Ticks

[SusanO]

Ticks aren’t just in tall grass - they like to live in wooded areas and crawl up bushes and wait for a victim to pass by and attach to them. It’s not just deer but also all rodents like deer mice. I have had more on me than the horses this year from crawling into my wooded places to water plants. They really really ick me out! I broke down and put all 4 cats on Revolution Plus which has kept ticks off them.

I think the fly spray system going off 6x a day gets enough fly spray on the horses to deter the ticks. But off season when it is not going off I try to fly spray at least every day and use OFF wipes in the base of the tail, down the tail and on the crest of the neck. I have had OFF spray give a bad reaction years ago when I sprayed it on the tail and the spray got on the inside of the thighs. But that is the only time.

And years ago I was boarding at a small place that was next to a state park and it was crawling with deer. And ticks. I asked a vet about sewing cow ear tags to my horse’s fly boots. He said pyrethrum ones were fine but not to use organophosphate ones. That seemed to help with the ticks crawling up his legs and the horse did not have a reaction.

[CHT]

BRONCO fly spray was what saved me last year when I bought two horses with ticks. I don’t know why the vet recommended Bronco specifically, but it worked GREAT.

[candyappy]

Ticks don’t need tall grass? Woods/ trees are another area they thrive. Seems to be more environmental. We were extremely dry and hot this year and horses , dogs and I had no ticks on us even in taller grass.

If you have been wet then I imagine they are everywhere, not much you can do about it.

I tend to spray my horses legs before letting them out of the dry lot to pasture but they rarely ever have but the random tick.

[Xanthoria]

Lemon eucalyptus repels ticks, mosquitoes and culicoides midges that cause sweet itch and works as well as DEET according to a study I found. I tried it on my horse and it totally works. I spray Repel or Cutter brand human repellent with that ingredient in it from the drugstore or Amazon for about $5

Repel Plant-Based Lemon Eucalyptus Insect Repellent, No DEET Mosquito Repellent, Repels Mosquitoes for Up To 6 Hours, (Pump Spray) 4 fl Ounce https://a.co/d/h519apI

RepellentFactSheetnewformat2015pdf.pdf

[SusanO]

Yes I added that to my bug repellent regimen and I need to take some more down to the barn. It doesn’t keep the gnats off me but seems to help the horses. You can buy it in Walmart in the camping/sporting goods department.

[Weezer]

My vet clinic recommends adding 20ml of Boss Pour-on insecticide to 1litre of fly spray. Some people put it straight on the horse like tick drops, but that caused blisters on my horses. I live in a high tick area and since I started using the pour-on, ticks have not been a problem. I spray the horses every couple of days. Before using this, all my horses tested positive for Lymes disease so I take it pretty seriously now.

SyrVet Canada | Produits agricoles

[quietann]

Also in New England, also use Freedom 45 (which is like Equispot but doesn’t bother my mare’s skin.) I have had very few ticks on her as long as I’ve used it consistently. We do spend time in the woods, so ticks are inevitable. I put it on her every 10 to 14 days.

Unfortunately, with our warmer winters, I am basically using it year-round. My mare is in the eastern part of central Massachusetts.

[Weezer]

When it’s not really hot, ticks can survive in short grass. Around here we even see them in the middle of the winter if it gets above freezing and the snow thaws. Another tip is to trim your horses’ tail so it doesn’t touch the grass.

[endlessclimb]

No ticks today, and I sprayed the low ends and undercarriage with deep woods off. No tails on the ground. @Weezer you might be onto something. We’ve had a pleasant Indian summer this year with highs in the low 70s.

[trubandloki]

According to my small animal vet, some ticks are still active in the winter, even when it is snow covered and freezing.
This came up because even on flea and tick topical my one barn cat kept coming home with ticks, in the middle of winter.

[EquestrianRunner]

Does anyone know if they make a swat but for ticks?? My guy gets them ALL THE TIME. I pick off 5+ a day. I’ve never had a horse get so many ticks in my 20 years of riding/owning. He had one on his jaw line over the weekend and I feel so bad. Usually they are in his groin/armpits. His buddies in his field don’t have any, and I’ve literally had horses on this farm/in this field for 10 years and nobody has ever had this many ticks.

[Weezer]

SWAT, or even vasoline, layered on thick should repel ticks because they can’t move through the stickiness. I have found mixing Boss pour-on insecticide into fly spray to be the best way to handle ticks.

What colour is your horse? I find my palomino and my paint get way more ticks than the bay and the chestnuts. And it’s not about having trouble seeing the ticks on dark horses. We have carefully inspected the horses after being on the same trail ride. The palomino would have over ten ticks and the others would have three at most.

[endlessclimb]

He’s a chestnut.

I have been putting the Deep Woods Off on them since it was suggested, and no more ticks. We’re finally supposed to get cold again tonight and onward, so I hope this is over!!

[Posting_Trot]

I’m in western New England and we get ticks as late as early December, and as early as mid-February, so ticks are very much a year round thing. Plus, there now are such things as “winter ticks”: see this Winter Ticks (Maine Dept. of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife)

Anyway, Show Sheen on the legs and something similar on the bottom of the tails does help. I’ve used UltraShield (in the black bottle) as well and the combination seems to keep most ticks off, even on trail rides.

Mice and chipmunks are the most likely culprits in terms of being the nearby hosts for the ticks. If you have any stone walls on the property (another New England feature) mice and chipmunks love to live there! You can put out cotton balls that you’ve sprayed with UltraShield and the rodents will take them and put them in their nests. That can help with the tick population as well.

[CindyCRNA]

I spray Deep Woods Off on my guys legs for chiggers and ticks .

[CindyCRNA]

I bought a set of Silver Whinny socks off someone here who didn’t like them and I sprayed them with permethrin which is what the vet suggested. I spray the sock well then put them on. I left them on my guy for 2 weeks. They just need a daily pull up but helped a lot. He was getting chiggers on his legs something horrible.