Ticks! (Greenville: house, school, to live in)

[CoffeeAddict]

They're everywhere! We never had ticks up in Michigan, I lived there for 25 years, had dogs most of that time and never once did I find a single tick.

I've found several on the dogs and one on ME in the first week of being in Greenville. I also found one crawling up my bathroom wall.

Is this a common problem in SC? Or is my yard just infested?

Anyone have suggestions on how to keep them at bay? (aside from using Frontline on the dogs because I already do that)

[myrc60]

We find them on our cats sometimes. Worried that you are using medication and still they are getting on the dogs

[webbster]

Good God! One of the main reason we want to leave CT is get away from ticks! We all got lyme disease and cannot afford to get reinfected. Tell me, do you live in the city, suburbs, woods? is your yard fenced? At this point I would be worried if any tick bit me, deer tick or no.

[B&R]

From my experience May is by far the worst month for ticks, although June can be bad too. Give the birds a little time and they will get things under control. Keep the dogs out of the brush and tall grass and that will make a big difference. You have to check your dogs regularly. They will find the ticks without fail.

[jero]

Funny, I thought ticks could be found almost anywhere.
They're certainly a big problem though for us on the east coast.
Especially since I live in the woods, we find them all the time. It just becomes a fact of life you get used to it.

The other day I found one dead when I washed my dog, and then later I found one just starting to bite my leg. We put frontline on the dogs and it works pretty well. It does not stop them from biting, they still jump on and try to suck their blood but the poison kills them when they do. So you should find several dead or unattatched ones throughout the season.

At least your risk of Lyme's is low down in SC. So if you do get bit I wouldn't worry. As for keeping them away, I would recommend making sure your grass is cut short because they like to live in tall grasses. And don't walk in the woods where there are lots of moldy leaves on the ground, or if you do tuck your pants into your socks.

Very important: when you do find a tick make sure you kill it! They say to put them in a cup of alcohol but they can climb out (I just had this happen to me the other day, the little bugger is somewhere in the house now ). Cut it's head off first.

[webbster]

Also, we treat our yard with an insecticide you can find at home depot, called I think, Spectracide. We are not into Roundup or any chemicals around our house, but in this case, we have to make an exception. What type of ticks are you finding? Dog ticks, or small black ticks?

[Skyliner]

Originally Posted by CoffeeAddict

...
Is this a common problem in SC? Or is my yard just infested?
...

It sounds like you do have an infestation. Where all have you been in one week? This is definitely not normal for most of the area, unless you are further out in the rural "wilds" of SC. I am not the only person who has not yet seen a tick this year, though obviously others have seen more than one. As with any place you live, be sure to check yourself for ticks after walking through tall grass and brush in the more rural areas especially. Pets who have been in the uncut grass and under low hanging trees should also be checked thoroughly before coming back into the house.

I hate ticks with a malicious passion, yet I can assure you all that this is not a serious problem unless YOU allow it to "bug" yourself to death with unnecessary worry.

[CoffeeAddict]

I do have taller grass in my yard. I just bought the house, I live in the city, but it backs up to a small wooded area, the previous owners let the backyard get pretty wild and so it hasen't been mowed in some time. There's also a think layer of dead leaves on the ground.

I didn't know that made a big difference in the amount of ticks you'll find. (I know nothing about ticks!) I can't avoid letting the dogs go through it because the layout of the yard is weird and flows right into the front part.

Grrrr. Sounds like it's just me then, because of my jungle in the backyard. I don't know how I'm going to get this under control. The yard project is more then I can handle right now, so I'm not sure how to tackle the tick problem before I plow through the yard. Sigh.

[guestposter24]

At my school somebody went in the woods and found about 6 on them. I found two in my hair AFTER I washed it!

[Frankie117]

Ticks are everywhere, its just part of life. Ticks enjoy short grass just as much, I let the dog out in the yard after it is mowed and she still comes back loaded. Sometimes I'll find a few here and there, especially after being around trees. There are different kinds of ticks, deer ticks (big green ones) are rather nasty.

Remember that when you do find a tick, don't flush it down the toilet because it'll just come right back up, your best bet is to use a little heat (lighter). Then you can flush the little buggers.