Tick season has started!

[Dadie]

OK maybe not just pets concerned.
But spent a day at Dunnet forest and had to remove a tick from 1 of the kids the next morning as it was attached and not noticed beforehand(child was washed/hair done etc that night).
Spent a couple of hours at Bilbster woods going up tracks to the lookout and we were all hoaching with ticks on our clothing(kids stripped n bathed and clothing went straight on a 60 deg wash) ...I was unlucky and some of mine (21 in total) were attached/sucking blood before they were removed (I was sorting out the kids etc and kinda forgot about me)!
Think it was the mild winter, but, there seems to be loads of those wee blighters about and it feels a bit early for them to attack in the numbers im encountering in the year too!
Anyone else suffering?
Hmmn thinking of frontlining the kids as well as the dog (if only you could).
But for dog owners def think about tick treatments now! Rather than later on as tick season has started!

[Liz]

Oh the little suckers!!! Found this and looks good. Natural as well. :)

http://www.primallyinspired.com/easy-natural-tick-repellent-that-really-works-essential-oils/

[susie]

Had odd ones on the dogs for about 2 weeks now. We also had one on a cow and she is in a green field! Twist them off and squash them.
In 30 years farming we have only had 1 tick on us, I was lucky and still await that pleasure!
Wellies and waterproof pants, ticks have nothing to cling to.
I don't think you would have noticed them on the children because ticks are very small until they start sucking and the sac fills up. When they get on a body they have a tenacious grip. They can take days to fill up, and they wander around on the dog hair searching for that special place where the dog can't reach.

[Nettie]

Shop around for this as prices vary considerably - mngproducts on Ebay (item no. 350780032473 (http://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/e11400.m1842.l3160/7?euid=112b4db09b474514a5cb38c67955ad68&loc=http%3A%2F%2Fcgi.ebay.co.uk%2Fws%2FeBayISAPI.d ll%3FViewItem%26item%3D350780032473%26ssPageName%3 DADME%3AL%3AOC%3AGB%3A3160)) seem to be the cheapest at the moment, certainly worth a try as vet remedies are so expensive and have to be applied every four weeks. I have been using Advantix which is very effective but costs £7+ and I would always rather use a natural remedy if possible.



Oh the little suckers!!! Found this and looks good. Natural as well. :)

http://www.primallyinspired.com/easy-natural-tick-repellent-that-really- (http://www.primallyinspired.com/easy-natural-tick-repellent-that-really-works-essential-oils/)works-essential-oils/

[crichton]

Liz, does the rose geranium work on midges as well?