Tick prevention that works

[Heliodoro]

So the warm temps are here (80*F yesterday) and the ticks are already out en masse. Fellow boarder found one on her gelding this weekend, the horse is field boarded with mine. I just pulled one off the jaw groove area of my guy this afternoon. The grass is barely green and the ticks are voracious! Lyme is a very real concern in this area.

What products(horse, human, pet or other) actually work for ticks?

Since my horse has sensitive skin (aka can’t use anything but “natural oils” fly spray or will burn his skin), what will not turn him into a skin sloughing monster?

[tbchick84]

Equispot…that stuff is awesome. Put it on every two weeks.

[GottaLuvIt]

Garlic from Springtime. I originally purchased it for fly control but works great on keeping ticks away. I also live in Lyme area. I’m lucky because both of mine eat the garlic with no problems.

[SnicklefritzG]

I use Equispot also. It works.

[AKB]

Guinea fowl.

[BigMick]

Large dog frontline. Dot it down the mane, on the tail bone, in the ears, and on the backs of the fetlocks. Recommended by my vet, no issues or reactions.

[TBHunterPrincess]

Tea tree oil- I use a shampoo with tea tree oil in it, and the ticks stopped latching onto my guy. You can get the oil and add it to your fly spray. I live in a heavy tick area, and have struggled with Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever after I was bitten by an infected tick several years ago. Hate those little suckers!

[Ambitious_Kate]

Equispot. I also use alot of deet, but the equispot may have done the trick. All I know is I don’t have tick problems with my horse any more, after starting the quispot. And he lives in CT, so that’s something.

[Ambitious_Kate]

As for the tea tree oil, I will say this: One BO used only what she thought were “natural” products. All of her horses, every one, 7 horses, had Lyme disease twice a year for the 3 years I was there. None of the boarder horses in that same barn who used equispot had a case of Lyme. Her prize jumper gelding had it 7 times; the last time he was so crippled he was put down from a colic. She never equated the colic to the Lyme, but I did, watching him suffer so from the Lyme. I would never put my horses in jeopardy by withholding something which would prevent the Lyme.

[LadyBug]

I use Bug Check (which contains garlic) and have found that it really helps to keep the ticks off the horses. I’m not so sure that it helps much with flies, but I have rarely found ticks on my horses since I started using it a few years ago.

[Appsolute]

Permethrin

Best thing I have found so far for ticks. I ride through some cattle fields / heavily deer populated areas that are just full of ticks, and this is the only thing I have found that really works.

My horse never gets bites if she has been treated with it, but I WILL find dead ticks on the surface of her hair, down on her legs - where they started to make their journey, and died quickly.

Now Permethrin is an insecticide, and not a repellent. To repel and kill, you can use a two way attack recommended by the CDC and use DEET in addition to Permethrin (DEET is a repellent only).

Deep Woods Off and similar products are 25% DEET. You can also buy 100% DEET at camping stores (Jungle Juice is a common brand).

Permethrin is in many fly sprays, but you can also but 10% concentrate. This is what I do, and I add additional Permethrin to store bought spray to up the effectiveness.

http://www.cdc.gov/ticks/avoid/on_people.html

Edited to add - “Equispot” is 45% Permethrin

[Cashela]

I can’t use spot on treatments on one of my horses (allergic reaction ) but can use Frontline Spray.

[Iride]

Ok, for those of you who use Equispot and/or Frontline spray: Where do you apply it? I’m assuming you don’t follow the instructions on the packaging…that, to me, always seems to be incomplete! I.e, guess I’m wondering if it’s safe to use off label and put several (ie, not just one) drops along the mane, two or three on the dock, and in places not mentioned on the packaging like in the jaw channel and near the sheath!

Thanks for any advice!

[SMF11]

[QUOTE=Appsolute;8108875]
Permethrin

Best thing I have found so far for ticks. I ride through some cattle fields / heavily deer populated areas that are just full of ticks, and this is the only thing I have found that really works.

My horse never gets bites if she has been treated with it, but I WILL find dead ticks on the surface of her hair, down on her legs - where they started to make their journey, and died quickly.

Now Permethrin is an insecticide, and not a repellent. To repel and kill, you can use a two way attack recommended by the CDC and use DEET in addition to Permethrin (DEET is a repellent only).

Deep Woods Off and similar products are 25% DEET. You can also buy 100% DEET at camping stores (Jungle Juice is a common brand).

Permethrin is in many fly sprays, but you can also but 10% concentrate. This is what I do, and I add additional Permethrin to store bought spray to up the effectiveness.

http://www.cdc.gov/ticks/avoid/on_people.html

Edited to add - “Equispot” is 45% Permethrin[/QUOTE]

This bears repeating. I am in the epicenter of the Lyme disease epidemic. You can try equispot, it never worked for me. I use concentrated permethrin (bought at Tractor Supply) which I then dilute. Very cheap and very effective.

If it were my horse, I would absolutely not rely on any UNPROVEN treatments/repellants etc. That means, I would not rely on garlic etc. If you want to go all natural, Rosemary Oil has been studied by the Maine Dept. of Agriculture and found to be effective. However I am not aware of any place you can buy it in large enough quantities, or exactly how you would apply it to horses.

[Iride]

SMF11, what is your dilution method?

[pologirl27]

So once you buy the permethrin what exactly do you do? How much do you dilute? Do you just add it to commercial fly spray? Can you apply it to the saddle area/legs that will be wrapped (so if I spray in AM, can I ride/wrap in PM?)

[kasjordan]

Also, what section of TSC is the permethrin in?

[LauraKY]

You can also make tick tubes with permethrin. Soak cotton balls in diluted permethrin, stuff them into empty toilet paper tubes and spread them around areas where mice can be found. They’ll take them back to their nests and kill off the ticks. Mice are the interim hosts for deer ticks.

Keep the property well mowed, ticks hang out in tall grass. If we’re having a problem, I spray the fence line with permethrin too. Keep a dirt or mulch border between woodland edges and pastures.

[maunder]

I have permethrin solution that I dilute and then spray/wipe on my horses, goats and sheep. Frontline Plus for the dogs.

I also use Green Mountain Tick http://www.gmtick.com/

I used this exclusively last year but it is expensive and I felt I needed to spray it on each time I went outdoors. It did work, though and when I used it I’d never find any ticks walking on me or the dogs. This year I’m going for the chemicals because the ticks are relentless.

[SMF11]

LauraKY has good advice.

The permethrin I bought was on sale several years ago; it was adjacent to the equine section but maybe in with cow stuff (in my store, it was along the outside wall, vs. on an interior aisle shelf, if that helps).

The bottle it comes in has a top which has a measure (about an inch?) for how much permethrin to use; I fill up that reservoir with the permethrin, dump the permethrin in a spray bottle (standard, equine) and fill with water. That’s it! I do not use any other fly spray, as in my experience NO fly spray really works with regular flies or deer/horse flies and those are the other pests, besides ticks, I’d want to get rid of. I probably spray the horses at most once a week with the diluted permethrin and that keeps them tick free. Spray where ticks like to go – under jaw, on chest, on legs, in sheath area etc.