To all dog owners: Beware ticks are about and quite big

To all dog owners, beware Ticks are about and quite big, just got one off one of my dogs.

Interesting can I ask where have you walked the dogs recently ,just trying to build a picture of where to avoid.

hi unfortunatly they are everywhere. i walked my dogs in waste land in quesada then in dona pepa,now live in dolores and have the same problem. anywhere theres bushes, flowers, trees you will get ticks. usually i get them a scalibor anti tick collar in april for the summer, but a little late this year, will order them this wk online tho as much cheaper

Sector 3 and 4 in Dolores.

Liz & Gordon wrote:Interesting can I ask where have you walked the dogs recently ,just trying to build a picture of where to avoid.

Our dog got a big tick last week (Monday) after walking in bushes in scrub area along road to Consume. Luckily he has white short hair so could easily spot it...

This was sent to me last week, worth a try.

Repellent for your pets:

For pets, add 1 cup of water to a spray bottle, followed by 2 cups of distilled white vinegar. Ticks hate the smell and taste of vinegar, and will be easily be repelled by this ingredient alone. Then, add two spoonfuls of vegetable or almond oil, which both contain sulfur (another natural tick repellent).

To make a repellent that will also deter fleas, mix in a few spoonfuls of lemon juice, citrus oil, or peppermint oil, any of which will repel ticks and fleas while also creating a nicely scented repellent. Spray onto the pet's dry coat, staying away from sensitive areas including eyes, nose, mouth, and genitals. When outdoors for an extended period, spray this solution on two to three times per day

Be careful of ticks, although tiny they can carry a serious disease called Lymes disease which can bring a human down very quickly causing serious illness. Do not try and pull off unless you know what you're doing as the head can become detached from the body and remain embedded in the skin causing another infection. In the UK can you buy a tick removing tool, just a small plastic device which does the trick, not sure if they are available in Spain. (if you need to remove and have no other means of doing so, then use a pair of woman's eyebrow tweezers and gently grip as close to the skin as possible and twist firmly but gently anticlockwise pulling up at the same time, don't yank)

Once they have gorged themselves on the blood of the host they drop off, then when needing another feast climb up a blade of grass or bush the sit and wait for the next meal to come along and so the cycle goes on. When not full of the hosts blood they are tiny and only become visible when the stomach enlarges with the blood of the victim. (sounds like a vampire story but unfortunately true)

Animals can get serious infections as well so best removed using any of the previously mentioned methods.

Parle wrote:Be careful of ticks, although tiny they can carry a serious disease called Lymes disease which can bring a human down very quickly causing serious illness. Do not try and pull off unless you know what you're doing as the head can become detached from the body and remain embedded in the skin causing another infection. In the UK can you buy a tick removing tool, just a small plastic device which does the trick, not sure if they are available in Spain. (if you need to remove and have no other means of doing so, then use a pair of woman's eyebrow tweezers and gently grip as close to the skin as possible and twist firmly but gently anticlockwise pulling up at the same time, don't yank)

Once they have gorged themselves on the blood of the host they drop off, then when needing another feast climb up a blade of grass or bush the sit and wait for the next meal to come along and so the cycle goes on. When not full of the hosts blood they are tiny and only become visible when the stomach enlarges with the blood of the victim. (sounds like a vampire story but unfortunately true)

Animals can get serious infections as well so best removed using any of the previously mentioned methods.

I was reading (and it sounds gruesome!) that it's really important that the tweezers, or even if using your fingers like tweezers over a tissue, must be gripped right down to the head of the tick - As said above - As close to the dogs skin as possible.

always thought lymes was caused by rats, another trick is hand soap on a cotton bud, lay it where tick is and it comes out onto cotton bud.

sorry rats carry wells, not lymes