Tuesday 24 April 2012

TICK, TICK, TICK ....BOOM!

I apologise in advance to all those experienced homesteaders and country folk out there for whom ticks are just an annoying inconvenience that happens every summer and who will think me an ex-city-dwelling, drama queen.  For me, first-time dog owner and new tropical gardener, they were something of an unseen, and unknown, Nemesis lurking in the long grass.

Having finally gotten around to clearing a new patch of grass that had stood as tall as me (possibly taller), for many months, I was pleased with the new open area....the dogs however, were nothing short of jubilant. This newly cut grass was the dog equivalent of catnip. They jumped, rolled and cavorted from dawn 'til dusk and then headed home. I noticed a week or two later that George was scratching rather a lot, so decided to investigate - horror of horrors - he was covered in ticks!!  Big ticks, little ticks, tiny ticks - I have never seen one up close and personal (in fact I'd never seen one at all but recognised them from a recent feature by a fellow blogger.)

Out came the tick & flea shampoo and a good bath.....WRONG MOVE APPARENTLY!! The ticks only seem to get worse and HUGE.  "Do not attempt to pull them off" say all the instructions, this will only cause them to regurgitate the contents of their entire self into the dog's bloodstream (gross!) resulting in a potentially very sick, or even dead, dog!  What utterly hideous creatures - the more I read, the more every part of me itched at the thought of them....I read about prevention and natural remedies but somehow this seemed to be an urgent and desperate time that called for desperate measures. I apologise again, this time to all my fellow herbalist, naturapaths and DIY remedy experts - I confess I panicked and called the vet who came and administered a commercial brand of evil chemical tick killer....but it wasn't over by any means and the worse was yet to come.

The following morning where George had slept on the verandah, walked several ticks, as though out for a morning stroll - the rats were abandoning the sinking ship (mixed metaphors? - rats, ticks - the concept is the same)....utter revulsion engulfed my usual calm demeanour and "laissez-faire" approach and George was quarantined and confined to his pen whilst the mother of all clean-ups begun. (Don't despair dog lovers, his pen is some 15ft x 15ft square with a 4ft high lattice surround - it's a rather pleasant holding cell with a distant sea view and a paddling pool).

I scrubbed, cleaned and washed down every thing in sight. I gathered all visible signs of ticks or tick-like life (including an errant jumbo oat flake and an apple seed) and destroyed them.....and yes, I used a chemical spray, but confined to a bucket with a lid on - a makeshift tick gas chamber.  I am not proud of myself - these creatures caused all my ethics to be lost in an instant - live and let live, stay natural, ban chemicals....how easy it is to slide when you find the one thing that makes your flesh crawl and your scalp itch at the mere idea of them!

The oddest part in all this was the fact that Ilsa had no ticks at all - they do EVERYTHING TOGETHER, and go EVERYWHERE TOGETHER - so how was she unscathed in all of this?

The vet said, "perhaps George has had an encounter with a frog?"......."perhaps"?  there is no perhaps about it, George adores teasing and tormenting frogs, no matter how often I chastise him, many evenings he returns home with the tell-tale foaming of the mouth where he has gotten too close and been squirted by one of the many huge frogs or toads that we have here.  Ilsa on the other hand, will watch and bark but will never touch the frog.
 "So....", enquired I of the vet, "what has the frog got to do with ticks?"
"Frogs have ticks" says the vet, "and if George has been playing with frogs, there is a high chance he will pick up ticks from them"....
"who knew?".....not I, for sure.

Whilst I momentarily lost my cool on the discovery of these heinous creatures, I cannot begin to contemplate harming, destroying or driving out the entire frog population from an acre of bush and storm drains. George seems to be undeterred by any of the usual punishments and continues to stalk and terrorise the local frog population. 

HAPPY CONCLUSION: it's been two weeks since the last tick sighting and both Ilsa and George's coats are clear and glossy - George has stopped itching and calm has returned to Happy Hippy Haven and the whole place is as shiny as a new pin.....but what next?  I've tried to keep the grass low, but having Trevor the gardener come when he says he will is one bit of magic that I haven't found a spell for....and widespread spraying is out of the question. 

12 comments:

  1. Unfortunally, ticks are bad for people too. The only thing too do is get the pill (Comfortis..? spelling) that you give them by mouth. Better than them dying. It is for fleas but keeps the ticks off our dogs...I keep my grass down, but still have ticks!!

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  2. Thank you Dorothy - I will look into the use of Comfortis, as the reality is dawning that whilst I may be able to reduce the risk, I will never be able to eradicate the ticks completely.

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  3. Gross! I try to stay chemical free but ticks are not to be messed with. Glad everyone is alright!

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    1. Thank you Mary - the dogs are fine and I managed to avoid any real contact with the hideous critters. I've since had many suggestions of natural remedies from fellow bloggers and realised that I probably posted a list of possible herbal homemade sprays some time ago myself, so will check these out. Apparently, an infusion of rosemary and vinegar is pretty effective.

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  4. Ticks are disgusting, I completely relate to trying to get rid of them with any means necessary. When I was a kid my step-sister ended up with a tick in her hair after a day judging lambs at a 4-H competition. It grossed all of us out and I am sure she never got over it.

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    1. Thanks for the understanding, sympathy and empathy - I did feel badly about it but they totally grossed me out too!! My sister even dreamt of them after I told her about them - yukky things! Fingerscrossed that this particular experience has been "learnt" and no further lessons are necessary :S

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  5. Why are there ticks? And fleas? And mosquitos? Ugh, we could do without all those and I'd be happy! Glad everything is better, fingers crossed for you.

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    1. Thanks 1st Man. One has to assume that they do have SOME purpose, but I haven't mananged to figure it out as yet - they seem to do no good (that I know of)?

      Anyway, for now...all is well. Hope things are going to plan and that you have found a solution to your dead tree. Have a great day!

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  6. Long ago when dinosaurs roamed, my family lived in Pennsylvania, where ticks were a big problem. After hiking in the woods, my brother and I would have our dog lay down on the concrete slab in front of the garage and we'd pick dozens (hundreds?) of the things off him and burn them in a nice little matchstick fire in an ashtray. We rarely picked them off ourselves. I don't recall finding bloated ones on him, because we checked him often. Yes, we pulled them off; I don't recall if we used twizzers, and we never had a problem because of removing them. This dog liked to go after frogs too, but I think most came off foliage. Nasty little buggers. Hope you have the problem under control.

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    1. HAHAHA Pat! George certainly seem to have them on every inch of his neck and back. Eureka! Not a single tick in sight since the lethal drug was administered and both dogs are extraordinarily happy and lively.

      Sadly, both still frog-stalking and brought home a possum (deceased; may he rest in peace), night before last, so keeping a close eye on them.

      Really don't want to be seeing these nasty critters again, any time soon! Hope all is great in your neck of the woods : )

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  7. OHMYGOSH I hate ticks, we had them in MI and everyone of our kids and our dog managed to have a run in with them. Frogs have ticks!!!! WHAT! I thought frogs ate bugs.
    Time to get chickens or guinea hens, they eat the buggers.

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    1. HAHAHA! Still no sign of any new ones. Fingerscrossed!

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