Please help this city guy - Found ticks all over dog

[Eurodriver]

This evening I went to brush my dog out and noticed huge engorged ticks all over her. (Okay, well 3 were large and engorged)

I immediately went into freak the hell out mode. She's been on K9 Advantix II since I got her about 18 months ago and I've never seen a tick on her - ever. (About a week ago I noticed a tick crawling on the floor by her bed. I thought she had brought it from outside because obviously it wasn't attached to her body and fell off. Didn't think anything of it)

I started pulling the ticks carefully and properly with tweezers and rubbing alcohol. I must have gotten about 15 of them. In between her toes, in her ears, all along her neck. At least 10 were still very small and not engorged. I threw all of her bedding away including an old Lazy Boy chair that sat next to her bed and I was planning on getting rid of anyway. The floors are tile.

I bathed her in flea bath which seems to have worked because I noticed a few ticks on my gloves as I was scrubbing her and they were all dead. I sprayed my yard with tick spray that attaches to the nozzle of the hose and sprayed a home-spray all over the couch and floors.

Questions:

How long has she had ticks? I pet her every day and I'm very close to her. I've never seen a tick on her before today.

Is my house infested? Is there anything more I can do to get rid of these things in my house? Where would they "hide" if they were here? Eggs?

She's going to the vet tomorrow and we're switching her tick meds. K9 Advantix II obviously doesn't work.

I can handle a lot of things, but blood sucking parasites that carry lyme disease are not it.

P.S. The ticks appear to be black heads with red bodies. Deer ticks?

[montanadave]

Totally different neck of the woods, so I can't offer much advice but it sounds like you've covered the bases for now. The vet ought to be able to answer all your questions in the AM. Take a few of the dead bastards along with you.

[brushy bill]

Let us know what vet says.

[Crow Hunter]

Don't panic dude. You have been shot at before, this is just a little tick.:D

They have probably been on her for a day or so. Last time she went outside and got under a tree or tall grass they jumped on her.

They don't lay eggs in your house.

My dogs get them all the time. When we notice them scratching we make them hold still and we check all the "normal" places. Ears, arm pits, top of the back where they can't scratch.

Just check yourself out (particularly under your sack and the nape of your neck) when you take a shower just in case one fell off and manages to find you later. You will feel them. You will probably feel them crawling on you before they ever attach. Unless you have a girls body hair. :)

We use the Harts guard stuff you get a Wal-mart that you smear down the ridge of their back. Seems to work better than anything else we have gotten.

Dogs just get ticks if they are outside in the summer.;)

Now I am not sure about Florida but up here in TN, what we refer to as deer ticks are really tiny and hard to find unless they are engorged. Dog ticks are bigger and pretty easy to find.

They aren't like bed bugs. You won't get an infestation.

ETA:

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Hartz-UltraGuard-Pro-Flea-and-Tick-Drops-for-Dogs-16-30lbs-Dogs/13043587

This is what we use. We get the size larger for our dogs and just use 1/2 on each. They don't normally get any ticks and they live outside in a kennel and we go for a walk every day which normally involves chasing something into a tick infested area. We just keep an eye on them and when they get ticks again, we pull them off and apply more stuff.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ixodes_scapularis

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_tick This is the one our dogs get all the time.

I just pull them off with my fingers and squish their little heads with a pebble off the road. You just need to pinch with your nails. You get the hang of it after a while.

[Big A]

I recommend you have a pest control company come out and treat your yard.

[Eurodriver]

I'm good with treating the dog, I'll get her taken care of and I'll have a company come spray the yard.

I just have to sleep here tonight and I wanted to make sure I wasn't going to be having lyme disease in the AM. I didn't know if she had these ticks for months and months and I was just noticing them after they've laid eggs in every single nook and cranny of my home.

I can deal with so many things. Rats? Suppressed .22, no big deal. Robbers? AR15.

Scorpions, frogs, and ticks? Best to just nuke it from orbit. It's the only way to be sure. I called this girl I know who was born country and she came over to give me a hand with the dog bath. Ticks don't freak her out like they do me, but when she leaves and I have time I'll have to share a very funny story...

[montanadave]

I take it you've figured out it's a black legged or deer tick.

[Crow Hunter]

I'm good with treating the dog, I'll get her taken care of and I'll have a company come spray the yard.

I just have to sleep here tonight and I wanted to make sure I wasn't going to be having lyme disease in the AM. I didn't know if she had these ticks for months and months and I was just noticing them after they've laid eggs in every single nook and cranny of my home.

I can deal with so many things. Rats? Suppressed .22, no big deal. Robbers? AR15.

Scorpions, frogs, and ticks? Best to just nuke it from orbit. It's the only way to be sure. I called this girl I know who was born country and she came over to give me a hand with the dog bath. Ticks don't freak her out like they do me, but when she leaves and I have time I'll have to share a very funny story...

You are fine. Even if you were to get bitten, not all of them carry Lyme. Not everyone who gets bitten by a Lyme carrying tick will even get it. Just check yourself for the next couple of days for your sanity and just to make sure.

They aren't like fleas.

Make sure that she actually got them from your yard before you pay someone to come and treat it. If she ran off and went into tall grass or under trees she might have gotten them from there.

Ticks hide and wait until they sense movement and fall or grab onto things as they walk by. They don't normally like short trimmed grass, they prefer to be up in the air a ways.

Now fleas on the other hand....

ETA:

Frogs. Come on. Frogs and toads are cool.

What did you play with growing up?

Good thing you don't live next to me. You just about can't step outside at my house in the late afternoon without almost stepping on a tiny baby toad. Our house is their first stop after leaving the lake on their way to suicide by car tires.

My wife and an catch them all the time to keep them from "toad mummies" by staying too long in the garage.

[RIDE]

Finding ticks on a dog for the first time is a bit unnerving, but it's really no biggie, though your pooch seems to have gotten quite a few at once.
We used to deal with this KS.
The best thing to do is have the yard & exterior of the homes foundation sprayed via pest control..
Nasty little things. Get 'em!

[bulbvivid]

Lyme disease is a concern, so you definitely want to get your pup to the vet, or at least give a call and see what they recommend.

[Inkslinger]

Lyme disease is a concern, so you definitely want to get your pup to the vet, or at least give a call and see what they recommend.

You can vaccinate your dog for Lyme. Like others have said, steer clear of overgrown areas and areas with a lot of leaf litter. You can take the small ticks and have them tested. If any are deer ticks, good luck! They literally look like a speck of dirty. People usually assume small ticks are deer ticks. I had Lyme disease and never found one tick, and I don't have nearly as much hair as dog! Close though...I've deployed free range chickens on my property to help with ticks. I sure don't find as many on my pooch now.

[Eurodriver]

Thanks crow hunter and others.

Here are the ticks I've gotten since I made this thread. Luckily, they all appear to be dead or dying from the bath. About 90% of these were taken off of her paws. The gorged ticks were all about the size of a pea and grey. Gross little things.

http://i1328.photobucket.com/albums/w521/6234987u02/IMG_20140808_222526_893_zps25d61fee.jpg

[SteyrAUG]

Hate to say those "once a month" treatments really don't work in areas where fleas and ticks live in large numbers. Even though they say it works through regular bathing and stuff like that, it really doesn't.

Here is your solution: Adams flea and tick spray.

Since you currently have a problem you need to use it daily, probably a couple times a day, and for probably 10 days. Don't forget to do your home where fleas and ticks have dropped eggs waiting to hatch. Spray EVERYTHING, especially dog bedding.

Do this once or twice a week after the 10 day saturation period. You also want regular Adams flea and tick spray, don't buy "water based."

Once you have everything under control and have eliminated any "hatching cycle" in your home you can simply go to spraying your dog down once to twice a week depending how often you bathe your dog and how long your dogs is outside during the day.

Think of it like spraying yourself with OFF when in a mosquito infested area.

I have had dogs in south Florida for over 30 years where fleas and ticks are everywhere and I've tried and used everything. Adams is what works most reliably.

[SteyrAUG]

Frogs and toads are cool.


Not sure what toads you have in your area, but the Bufo Toads we get down here can kill a dog. The venom is secreted out of their skin so when a inquisitive or playful dog picks up a toad they get a mouthful of venom.

Toads die on sight.

[Inkslinger]

Not sure what toads you have in your area, but the Bufo Toads we get down here can kill a dog. The venom is secreted out of their skin so when a inquisitive or playful dog picks up a toad they get a mouthful of venom.

Toads die on sight.

Aren't they the ones people lick?

[SteyrAUG]

They don't lay eggs in your house.


I beg to differ. I have a friend who got hit pretty hard. Took him two weeks to get ticks out of his home. He'd spray the floors, crawl spaces and under every piece of furniture and within two hours he'd have a few dozen ticks half way up his walls in the same room.

Ticks are really no different than spiders except they are a lot harder to get rid of.

[SteyrAUG]

Aren't they the ones people lick?

All kids of toads, pretty sure I wouldn't recommend licking a bufo. But they are the most common south florida toad.

[Crow Hunter]

Those look like Dog ticks to me. But it is hard to tell size.

If they are dog ticks, you don't have to worry. They don't carry Lyme. They carry other things though.

I would go with what Steyr says to use because he lives in your latitude.

The treatment I posted works for me an my 2 dumb labs in Northwest TN. It might not work for you in Florida.

My knuckle heads run out into the woods and tall grass pastures every day and if I don't use that treatment, I have to pull ticks off of them. If I use that treatment I don't.

Mine are also outside dogs.

[montanadave]

What with the tick and scorpion threads lately, I will never bitch about twenty-five below zero cold snaps again.

Please remind me off this post come next January or February.

[Eurodriver]

I beg to differ. I have a friend who got hit pretty hard. Took him two weeks to get ticks out of his home. He'd spray the floors, crawl spaces and under every piece of furniture and within two hours he'd have a few dozen ticks half way up his walls in the same room.

Ticks are really no different than spiders except they are a lot harder to get rid of.

Well aside from that one a few days ago, I haven't seen any ticks anywhere but on the dog.

The dogs bedding has been tossed and I've sprayed the couch (the only furniture she gets on) and floor thoroughly.

[Crow Hunter]

I beg to differ. I have a friend who got hit pretty hard. Took him two weeks to get ticks out of his home. He'd spray the floors, crawl spaces and under every piece of furniture and within two hours he'd have a few dozen ticks half way up his walls in the same room.

Ticks are really no different than spiders except they are a lot harder to get rid of.

I have never heard of ticks laying eggs in the house. I have fleas but not ticks. We had a sand flea infestation once that I didn't think we were ever going to get rid of.

I don't have animals in the house though so the only ticks that we ever have are those the got on us out in the woods and they don't hang around long. :)

We only have American toads. They really only pee on you.

I think they are poisonous if you eat them but our dogs learned quickly to ignore them as puppies. I guess they taste bad. Or having someone pee in your mouth probably tastes bad.

They were some of our favorite things to play with when we were little. My Mom used to say that when I was little I kept one under the couch and fed him moths until she caught me. I don't remember doing that.

My wife and I had a "pet" one when we lived in Clarksville. He only had one eye and my wife felt sorry for him so she would catch bugs to feed him. He eventually got used to us and showed up every night in the same spot for his bug meal.

[KCBRUIN]

I had a tick infestation two years ago. I stopped counting engorged ticks on my GSD at 34. I treated the carpets with a flea and tick killing vacuum powder. Got a granular treatment for the yard that you distribute with a spreader, and then used the liquid spray on the foundation, and deck. I was convinced they were coming from my wife's compost pile because it was constantly full of birds. I nuked the compost pile with liquid bug killer. My neighbor either refused or was incapable of weed eating his lawn so I got some grass and weed killer and sprayed my grass on the fence line and it leeched over about a foot into his lawn. Haven't had a problem since.

[Caduceus]

Lyme disease is a concern, so you definitely want to get your pup to the vet, or at least give a call and see what they recommend.

You also cant catch lymes if the tick is on you less than 16 hours. And, if youre really worried, a single dose of doxycycline 200mg, is approved under certain circumstances.

[spr1]

I beg to differ. I have a friend who got hit pretty hard. Took him two weeks to get ticks out of his home. He'd spray the floors, crawl spaces and under every piece of furniture and within two hours he'd have a few dozen ticks half way up his walls in the same room.

Ticks are really no different than spiders except they are a lot harder to get rid of.

Truth.

Each tick can leave 30,000+ eggs. They used to make fumigation sprays that you would fill your house with to kill them. You probably need to call in an exterminator these days.

[Spurholder]

I did the Advantix thing until my vet turned me on to these:

http://www.amazon.com/Bayer-Seresto-Flea-Collar-Large/dp/B00B8CG602

Our Ridgeback puppy - six months old, around 70 pounds - stayed at a friend's farm for a week while we did the Disney thing. When we picked him up, I found exactly one tick on him, right above his foot on his back leg. Better stated, about as far away from the collar as possible.

These collars also last for many months...seemed like a much better deal. HTH.

[Eurodriver]

Doctor gave us a free sample of Nexgard

It's a chewable tablet that kills them after they've bitten her. I'll be looking into a collar for repellant

Right now I'm freaking out about the house and eggs. I've studied the life cycle of these things and there is no way they could've been on her all engorged like that any sooner than yesterday. But all it takes is one getting away and laying its eggs to cause a whole mess. The yard is easy to deal with. The house? Where do I even start...geez...

Pic of tick
http://i1328.photobucket.com/albums/w521/6234987u02/IMG_20140809_095323_646_zpsf66ef5a3.jpg

[cinco]

Euro, make sure you do not overdose your dog on the tick meds & shampoo. There is typically a window where you need to let one treatment lapse before you treat again. This is particularly true for the flea shampoo treatments. A lot of folks will bath the dog with a pyrethrin or pyrethroid insecticide based shampoo then dose the dog with the liquid treatments (i.e. Frontline). This can lead to an overdose and toxic poisoning where the insecticide passes through the brain's membrane causing all sorts of issues. Your vet should have discussed a treatment cycle - if not give him a call.

[Crow Hunter]

Doctor gave us a free sample of Nexgard

It's a chewable tablet that kills them after they've bitten her. I'll be looking into a collar for repellant

Right now I'm freaking out about the house and eggs. I've studied the life cycle of these things and there is no way they could've been on her all engorged like that any sooner than yesterday. But all it takes is one getting away and laying its eggs to cause a whole mess. The yard is easy to deal with. The house? Where do I even start...geez...

Pic of tick
http://i1328.photobucket.com/albums/w521/6234987u02/IMG_20140809_095323_646_zpsf66ef5a3.jpg

I can't help you on that one.

I didn't even realize they would lay eggs in your house. :o

Makes me glad that my dogs are outside.

That "looks" like a deer tick to me based on this doing a Google search of deer vs dog ticks.

I would probably clean really good with a shop vac and search where they would normally hide inside a home. When we had sand fleas we kept using the powder that you put in the carpet and vacuuming every day. They finally went away.

[cinco]

I can't help you on that one.

I didn't even realize they would lay eggs in your house. :o

Makes me glad that my dogs are outside.

That "looks" like a deer tick to me based on this doing a Google search of deer vs dog ticks.

I would probably clean really good with a shop vac and search where they would normally hide inside a home. When we had sand fleas we kept using the powder that you put in the carpet and vacuuming every day. They finally went away.

I think that is good advice. Look into "diatomaceous earth" powder. Appears you can sprinkle directly on the dog's coat, bedding and carpet and kills the tick via dehydration within 72 hours. Read below as it states completely non-toxic. Disclosure - no direct experience, just remember hearing about it before.

Good info here: http://wolfcreekranch1.tripod.com/diatomaceous_earth_fleas.html

From wiki:


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatomaceous_earth

Pest control[edit]
Diatomite is used as an insecticide, due to its abrasive and physico-sorptive properties.[8] The fine powder absorbs lipids from the waxy outer layer of insects' exoskeletons, causing them to dehydrate. Arthropods die as a result of the water pressure deficiency, based on Fick's law of diffusion. This also works against gastropods and is commonly employed in gardening to defeat slugs. However, since slugs inhabit humid environments, efficacy is very low. It is sometimes mixed with an attractant or other additives to increase its effectiveness. Medical-grade diatomite is sometimes used to de-worm both animals and humans.[9][10] It is commonly used in lieu of boric acid, and can be used to help control and possibly eliminate bed bug, house dust mite, cockroach, ant and flea infestations.[11] This material has wide application for insect control in grain storage.[12]

In order to be effective as an insecticide, diatomaceous earth must be uncalcinated (i.e., it must not be heat-treated prior to application)[13] and have a mean particle size below about 12 µm (i.e., food-grade – see below).

Although considered to be relatively low-risk, pesticides containing diatomaceous earth are not exempt from regulation in the United States under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act and must be registered with the Environmental Protection Agency.

[Eurodriver]

Yeah it looks exactly like a deer tick but virtually every website I've looked at said a deer tick in myAO this time of year is like hitting the lottery.

I say hitting the lottery because they can't reproduce inside like dog ticks can.

Either way I've torn the house apart and haven't seen any eggs. They seem to be pretty easy to spot. So far I've pulled about fifty off the dog since I began this dreadful experience. The yard has been totally hosed and I'm only letting her go on a concrete area away from any brush.

The nexgard is supposed to work within 24 hours and the vet said it will be OK with what we've already given her but no more topical for a week minimum.

[Robb Jensen]

You also cant catch lymes if the tick is on you less than 16 hours. And, if youre really worried, a single dose of doxycycline 200mg, is approved under certain circumstances.

This is an old belief. Hell the tick that carries the Powassan virus transmits it to you within 15min, it also kills 30% of the people it infects.

I had a deer tick on me last year for about 10 hours and got Lyme & Bartonella. 30 days of doxy didn't work. I did an herbal program for 9 months which seems to have pushed Lyme and Bartonella into remission but I'm still suffering from adrenal fatigue and now have developed POTS do to the infections. POTS usually goes away in 2-5yrs.

Unlike for humans there is a dog Lyme vaccine that seems to work pretty well. Dogs do get Lyme and antibiotics seems to work on them fairly well. I know a few people who have frogs that had to be treated.

[SteyrAUG]

Well aside from that one a few days ago, I haven't seen any ticks anywhere but on the dog.

The dogs bedding has been tossed and I've sprayed the couch (the only furniture she gets on) and floor thoroughly.

Just watch your walls about a foot above the floorboards. You'll either get them or you won't. If you do you just got to stay on it for a few weeks and kill the life cycle and then your fine.

[SteyrAUG]

It's a chewable tablet that kills them after they've bitten her. I'll be looking into a collar for repellant



Flea collars are generally a bad idea and don't work very well. Just mist the dog with Adams a couple times a day until your problems are all gone.

[Eurodriver]

Got the Adams spray. Definitely potent stuff. Misted her and her living area thoroughly and luckily I haven't seen any ticks for about 3 hours.

[KCBRUIN]

Just make sure whatever you do, you don't try and cheap out and use dog advantix/brand of choice on a cat or any other household animal that isn't a dog in the correct weight range. It can be a long drawn out painful death for cats if you put it on them.

[Eurodriver]

I don't have any cats.

I'm about to call a pro. This is getting to be too much.

I was only finding them in the immediate area of her bed but today I found three dead ones in the adjacent room. I've torn the house apart every single day and I've got a chemists dream of bug chemicals but I still keep finding at least 5 a day. The dog is hosed with Adams constantly and I found a few between her toes today as well and a dead one on her neck. I guess the good thing is that I am finding dead ones now, but I wish I wasn't finding any!

I can't figure out where they are coming from. I've doused the cracks between the ground and wall (no baseboard) for the entire house. Windows curtains walls I've even flipped over furniture and hosed it down as well. Its 100* outside and I've got all the windows open so I don't kill myself. Is there an end in sight? I can't keep living like this.

The second I find one in my bed I am nuking the place from orbit.

[KCBRUIN]

Does the dog go on walks where it could pick them up in mass and bring them home?

[Eurodriver]

She walks on concrete sidewalks and I check her feet neck and ears after *every* walk. Never have I found a single one after a walk, always first thng in the morning or after work after she's been inside all day. I don't even let her out back without being on a leash.

Most of my neighborhood doesn't even have grass. Just gravel (beach neighborhood) so its not like she's walking through thick brush or anything.

I haven't been in the sticks with her since fourth of July. That might have been when all this began.

[skijunkie55]

I picked a deer tick out of my 10 month old niece's scalp over the 4th of July weekend, and have experienced the "there is something crawling up my leg" sensation from ticks one too many time. We have a small Yorkie which will occasionally pick one up and bring it on our bed.

I fully support nuking the vicinity. Besides, it's for the children!

http://files.sharenator.com/132460.jpg

[Crow Hunter]

She walks on concrete sidewalks and I check her feet neck and ears after *every* walk. Never have I found a single one after a walk, always first thng in the morning or after work after she's been inside all day. I don't even let her out back without being on a leash.

Most of my neighborhood doesn't even have grass. Just gravel (beach neighborhood) so its not like she's walking through thick brush or anything.

I haven't been in the sticks with her since fourth of July. That might have been when all this began.

EXPERIMENT TIME!!!

Go to the store and get a bunch of those paper glue traps.

Put your dog in the kennel overnight after you give her a good once over looking for any ticks (so she can't get out and move around and disturb the test).

Put the glue traps all the way around the kennel.

When you get up tomorrow morning if the ticks are all facing her on the outside of the ring they are in your house or getting in somewhere and are getting on her when she sleeps.

If they are on the inside of the ring facing outwards, they are coming off your dog looking for you.

If the ticks are just on her and didn't cross the glue line the ticks can teleport or are paraticks. :cool:

Once you know a vector, you will know better what steps you need to take next.

[MountainRaven]

What with the tick and scorpion threads lately, I will never bitch about twenty-five below zero cold snaps again.

Please remind me off this post come next January or February.

You and me, both.

[Caduceus]

This is an old belief. Hell the tick that carries the Powassan virus transmits it to you within 15min, it also kills 30% of the people it infects.

I had a deer tick on me last year for about 10 hours and got Lyme & Bartonella. 30 days of doxy didn't work. I did an herbal program for 9 months which seems to have pushed Lyme and Bartonella into remission but I'm still suffering from adrenal fatigue and now have developed POTS do to the infections. POTS usually goes away in 2-5yrs.

Unlike for humans there is a dog Lyme vaccine that seems to work pretty well. Dogs do get Lyme and antibiotics seems to work on them fairly well. I know a few people who have frogs that had to be treated.

Maybe bad info, but still being pushed out. If you havesources Id like to see them.

http://www.cdc.gov/lyme/transmission/index.html
http://www.vdh.state.va.us/epidemiology/dee/vectorborne/ (look in the PDF link)
http://www.uptodate.com/contents/what-to-do-after-a-tick-bite-to-prevent-lyme-disease-beyond-the-basics
http://www.aldf.com/lyme.shtml
http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/mecdc/infectious-disease/epi/vector-borne/lyme/lyme-faq.shtml

[SteyrAUG]

I don't have any cats.

I'm about to call a pro. This is getting to be too much.

I was only finding them in the immediate area of her bed but today I found three dead ones in the adjacent room. I've torn the house apart every single day and I've got a chemists dream of bug chemicals but I still keep finding at least 5 a day. The dog is hosed with Adams constantly and I found a few between her toes today as well and a dead one on her neck. I guess the good thing is that I am finding dead ones now, but I wish I wasn't finding any!

I can't figure out where they are coming from. I've doused the cracks between the ground and wall (no baseboard) for the entire house. Windows curtains walls I've even flipped over furniture and hosed it down as well. Its 100* outside and I've got all the windows open so I don't kill myself. Is there an end in sight? I can't keep living like this.

The second I find one in my bed I am nuking the place from orbit.

Hate to say this because it isn't what you are gonna want to hear. But you have a couple more days of this ahead of you. Even if you called a professional you are gonna have a couple more days of this. Basically the ones you didn't see are fleeing for safer ground and you have to eliminate a complete life cycle if any managed to lay eggs (which they probably did).

You could do the Crow Hunter experiment to determine some things, but I strongly suspect you just have ticks in your house. I'm hoping you have wood or tile floors, deep carpet might require a professional.

The important thing is to prevent them from feeding on your dog, you or anyone else. Without food they leave or die.

[Turnkey11]

What with the tick and scorpion threads lately, I will never bitch about twenty-five below zero cold snaps again.

Please remind me off this post come next January or February.

If I ever find a place in the US that hovers between 30 and 50 degrees year round, I'm moving there. Negative temps, blood sucking bugs, and humidity are all things that I could live without.

[Big A]

She walks on concrete sidewalks and I check her feet neck and ears after *every* walk. Never have I found a single one after a walk, always first thng in the morning or after work after she's been inside all day. I don't even let her out back without being on a leash.

Most of my neighborhood doesn't even have grass. Just gravel (beach neighborhood) so its not like she's walking through thick brush or anything.

I haven't been in the sticks with her since fourth of July. That might have been when all this began.

If that's the case I would say she picked up one or two on the 4th of July and they laid eggs and now you're dealing with the aftermath. I'd kennel the dog at the vet, check into a hotel and call the Orkin man...

[Eurodriver]

I thought I could handle this myself, but I give up. I'm calling a pro. I'm "only" finding 1, 2, or even zero a day but I am 99% certain the dog is not bringing them inside. However, they are almost always limited to where the dog is or was recently. (I actually just saw one crawling out from underneath her as I wrote this post) I've sprayed everything I've got in every nook and cranny of this place. I threw all of my rugs away. I just have no idea where they could be coming from. I tried placing duck tape down all over the floor, held tightly against the tile, and surrounded the dog with it, but I didn't see any ticks for 48 hours. After I threw away the tape, I saw 3 of them.

About the only good news I can think of is that these ticks are not known to carry any serious diseases and as long as there is a dog or mammal nearby they won't normally bite humans.

[cinco]

Sorry for your troubles. Glad you're taking such good care of your buddy though and hope you get it resolved.

Is this a single family detached home or apartment/condo/duplex? I ask as if you have a "shared" walls/attics/etc. your issues may be coming from the adjacent residence.

[SteyrAUG]

I thought I could handle this myself, but I give up. I'm calling a pro. I'm "only" finding 1, 2, or even zero a day but I am 99% certain the dog is not bringing them inside. However, they are almost always limited to where the dog is or was recently. (I actually just saw one crawling out from underneath her as I wrote this post) I've sprayed everything I've got in every nook and cranny of this place. I threw all of my rugs away. I just have no idea where they could be coming from. I tried placing duck tape down all over the floor, held tightly against the tile, and surrounded the dog with it, but I didn't see any ticks for 48 hours. After I threw away the tape, I saw 3 of them.

About the only good news I can think of is that these ticks are not known to carry any serious diseases and as long as there is a dog or mammal nearby they won't normally bite humans.

Probably a good move. It's possible you have a tree loaded with ticks who drop on your dog every time you walk her and then when she comes inside they jump off because of the Adams tick spray. So you might need to get your yard treated as well. But this might be a job that is just bigger than you.

[Robb Jensen]

Just myself 10 sources of people calling a cat horse don't make the cat a horse.

Most doctors who treat Lyme per CDC/IDSA got their training 10 or more years ago. They probably still believe that saturated fat in the diet is bad too. A great book on the subject of Lyme is "why can't I get better" by Dr Horowitz

[mastiffhound]

We have five dogs now (English Mastiff, American Pit, American English Coonhound, Danish Chicken Dog, and a Mini-Schnauzer) and we live in the country so ticks are common. We used to use flee and tick drops, but the ticks would still bite and hang on till they died from the poison. When I asked my grandma why her dogs never got ticks she said "garlic". So I started giving a teaspoon of the minced garlic per 50 pounds or so to each dog. Now the ticks that do jump on them (1 to 2 a week, our dogs have the run of about 5 acres so I consider that pretty damn good considering it used to be that many every day) about 95% don't bite them. The old "bloodsuckers don't like garlic thing" must be true I guess.

I recently switched to the crushed squeeze bottle garlic because our juvenile American English Coonhound wouldn't eat the minced stuff. He was a rescue with road rash on his ears of all places, someone had thrown him from a moving vehicle at 4 months old after starving him for a few days. He just wouldn't eat the minced stuff and he's a poor puppy (an 82 pound 7 month old puppy) that's been mistreated so I gave in and got the more expensive crushed stuff. It's been a decade since I've had a male and he puts up with a lot from the 4 bitches so he gets special treatment sometimes. How to get them to eat it? I save bacon of beef grease and cook the garlic in it and give it to them once a week. The Mastiff, Chicken Dog, and Pit will eat it raw mixed in their food but the others won't. All of them eat peanut butter and garlic sandwiches also.

I hope this helped, I've given this advice to co-workers and friends and all have said that they've seen a huge decrease in ticks and flees. It's not the end of the world. As for you, you might want to increase your garlic intake also. I eat garlic on the regular so I've only been bit around 4 times in the last 8 years.

[SteyrAUG]

We have five dogs now (English Mastiff, American Pit, American English Coonhound, Danish Chicken Dog, and a Mini-Schnauzer) and we live in the country so ticks are common. We used to use flee and tick drops, but the ticks would still bite and hang on till they died from the poison. When I asked my grandma why her dogs never got ticks she said "garlic". So I started giving a teaspoon of the minced garlic per 50 pounds or so to each dog. Now the ticks that do jump on them (1 to 2 a week, our dogs have the run of about 5 acres so I consider that pretty damn good considering it used to be that many every day) about 95% don't bite them. The old "bloodsuckers don't like garlic thing" must be true I guess.

I recently switched to the crushed squeeze bottle garlic because our juvenile American English Coonhound wouldn't eat the minced stuff. He was a rescue with road rash on his ears of all places, someone had thrown him from a moving vehicle at 4 months old after starving him for a few days. He just wouldn't eat the minced stuff and he's a poor puppy (an 82 pound 7 month old puppy) that's been mistreated so I gave in and got the more expensive crushed stuff. It's been a decade since I've had a male and he puts up with a lot from the 4 bitches so he gets special treatment sometimes. How to get them to eat it? I save bacon of beef grease and cook the garlic in it and give it to them once a week. The Mastiff, Chicken Dog, and Pit will eat it raw mixed in their food but the others won't. All of them eat peanut butter and garlic sandwiches also.

I hope this helped, I've given this advice to co-workers and friends and all have said that they've seen a huge decrease in ticks and flees. It's not the end of the world. As for you, you might want to increase your garlic intake also. I eat garlic on the regular so I've only been bit around 4 times in the last 8 years.

Please DO NOT give your dogs any more garlic.

http://www.petinsurance.com/healthzone/pet-articles/pet-health-toxins/Garlic-Toxicity-and-Pets.aspx

http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/dog-behavior/foods-are-hazardous-dogs

I once had a dog that LOVED grapes and my wife loved to throw him grapes whenever she was cleaning them. Then he went into renal failure and we quickly learned that we dramatically shortened his life span and it still hurts us.

[Eurodriver]

The pros came today. I went to a highly recommended local company.

They said I have a moderate problem and there are probably zero in the yard. All of them are coming from inside and the ticks I've shown him are brown dog ticks and there are several different stages. Adult males and females, nymphs and larvae.

Because the dog has been treated they shouldn't be reproducing anymore since blood is needed for eggs. But they probably already laid eggs and it would be at MINIMUM 5000 eggs. This makes sense as I've easily counted over 150 that I've picked off the dog and floor.

The dog is staying at the borders for one night and she will be given a tick bath the morning I pick her up. I'm staying away just until late at night when it is safe and he said expect creepy crawlies everywhere

[mastiffhound]

Please DO NOT give your dogs any more garlic.

http://www.petinsurance.com/healthzone/pet-articles/pet-health-toxins/Garlic-Toxicity-and-Pets.aspx

http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/dog-behavior/foods-are-hazardous-dogs

I once had a dog that LOVED grapes and my wife loved to throw him grapes whenever she was cleaning them. Then he went into renal failure and we quickly learned that we dramatically shortened his life span and it still hurts us.

That's strange? My Mastiff is 12 years old and has been getting garlic once a week for 8 years. My vet says she's the healthiest "old"( 12 is ancient for XL breeds) big dog she has ever seen? Her eyes are clear her coat is shiny. She even plays with the pup? Her teeth are worn down to nubs though from chewing. The vet thinks she's going to outlast her teeth. I find it hard to believe that garlic (when given in moderation) is worse for your dog than flee drops. 2 dogs I had before got flee drops, a Great Dane and a Basset Hound. They both died of cancer. The Dane got bone and liver cancer and died at 6 years old. The Basset got skin and bladder cancer and died at 8 years old. Our dogs range from 7 months to 12 years old, all are still going strong.

Flee drops are poison right? It kills bugs when they bite. Since they aren't bathing in it I have to guess that the drops are getting into their bloodstream. Yeah, a little poison might not kill them. A little mercury might not kill me either though but I sure as hell wouldn't let someone administer it to me. Every package I've seen has warnings about washing your hands or wearing gloves so as not to come into contact with the flee drops. One I remember mentioning children should not touch the dog for 24 or 48 hours. If that's the case then why would you put something like that on your best friend?

I trust insurance companies about as much as I trust rapists and child molesters. Yes, they are that bad. I also find it very hard to trust a "non-profit" organization that sells diamond jewelry (like this:http://www.aspcaonlinestore.com/product/41066) with no mention of what the proceeds go to. They always remind me of the OFWG or Sally Struthers walking through a village of starving children, those two sure as hell haven't missed a meal.

My last vet said not to give my dogs garlic, another OFWG. Right after he said that he handed me a $120 flee drop treatment, go figure? This is the same guy that screwed my Danes eye surgery up and botched his neutering with the worst stitch job I've ever seen. The stitches were falling out before my Dane was even back in my care. OFWG said it was fine and that the bleeding wasn't that bad. My new vet graduated from Ohio State 8 years ago with Honors. She was horrified when she saw the stitch job and fixed it for free, she's been my vet ever since.

She actually has a computer and keeps up on studies, OFWG didn't. Tons of sites exist that give evidence to the contrary that garlic is bad. It amounts to the main problem most humans have: More is better. Mine get a couple teaspoons at most once a week. You get these idiots giving dogs 6 cloves a day and that's when you have problems. The study from 2000 that is often cited used a fairly large dose of garlic extract. It worked out to around 5 grams of garlic per kilogram of mass for the dog. A clove weighs a little more than 5 grams. My Mastiff weighs 170 pounds, about 77 kilograms. That's 385 grams of garlic for her, a clove weighs 5.5 to 6 grams on my home scale. 64 to 70 cloves is, well, a shitload. My Mastiff gets about 2 cloves in a whole week.

The dogs that my Grandmother had lived well past their prime, her Dalmation was 16 years old and toothless when it was finally put to sleep to end it's suffering. My Mastiff was a rescue, she weighed 80 pounds at 4 years old. The vet worried she was going to die from dehydration and malnutrition. That was 8 years ago. She's the best dog I've ever had. It must have been one evil bastard to treat her that way. She's had garlic once a week for all these years so garlic doesn't scare me. The baby bunnies the Chicken Dog catches, runs back and forth through her teeth like Daffy Duck eating a corn cob, then swallows whole worries me more. My vet has done blood tests on all my dogs and they've all come back very good, garlic hasn't been an issue with any from the smallest (18 lb Mini-Schnauzer) to the largest (my Mastiff).

[SteyrAUG]

That's strange? My Mastiff is 12 years old and has been getting garlic once a week for 8 years. My vet says she's the healthiest "old"( 12 is ancient for XL breeds) big dog she has ever seen?

I'm just sharing information. My dog lived for years getting grapes, but somehow I think he had a few more years in him if he didn't get grapes. The links noted that some dogs seem to have "no ill effects" but others have lots of problems. I have no agenda here beyond preventing anyone from having to go through what I went through.

[montanadave]

I just asked my dog if she wants to skip the garlic-jalepeno brauts the next time we head out to the ranch.

She looked like she wanted to bite me.

[mastiffhound]

I'm just sharing information. My dog lived for years getting grapes, but somehow I think he had a few more years in him if he didn't get grapes. The links noted that some dogs seem to have "no ill effects" but others have lots of problems. I have no agenda here beyond preventing anyone from having to go through what I went through.

Yep, I understood that. I did a lot of reading when my first vet told me garlic was bad. I wouldn't say we have every possible dog but we have two small breed, a medium size breed, a large breed, and a extra large breed. For one owner it's a large sample group. Mine have never got sick in any way like some describe and it could be just the individual breeds themselves or too much garlic. Never gave them grapes though but the Chicken Dog eats anything she can find. She raided our garden a few years ago eating melons, green beans, lettuce, spinach, and anything else she could find. Her gut was bulged so much that I was worried. The vet said give her a day and if she still looks bad bring her in, she was fine the next day so no vet visit.

We actually had to watch out when friends and family would bring their dogs to our house because most were carrying flees. They all use garlic now and none have reported any sickness or blood test problems. I always figured people would do their own research when it comes to their animals but that doesn't seem to be the case sometimes. I say try it (remember moderation) and if your dogs not getting sick get your dog a blood test to see if your dog is having any problems that might not be apparent.

[SteyrAUG]

We actually had to watch out when friends and family would bring their dogs to our house because most were carrying flees. They all use garlic now and none have reported any sickness or blood test problems. I always figured people would do their own research when it comes to their animals but that doesn't seem to be the case sometimes. I say try it (remember moderation) and if your dogs not getting sick get your dog a blood test to see if your dog is having any problems that might not be apparent.

Only reason I brought it up is most people wouldn't even think that things like garlic or grapes could be bad for a dog. I know a bunch of people who were giving their dogs chocolate because they saw what looked like "chocolate treats" for sale at the pet store. When I told them chocolate could actually kill their dog they didn't believe me until they looked it up.

Most people assume dogs can eat anything humans can eat.

[Eurodriver]

Pros came today. I made it easy for them. Everything was moved toward the center of the rooms and placed on tables or desks.

It was like handing over a Mk19 equipped MRAP to a LCPl.

I showed him the problem area and asked a few warranty questions. I handed him the keys and said spray every single thing in sight. He casually said "Oh I'm gonna soak it" and I left.

When I returned I found the place eerily similar to how I left it. Almost no smell despite the windows being closed. No bugs everywhere as I had imagined. As I was putting furniture back I found one dead roach and two dead beetles but that was it.

Strangely, no ticks. I wonder if that is a good or bad thing....

I hope and pray this episode is over, but only time will tell. all I can say is that Steyr was not joking about how terrible these things are and if any of you live south of Tennessee. I would * highly* recommend making sure that you do not allow your dogs inside without checking for ticks after going in a highly wooded area as well as ensuring your tick preventative actually works beforehand.

[Eurodriver]

Had a follow up treatment today. This time they went all out and I stayed and watched

Nuclear grade insecticide along every floorboard and underneath every piece of furniture including up curtains and window sills.

Nuclear grade insecticide outside on all of the bushes top and bottom as well as granules that act now and delay activation until rain.

Insecticide dust spread over, on, and in virtually every crevice is my home. Then a crazy industrial fogging to get them to come out and enjoy the dust.

If any of you are looking for a reasonably priced exterminator in the Tampa area, let me know. This guy did it by the book and has a stellar guarantee for very little cost.

I he's finding five a day and I have found tonly three since Friday. Let's hope he got the rest of these bastards. Any of you guys in the south need to be DAMN SURE your dogs flea and tick medication actually works or you are in for a serious nightmare. I can't imagine how terrible this would be if I had carpet!!

[SteyrAUG]

Had a follow up treatment today. This time they went all out and I stayed and watched

Nuclear grade insecticide along every floorboard and underneath every piece of furniture including up curtains and window sills.

Nuclear grade insecticide outside on all of the bushes top and bottom as well as granules that act now and delay activation until rain.

Insecticide dust spread over, on, and in virtually every crevice is my home. Then a crazy industrial fogging to get them to come out and enjoy the dust.

If any of you are looking for a reasonably priced exterminator in the Tampa area, let me know. This guy did it by the book and has a stellar guarantee for very little cost.

I he's finding five a day and I have found tonly three since Friday. Let's hope he got the rest of these bastards. Any of you guys in the south need to be DAMN SURE your dogs flea and tick medication actually works or you are in for a serious nightmare. I can't imagine how terrible this would be if I had carpet!!

If you had carpets you'd be in a lot of trouble. Glad to hear things are coming under control. And yeah the "one a month" treatments really don't cut it in FL. All it takes is one really good rain and for your dog to get about a dozen ticks that you don't notice. They may not feed on your dog because of Advantex or whatever, but that won't stop them from hitching a ride inside your house on your dog.

This is why you need a repellent like Adams that is used regularly, that way they don't see your dog as a taxi.