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Yucky ticks :((

Teresa

Well-known member
Barney has never had a tick in eight years - apparently there are lots about this year.

On Saturday i found rather a large on near the top of Barneys tail... When I brushed him this morning it had disappeared...very strange??

We've just come back from walking this morning and I've found another near his eye it's small and brown at the moment but has legs - yuk

They make my skin crawl. I'm fine with most creatures but these rank with slugs on "yukiness"

Off to the vet for a tick remover now I think
 
I did it :) Barney was really good too!! I did twist the wrong way first but then sis it right lol

Ticky is now living in my wheelie bin!!

The vet nurse said the other one may have detached itself when full, I hope so !!
 
Hi

After reading all these posts about horrible ticks I treat ever month with Frontline but as we are away the middle of July up in The Lakes and again middle of August somewhere in N Yorkshire and both places are out in the country I ordered lat night two 4 packs of Advantix as this from what I have read seems to offer the best anti tick treatment .They do look horrible things but so far I have never seen any , but I have also bought a pack of those tick twisters removal things just in case we do come across any .
 
The trouble with the tick twister removal thingies is that it's very easy to leave the mouthparts still in the dog :yikes :swear: and then they can get lumpy granulomas develop, which can takes weeks to go away again.

I've always found surgical spirit is very good at killing ticks (I think it suffocates them) and then they shrivel and drop off naturally. Obviously you can't use it anywhere near eyes and it does sting a bit for a few seconds, but it's easily available and fairly cheap:rolleyes:
 
I use a thing called a trix tick remover and have used it twice this year on Ben within the same week in May. It is easy to use, I have never tried the more common otom type removers.

I now keep him away from long grass or woodland until the threat of ticks has gone.

I do not use chemicals on him as one that I got from a vet burned a 2" hole in my old Toby's skin .
 
Generally most vets don;t recommend trying to pull them off for the reason noted -- if their head remains inside this can become infected. I am minding my partner's huge GSD and he had a horrible boil-like lump burst -- blood and pus -- am pretty sure this is an infected tick-head left inside... :eek: I've used hot compresses etc to help it drain but imagine he will need the vet to go in and clean out the wound and get the body out of there. h*lp

NB an article by Drs Foster and Smith that gives some steps to try if you think you can safely remove it (eg it isn;t too embedded) but note they say never to twist or to use rubbing alcohol! So, there are many opinions out there.
 
The vet I worked always injected the tick's body with hydrogen peroxide, all the bubbling from interacting with the blood explodes their intestines. You need insulin syringes which I guess not everyone has lying around, but it definitely works.
 
I am still awaiting the arrival of a Blenheim male puppy around July 11th, so I have nothing anecdotal to offer.

I do though, have a son with his PhD in Entomology (Insects). His specialty and where much of his research is done is in the field of Aracology, which is the study of ticks and mites. He would typically caution trying to pull out the tick as it most probably will leave the head parts embedded leading to disease and/or problems reported above.

Applying irritants to the attached tick; cigarette, alcohol, Vaseline, etc. generally will cause the tick to regurgitate back into the host. This can lead to Lyme Disease, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Tularemia (Rabbit Fever).

The Ohio State University has a very active Araclogy Department and I believe that they recommend this tool.
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I'll post back when "Charlie" gets here and then start picking everyone's brains on this forum.

Tim

"May you live as long as you want, and may you want not as long as you live"....an Irish Blessing
 
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