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I said *Yard* not *land*,treat the area close to your home where the dog goes, up to about 50 feet.
The product we use is Seven, it kills many lawn bugs.
I think people assume everyone lives in town or the suburbs
We have 23 acres, so I get what you're saying. Not only is treating not feasible but not safe if there is livestock in your pasture.
If you own pasture, you're going to have to keep it bushogged to not only keep it in grazing condition but that will help keep the tick, flea population down.
We do have about 1/8th acre of fenced backyard and treat that on particularly bad flea years.
If you have carpet, you may have to have a professional come in and bomb the house. That means you folks and all the animals leaving for the day.
Having any sort of flooring that isn't carpet, helps a lot.
Buy a strong flea/tick shampoo, even if you have to buy it from the vet.
Sergeants always had a good shampoo but I can't find it anymore. All our WalMart carries is Adams.
We retired to Middle TN from the OH/PA border. Some things were quite an adjustment. I nearly threw up the first Spring I found ticks on my horses but I've gotten used to looking for, and removing them.
If your dog is outside a lot, you will have to check more frequently for ticks, since she goes into the woods. Ticks don't die in the cold months, they simply burrow further into the ground. That means you may see them on your Shepherd in the winter, along with the fleas
My Dachshund mix has been a tick magnet the last few weeks (tick season), and my wife had me rub him down with cedar oil to see if that would keep the ticks away. He now smells like cedar wood chips (actually, an improvement over musky hound smell), and has been tick-less for the last few days.
We use Advantage - The one that treats ticks as well. My mom uses it for her animals and we live on 130 acres, it works.
Never had an issue, its pretty oily though. We put it on, then make the dogs wear their bandannas for a few days. Keeps you from accidentally rubbing your hands in it when you pet them.
I'm surprised no one's mentioned food grade diatomaceous earth for eliminating the fleas inside your house. I bought some on Amazon. A little goes a long way, it's not that expensive, and it works really really well. Just apply it a few times to the dogs bedding and to your floors and you should eliminate your indoor problem. Supposedly you can dust your dog with it and even put a little in it's feed to prevent the fleas from getting on the dog, but I haven't done that. The only disadvantage to diatomaceous earth that I can think of is that it may damage the vaccuum cleaner when used long term. Frankly, I'd rather buy a few cheap vaccuums than deal with indoor fleas.
Tennessee dog owner here. Trifexis works amazing on our Lab for multiple things including fleas. It won't address ticks but she has never had flea #1 and our farmette has lots of animals.
We live in a rural area too. Although our property is large, and fenced, I take them off leash for runs in the woods and fields often. In 13 years with 2 dogs at a time not one has been bitten by a snake which is exactly as I would expect.
So treating my yard won't work either. I have had great luck with the topicals. Frontline and Advantage are very expensive, I found a Hartz at a discount store that is working great.
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