sheena Posted November 11, 2010 Share Posted November 11, 2010 It's that time of the year again. My Border Collie girl is on Proban 48 hourly for ticks, but of course, the ticks still have to get on her & bite her before they die. I can't pick them all off as there are too many & they are very tiny. The irritation is driving her mad & she is scratching day & night. The only way I can give her a bit of relief is to give her 1/2 Cetirizine (Zyrtec) every night & sponge her down with Permoxin daily. She goes swimming, so the Permoxin washes off. I have had her on Advantix as well, until I started on the Permoxin, but that didn't keep them off either. Can I increase the Cetirizine to 1 whole tablet daily or 1/2 twice daily. I have seen those magnetic tags advertised on DOL. Has anyone tried them :D Probably no good for my dog as she doesn't wear a collar & you can't use them with any other chemical treatment. Would the calendula wash help with this Also does any one know if these little buggers can survive in her bedding etc. If so anything I can spray on that (maybe permoxin). Sorry about all the questions, but any suggestions would be greatly welcomed. I am not too keen on the Permoxin as she licks it off like a pussy cat would. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheena Posted November 11, 2010 Author Share Posted November 11, 2010 I have just been doing some Googling & come across some recipes using almond oil & rose geranium oil and some others using these two plus lavender oil plus aloe vera gel or American Pennyroyal oil. Has anyone tried these as natural non-toxic repellents ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest belgian.blue Posted November 11, 2010 Share Posted November 11, 2010 I'm know nothing about ticks but would feeding her raw garlic help deter them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheena Posted November 11, 2010 Author Share Posted November 11, 2010 I'm know nothing about ticks but would feeding her raw garlic help deter them? I have tried mixing garlic powder in with her food in the past, & I thought it was working for a while, but then this time last year after being on the garlic for some months, the tick problem presented itself & I took her off the garlic as something was making her sick (chuck). When I stopped the garlic, she stopped being sick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest belgian.blue Posted November 11, 2010 Share Posted November 11, 2010 I'm know nothing about ticks but would feeding her raw garlic help deter them? I have tried mixing garlic powder in with her food in the past, & I thought it was working for a while, but then this time last year after being on the garlic for some months, the tick problem presented itself & I took her off the garlic as something was making her sick (chuck). When I stopped the garlic, she stopped being sick. Ah ok damn. Worth a try. Hope someone can help you We don't really get ticks in Perth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheena Posted November 11, 2010 Author Share Posted November 11, 2010 Think I'll best move to Perth ......I hate the little buggers Just have to watch the Great Whites over there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sas Posted November 11, 2010 Share Posted November 11, 2010 Garlic is an old wives tail I think, the amount you need to give them to deter anything would most likely make the animal sick. No harm in trying the magnetic tag, you could affix it to a breakaway collar. I reccomend asking your Vet about increasing the Cetirizine. The Calendula spray could help with the irritation. Some people reccomend Plush Puppy Seabreeze Oil to deter ticks as a secondary method to their main tick prevention program. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aziah Posted November 11, 2010 Share Posted November 11, 2010 (edited) I have read many articles and several suggest that ticks can live for many months without a host (so most certainly could survive on bedding). My recommendation would be to stop the swimming for now, dip her in a solution of Fidos Fre-Itch Concentrate (made up to the directions) every 3 days, continue the Proban and change her bedding on a regular basis. Edited November 11, 2010 by Aziah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmandaJ Posted November 12, 2010 Share Posted November 12, 2010 (edited) My parasitology notes say that yes Garlic can help- the parasites don't like it...some say it's because of the smell but it could also be the sulphur content. Fleas don't generally bite people because of the high content of sulphur in our blood. Another one high in sulphur is Kelp/seaweed. And yes - to much of either is bad... We use penny royal if we get a flea "attack" but don't use it on pregnant or lactating bitches. edited to say - we spray it - never feed it... Edited November 12, 2010 by AmandaJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fordogs Posted November 12, 2010 Share Posted November 12, 2010 Have you tried the Tick Collars? I always found them to be very good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheena Posted November 12, 2010 Author Share Posted November 12, 2010 Thanks everyone for your help. I can't use the magnetic tag, as I don't want to take her off Proban. They say that it has to be used free of other chemicals, otherwise it is not efective & I love my dog too much to start experimenting with "just" something alternate. I am looking for something to suplement the Proban. Tick collars are no good because she is on Proban, & also she is always swimming. It's hard to keep her out of the water on these hot days. I have bought some rose geranium oil, lavender oil & almond oil & am going to make up a recipe that I found. If it doesn't work, then at least she will smell sweet Obviously I will have to apply it daily as she will be washing it off. Also bought some calendula tea while I was at it. If the essential oils work, I will be shouting it from the rooftop. Another thing I don't like about tick collars, is what it might do to us humans & grandkids who are cuddling her a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gallomph Posted November 14, 2010 Share Posted November 14, 2010 I don't know if this will be any help to you, but... A couple of years ago we had a big problem where I work, with tiny (pinhead size or smaller - identified under a microscope) ticks getting on the staff. They did not attach, but travelled around tender areas, biting as they went. We got some samples stuck between 2 pieces of sellotape, and sent them off to a Uni entomology dept for id and advice. They turned out to be baby kangaroo ticks. The roos had been laying in the shade in the staff carpark, and shedding the ticks. Staff were getting infested as they walked to their cars! The Uni advised that the best thing to use was pyrethrin products. These turned out to be quite hard to find, but what we ended up getting was a product called "Pyrenel foam" which is for head & body lice. It worked a treat. There was also a cream called "Lyclear". We also sprayed the carpark area with "Solfac Pro". That was amazing - the ticks were visibly moving away from the spray, and climbing up anything available (including my legs!) to try to escape. We hadn't realized that there were millions of the little suckers there - literally! So maybe washing your dog and any bedding with Pyrenel would help. But please research whether pyrethrin is OK on dogs first, because I have no idea whether it is or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheena Posted November 14, 2010 Author Share Posted November 14, 2010 They can be nasty little buggers. I have some of that head lice shampoo in the cupboard, but would check with the vet first before using it, also I am trying to get away from having to wash her in something, just something to spray on to repel. It is probably still too early to tell, re; the successs or failure of my home remedy using the essential oils. I made up the concentrate which I dabbed onto her collar (yes, I've had to put a collar on her ) & I made up a solution with water, vinegar & the essential oils & sprayed it onto her undercariage mainly, & some on the rest of her when I groomed her. All this I did yesterday morning. So far, today we have only got one tick off her & she smells delightful. She went for a swim tonight after training, so I will repeat the treatment tonight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheena Posted November 18, 2010 Author Share Posted November 18, 2010 They can be nasty little buggers. I have some of that head lice shampoo in the cupboard, but would check with the vet first before using it, also I am trying to get away from having to wash her in something, just something to spray on to repel. It is probably still too early to tell, re; the successs or failure of my home remedy using the essential oils. I made up the concentrate which I dabbed onto her collar (yes, I've had to put a collar on her ) & I made up a solution with water, vinegar & the essential oils & sprayed it onto her undercariage mainly, & some on the rest of her when I groomed her. All this I did yesterday morning. So far, today we have only got one tick off her & she smells delightful. She went for a swim tonight after training, so I will repeat the treatment tonight. Well, it's almost a week since I started applying the esssential oils to her collar & I am most impressed. Maybe we are getting one small tick off her each day at the most. I thought at first that maybe the ticks had simply "moved on", but the small calves are covered in them (only they are much, much larger)...poor things, maybe I should put collars on them all too . The new born calves get a lot of ticks because they spend a lot of their day, just sleeping in the grass & the ticks simply just crawl on. I still have Bindi on Proban 48 hourly, but no longer the Advantix or the Permoxin, & she hasn't needed an antihistamine now for a few days. I will keep her on Proban for the duration of our tick season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheree_e4 Posted November 18, 2010 Share Posted November 18, 2010 (edited) The ticks you are finding on your dog are the larval stage of the paralysis tick , I would recomend spraying her with frontline spray,do not let her swim for 48hrs after applying and then it is water resistant for 3 weeks. Just remember that if there are alot of the larval ticks you will have heaps of adult paralysis ticks in about 3 weeks ( each stage of the life cycle lasts about a week ) so check her daily. The fact that you are finding less ticks on her means they have started the next phase of their lifec cycle (nymph stage). Edited November 18, 2010 by sheree_e4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheena Posted November 18, 2010 Author Share Posted November 18, 2010 The ticks you are finding on your dog are the larval stage of the paralysis tick , I would recomend spraying her with frontline spray,do not let her swim for 48hrs after applying and then it is water resistant for 3 weeks.Just remember that if there are alot of the larval ticks you will have heaps of adult paralysis ticks in about 3 weeks ( each stage of the life cycle lasts about a week ) so check her daily. The fact that you are finding less ticks on her means they have started the next phase of their lifec cycle (nymph stage). Most of the ticks that were getting on her and attaching (biting) before getting their nasty little tummies full of Proban & falling off, were what we here on the farm, call bean ticks, but I am sure some are also paralysis ticks, as we have them all here except cattle ticks. They start off tiny & if left they grow quite big like a bean (hence the name) & are generally easy to pull off. I was looking for something to actually "repel" ie stop the little buggers getting on her in the first place. The vet had recommended Proban + Advantix + daily Permoxin + antihistamines (twice daily). I have taken her off all of those except the Proban. The whole idea was to get away from more chemicals, on top of the Proban. We did get one very small paralysis tick off her a few days ago, but it was dead & very much imbedded. I am a big sceptic, but seeing all the other chemical methods have let me down, I had nothing to lose & so-far am very happy with the results, but only time will tell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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