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tick prevention tips

15 years ago

Alisande's recent post about finding another tick reminded me about "You Bet Your Garden" a weekly readio show on NPR. The host Mike McGrath is an organic gardener and his web site has an informative section on tick prevention. Most of the tips are simple ones that any homeowner can do. One of the things I didn't realize is that most ticks are found on mice and voles.

.............#7: Discourage rodents and other small mammals. Yes, deer DO carry ticks, and itÃ¢ÂÂs always a good idea to keep deer out of your landscape. But ticks donÃ¢ÂÂt become infected from them; and many disease-carrying ticks never meet a deer. Most ticks do spend lots of time on mice and voles; and itÃ¢ÂÂs those creatures that pass on the organisms that allow the ticks to transmit nasty conditions like Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever......

But this is my favorite tip: Tick Tubes.

..........Spread Daminex Tick Tubes at the outskirts of your property. These are simple cardboard tubes filled with cotton balls soaked in permethrin, a synthetic form of the botanical insecticide pyrethrum, made from chrysanthemum flowers. Mice take the cotton balls back to their nests to use as bedding (its irresistible to them!) and the permethrin kills the ticks on any mice who come and go out of those nests all season. Yes, permethrin is a synthetic pesticide, but youÃ¢ÂÂre not spraying it into the environment (it doesnÃ¢ÂÂt even hurt the mice!), and ticks are tough pests. YouÃ¢ÂÂll find more info at www.ticktubes.com.

Maybe you'll find some of these suggestions to be helpful.

Maire

Here is a link that might be useful: ten tips for tick prevention

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Comments (5)

alisande
15 years ago
I appreciate your research, Maire! It's funny......I just learned about the Tick Tubes this week. They're pricey, and I told my son we should think about a way to make them ourselves. It sounds like it shouldn't be complicated.

Are you posting from San Francisco?
alisande
15 years ago
PS: I just read through the tick tips. Good link! This one made me laugh, but it will be very useful for my camping son and daughter-in-law:

When camping, use a Ã¢ÂÂtick dragÃ¢ÂÂ to clear the area before you set up or sit down. This does not mean dressing up like Carmen Miranda to lure ticks with a soft spot for show tunes to their doom. A tick drag is a sheet of heavy white flannel with weights on one end and a handle for pulling. Drag it across grassy brush (or your lawn if you just canÃ¢ÂÂt believe its not as tick infested as those Ortho ads insist) and most of the ticks in the area will hop on. Normally used to determine infestation levels, they temporarily reduce the number of ticks in the dragged area by an impressive 70%. Drop the ticks (or the entire drag) into soapy water to kill them.
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maire_cate
Original Author
15 years ago
The first time I heard about the tick tubes Mike McGrath was telling people how to make them. It does sound simple - I guess the trick is the diameter of the tube.

I checked his web site again and found where he describes a do it yourself method.

He also recommends guinea hens - are you interested?

Maire

PS - Still home. I'm finally hemming the new slacks I bought for our trip.

Here is a link that might be useful: more than you ever wanted to know about ticks
vala55
15 years ago
Wear long pants and long sleeve shirt, shoes and socks. Tuck your pants leg in your socks. If you live in an area where ticks abound this will probably not do any good. I do the above on my rare trips to tick country and immediately shower when I get back to the hotel. My cousin lives in the ozarks and when we visit and discuss ticks, she says, "there is a mirror in the bathroom." LOL
blitzyblond_protege
15 years ago
A lady DM knows moved to AK and she said someone told her to spray her shoes/boots, socks, pant-legs with Aqua Net hairspray (the strongest they make) and it will help avoid ticks. She says it seems to help some. l.marie

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