I omitted Frontline from my initial post accidentally, we have been using this for a couple years now, initially it worked very well and we would find ticks on the floor, some dead and some which had perhaps bailed off the dog, dead one's which were partially engorged but still in/on the dog. The effectiveness has waned over the last year and I find, during my twice daily close inspections, ticks in various states of engorgement regularly. Being yellow (the dog) the ticks are very easy to spot and usually they come out on top of the fur within a few moments of his laying down and I can walk over and simply pick them off and put them in my alcohol filled tick-jar; the only way to truly grasp the sheer number of ticks I find on him. He got lime disease two years ago, it was amazing in that it dropped him in three days; he went from his normal extremely active self, to me carrying him to the car for a trip to the vet in 72 hours flat. I presume that any mammal can contract lime disease? I am wondering, with their prevalence here, how much of an issue we will have with the goats, donkey, pony we are preparing for, and ticks/lime. I know right now I spend ten minutes in the AM and ten minutes in the PM with the dog giving a good petting/scratching/brushing in search of ticks and if the case will be the same with the other animals I fear I could be spending an inordinate amount of time searching them for ticks. Might cause me to reconsider.

I am referred to as "the tick magnet" in my household. It is not uncommon for me to walk across the lawn, spend 10 minutes in the veggie garden, and come in with a tick. I've gotten so I can spot a wood tick sitting on the top of a plant, waving its little legs and waiting to grab hold. I'm going to repeat what I said in the post from last fall that Claire linked. I live on an old farm with a mix of field, brushy growing-up field, and woods. I use bug dope with DEET, though I put it only on my clothing and I don't always use it. I own several pairs of the pyrethrin impregnated socks and I tuck my pant legs into them. (Along with my bug net during black fly season I usually look pretty dorky when I am out in the garden.) I don't really worry about ticks because during the height of the season I might find 6 or 8 on me over the course of a day, but I do take them seriously. Instead of worrying, I do a complete visual and touch check whenever I come into the house in the spring and fall. Clothes get stripped off and examined along with my body. I again do a complete visual and fingertip check at bedtime every night (until it gets too cold for the ticks to be active) standing nekkid in front of a mirror so that I can see places like under my arms and the middle of my back, etc. in case I missed any the first time around. I also comb my hair with a comb having close-set teeth and do a careful touch examination of my entire scalp. Clothing I take off doesn't go into the bedroom. I view that nightly 15 minutes as the dues I pay for being able to get out beyond the lawn areas at my house. When we first moved here I used to freak out about getting a tick, but there are so many (mostly wood ticks, though there are some deer ticks) that I just don't have the energy to get worked up about them. I'd rather put the energy in to doing careful checks afterwards since it takes a day or more for a tick to get seated and spread disease. I do this check religiously, every single night, even if I have not worked in the garden. It's part of my bedtime routine, like brushing my teeth. It is my understanding (and fits in with my observations here) that rodents are a large part of the cause of the "deer" (more accurately referred to as "black-legged") tick problem, so the tick tubes, which target the application of permethrin specifically to rodents, make good sense. I haven't used them, however, and studies vary in their evaluation of effectiveness. Last season was the first we had appreciable numbers of black-legged ticks, so we are just starting serious consideration of management for them. I haven't previously seen reference to nematodes as good for controlling ticks, so I did some reading. It seems like around here they aren't too effective since nematodes live in the soil, and when are ticks are in or on the ground, it's too cold for the nematodes to be effective. They are also more effective on adults that the nymphs that often spread disease. However, I did come across a fungus that it supposed to be better in this part of the country, Metarhizium anisopliae, that has met with EPA approval for tick control. Unfortunately, it appears to still be in the product development stages. As others have mentioned, keeping areas with brush or long grass mowed will help reduce shelter areas for ticks, and reducing areas like stone walls where rodents hide will help as well.

Yikes--I never even heard of Cytauxzoonosis. Nor can I pronounce it! I have the strong feeling all these vector-borne illnesses will eventually spread everywhere. I have the clothing spray, and I've been using it. But I discovered recently that I haven't been using it properly. Apparently you're supposed to get the fabric saturated with the stuff--one big bottle is enough for only a couple of outfits. I've been spraying much more lightly. Also, the active ingredient (permethrin) is highly toxic to cats. Fine for dogs, but deadly to cats. Since I now have an outdoor cat (in addition to three indoor cats), I have to be careful where I do the spraying, and where I hang the clothes to day. Kath, is Chewie a dog? The big ticks (dog ticks) are less dangerous than the little ones (deer ticks). My latest tick is residing in a plastic bag inside an envelope, all ready to be sent off to be analyzed. Those guys who do the analysis are already on a first-name basis with me.....

I'm near Portland. Just taking a break from lawn mowing to have lunch, and I am wearing long pants tucked into my socks (I know - awful fashion image) but a friend was helping me a few weeks ago wearing shorts and had ticks on his legs when he finished. Here's an article from the Portland paper last month - http://www.pressherald.com/2016/04/11/deer-ticks-already-out-in-force-in-maine/