Springtime wood ticks, and fleas I explain how to remove them & a list of tasks of how to protect your pets.

  This blog's subject is Woodticks and how to reduce the threat, first I'd like to acknowledge the passing of Art Bell who passed away on Friday, April 13, 2018.

  Art Bell passed away yesterday, he was 72 years old. Not everyone knows who Art Bell was, I met him at 11 pm every night while at work in the 1980's. He had a radio talk show, he did most of the talking, his show was a bit odd but very interesting and one took best with a grain of salt. In those days we weren't so concerned with political parties, conspiracy theory's, or cussing out one another on a national radio or television program. He talked about the paranormal, aliens, space invasions, and HAARP, on occasion. I worked in a heavy steel fabrication shop as a shop Ironworker, it was loud, hot, and very hard work, but we could listen to the radio while we worked, with earphones. So we did, it was fun listening to some of the stuff he would come up with, he was a real entertainer, some compare him to the personalities of today and the unrest a lot of us feel. Art Bell was not that, he did not try to convince the listener to part with their way of thinking and join him, no we were all half of the way there already. He was a real "did you hear what Art Bell was talking about tonight?" It's a great memory, he had a great show.
  I tell people when they ask me about sitting on my deck with my camera aimed outbound "what are you doing?" I generally tell them I'm on the lookout for any of three things, Bigfoot to come walking by, a Mountain Lion to come walking down the Levee, or some sort of water monster to show it's massive form. Once in a while, I will say I'm preparing for an attack from a foreign power to assemble in the pasture across the slough because we all know how strategic a location our little Island is.

Maybe I should set some Fritos out or something.

Actually, I sit there taking videos of all of the creatures that I co-exist alongside and drink my coffee with Swiss Miss in it. I also play with Skunkpuppy, she and I share a few medical conditions, it seems like every dog I have ever had develops my ailments. If I'm limping it's not long until the dog limps if I'm tired by George she's tired also. She is not well, she has seizures from some liver or kidney condition, I don't really understand what it is, she takes medication every day. My wife and I take care of her, we rescued her from under a dumpster in Fresno when she was about a month old. Last year she had a serious run in with ticks, and fleas, we ended up treating her with the oral flea repellent and finally, all of the buggers left.
  A larger problem than that was where did she pick them up, we live in a semi-rural area, there is a lot of pasture, open spaces, and overgrown weeds. We have a man taking care of our lawn, I asked him this morning to weed whack (isn't that what everyone calls it?") part of the empty lot next door. The weeds were about two feet high and still growing, ticks, and fleas love that stuff. It dries out and turns golden brown, we could water it to keep it green but it does nothing to discourage the ticks. It's time for us to again take a look at our residences from the perspective of our pets, Cats do get the same fleas, and ticks as Dogs do, and the bugs are detrimental to their health. So what can we do to prepare for the dry tick infested summer?
  Spring is nice, rain, green grass, flowers, and preparing the garden as well as spending a lot of time outside. Ticks love the spring also, not just the spring they are active mostly from March to September, their busy season is April, May, and June. Living in low lying weeds and vegetation they climb to the top, it better enables them to grab a passerby for a bite to eat. There are two wide classifications of ticks, "hard-body", and "soft-body". Ixodidae family members have hard outer bodies called a scutum. Soft ticks do not have a scutum and are members of the Argasidae family. Hardbody ticks more commonly prey on our pets, Softbody ticks common in the Southwest, are found in the ears of pets where the skin is thinner.

Four stages of a ticks life, there are 850 different species.

Not able to jump the ticks must find a different way to attach to a host, blades of grass, bush limbs, tumbleweeds, and decorative plants are all vehicles for the nymphs, the first stage of a ticks life. They must find a host to be able to complete their life cycle, after filling with blood they drop to the ground and complete their second stage, they molt. Becoming eight-legged nymphs they then lie waiting for another host to support them and once again they gorge on blood. They prefer large animals such as Coyotes, Raccoons, and Possums, a small household pet fits the bill just fine, they drop to the ground once again. Now they are on the hunt for a larger animal, deer, cows, large dogs, and animals of that size, this is where they not only feed but they reproduce as well, completing their life's work.
  The American Dog tick, the Lone Star Tick, and the Blacklegged Tick are the common varieties that cling to our pets, there are over 850 species of Ticks. I will thin it out a bit
   *The American Dog Tick: AKA, Woodtick, found in grassy fields, walkways and trails feeding on warm-blooded animals as a host which is needed for them to move up to the next stage of their development. They are able to survive for up to two years without a host. They carry diseases, such as the "Rockie Mountain Spotted Fever". (Link to diseases carried by ticks)
   *The Lone Star Tick: Widespread in the South Central and South Eastern United States, it has in recent years moved North as far as Iowa. Recognizable by the white dot on the back of the full-grown adult female. The adults prefer large animals and the immature nymphs prefer much smaller prey, they are found in long grass as well and carriers of many diseases, they do not carry Lyme Disease.
  *The Blacklegged Tick: This is the "Deer Tick", or sometimes referred to as the "Bear Tick", and these are the Lyme Disease carriers. Living two years in mostly woody, brushy areas with lots of undergrowth the nymph is about the size of a poppy seed, the adult about 1/8 inch or smaller, all deer ticks can transmit Lyme Disease during all stages of their lives.

The "Black Legged Tick" is the Deer Tick, it is very small.

  They do attach themselves to humans, after being outdoors it is prudent to check your clothing and your body. Disrobe in a dry shower stall or bathtub to enable any ticks to fall to the deck where they can be seen and easily disposed of. If a tick has attached itself to a human body, meaning it is now intent on you being its host enabling it to continue its life's destiny, remove it as follows:

 1)  With a fine tipped tweezers grasp the Tick as close to the skin as possible, pull with an even constant pressure, do not jerk or pull hard, it can cause the mouth to fall off and stay in the skin. If that happens, remove the head with the tweezers, if it cannot be accomplished leave it alone and let the skin heal.

  2)  Clean the area completely with rubbing alcohol, iodine, or soap and water, immediately wash your hands with warm soap and water after cleaning the bite area.

  3) If you have to deal with a live tick dip it in alcohol, place it in a ziplock plastic bag and wrap it in tape, or flush the tick down the toilet, never smash a tick with your fingers, they carry pathogens that no folk remedies will be successful against. Burning, detergent, petroleum jelly, or coating with polish are all done in vain.

  One task we can perform is to keep our lawns and fields trimmed, as best we can. There is a lot of talk about landscaping that does not need to be watered, it's a good point especially in the drought-prone South Western U.S. In areas where the wind blows the grass on our Levee keeps the dust to a minimum inside the house. It is amazing how dusty living next to water is, everything is dusty, along with the dust is pollen, and with the pollen is human suffering. Just keep it cut, take a look around and eliminate as much overgrowth as possible.
  Diatomaceous Earth, made from fossilized small water organisms called diatoms, their skeletons are made of silica, they accumulated in the mud and sediments of ancient lakes, rivers, streams, and oceans, there is a lot of it mined.
(Follow this Link for an explanation of Diatomaceous Earth)
  It's used in pet nutrition products, bed bug killing sprays, rodent sprays, and many other products. It may be used to rid the area around your home of ticks and fleas, with a garden spreader distribute the Diatomaceous Earth completely covering your yard, reapply after each rain. Apply extra heavy on your stoops, steps, and house entryways, it may be used on the animal's fur as well. It is the consistency of talcum powder, wear goggles, rubber gloves, and a respirator while applying it. The DM is extremely fine and absorbent, it kills the bugs by drying them out, it removes the moisture from them, it is also effective against ants. Some people spread it along the outside of their tents while camping to keep all sorts of bugs out, not just ants.
  If we gain control of ticks and fleas early in spring our chances of successfully keeping our pets free of them is greatly increased. Keep the grass and weeds cut to the lowest possible level, bathe your animals with tick and flea soap, use diatomaceous earth where feasible, and check your body and your pets for ticks, remove them as soon as possible.
  Thank you for reading and sharing my blog, leave a comment letting me know about your experiences.
jacquesandkate  EmergencyKitsPlus.com