You can dust your house with boric acid (necessary) and baking soda (less necessary). Rake it into the carpet and be sure the dust gets into corners of any uncarpeted floors. Leave it down as long as you can stand it (maybe a week). Then sweep up as much as you can. Any that stays in the carpet will be fine.

In the yard the ticks live in the ground during the winter and in the shrubs or wood the rest of the year. During the winter you can spray the soil and mulch with beneficial nematodes to kill them in the ground. At this time of year you can spray the grass, wood, and shrubs with spinosad. Green Light makes an organic product with spinosad.

Thanks so much - I have just laid down the boric acid and now looking at getting Green Light spinosad

Don't you treat the dogs for something for heartworm prevention?

I just realized someone asked me a question about heartworm prevention. Heartworm prevention does not kill ticks, it kills the microfilia of heartworm and heartworm only. Frontline is used to kill ticks. They are both poisons. I do not use either on my dogs. I keep my dogs immune systems strong with a natural diet, and keep the yard mowed, trimmed, no standing water that attracts mosquitos etc. etc. Ticks still seem to target my new adopted dog, but not the other.

i'm always interested in ideas for tick control. but studies of nematodes used for this purpose have shown that they are really only effective against female ticks already engorged with blood -- ticks that already have bitten someone/something. they are not effective against nymphs that are the most likely ticks to bite humans (or dogs) and transmit Lyme disease. lyme vaccines for humans have been withdrawn but vaccines for dogs are available and work -- i speak as a dog owner who had a dog fall contract lyme and it wasn't pretty.

as for refusing to treat your dog with heartworm perventive, in all due respect i think you have your head in the sand. no "immune boosters" will save your dog if it is bitten by an infected mosquito -- which can fly in from anywhere no matter how conscientious you are in your own yard. it only takes one bite and the disease is horrible.

(89 percent of the dogs rescued from katrina and shipped north were infested with heartworm according to our state veterinary association, which helped fund the rescues.) i'll bet those owners didn't think they needed preventives, either.

The observations on beneficial nematodes and ticks is that they are only effective in the winter when the ticks are still living in the soil. These ticks are not yet actively biting. When the temps heat up, the ticks start to climb up the grass blades and plants to wait for passing creatures. At that point, the beneficial nematodes can no longer reach the ticks. Around here we apply BN in late January, which is considered to be late winter - the early blossoming trees (cherry???) are just coming out.

dchall -
that's weird. the latest studies i have seen say the nematodes are extremely sensitive to colder temperatures and ineffective from autumn on.

I would think that the temperatures/times of the year at which nematodes, etc. are effective against things depends very much on WHERE you are located in this country. In most of the US above, say, NC, late autumn would be the limit of usage, while in FL or southern TX, I would think you could use things in the ground almost all year around. Ask your Extension agent to be sure.

Free-roaming POULTRY is a great tick preventive--particularly, Guineas--which are said to eat the tiniest of ticks (though I believe ordinary chickens do the same). Of course, this pretty much requires a very rural setting--particularly having Guineas. For those unaware. Guineas never really are "domestic", compared to most domestic poultry. They won't go in a henhouse to roost at night, nor will they lay their eggs in a henhouse (they prefer a briarpatch--though, fortunately, for egg gatherers, they don't go in too far). They roost in trees about the yard (their only concession to humans, other than allowing themselves to be fed in close proximity of humans). But, if a watchdog mentality is what you're after, Guineas are your 'fowl of choice". They emit the most outrageous hollering and squawking if anything disturbs them while on the roost, at night--way too loud and obnoxious for an urban/subarban setting.

"Heartworm prevention does not kill ticks, it kills the microfilia of heartworm and heartworm only. Frontline is used to kill ticks. They are both poisons. I do not use either on my dogs. I keep my dogs immune systems strong with a natural diet, and keep the yard mowed, trimmed, no standing water that attracts mosquitos etc. etc."

What an extremely distressing and sad statement to read.

I think you've answered your own question - ticks do like mulch. I've heard some types are more attractive than others.

I know I've heard a number of remedies for ticks in the yard, can't quite recall where - probably on a dog-discussion list. It may be a matter of trial and error (and persistence) to see which are effective.
And I noticed a 'mosquito barrier' product says: "Garlic has a natural sulfur which deters insects, including mosquitoes, ticks and fleas."

good luck,
s.

I know these postings are almost 2 years old, but after reading the first one about raking boric acid into ones carpet to kill ticks, I just have to say PLEASE don't do that if you have pets or sit on your carpet! Boric acid is highly toxic to the eyes or if it's inhaled. If you search on it, you'll see. I recommend double-checking things on line to see if you can find collaboration before acting on it (especially when the word "acid" is in the name).

Some mulches actually deter ticks. Pine or cedar bark nuggets (not shredded) are difficult for ticks, especially the nymphs, to traverse, making beds of this type of mulch an excellent deterent.

There are fewer places in the US that have more ticks than Putnam County in NY. I live in the town of Kent, 65 or so miles north of NYC. Got more ticks than I got days to live.

My son has had Lyme twice. Ditto for the dog.

However, as we discovered the Lyme early with my boy early, because of symptoms, the dog was another story.

Used to use Frontline for the pup. That was 2 years ago. You will notice after application that the dog is not his or her self for a period of at least 24 hours. That's because they are being poisoned.

So you give then something that will kill ticks when they bite them. Therefore, there must be poison, or whatever term the manufacturer deems appropriate to sell their product to you, in your dog's blood to kill the ticks.

Is it even possible that this product, which is absorbed into your beloved animal's bloodstream, could not be harmful to him/her? I will wait while you think about it...

Answer: Uh, yeah. Like big time.

My dog is 12. He got Lyme twice, in a place where the chances are better than almost anywhere.

Will take my chances without Frontline. Will stick to organic sprays for him and not slowly poison him every 6 months.

You might want to consider the same, if you truly love your pet...

Please treat your poor dogs.
Way more than you ever wanted to know about ticks link below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Nasty stuff.

Milky spores work good in the South

downsouth1993, I would be interested to hear more about what kind of healthy diet you feed your dog and did I read right, that you don't give him Heartworm medication? I am considering these issues for my dog and would love to hear more about your experiences.

We recently pjurchased a flea, tick & mosquito treatment for our family dog. Our major concern is ticks which he seams to pick up frequently. But upon reading the warnings I noticed it cations that cats that actively groom or engage in close physical contact with treated dogs may be at risk of "serious harmful effects". Our dog has a pet cat that he actually shares his bed with. This is the FAMILY dog! We also have a 6 month old baby. My obvious concern is if this product is so dangerous for the cat...how about the rest of us?! The product is called SENTRY PRO. I have not applied it yet and am hesitant to. Are the risks of the poduct greater than the risk of desease from ticks? I have been trying to find an organic substitute. Does anyone have any recomendations? I would GREATLY apprecitate any feed back. Thank you!

I don't know about the dog, however, I have just read that fireants! help to control tick populations. Look for a website for alternative vet. medicine for your dog. I don't know if diatomaceous earth would work for ticks (does for fleas) but it's worth a try.

Ticks like moisture, and this year in the South we've had record rainfall (and tornadoes). Answer to your tick problem" DUCKS. They eat them.

I test for adult heart worm. I get a negative result, Then I use a mosquito barrier of garlic, then test for microfiliaria every 90 days like clock work. Because it takes 5-7 months for adult heart worm to form, if I get a positive for microfilaria, I treat then. This way I'm not subjecting my dogs to monthly poison that isn't alway effective anyway.

Possums eat ticks. (Look up "Possums eat ticks" on Google :)

Ticks, galore, in the Baltimore/Washington area this year. Climate change brought us the warmest winter in history (and the warmest year, actually), plenty of insects, plus ticks, wintered over comfortably. EXPECT THE SAME FOR THE FUTURE, especially if there's a science denying idiot in the White House and a Congress in the pockets of the fossil fuel industry. We're experiencing tree-killing insects that have never ventured this far north in the past, ditto with insects on field crops and vegetable crops, etc. As we allow our planet to be destroyed and our lives and our property endangered by radical storms, hurricanes, droughts, and earthquakes--the result of a warming planet--expect PESTILENCE, also.

Lyme disease in dogs responds quickly to antibiotics and can be combatted with a vaccine. But that's not the only (or worst) disease transmitted by ticks. There's anaplasmosis (formerly known as erlichia) that causes a blood disorder killing off red blood cells. My dog unfortunately contracted this from a tick bite. Normal blood countfor dogs, around 40. Hers, 48 hours after symptoms appeared, 15. Her life hung in the balance for months. The treatment was very expensive. She recovered, but was never the same, debilitated and crippled for the rest of her days. Protect your dogs, people, and yourselves. Permethrin sprays for your shoes, socks and pant legs (NOT SKIN) can keep them off and has the endorsement of the Tick-Borne Disease Alliance. Topical treatments and Lyme vaccines for the dog. Sprays, not for the lawn, but any high vegetation.

Guineas are great for ticks,fleas & some ants.They do lay with chicken in hen house & some of my Guineas roost in hen house.

Ducks are good too.

I am all for natural, but when it comes to ticks, it is all out biowarfare. My dog died from lyme disease, which we were told was easily treatable and that dogs could overcome, well, they were wrong on both counts.

I use Frontline Plus, and it works and my dog still got lyme. I never saw a tick or a flea, so if the chemical stuff isn't going to stop it completely, I doubt some all natural stuff is going to work wonders.

You have to remember it is not just your dog, and that it is your family that can get a tick and get lyme or another disease that are very hard to treat and in humans, there is no cure, if not caught early, and it is still questionable about if they really cure it.

I use chemicals on my dog, I loved my dog to pieces, This was what I deemed the best thing to prevent her and myself from getting sick, and I would do it all over again. I never had a problem with her acting weird for 24 hours, ever. If you have that problem, then you should see your vet ASAP. As with any medication, pesticide, whatever, some animals and people will have reactions, you have to use your head, and the brain God gave you.

If you contract lyme and I hope you never do, you will really understand where I am coming from.

As for heartworm, it is a must. I don't really know of any alternative. I would be interested in an all natural approach if one exists and actually works. Natural and less toxic is always the best but sometimes, that is not going to cut it, and when it comes to ticks, I say add some of those things, but don't stop with the things that really work.