Tyler

Anybody have some novel ideas for repelling ticks? I use K9 Advantix on my dogs, but I'd like to find something that repels ticks effectively. We're in the hills 3-4x/ week.

I found this "Insect Shield" dog t-shirt. Claims to repel all sorts of bugs using imbeded pyrethrin up to 3' away. Given we've also got reports of West Nile Virus, I might take to wearing something like this myself.
Most of the ticks my dogs have gotten they got on their heads, so this would really need to work at a distance from the fabric to be effective.



Anyone have experience with this stuff?

pap2labc

We had a tick issue in mid December....shudder. After trying a few things (K9 Advantix) I went with preventic collars. I hated it because I don't like collars...let alone a tick collar, but I was pulling 2-3 daily off of my dogs and have NO TICKS with the collars. We've been spraying the yard and I hope to get rid of the collars, soon. I also highly recommend using a forced air dryer to go over your dogs to spot ticks. You can go over a dog super quick and find even the tiniest of ticks.

sarpoodle

That is an excellent tip! Hadn't ever thought of that before.

Are there any sprays that can be used on a dog? Just wondering if any exist that can be applied before going into a heavily wooded area.

Greg

Sookster

Gah! I HATE ticks!

I pulled a tick off Juniper, our labrador, last week! Last spring I took Sonya (small silver standard) to our state botanical gardens around Easter. I came home and found 3 ticks on myself. Pulled several off her, put an advantix on her, and was pulling dead ticks off her for TWO WEEKS!!!! I would think I had gotten them all, and then a few days later I would find more. It was terrible, and I haven't been back to that place since. Such awful little critters. I will be following this thread closely.

__________________

pap2labc

There is nothing more disgusting than ticks. I got over my hatred of tick collars really fast when I realized that there just aren't any ticks left to pull. Of course my wee 6 lb. senior poodle just gets a scrap as a collar....and I use a zip tie to fasten it. Luckily he doesn't mind. It's not high class, but he's tick free!

Tyler

I've found that permethrin, the active ingredient in K9 Advantix is a pretty good tick killer/insect repellent. However, it is a poison, that can cause liver damage, and a bunch of other bad things, and so should be used with caution, and limiting the dog's (and YOUR) exposure to it as much as you can.
I became a believer in K9A when we got a flea infestation, it worked really well.

I'm thinking that the permethrin treated fabric (Insect Shield, for those wanting to do more research) in bandana form might be just the trick. I'd ONLY use it when we're going into suspected tick hazard.



Clearly, permethrin can be purchased as a spray, but if I've already got K9A on my dog, I don't want to double the exposure for any longer than I NEED to, hence the removable fabric option instead.
Here are some other interesting articles I found:
DEET -vs Permethrin

Permethrin Facts: Permethrin (PDS)

tortoise

If you're using a spot-on product and finding ticks on your dog's head, you need to remove your dog's collar for 1 day after applications. The chemical is in an oil-based carrier and soaks into the collar rather than traveling, spreading, across the dog's skin.

The newest, best thing for ticks on the market is Certifect. It is by the makers of Frontline. It is Frontline+, plus one more ingredient amitraz. We are in a bad tick area and get good results with Frontline+. It is much safer than permethrin based products!

Tyler

Thanks, Tortoise, I hadn't heard of Amitraz before. I'd love to hear substantiation of your last statement: "It is much safer than permethrin based products! ". What I'm reading seems to indicate it isn't completely understood.

tortoise

I'm sorry, my safety reference was to Frontline+, not amitraz. Amitraz was previously available in a dip, no longer on the market. The concentration of amitraz in Certifect is very low. I don't use Certifect because Frontline+ works great for us and I've no reason to pay more.

Frontline+ is the product I meant to compare safety to permethrins. Google "Hartz flea" or visit hartzvictims.org. Permethrins are not safe (although they are "natural", and I refuse to use them. Frontline+ is safer for people - in our Merial rep's words "human do not have a receptor" for the chemicals in Frontline to be taken into human tissue. I have not tried to learn more about it than what I've been told. My fiance is the endless scientific skeptic and he would be all over that if it sounded suspicious to them. I don't have the answers on it, I'm trusting 2 other people. Frontline+ is 100% safer for cats than permethrins. A cat could eat an entire spot-on treatment of Frontline+ and be unaffected by the chemicals. A cat that grooms on a dog treated with pyrethrins... is not going to be in a good place.

I hope this helps. I'm no expert, but I work at a vet clinic (as a groomer) and get trained about the products we sell by the drug-company reps. I don't use the information in my job so I forget most of it too easily.

Tyler

Well..yeah!! Permethrin is completely verboten for cats! Any cats who might get into contact with Jack will likely have more immediate and pressing issues. I'm still not finding any toxicity reports (human or canine) contraindicating permethrin infused fabrics, or K9 Advantix.