Ticked by Bob Ford

I tell younger guys that when I was a kid we rolled around the yard in shorts and no one ever saw a tick. Ever. Not a tick of any kind, let a lone a deer tick that was peddling some sort of deadly virus—make no mistake, Lyme worries me more than COVID in terms of long term risks to our health, and the health of our canine companions. What can we do about it?  Well, there are a few things that we can do, and they go a great way to reducing the risks of tick borne diseases.  First, get a good comb. The flea and tick comb that I prefer really helps in getting the nasty arachnids off the dogs before we even leave the field. I simply put the dog on the tailgate and remove the ticks, leaving them in the field, squashed. 

Secondly, use a good flea and tick preventative. There are a host of products on the market, and I will just mention one that I find helpful—The Salvo collars.  They last six months, so I do not have to remember to use a monthly topical or ingested medication. And they are cost effective. I get the large dog size—and the difference is length only. Each container has 2 collars, intended to give you one year worth of protection. Change it in 6 months. It costs about $25 per container. For several years now, I have been getting the tins and I cut them to the length needed for my little beagles. I get all five beagles protected from the two collars enclosed. I zip tie the Salvo collar to the inside of each beagle’s everyday collar. My hounds train year round, and get into rain, creeks, and morning dew. As a result, I change my Salvo collars every 5 months instead of six months. Even so—$25 for 5 dogs for 5 months means $1 per month per hound. Any tick I miss in the field attaches to the dog but dies before it can transmit disease.

I tuck my pants into my boots all the time. That goes a long way towards keeping from gaining entrance from my pant legs. A good hat is a must for ticks in the brush.  And I always treat my exterior layer of clothing with Sawyer’s tick repellent. It lasts a month on your clothes, and is worth the effort and time it takes to treat  the clothing and let it dry. 

Am I saying that I never get a tick on me? I do, but a lot less. Way less, and my beagles go afield every day and live in my house. I still do tick checks. There was that Brad Paisley song a number of years ago about wanting to check a gal for ticks. When I return from a hunt and ask my wife to check me for ticks, there is nothing sexual about it! Using the measures that I mentioned above, I get way less ticks. Oh, check out the number of ticks attached to the neck of the rabbit in a photo that I have included. Rabbits ain’t got access to the equipment that we do—and look what happens.

By: Bob Ford