We’ve tried foggers and flea shampoo and dousing the backyard with tick killer and cleaning all of the blankets (twice). Inevitably some survive to recontaminate the dogs and house. Short of tenting the house, what do we do to get rid of them permanently?
I had a terrible tick problem when I first moved into my house. I solved it by:
- Spraying tick-rated pesticide in a wide band (around 8’ wide) all around the house, with a hose-end sprayer.
- Putting tick collars on the dogs.
- Being conscientious about inspecting the dogs for ticks and removing any I found.
- Repeating #1 at least twice over a 6-month period.
I’m not a big believer in pesticides, and I haven’t used them inside or out since, but this was the only way I could get rid of them - and it worked. Our house has been tick-free for 14 years. I don’t even put tick collars on the dogs anymore.
Put Frontline on the dogs. Why would you not want flea and tick protection on your dogs? Collars are toxic and worthless. Fontline first, then treat the rest of the environment. If you don’t treat the dogs, ticks will always jump back on board and come back into the house. Protect your dogs! Apply as directed every 30 days = no ticks.
Treat the dogs with Frontline or similar. And treat the house and yard several times, timing the treatments to coincide with the new ticks hatching from the eggs that survived the first treatment.
Be sure to vacuum the carpets and drapes during the cleaning, and throw out the bag promptly each time.
You have ticks living in your house? I’ve had a few in the house, but they are usually strays from being brought in. I’ve use some lawn treatment to get most of the ticks near the house. It’s a granular solid that you spread like ferilizer. I’d say it worked, but I haven’t seen a single tick anywhere at all in the past month so I’m guessing it’s not a good season for ticks around here. The chiggers on the other hand are crazy right now.
I use an organic solution. Guinea hens.
According to that website, guineafowl need 3-5 acres to roam, so they’re not good for a city lot.
They need a hell of a lot more room than that if you value your sanity. Dang things are noisy! But they are real tick munchers and no respecters of property lines. Just charge your neighbors for the tick removal service.
This.
Use Frontline, Advantix, or First Shield, a high quality topical flea and tick control product, on your dogs. Go to your vet or order it online, and get enough to last you at least 6 months. Apply it religiously.
Don’t bother with the collars or the look-alike topical shit on the shelves at the pet store. They are worthless. All your hard work bombing the yard and treating the house will be a waste of time if you try to save a couple bucks on tick control for the dogs.
Also, seriously consider having your dogs tested for heartworm and lyme disease at the vet. The test comes as a combo and takes just a small blood sample and 15 minutes. For one, they might have already picked up lyme disease from the ticks. For another, once you’ve confirmed that your dogs don’t have heartworm, you can get any of a dozen high quality monthly treatments that prevent against heartworm. Ticks are disgusting, but heartworm is a horrific death sentence for dogs.