frontline on, we can't get anything to stop the blighters. It's best not to put alcohol etc on them as this causes them to empty their stomach contents and increases the risk of Lymes. I had a tick last week and one last yr too, they are disgusting, I bloomin hate them! I also find Sudocreme helps to deter them. xx

 

[katherine1975]

You could use Deosect which I use as a fly spray or wipe on. This also kills ticks and lice.

 

[Tnavas]

Never realised that Ticks were a problem in UK.

Here the deer wear special ear tags that contain something that kills the ticks.

This is from an NZ website
Horses are a more difficult proposition as there is no long term tick control product licensed for them. Bayticol has been used, but is often an irritant, and may produce hair loss on the horse. Tick ear tags (Python), which are designed for use in deer have been tried, but aren’t perfect. Ripcord, a synthetic long acting pyrethron spray works well, but some people find it irritating so wear gloves when applying.

I've heard of people attaching the dog flea collars or deer ear tags to rug straps or headcollars.

Neem Oil, diluted with water and some washing up liquid (emulsifies the oil) is good.

Pasture management is to keep grass short or can be sprayed with Diazinon 80%

 

[Spit That Out]

I've hear putting Vaseline on them makes them drop off as they can't breath...not sure if it works, never tried.
I just know that when removing make sure you get the whole thing as the head can detach from the body which if left can be nasty.

 

[Dexter]

butox Swish isnt licensed for horses but I've used it on 10+horses of all ages from foals to OAPS over the last 4 years and its always been fine. They just dont get ticks now, uless I leave it to long, then the ticks are back with a vengeance!

 

[petal.petal]

Thanks for all the advice!

 

[Scot123]

Hi, as others have said, I've found neem oil to be great. I put a bit of diluted oil on a brush and brush them with it each day - helps a small bit in keeping the midges off too though it is incredibly smelly stuff. But that, combines with Switch for horses applied on a weekly basis in the height of the tick season (May - September here) seems to keep them at bay. Soooo disgusting.

 

[Gingermonkey]

The little Tick removing tool is great, there's something quite theraputic about pulling them out.

 

[petal.petal]

What's switch?

 

[Scot123]

Well I was using it all last year, but when I was looking a few weeks ago to restock, it seems like maye it's being discontinued. But have now found that 'Z-itch' is EXACTLY the same formulation so am now using that.

It's Permethrin and only a small amount needs applying - it's about 20/30ml for a pony so easy to just pour on. You need it less frequently for midge or lice control, but for ticks my vet recommended weekly application during 'the season'.

As with a lot of the chemical formulations, it looks quite expensive (about £30 a go), but it lasts a while AND is effective

 

[Love]

I've heard you shouldn't use Vaseline as it can cause them to empty their stomach contents into the horse...?

 

[Tnavas]

I've heard you shouldn't use Vaseline as it can cause them to empty their stomach contents into the horse...?

I'd heard that happens when you try to pull them off - Vaseline suffocates them as does any oil preparation

 

[missmoharve]

Someone was telling me the other day that you should put nail varnish on them so that they suffocate. I've never done it myself but they swear by it

 

[sandi_84]

Both smothering them in any substance and pulling them out can result in them regurgitating their stomach contents possibly resulting in Lymes disease so please don't do either!
Wait for them to drop of naturally and get some stuff from the vet, I use spot on for sheep (recommended and given by my vet), you use a very small amount dribbled down their backs and it lasts for a month. Ticks don't come near my horse now since I've used it and he was getting eaten alive before and then taking chunks out of himself trying to scratch them