Saturday, May 20, 2017

Tall grasses

With all the rain we've had in the past few weeks, the grass has really grown. I've mowed our grass a few times, but the tall grasses out in the fields among the vineyards have really taken off. And it's tick season and there are a lot of them this year. Not so much a problem for us (although we are careful), but for the dogs and cat it's a real pain.

I imagine that the deer and foxes (and other wildlife) are not enjoying tick season this year.

They all get Frontline, but that just kills the tick after it attaches, so we often find a feeding tick on the animal before it drops off. We have a pair of little tick forks for removing them. I can tell that the animals appreciate having the ticks removed. If we don't get them, they eventually die, but it's no fun finding a bloated dead tick on the floor or, worse, stepping on one. Yuck.

2 comments:

  1. Those grasses are so graceful. Great photo-ops. I guess you and your pets really know the meaning of being ticked off.

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  2. Talk to your veterinarian. In the US, there's a tick collar (for dogs; I'm not sure if it can be used on cats) that contains a tick neurotoxin that prevents them from attaching to the animal, although they will still jump on. The downside, I'm told from some owners, is that they then find the live ticks crawling around on the floor in their homes. There may be other options I'm not aware of. You are correct that Frontline only works on ticks once they actually attach to the pet. We're set for a worse than usual flea and tick season here, so I'll be looking into solutions other than, or in addition to, Frontline for my own dog.

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