Do the dogs stay on the path, or do they do running in the taller grass?
I use cedar oil (Cedarcide–the tick version) for the humans in the house and find it works very well. It’s worth a try for the dogs.
The tick tubes & rodent boxes are sure worth a shot!
I’ve heard from several vets in my area and my aunt who is a tech that it doesn’t work against ticks anymore (or is less effective), and that the company won’t back it if a dog ends up with Lyme like in my case. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone at this point.
When I lived overseas (Caribbean- lots of ticks there) we used monthly Rx drops from our vet on both the outdoor cats and the dog. Revolution I think was the brand name. Continued to use them after we moved home and even found a couple of ticks ( knew it was the same species they are huge) after we’d moved that must have stowed away in a suitcase. None of the pets had any on them.
Lapsed refilling the Rx after a few years and the dog came home one day from the vet with fleas who then promptly shared them with our cat…didn’t lapse again after that !! Never had a tick or flea again and we get do have a tick season here. Not sure of the none brand name for it or its already been mentioned? Granted were not on a farm or wooded property but the dog does hike in wooded areas.
In my experience, keeping the dogs out of long grass is the most effective prevention. I have two dogs, one which must always be on a leash (beagle). When I take them hiking, the beagle stays on the trail and the shepherd runs all over the place. Even with tick drops, we pick a few ticks off the shepherd every day but rarely find ticks on the beagle. After my herd of 4 horses got Lymes disease last year I bought a mower for the pasture to make sure there isn’t a single blade of tall grass on our property. No ticks on horses or dogs since (unless we go in the forest). For the horses I also started using Boss pour-on, which seems to work pretty well.
I take care of a property that uses the supposedly ‘safe’ cedar oil. The owner is constantly complaining that she no longer sees any butterflies in her butterfly garden. Gee, I wonder why? Maybe because every month someone in a hazmat suit kills everything that moves?
No ticks or mosquitoes though. This is true!
I use Advantix II. I used the seresto collars one year. They did a great job of repelling the ticks. Unfortunately, the dogs would bring them in and they would jump off the dogs and attach to me since I wasn’t wearing a seresto collar. Great times finding ticks in my bed. Haven’t had a problem since I started using advantix.
Right now one is restricted to leash walks so they are limited to the path. And I just found an engorged tick dropped on the dining room rug. 
Last summer, the dogs would plop down in the front yard after a walk while I drank coffee. Tiny ticks would be crawling all over their white forelegs like out of a horror movie. This is in my front yard! 
So I don’t believe the age-old wisdom that the problem lies in tall grass. At least not on this property. I wish it were that simple!!
I read the article on the tick tubes. What was more effective was bait stations but I can’t find any instructions for how to make bait stations; only instructions for the tick tubes.
I stopped using Frontline a good dozen or so years ago when they became ineffective for fleas in my area (Mid-Atlantic).
I have an appt with my vet to discuss options tomorrow. Nearest neighbor with a dog says they don’t have a problem with ticks. I am meeting with a different neighbor with a GSD kennel tonight to learn how she manages for ticks.
This photo is from last August. I could snap such a photo on any given morning spring through summer.
This dog is always on a 30-ft long line attached to me (until the perimeter fence goes up) yet he gets WAYyyyy more ticks than the dog running around at liberty.
Yes, I also read it. That article cited a specific brand of bait box:
http://tickboxtcs.com/phone/index.html
https://www.pctonline.com/article/select-tcs-registered-24-states/
It didn’t discuss something you construct yourself.
It sounds like your tick problem is severe enough that a 20% reduction with tick tubes would be significant. Why not start there and investigate the possibility of the bait boxes.
Ticks also love leaf litter too.
Vet appt today. Picked a live, engorged tick off him while waiting in the exam room. It was on the back of his neck, a few inches from the Seresto collar. 
So I’ve just shelled out A LOT of money for Semparico Trio. Five tick species vs three. Throwing money at the problem better be the solution!
The flea/tick population is about 15% of what it used to be. We keep the place well mowed, the pastures bush hogged, and my fence neighbors chickens get ten stars for bug control, even though they rarely come over here.
Advantix II works great on my Catahoula, with his short hair.
Bravecto works great on the Rottweiler as she has too much hair for any topicals to work efficiently:)
Just spread 150lbs of Seven. Hate to do it but we cannot stay healthy with this tick population. Could use another 50lbs to do the front and backyards. I’ll see how the perimeter spreading impacts the numbers then I may purchase more.
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