I expect it to be a bad tick year here. I went out into the pasture about a week ago and found 5 small ticks when I returned.

Ticks,mosquitoes,flys I think it will be a bad year for all of them. I have used Bounce dyer sheets in the past to help,with mosquitoes, just put a few in your shirt and pants pockets,make sure they hang out of the pocket. It has to be the Bounce brand the others do not work. This may cut down on the need to us so much spray. Give it a try it cna't hurt.

I thought I ran into a swarm of those gnats in the back yard. You know those? I need glasses. They were mosquitoes! Thanks for the tip. I really hate the bug spray.

I don't think anything but DEET is going to work this year. There are just too many of them. They say avoid early morning and dusk. Uh, those are the only times I have. Fortunately it is not too awful to cover up as much as possible right now.

I sprayed a little and then gave up. when we spray for ticks we never see bugs that we really like, like the lightning bugs, walking sticks or preying mantis. what we do is check ourselves for ticks twice a day. when we come in, and then we shower and then later on that night. I can be sitting on our couch and end up with a tick--pets. I have read, but am not sure if this is correct, if you get a tick off you within 24 hours you care safe from disease.

I know a woman here who gets an antibiotic from a vet that she rubs on the bite and then add dmso to it so the antibiotic will penetrate into the skin. I have an antibiotic ointment that I plan on using. wish I knew if hers was doxycycline or some other kind. also it would be nice to have doxy on hand to take when bitten.

I've pulled 2 off me this year that were dug in and many others off myself, dogs, and wife that weren't. First one was a female lone star. That woke me up a bit. Last nightI I pulled the smallest one I've ever seen off a rather sensitive area. Not cool. I don't seem to have contracted anything yet so that's good news.

When I was much younger and hunted a lot I would use duct tape to tape my pant legs to the top of my boots and then use a strip of duct tape to drag across my clothes to stick to the ticks and remove them.

I have had 2 ticks on me and one on the wife last night. Backyard is swarming with mosquitoes. Todays rain isnt helping at all.

For the most part ticks have to feed for at least 24 hours before transmitting rocky mountain, lyme, or ehrlichiosis. I am not sure we know for sure about bourbon, but intuitively it should be similar. With kid's smaller surface area, it is reasonable to assume 12 hours for them. So frequent tick check are important. But take that with a grain of salt, as over half of patients with rocky Mountain spotted fever never remember even having a tick bite. I hate recommending deet, but this year I am recommending 20 percent deet to everyone tiddler size and above (Applied by spraying on a parent's hand and then having the parent rub it on the child's skin, and always washed off imediately after coming in). I just don't see a way to win against the ticks this year. And, unlike the winter when kids get fevers all the time from various cold viruses and are the fevers are rarely big deals, fevers in tick season should be treated very suspiciously, and a fever with a rash should be evaluated very promptly.

We treat the dog and cat religiously with Frontline and I still found a tick in my bed last night :/

Give pets the edibles or shots. Ticks have to bite but release immediately and die. Works for mosquitoes as well

for a long time I cooked for my dogs using left-over home made beef or chicken broth that contained healthy doses of cooked garlic and onions which I attribute to their bug-free existence and health. The last few months their diet has mostly been dry dog food ! I'm assuming it will take a while to rebuild their natural immune system. I might go buy otc treatments.

I used to work at a vet hospital for a few years - I know chemicals are terrible but one of the most effective treatments I've used and seen used is a topical treatment called Revolution. After it dries in the small area applied, it won't/can't be rubbed off onto plants or anything else, it's a 30 day treatment per dose. It's not a repellant, but it does very effectively kill parasites that attack. It's a bit pricy and requires a vet office visit to get - but has worked very well for me and others

I agree this will be a Deet year. ninagarsh, I use k9 advantiks it works very well and it is otc. Pricey but I works. This will be a fight the bugs year I'm afraid. I haven't actually seen to many ticks yet, I am sure they are coming.

Nina, do you know if revolution is okay to use near cats? I remember that some of them are toxic to cats, and since the cat sometimes grooms the dog I have been worried about that.

I keep hoping the floods will wash the ticks away, but I suspect the ticks are seeking refuge in trees above the floodwaters.

We'll see how it all plays out, but wet springs and summers usually lead to huge tick populations. Our chickens that free-range keep the ticks in the yard under control, but the dogs and cats roam our acreage and bring back ticks on them. I am on constant tick patrol.

I hope this new bourbon virus doesn't become as widespread as some of the other tick-borne viruses.