Tick borne illness

Ticks are bad news with all the diseases they are now vectors for.
 
Some folks are developing allergies from the bites that make them allergic to red meat in particular.
 
I have a farm with 28 or so acres, mostly wooded. You really don't even need to be in the woods to get ticks on you. It's getting better since I have guinea hens and chickens running around eating them now. But last year was killer.  Between me and my dog, we had 24 ticks on us in 2 days time. The lady that owned the property previously didn't treat her dogs for anything.... no flea, tick or heart worm protection and she had 8 dogs. We had to have a pest company come in last year to treat the area. They had to spray 2x to knock them back. This year, they are less in number and we now have the birds walking around doing the natural pest control thing.
 
The key to avoiding the diseases they carry is to avoid getting bit in the first place.... but if you do go into areas where they are 2 things are crucial.  And don't go asking on facebook because there is so much wrong if not just plain BAD information out there.

Here's the right way to do this:
 
1. remove them quickly. The advice I hear is that getting them off in less than 8 hrs lessens the chance of getting a disease since the transfer of the bacteria takes time. Of course, the sooner the better.
 
2. remove them properly. You need to grasp then as close to the head as possible and pull them off. Use tweezers if necessary. You do not want to do anything that squeezes the ticks body or attempts to kill the tick on you like burning it, putting alcohol on it, or suffocating it. All those things cause it to regurgitate and that's the last thing you want. That practically guarantees an infection if it's carrying a disease.

Even better.....Prevent them from getting on you in the first place.
 
1 Tuck your pants in at the boot.... blousing the pants or use gaiters.
2 Tuck shirts and use long sleeves.
3 Use DEET containing bug sprays
 
 
I have been doing something else..... I went to the pet store to buy my dog a new tick & flea collar. It's called Soresto. Pretty costly, about $60 but lasts 8 months. I'm testing that on my dog. We've been using Bravecto but I don't like the idea of giving her something that makes her toxic for 3 months....
So, while at the pet store I saw the cheaper tick/flea collars.... about $18 each and decided to buy 2 of them. I place them on my boots where they are NOT in contact with my skin because they are not designed for humans. The pants legs cover them and they stay in place nicely when slipped through the boot pull tab on the back of the boot.   Since I have been using them I have had ZERO ticks on me. I figured out that the majority of the ticks were coming up my legs since they hang out in the grass and leaves near the ground. Ticks that hitch a ride and start working up the pant leg inside (which is the majority) come in contact with that stuff , turn back, fall off, and die.

BTW: The Seresto collar seems to be doing well for the dog too.