Strangest experience with Ticks yet!

I wouldn't agree about the vaseline. Suffocating makes ticks "throw up" all their insides in the wound they've created, thus exposing the horse (or human) to a higher risk of infections. The safest way to get rid of a tick is to pull it out correctly, without squeezing it, and then disinfect the bite mark.

Ewwwwwwww..... that's gross!! So glad we don't get ticks on horses round here! My dog, Skye, occasionally gets one but they don't get that big!! My skin is actually crawling thinking about it!! On the dog we have a green hook thing with a split end so you can pull the whole tick out

Don't know if it would be much help in an ear though!

Just to up the gross factor here, I despise ticks to the point of enjoying that "POP!" sound you get when you step on a full one... nasty disgusting little things. I know there is a reason for the existence of every living thing on this planet (ecosystem, food chain, blah blah blah)... but for the life of me I can't figure out why ticks, roaches and mosquitos exist.

I know right!

huh I didn't know that interesting

Odd, a vet I worked for years ago taught me to use vaseline or alcohol.

Albany County Department of Health

Ticks have been absolutely terrible this year!

I bought some of this for my horse:

FreedomŽ 45 Insect Repellent For Horses, Pack of 6 - 5004465 | Tractor Supply Company

I've seen a massive reduction in ticks, and I think the flies are even better as well. A 12 week supply is only 20 dollars.

That's what I'm thinking. It's not like we never have ticks, but they aren't thick around here since we have no woods to speak of and the summer is usually relatively dry. I'll pull a few off our dogs during the course of the season but I've never seen one on a horse...thankfully.

I went to the tick lecture at MN horse expo this year and learned some interesting facts.

Ticks must be attached for 12-24 hours before they can transmit disease. This made me feel a lot safer walking thru the woods. They said to pull them off gently so the mouth parts are removed and then use antiseptic on the bite. To kill the removed tick they said to place it in soapy water.

If your barn has tick issues they said to try "tick tubes" for mice or deer where the mice or deer come into contact with a chemical and the ticks that feed on them die. They also said that it's a good idea to keep birds out of paddock areas, ie. No bird feeders, but guinea hens are good because they eat ticks.

--Clay

Dealt with the 9th tick last night. Record braking for our property. Hate, hate hate them!