# Ticks



## Zebedee (Oct 3, 2007)

We have found two ticks on Grace in the last couple of days, and it appears there are a lot around this year in some areas.

There is conflicting advice on how to remove them, as it seems they can regurgitate nasties into the dog's (or your) bloodstream if they are gripped in the wrong way or painted with nail varnish remover or other such jollop.

The best remover we have found is  ::this one:: .

It's inexpensive, very easy to use and works a treat. It grips the tick without squeezing it, and with a twisting motion and a gentle pull we removed the two from Grace without breaking off the head.

Not pleasant for the dog, and even less pleasant if we get one ourselves, but we feel much more confident about dealing with the brutes using this gadget - in spite of its interesting name!!

Hope this helps someone.


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## sallytrafic (Jan 17, 2006)

Exactly the right one to use Zeb our vet uses them and we keep one pair in the dog box and another in the sun visor pocket.


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## johnandcharlie (May 2, 2007)

I've developed the knack of gripping them between finger and thumb nails, and giving them a quick anti-clockwise twist. Works almost every time, and Charlie doesn't usually make any fuss. It doesn't work after I've cut my finger nails though!


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## Zebedee (Oct 3, 2007)

sallytrafic said:


> Exactly the right one to use Zeb our vet uses them and we keep one pair in the dog box and another in the sun visor pocket.


Funny you should say that Frank as I intend to order another pair tomorrow for just the same purpose.

For those who don't know, when we say "pair" we are referring to the set of removers, which contains one tiny one _(for tiny ticks, would you believe)_ and a larger one for _(can you guess?? :lol: :lol: :lol: )_

By chance Grace had one very small tick and a huge one about the size of a pea. _(I'm surprised we didn't feel the big one sooner, even though she was long overdue for a trim.)_

Both gadgets worked a treat as I said.


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## Briarose (Oct 9, 2007)

Gosh they must be really hard to find on a Welsh.


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## litcher (Jul 24, 2006)

I use the same one - very effective. And the kids can then keep the (live) ticks in a shoebox and inspect them for the next hour. :roll: 

Viv


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## wakk44 (Jun 15, 2006)

Just received ours this morning,looks a very simple but effective thing,
just going to give both dogs a quick check as thet have both been clipped today so any of those nasties should be easier to spot.

Steve


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## aultymer (Jun 20, 2006)

Thanks for the link Zeb. 
We have in the past used whisky, vodka and tweezers for removing up to a dozen from our sons. We now realise that our sons would have appreciated drinking the alcohol to combat the effects of the stuff these beasties vomit into you when assailed the way we did!! 
Removers on order prior to a trip to North and West coast (prime sheep tick areas).


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## 104477 (May 13, 2007)

When I first met Chuck he was very poorly, handed to us by a German lady who found him, nursed him for the remaining part of her holiday and sort out a new home for him. Ticks must of had directions to him, the poor devil! Living in an agricultural part of Crete he was constantly getting them! the answer was to check him every day and remove the blighters before they had a good feed, followed by a shot of local(moonshine) Raki on the infested areas and one for me to get over the shock of how prevelent the problem was! Then again he was a very inquisitive dog!
The 2am wake up for a hedgehog, the 5am call for the mean tempered donkey and the "what happens if I chase the cockerell whilst holding his tail feathers in my teeth?" Just a glimpse at his thirst for knowledge. 
I have dined out on his escapades and miss him dearly, the tick removal? not at all! You need to know what to look for and how to do it, anything that makes it safer for the animal with the ease of owners use, as a bonus, gets my vote.


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## Fuzzyfelts (Apr 23, 2007)

I have a very long haired cocker spaniel who seems to hoover up ticks! I have used for years an old pair of green plastic nurses forceps to remove any ticks from him with great success. They are able to remove small ones that have only been on him for a little while and the big blighters that get missed in all his hair! He's never suffered any ill effects from them - just a small dab of Savlon on the site and that's all I do.


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## 101776 (Nov 13, 2006)

Having being brought up in Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) we used to either smother them in vasaline (they soon give up when they can't breathe or touch them with a ciggerette (not recommended on dogs)... all our local farm dogs used to go to a ' cattle dip' once a month - that helped!!

I think the tick remover gadget is a great idea, wish they had them when I lived in Rhodesia......

I have been told that if your dog has regular garlic in their food, it helps keep the ticks off..don't know if thats true or not....

My dog has very short hair, so despite his constant rummaging in long grass and rubbing his nose along the ground (very undignified for gt dane!) he has never (touch wood) picked one up.

However, he has recently been suffering from horried waxy brown coloured wax in one ear, and someone has told me it could be a mite picked up out of grass, apparently gundogs especially spaniels suffer from it a lot, and if they go to vet and have 'scrape' done it does not show this mite up.....I was advised to buy some Thornit powder, which I did, and yes it works, its cleared up a treat. (If not he would have been off to the vets quick sharp)

Hope your tick problems clear up quickly...


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## RichardnGill (Aug 31, 2006)

Vaseline apparantly is not recommended now as when the tick cant breathe it injects more of its horrible stuff into the animal which can cause infection.The removers are great.

Rolo has had 2 ticks, each time after been to the lakes they are disgusting things.

I use thornit which is called ear clear now i think for Rolos ears one of his gets really gunky.It is wonderfull stuff.


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## 101776 (Nov 13, 2006)

Thanks for that info about vasaline (diden't know that), and I was talking about 40 years ago when I was a youngster!!

Thanks for re affirming my faith in Thornit, it does seem to work. Can you tell me how long ie a week you use it for on average?? The instructioons were a bit vague.


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## Busty (Apr 3, 2008)

Someone posted on here a couple of weeks ago to put neat fairy liquid on ticks. I have used it on a stray dog i have now adopted and it works a treat.

Busty


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## Briarose (Oct 9, 2007)

Hi we too have used the thornitts on Megans ear and it did seem to dry it up, however when I mentioned using it to the vet he was not impressed at all..........can't remember what he said now but I felt a bit uncomfy LOL 

We were recommended to use it by the lady Megan came from.


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## RichardnGill (Aug 31, 2006)

bouncer said:


> Thanks for that info about vasaline (diden't know that), and I was talking about 40 years ago when I was a youngster!!
> 
> Thanks for re affirming my faith in Thornit, it does seem to work. Can you tell me how long ie a week you use it for on average?? The instructioons were a bit vague.


When Rolos ear is really bad i use it twice a day until it is clear then only once a week to keep the gunk at bay.

I ran out the other week and his ear was really bad again someone suggested on a lab forum to use white distilled vineger with cooled boiled water 50/50 mix and this also worked well.


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## RichardnGill (Aug 31, 2006)

Briarose said:


> Hi we too have used the thornitts on Megans ear and it did seem to dry it up, however when I mentioned using it to the vet he was not impressed at all..........can't remember what he said now but I felt a bit uncomfy LOL
> 
> We were recommended to use it by the lady Megan came from.


I wonder if this was just because you didnt get some expensive mixture from the practice.

My vets know now that i will try homepathic remedies before his.


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## Briarose (Oct 9, 2007)

RichardnGill said:


> Briarose said:
> 
> 
> > Hi we too have used the thornitts on Megans ear and it did seem to dry it up, however when I mentioned using it to the vet he was not impressed at all..........can't remember what he said now but I felt a bit uncomfy LOL
> ...


Well its funny you should say that :wink: I wondered the same, it wasn't actually our own Vet but last summer whilst on holiday in March Cambs, where they also charged me a fortune for a consultation.


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## Penquin (Oct 15, 2007)

Just a thought......

we are not dog owners but do know a few, we also know many people who go walking on Dartmoor - an area with a multitude of ticks I believe.

Should one carry these for *humans* as well as animals? I am conscious that these little beasties will bite unprotected legs but do not know, any advice please? I do know that they have to be "unscrewed" the right way or they leave bits of their anatomy behind which causes severe irritation. Just a thought. has anyone used them on themselves?


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## Kelcat (Apr 20, 2008)

Prevention is better than cure - try Advantix - does all the usual flea stuff & also ticks. We live & work in sheep farmimg country & so far Pushka has never got a tick despite walking 5-8 miles most days in open fields.


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## RichardnGill (Aug 31, 2006)

We use frontline but Rolo still gets them occasionally,but think it takes 24 hours to kill them from latching on.


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## Walmer (Mar 4, 2006)

Advantix is great as it repels ticks ie they never even latch onto the dog, but beware if you also own a cat, as Advantix is lethal to cats.

When we are In ireland and UK we use Frontline, as the cat is with us, but when we go to France we use Advantix, as poor Sasha (cat) stays at home!!

Hilary


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## Zebedee (Oct 3, 2007)

Penquin said:


> Just a thought......
> 
> we are not dog owners but do know a few, we also know many people who go walking on Dartmoor - an area with a multitude of ticks I believe.
> 
> Should one carry these for *humans* as well as animals? I am conscious that these little beasties will bite unprotected legs but do not know, any advice please? I do know that they have to be "unscrewed" the right way or they leave bits of their anatomy behind which causes severe irritation. Just a thought. *has anyone used them on themselves*?


Unfortunately not Penguin, but I most certainly will if I get one in future!.

I had a tick on my leg some years ago, and put neat washing up liquid on it - as suggested earlier by Bouncer. 8O

I didn't know any better at the time, and sure enough the tick fell off after about an hour, but shortly afterwards my leg began to swell and the itching was almost unbearable.

I had to go to the doctor in the end as it became a big angly purple patch, and needed treatment.

The doctor said I had done the worst thing possible by irritating the tick, which caused it to vomit (_the doctor's description_) back into my bloodstream, and had left its head in my leg - hence the infection.

Since you ask, I would base my advice on my own experience and suggest that you get an "O 'Tom" set, as in the link I posted at the start of the thread. If one had been available to remove the tick from my leg, I don't think I would have the scar now!! 8O 8O

They are very easy to use, and the head and legs came out intact on the two ticks we have so far removed from Gracie.

Hope this helps.


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## 107850 (Oct 23, 2007)

*Grace's ticks*


So Grace has ticks eh?

Is this your dog/cat/wife we are talking about?

Sorry, couldn't resist it. I know.... should have tried harder.

The reason it caught my eye is that we have three cats, a dog and a bolshy rabbit.

For the past three years two of the cats have attracted the unwelcome attention of what our vet eventually termed "Harvest Mites" which live in the woods at the back of the house.

The two cats are twins, Daisy and Forest (as in Gump - thick as a kitchen wall). Daisy gets it bad, and Forest doesn't seem to bother.

So far the only treatment has been pills and stuff from the vet.

One really bad side effect of the first attack of the killer mites was the first year they got them. I was bitten about 11 times under my arm and my partner about 6 times above the eyebrow.

They were very sore, swelled up and wept 'orrible stuff. Since then the cats have had them again but we now seem to be immune.

The rabbit doesn't give a monkey about them.


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## Zebedee (Oct 3, 2007)

*Re: Grace's ticks*



Fangio said:


> So Grace has ticks eh?
> 
> Is this your dog/cat/wife we are talking about?


This is Gracie.








Easy to tell them apart - Gracie is the one who rolls on her back to have her belly stroked! 8O 8O 8O 8O


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## zulurita (May 9, 2005)

O tom is what we carry with us and is great for removing ticks.

However this year we used Advantix and Jabulile didn't get one tick on her when we were in the South of France.

She did have one crawling on her from her walk along the canal at Joinville which I quickly removed (I hadn't started the Advantix at that stage as Frontline had been used) but nothing after tat in the whole 3 months so I think Advantix is pretty good. Regular checking is important.


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## 107850 (Oct 23, 2007)

*Re: Grace's ticks*

Ah! Yes. 
Now I see. Nice girl.
And I prefer Guinness as well

This is Gracie.








Easy to tell them apart - Gracie is the one who rolls on her back to have her belly stroked! 8O 8O 8O 8O[/quote]


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## autostratus (May 9, 2005)

There is growing concern at the increasing problem of ticks and the effects of Lyme disease in humans.

The rise has been fuelled by milder winters and urban sprawl bringing more people into contact with rural pests. The fashion for wildlife gardens - which has encouraged foxes, hedgehogs and badgers into towns - has also been blamed.

Infected ticks are most common in Exmoor, the New Forest, the South Downs, Thetford Forest, the Lake District and North York Moors.

This was highlighted again this last weekend:
http://www.bada-uk.org/wordpress/?p=330


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## MOB2 (Jun 17, 2007)

A few years ago we took our 2 Weimaraners to Scotland and they were both eaten alive with cattle ticks. Luckily, they came of with a brush down with a towel, but as soon as we came across a pet shop we bought one of these gizmo's (different make). It has sat in the back of the cupboard until last week. There was only 1 tick, but I was amazed how big it was and we hadn't spotted it on such short fur. The tick remover worked a treat on the revolting thing. The cattle ticks were small and black, but this one was white. Is that normally the case?


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## 107850 (Oct 23, 2007)

MOB2 said:


> A few years ago we took our 2 Weimaraners to Scotland and they were both eaten alive with cattle ticks.
> 
> Scotland is well known for its ticks and horse flies. I recall several years ago walking in the Argyll area hills. It is the only place in the world I have had to eat my sandwiches on the move! The flies were so persistent I could not even sit down - they were all over me like a rash.
> 
> Horrible things. Spoiled a good day out.


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## apxc15 (Dec 1, 2007)

Penquin said:


> Just a thought......
> 
> we are not dog owners but do know a few, we also know many people who go walking on Dartmoor - an area with a multitude of ticks I believe.
> 
> Should one carry these for *humans* as well as animals? I am conscious that these little beasties will bite unprotected legs but do not know, any advice please? I do know that they have to be "unscrewed" the right way or they leave bits of their anatomy behind which causes severe irritation. Just a thought. has anyone used them on themselves?


 I have a tick remover in the shape of a credit card shaped on 2 corners for large and small ticks. Fits neatly in the wallet. I don't have pets, it's for my use and I have used it. Southern Germany, France, Austria, Switzerland etc all have Tiks in the summer and they have a nasty habit of dropping out of trees onto their victims. Lhimes disease is carried by Tiks in these areas and the only trusted way to remove them is with a proper removing tool. Any other methods can make the Tick regurgitate its contents back into the victim, thus transmitting the disease. Some times you have to ask a "friend" to do the removing as they don't always attach themselves to you in a self reachable part of your anatomy. It's a good idea to check your scalp when you have been out walking as you can't feel them in your skin, due I think to some chemical they produce to deaden the area they are burrowing into.

Pete.


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## 88735 (May 9, 2005)

Hi

We removed a tick from Bertie our westie whilst combing him not sure it was completely removed.

Can anyone tell us what happens if the tick has not been fully removed and will we need to consult a vet.

Chris and Brenda


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## brillopad (Mar 4, 2008)

you need to soak the area with surgical spirit and keep an eye for infection. dennis


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## 88735 (May 9, 2005)

cheers Dennis

I'll get some tomorrow.

Chris and Brenda


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## Zebedee (Oct 3, 2007)

Even if the tick comes out cleanly there will be a small raised lump at the site of the bite.

It doesn't seem to worry the dog, and disappears after a while, but as Brillo says, just keep an eye on it in case of infection.

We put a dab of neat Dettol on Grace. Never had any further problems.

Dave


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## 121576 (Mar 22, 2009)

Zebedee said:


> We have found two ticks on Grace in the last couple of days, and it appears there are a lot around this year in some areas.
> 
> There is conflicting advice on how to remove them, as it seems they can regurgitate nasties into the dog's (or your) bloodstream if they are gripped in the wrong way or painted with nail varnish remover or other such jollop.
> 
> ...


Great item thank you,i have only seen them for sale in the netherlands,broke the last one removing a large one from ladys tummy in czech republic last year,it was like a young grape she was in a state of panic and jumped backwards breaking the device,had to be revived with a glass of besherovka,morning after some wag left a notice outside van.( PKs .painless tick removal.bring your own anesthetic,all good fun.  Also site you gave had good price for frontline.
Regards.
Peter Kean.


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## 88735 (May 9, 2005)

Hi

Cleaned the area with TCP, have checked the area today and all seems clear. Bertie seems to of had no side affects other that been off colour a week last Sunday, may be that was when he was bitten?

Chris and Brenda


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