Flea Remedies

What product is good for avoiding the ticks jump on the pet ?

I am using the Frontline but it’s only killing the flea or ticks when they bite the pets. But by that bite, the disease from the ticks still spread to the pets. So what is good for them to use and not harmful to them?

Over many years of experimentation in the worst tick area in Australia, I’ve found that the only tick prevention that really works is the Preventic tick collar. The ticks never latch on to the pet and the ones I’m talking about are deadly paralysis ticks that kill even a large dog within 24 hours. In a bad area like ours, it’s essential that the animals don’t get bitten at all as the poison from a number of bites quickly builds up to a harmful level.

I don’t even need to check my animals any more. I still do out of long standing habit, but it’s been literally years since I found a latched tick on any of them. Frontline was useless for ticks in my area and when I was using it, I would find latched ticks nearly every day. They would eventually fall off dead, but by then it was too late. Preventic seems to be tick specific though, so you may still need something else for fleas. I use Frontline for them and have never had any problems using both at once.

I checked, and Preventic is readily available in the USA.

What is the percentage of nymph deer ticks that carry lyme disease?

Just went to Corolla, NC. We had a towel in the car that turned out to have LOTS of deer tick nymphs on it! (it was white!) Have not found ticks on kids but they are SO SMALL I could miss one. What percentage of nymphs carry lyme? And does anyone know if Lyme has been reported in Nags Head/Corolla NC areas?

A very good question. As I’m to understand ,each generation of ticks must feed on an infected host (most often a mouse) to become infected themselves.
In areas where the adult ticks are 50% infected, it’s not unreasonable to believe that nearly that many nymphs are "Lyme +".
Coastal NC is much more likely to have a high % of "sick ticks", though N.C. IS at the lower edge of the infamous Lyme-endemic NorthEast area of the USA.
You can check w/ a local health dept for specifics in that area. (I’m sure SOME of the deer ticks are harboring Lyme, though.)

How to check for ticks on a long haired dog?

Two of my dogs are long haired (a golden retriever and a chihuahua/pekingese mix) and it’s hard to check them for ticks. I try to feel for them but I usually can’t find them until they’re big. How can I find them when they’re still small?

Run your hand through their fur backwards, so the hair is parted more. It makes it easier to see. Also check the places ticks normally go (ears, armpits, back). Ticks generally travel upward.