View Full Version : Natural tick repellent for dogs


cheferson
04-07-2008, 09:23 AM
Anyone know of anything good? I dont like using the biospot etc, but as my dog got lyme last year . I need to start using something.

MrHunters
04-07-2008, 09:57 AM
i'm gonna wager raven will pipe up on this, but he suggested using brewers yeast (which i have started with my dog) you can buy a bottle from 1800petmeds of 1000 count for like 10 bucks. I give him 10 per day.

I also have heard that Apple cider vinegar helps raise the acidic value inside your dog which makes it unappealing for ticks/fleas. my dog also gets a tablespoon of that once a week in his food.

there are a few more "natural" ways but best results are always with the strongest stuff so its a balancing act.

i've had mixed results in natural remedies.

ProfessorM
04-07-2008, 09:58 AM
I am pretty sure Frontline is the least toxic to the animals. Can be used on either cats or dogs just in smaller doses. It is also the most expensive. I almost killed one of our cats using a small amount of bio spot for a dog on it. Good luck in your search as I would try a green product. I am using Frontline this year again. I have never had great luck keeping ticks off my dog. A daily pat down and zircron encrusted tweezers is what I find that works the best.Lets us know how you do. Thanks P.

mekcotuit
04-07-2008, 02:14 PM
I use Frontline on both my dogs and it has been great - and less toxic than others. I also buy Brewers Yeast flakes in the health food store and sprinkle on their food as an additional guardian against sand fleas at the beach and mites...the brewers yeast also good for their coats and skin.

Raven
04-07-2008, 02:43 PM
brewers yeast NUMBER 1

the b1 vitamin all insects avoid it...

Pennyroyal oil http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c66/ravenob1/pennyroyal.jpg

Raven
04-07-2008, 02:49 PM
there's a plant too! to plant in your yard
i'll get back to you on that though...later
all mint plants including penny royal (mint family)
are aromatic enough to make bugs leave. (period)

when you use straight forceps
to remove a tick always turn them out
counter clockwise and they come out WHOLE
and rarely leave the head still in there

if the dog has long hair , have a spray bottle
of water and a small brush to brush the hair
360 Degrees away from the area first

never remove one unless your dog gets a reward
after...so then they'll lie still - if they want to interfere

then it's like a trick :kewl:

Raven
04-07-2008, 03:04 PM
but this is what smart old poppy george said

taken from mother earth news

Do you know of any non-toxic repellent for these pests, or any way to remove one after it becomes attached (without causing its head to remain in the skin)?

ANSWER: Ticks can be a royal pain in the neck (and in other places too) for both animals and people. My experience with repelling the creatures has given no consistent results . . . but I have had fabulous luck with removing them from animals and humans—myself included—by means of a drop or two of oil of camphor applied directly on each intruder with a medicine dropper. You'll find that the oil kills the tick, which usually comes out intact (head and all). Please do not pull off the pests once they're attached, because the head breaks loose and severe itching and infection often follow.

Raven
04-07-2008, 03:16 PM
best farm bird to eat them

i want some... to free range

the back corner is way to wet each time it rains
making it the TICK ZONE

they don't eat your garden like a chicken does
and they are good watch dogs....the best ever
but a little noisy if disturbed

guinea fowl . However, if you were to raise your own flock, you'd more likely than not come to adore—rather than detest—these wacky birds. Their caterwauling would soon be music to your ears, since the cacophonous sounds would let you rest secure in the knowledge that your faithful feathered "watchdogs" were hard at work alerting you to any approaching strangers . . . human or animal.
What's more, this turkeylike fowl is one of the most efficient natural pest controls imaginable.



If given the freedom of your yard and garden (and, because they're typically somewhat wild, guineas need to be allowed to range), they'll consume mosquitoes, chiggers, grasshoppers, and Japanese beetles . . . to mention only a few of their favorite morsels. Better still, these birds won't scratch up your garden or devour your young greenery, as chickens often do. Your vegetation is quite safe when you put guineas on garden patrol.

Raven
04-07-2008, 03:21 PM
i hate ticks yet http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c66/ravenob1/ticks.jpg

here's my hand lol http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c66/ravenob1/sign-GUYS/thumbsup.jpg thumbs up


http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c66/ravenob1/BUGS.jpg :rotflmao:

Smellfish
04-07-2008, 04:05 PM
I believe that Frontline is not a tick repellant. I asked my vet and they told me that Frontline kills the ticks but doesn't deter them. I also use Brewers Yeast on my chocolate lab. I'm not sure if it repels ticks but I do think it makes him shed less.

I get him the lyme disease vaccination and "Pray". I take him to Truro/P-Town as well as MV several times a year and also spend a good deal of time on the rest Cape Cod ... I worry every time we go.

I searched online for a "Natural" tick repellant and I got suckered into a $30 bottle of lavender smelling crap. It didn't work at all. I watched a tick crawl right across an area that I sprayed with the stuff.

I also heard bad things about BIO-SPOT ...

I would like to have a peace of mind solution as well.

ProfessorM
04-07-2008, 04:22 PM
I used to take 2 tablespoons of Brewers Yeast in a glass of apple juice every morning for years for the B Complex. Not really that bad of a taste. Come to think of it I never had and ticks either.

Raven
04-07-2008, 04:23 PM
helps as a preventative... the ticks will leave
the dog if they just grabbed on to them

linatone (brand name) was a liquid vitamin A supplement
that always
made my dogs coats shine and it definitely prevented
the labs tendency to get a hot spot near their tail.

i haven't seen it sold in as many places as before though.
don't know why

i used front line once and threw the rest away
in my opinion it's crap... can't stand it- smells awful

the only peace of mind is frequent bathing of the dog
if it has been running through tick infested areas.
and brushing and combing them... too...

i have used the medicated dog soap bars and seen ticks
in the tub afterwards... so suffocating them with soap suds
is a good method... since you use insecticidal soap for
treating bugs in the garden on plants effectively.

a dog can't scratch certain places to well like the top
of the back for example....so where it can't reach
with its mouth and teeth....thats the area to watch!

Smellfish
04-07-2008, 04:26 PM
I wonder if swimming the dog does anything for tick removal?
Any opionions?

basswipe
04-07-2008, 04:29 PM
Advantix.Period.

Raven
04-07-2008, 04:31 PM
anytime i had the dog near the water i'd throw the retriever
decoy canvas thing out there for just that purpose.

Raven
04-07-2008, 04:54 PM
Advantix.Period.

your welcome to use it .... :hs:

but i wont touch that with a ten foot pole

why ? read all about it....then decide... http://www.safe2use.com/poisons-pesticides/pesticides/permethrin/cox-report/cox.htm
read here the main ingredients
potential for...
neurological damage ,highly toxic insecticide.kills honey bees Thats enough of a reason RIGHT THERE

as potent as DDT JEEPERs H Christ lets just nuke the planet...

that'll get rid of the damed ticks by god ...easy beans - just push a button - presto :af:
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c66/ravenob1/nuke.jpg

Hooper
04-07-2008, 05:57 PM
I started using a natural food, Fromm's. I have yet to see a tick on Hooper. I was told the ingredients are a natural flea/tick repellent. Must be the Brewer's yeast as Raven has mentioned. It has really made his coat beautiful.

Raven
04-07-2008, 06:25 PM
i wouldn't steer you wrong

zimmy
04-08-2008, 07:55 AM
interesting on the advantix... I know my wife recommends it at work although she tries to buy everything organic/natural for home. I know she recommends avoiding touching the animal for some period of time after applying. I also would think the way permethrin becomes a threat to bees is applications outside the home, not directly applied to the pet. I am guessing it is a question of the efficacy of the alternatives and the risks of tick born diseases, which are not limited to lyme disease. It does seem nasty... I'll ask her and add it to the thread later. I do know one area she is pretty adamant is to get a food that has been tested for nutrition by a particular method which most of the natural foods are not. Again, I'll ask and get back...

Raven
04-08-2008, 07:59 AM
as often as i can

and try all other methods first

before resorting to using them

and then i'll use them very sparingly

more info on BUZZ OFF

a newer natural product thats deet free and chemical free
made in Maine wwww buzzoff.us

better for fishermens hands i'd wager

and dogs too but i'm just guessing here

be your own judge on that

wwww stopticks.org for a people prevention site

i hope it's ok to post these as they are not sponsers

Raven
04-08-2008, 08:01 AM
one problem is that the very smallest ticks that carry disease
are the size of a poppy seed and thats tiny :hs:



about this size or a tiny bit bigger ---> .

Raven
04-08-2008, 08:14 AM
the use of GARLIC

it's probably deodorized i'd imagine

a long long time ago...

during the Bubonic Plague that killed countless
thousands in the middle ages

these four guys figured out that if they
wore a string of Garlic around their neck
it kept them from catching the disease
so they had an easy time robbing the dead

and Garlic in those days was called the four thieves

and thats where the legend of it warding off EVIL
originated because disease was considered to be EVIL spirits

Fleas transmitted the disease of the plague by biting people
and the garlic kept the fleas off of the men

Note: if you cut a clove of garlic and throw
it into stagnant water - full of mosquito larvae
it kills them all... as the oil ends up on the surface

http://www.springtimeinc.com/product/35/2

Garlic chewables for dogs found there...

MrHunters
04-08-2008, 08:33 AM
see my :GOP: thread on ticks but ill say it again

dog gets 10 pills of brewers yeast per day.
ticks

cooper (my dog) - 0
me - 2

and the amount of time he spends out side relative to me its like a 10000 - 1 odds in my favor. guess i should play the lottery

Hooper
04-08-2008, 11:14 AM
the use of GARLIC

it's probably deodorized i'd imagine

a long long time ago...

during the Bubonic Plague that killed countless
thousands in the middle ages

these four guys figured out that if they
wore a string of Garlic around their neck
it kept them from catching the disease
so they had an easy time robbing the dead

and Garlic in those days was called the four thieves

and thats where the legend of it warding off EVIL
originated because disease was considered to be EVIL spirits

Fleas transmitted the disease of the plague by biting people
and the garlic kept the fleas off of the men

Note: if you cut a clove of garlic and throw
it into stagnant water - full of mosquito larvae
it kills them all... as the oil ends up on the surface

http://www.springtimeinc.com/product/35/2

Garlic chewables for dogs found there...

That too Raven, the Fromm's has garlic in it and the wholesaler told me it worked well to repel tick/felas. Between the two it's so far, so good.

zimmy
04-09-2008, 12:43 PM
So I talked to my wife and she said that advantix is pretty serious stuff, but the threat of tick born diseases, particularly hear in ct make it that she recommends it. Several diseases straight up kill the dog and lyme causes its own serious problems. Also, the threat of the ticks getting carried into the house and getting on children is pretty serious. She said it gives you the greatest chance of keeping your dog safe. Often she has people who would rather have their yard sprayed so having them spot treat the pet is much better for the world. She also recommends that pets do not sleep on your bed (and our cats sleep on our heads) :spin:. She also said that the naturals work somewhat, but she often finds ticks on dogs that are treated naturally. So for what its worth...

Raven
04-09-2008, 12:48 PM
i'm building a chicken yard and looking at free ranging some of them

these forage for bugs... because they are an old breed

eggs anytime ya want-em