[dogless]

Help. I just came back from vacation and found some ticks on Mattie, my GSD. I put frontline on her a few days before the trip, but she got ticks anyways.

I also gave her a flea/tick bath, but just found a live tick attached on her, which I pulled off with tweezers. I have also found several dead ones on her.

I have tried to look through her fur, but she has such thick hair I can't possibly see every inch of her.

So my question is, what does the frontline do, it obviously does not keep the ticks off of her. Does it just kill them after a time? But can they drop off her and infest the house?

How long do ticks live, and will they reproduce in my house if there are alive ones?

Also, How do I keep my house and us from being infested??

These are soooo gross, I just don't know how to deal with them.

Any help/advise is greatly appreciated.

 

[Sherush]

Frontlines says the following on webpage:

"Often too tiny to be seen, ticks attach to pets and feed on blood until they are engorged. They thrive in high humidity and moderate temperatures, but can be found all over the country. Ticks may carry and transmit diseases, including Lyme disease, that can cause serious health problems for pets and people. FRONTLINE Brand flea and tick control kills up to 100% of ticks on dogs and cats within 24-48 hours."

Also found this online from someone talking about the same thing:

"Try bringing him/her to the groomer & continue using the Frontine. I would also combine that with sentinel. Because you had so many on him/her be careful your house has not been infested. It can easily get out of control you may want to get your house treated.

I can speak from experience. I have 3 dogs & when we had some landscaping done the wood chips that were put down were infested with ticks. Had the hardest time getting them out of our yard & they made it into our house. Had our house treated twice (cringe thinking about it now). I hope it doesn't get as bad as it did for us. Be careful if you live in a lyme disease state & get help soon."

 

[BowWowMeow]

Ticks aren't like fleas. They can't survive for long off of a host. And they can't infest your house.

You can find them on your dog, you just have to feel with your hands and look carefully for them. I have pulled as many as 50 off of myself and dogs combined at one time. Yuck!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I actually give my dogs granulated garlic (called Bug Off garlic) and this has taken care of the tick problem for them.

 

[marylou]

Where did you get the Bug Off garlic?

 

[Maedchen]

Ruth, did you ever wake up at night, bc a tick was crawling up your leg? Yuck! Just a couple weeks ago I would find about 3 ticks on me every day- mostly on my head (they were prob. falling from the trees). The dogs barely had any- and if, they were easily felt on their ears.
After I sprinkled the DE, I finally got a break- until next year.
I kill (or conserve) all my ticks in a little glas filled with alcohol, bc if you just flush them down the drain, they'll walk right back up.

 

[BowWowMeow]

Here is the Bug Off Garlic. It says that it works for all kinds of things but the only thing it really works for is ticks. It does keep the fleas down to a dull roar though.

http://www.springtimeinc.com/product/148/2

 

[marylou]

Thank you very much Ruth! btw - does it make them smell "garlicy"? (I knew someone who took alot of garlic, and they had a smell to them)

 

[BowWowMeow]

Their breath will knock you right out if you they give you a big kiss right after they eat but as for it coming through their skin...haven't noticed that one!

 

[Karin]

Sorry to hear about your tick problem. I HATE ticks! I've never had one on me, thank God, but our previous dog had one that got infected and had to be surgically removed. It was pretty yucky.

Heidi has only had two so far this year (and we go hiking a LOT). The first one we tried to remove with tweezers and it broke apart. Luckily, it didn't get infected. Then we bought a "tick spoon" at Petco and used it to remove the second one. It came out as easy as can be. I'd highly recommend them, and they are cheap! I'm going to try the Bug Off as well. It sounds like it's a good nontoxic way to go.

 

[tibvixie101]

you could also try adding a Preventic collar to the frontline application. It looks just like a flea collar but gives added support seeing as how most of the ticks i pull off of my monsters are on their head and neck (from them sniffing around in the woods/tall grass). They are about $20 but they last for like 3-5 months. I use them alonside the frontline and have seen much better results.

We just got a new product in (i work for a vet office) its called Vectra 3D, were replacing the frontline with it, it works better than the frontline and also protects against mosquitos and irritating knats and bugs.

 

[3K9Mom]

Karin's recommendation of a tick spoon is a good idea. If you use tweezers, you have to be super careful to pull them out GENTLY (wriggle a tiny bit as you pull) or they'll split, or you'll leave the head in, and the tick's saliva is what is so bad for us and our dogs.

There's the old wives tale about covering the tick with Vaseline or baby oil, which is supposed to suffocate it, so that it backs out on its own. I've never actually been able to replicate this. All I get is a slimy tick that's even harder to remove.

Maedchen, given that ticks like warm moist areas, I have found them in some of the worst spots on my dogs and on me. Zamboni, especially, is a tick magnet. Underarm and under-tail areas are the places I've learned especially look for them. Ugh!

I bring a flea comb when we go hiking in ticky areas (high grass, near watering holes, anywhere there's a lot of deer, not areas that get hard freezes) and before we get into the car, everyone gets a good going-over with the comb, including me!

And dogless, in the future, wear light colored clothes. That will help you determine if you're in a tick-infested place to begin with!

 

[middleofnowhere]

Frontline will get the tick after it bites. A dead tick (which will drop off) will not infest your house. It takes live ones to do that.
This year I've had the ticks. Tiny little pin-head nymph bastards. Take a hold of the body and exerpt slow steady pressure to pull it off. After a while it will let go. Take the live tick & drop it in a medicine bottle with about an inch of alcohol (rubbing or isprol(sp) is what you want - not the drinking kind!) & cap the bottle. Alcohol will kill it, washing it down the drain, flushing it won't.

 

[dogless]

As far as I know, I don't have ticks in my area. We were up north (northern Michigan) and were hiking in the woods. We are home now so I presume she will not pick up any new ticks.

So if I don't have any ticks in my area, can I assume that any ticks on the dog will be killed within a couple of days from the Frontline (I also gave her two baths with Flea/tick shampoo)?

I have looked over myself and my DH and it does not appear we we have any on us.

So should I be tick free in a couple of days if the Frontline works?

 

[czgsd]

Originally Posted By: dogless
So should I be tick free in a couple of days if the Frontline works?

It only works for the dog. There are better things to use on yourself.

It's supposed to take up to 24 hours to spread over the dog, and should be effective after that.
From the company website: "Fleas and ticks do not have to bite your pet for FRONTLINE Brand Products to work. FRONTLINE Brand Products kill fleas and ticks if they simply come into contact with your pet's hair coat. The fleas will die within 18 hours of contact with your treated pet, and ticks will die within 48 hours. "

 

[rowansd]

Yuck! I just found a tick on Zeke yesterday, I have never seen one before, they are disgusting. Luckily it was on his ear, otherwise I don't know how long it would have taken to find it. How long would it have been on him, before it got big enough to see?