how do you keep the ticks down? i have two horses and...?

Question

the ticks are driving me crazy! i find 5-10 live ticks on my horses everyday! does anyone know a safe product or somthing that works?
help!!!
thanks!

Answer 1

I have 10 horses who sleep out at night and had a major problem with ticks. I started putting garlic in their feed. It took a while to start working but I definitely saw a decrease in ticks. Also it's great for their general health and gives their coats a lovely shine.

Good Luck

Answer 2

Try Avon's Skin-so-Soft, would be my recommendation, or you can try some of the products that are made for people, such as Deep Woods OFF. Just be careful with the OFF not to get it in or near the horse's eyes, or near their genitalia- as it can irritate sensitive membranes and skin. OFF is the best product I have ever seen for repelling not only ticks, but mosquitoes, face flies, gnats, no-see-um's, and especially the horse flies. ( I live in Delaware, and every summer we get a lot of the big ugly horse flies that we call the B-52 bombers. These insects have a VERY painful bite, and they inevitably land on the horse's back or on it's rump, and it drives the poor animals crazy because the bites hurt so much. These nasty creatures HATE the taste of the OFF, and they will stay away from a horse who has been treated with the product. ) One other point I want to mention to you- you need to be alert for signs of Lyme Disease in your horses, since you have such a serious tick problem. Horses that have the disease are often intermitently lame ( first in one leg one day, and in another leg the next day) for no obvious reason. Other symptoms of Lyme include lethargic behavior ( the horse will have no energy and act anemic) a low grade fever at times, a tendency to colic. Lyme is detectable with a blood titer ( ask your vet about this) and is easily treated with antibiotics such as those of the tetracycline class. Good luck, and I hope this helps you.

Answer 3

I see alot of anwers for "natural" products here, but if you are not afraid of using chemicals that are designed for ticks, flies gnats and such, the BEST product is sold at the feed store in like a 12 oz. bottle , sometimes with a squeeze measurer on top called: PERMECTIN, PERMECTRIN, are brand names for PERMETHRIN. it is in the cow section to be mixed with diesel for cow rubs- but for the horses i mix 2 oz in a gallon of water in a garden pump sprayer and spray the horses down after a ride when they are damp- get their groin area and under tail and girth area well. it kills existing ticks which will then curry off and repels new ones. it is a synthetic formulation of a chemical found in south american chrysanthemums, so i am not that wary of it. i apply it with a sponge without gloves and have never had a problem . it is Great, i am in humid midwest and this is a BAD tick year and this does the trick. Look at the feed store and read the label. GL i also use this as flea dip for my dogs.

Answer 4

there are many sprays on the market that do work. I raise lots of horses and brood mares with colts. the best I have found to dust all of our horses with Seven Dust, you know the stuff you dust your tomatoe plants with? The horses love to be dusted and the ticks and fleas die right away. I have never had any side effects from this for 20 years.

Answer 5

Our main problem was not finding them on the horses' bodies, but in their ears... ticks can make a horse uber-headshy in a heartbeat.



The ONLY thing we ever found that would keep them out of their ears was pink SWAT ointment.. slather it in the ears really thick. Your horses will look like they've all been attacked by the Easter Bunny, but you won't have to twitch them to get the ticks out of their ears either :-)



Hope this helps!

Answer 6

June I, how much garlic do you use to be affective? I have the same problem, on their faces and in their manes. I asked a similar question if they make something like Frontline for horses, but they must not. I don't have a good answer for you but will try some of your responses. Wonder what garlic and lavendar smells like together!

Answer 7

home made fly spray, 1 good name brand spray from Co-Op or feed store, 1 bottle baby oil, refill baby oil bottle 2 times , mix all this together in a jug,, spray them daily, the oil helps stick the spray to the horses, which helps keep down ticks, flies, etc....

Answer 8

Try a lavender spray you can make it yourself. Just get some Lavender oil mix it with distilled water and put it in a spray bottle. Worked on my horse. Ticks hate lavender. You can read about lavender at http://www.take1products.com Good luck;^)

Answer 9

If i were you i would get some Guinea hens or chickens. They are very natural ways of getting rid of ticks. They find them and eat them and with chicken you can get eggs too. They also eat alot of fly larvae and stuff like that too. I find them very efficient.

I have chickens and Guinea hens and never ever find ticks on my horses.

I use fly sprays too.

Answer 10

I'm with the idea for chickens, get a few, and the ticks will vanish in no time.

Answer 11

Use any flea/tick powder, put it on the horses heavy.

Answer 12

i use Farnam Bite Free. it repels biting and blood sucking insects including ticks as my spray. and also use Ultra Spot which is like revolution for dogs. and if you get it at valley vet supply (www.valleyvet.com) its only 39.99. they also make a fly block that repels also

Answer 13

You can look for things online. Flyspray also works. Or in the field they are in, keep the grass and bushes in and around it short. Go to

doversaddlerey.com

statelinetack.com

smartpackequine.com

Answer 14

put some show sheen on your horse's legs and tail to make the hairs slippery. hope this helps!

Answer 15

www.happyhorseflyspray.com I've been using it for years. I gave up a long time ago on the home remidies.........

Answer 16

gasoline and a match