Ticks

[flrancho]

Earlier in the week we found a few ticks on our dogs. Not many, but enough that we rushed out and got tick collars and had the yard sprayed the other day. So far, we haven't seen any more. Never had a tick problem before.....

Anyway, can ticks pose a problem for finches?

[debbie276]

Never heard of them causing problems with birds but one of my dogs and I both had lyme disease. My husband had lyme 4 times now.
I hate ticks!

[cindy]

Resident Entomologist said the ticks found on dogs will not bother the birds unless it is a bird tick.

Flea collars are not 100% guaranteed to work and can have some allergic reactions for the dog....we use Sentinel, a heartworm and flea prevention all in one pill.

If you found fleas on your dog you need to treat the house, yard and dog at the same time.

My husband had Lyme disease also, he was out in the salt marshes in NJ while collecting moquito larve for his studies in Mosquito borne disease at Rutgers. He had the tick still attached and the bullseye started to develop. We saved the tick and he went straight to the doctors the next day and was treated. I know a few people that neglected to seek treatmment and they have a host of issues with joints and discomfort. Nasty protozoa.

Debbie, so sorry to hear your husband got it 4 times.

[debbie276]

We don't have very good luck with frontline, the ticks still draw blood on the dogs. We've since switched to k9 advantage and no more tick bites. Now if they would just make it for humans.

[flrancho]

Thanks all.

No flea problems, just ticks. Using a tick collar, not flea collar. One of our dogs is allergic to Frontline and Advantix, so we don't have those options. Doesn't have a problem with Advantage, but that is only supposed to work on fleas.

[cindy]

They have so many things on the market now, one of my dogs has a horrible reaction to comfortis, the other is fine on it. Some of the liquid treatments you put on the back of the neck caused skin reactions on one. Wish there was one magic pill that was safe and could work on fleas, ticks and heartworm!

While living upnorth and hiking our large dog would get ticks often. We would always check the ones we pulled off the dog since they can get Lyme disease also.

[debbie276]

Oops ... your right advantix not advantage

[kenny66]

mamal ticks dont effect birds. I understand however that there are a variety of bird specific ticks that some birds carry but can tolerate. There is a bit of an issue in Australia at the moment with the common brown ticking infesting the native flying fox (bat) population, which has no immunity to it. I have nursed orphaned bat babies on and off (bottle feeding) who lost their mothers to ticks. Apparently changes to topography and climate make the bats forage lower in the canopy so that the ticks waiting on top of grass stems can come into contact with the bats.