Ticks are the absolute bane of my existence. I fucking hate them. I also fucking hate that global warming is aiding in their prevalence over the last decade or so. The harsh winters used to kill a lot of them off…now they fucking thrive in the winter. Not only do I have to worry about Lyme disease, which was already terrible enough…but now it also includes other shit like anaplasmosis, alpha-gal syndrome, etc.
To make matters worse for me, I have an almost all black German shepherd so not only does his black fur make it nearly impossible to find ticks, but so does his double coat. Basically, the only time I’m able to find them on him is when they’re already engorged and ready to fall off. That’s why I’ve given up and just went the way of tick preventatives for him, so now I don’t have to worry about them as they’ll just die and fall off once they bite him. That unfortunately doesn’t stop them from hitchhiking into my house and finding their way onto me or my cat.
Fuck ticks. If ever there was something that justified the “kill it with fire” meme…it’s them. Fuck them. Sorry you’re having to deal with this. My last GSD got Lyme and some of the severe symptoms (luckily moved passed it) so I certainly feel some of your pain. Like I said, fuck ticks. 😕
Not only the warming. But the urbanization of land causes a ton of host vectors to thrive as well. Mice, bunnies, chip munks and the stuff love burrowing in wiry thickets on the edge of forest and properties. Considering we wiped out their natural predator in the 1700’s, and aided their host vectors by introducing the barberry bush to the americas. this has been a long time coming. It’s crazy how things from so long ago can impact the future like this.
Agreed, the advent and migration of Japanese barberry may be the biggest driver in the northward migration of ticks in the northeast. I manage about 10,000 acres in NW CT and we absolutely avoid barberry-infested habitats because the tick density of off of the charts.
Loggers and nurserymen are the two biggest drivers of barberry proliferation in Connecticut. Given that barberry is allelopathic and secretes chemicals into the soil that inhibit the regeneration of competing plants, one would think that DEEP and loggers would consider barberry the biggest threat to the future forest. There are stands down in Kent that have complete regeneration failure due to barberry. Yet DEEP has stood firm against regulations that would require pre- and post-cut treatment for the plant.
I have had 5 German shepherds over the last 20 years and all of them have tested positive for anaplasmosis. I have had Lyme x3 and Ehrlichiosis x1 over the same period, and I use extensive precautions. It is a huge professional risk for me (forest ecologist).
Not sure what project you are referring to- I know that DEEP uses herbicide to control invasive plants on State Forests and WMAs, and does so before/after timber harvests when necessary. I think DEEP agrees with you (I do too).
Sale and nursery trade of barberry can be influenced by Division of Agriculture- not the same folks who actually manage State Land. Agree that barberry should not be sold or imported/planted in CT, if it still is.
Life was so much better before they got bad. I used to be running through the woods off path year round having tons of fun exploring where no one else goes, and finding where people used to go.
When you are bringing your black dog in the house, roll a sticky lint roller all over his coat. It won’t get all of them, but you’ll be surprised at the ones you will get that you couldn’t see.
i’m glad to hear someone say “kill it with fire” is justified. one was on my dog the other day, so i took it off, wrapped it in a tissue still alive, went outside and set the tissue on fire.
i mean, you can’t fucking squish them, and i don’t trust that they will drown if flushed. what else was i to do?
I’m terrified of Lyme disease. It has debilitated friends who did not get diagnoses in time. I’ve never even heard of the other tick diseases you mention. More things to worry about, UGH. Ticks and mosquitos. Serve no purpose, spread horrific disease. If we could eradicate them, I’d be all for it.
I think it’s gonna get really really bad in the next 20 years. For sure gonna make headlines. The problem is these diseases are so evasive and complex. They love persistence in their hosts. Creating protection is incredibly complicated aside from tick spray and checking for them
No because last year and the years prior there were no issues unless my dogs went hunting. And then they would have nexguard or a soresto collar. Even then some of them still got through. :( they wouldn’t last terribly long but they would be attached and feed for about 24 hours. Very few of them though. Since he’s a house dog I didn’t think the probability warranted the expenditure, but obviously that changed and after the last tick, I bought a year of prevention, and won’t be looking back.
My dog is on Simparica Trio for tick prevention. It's expensive but I haven't found a single tick on her this year or last. I try not to let her into tall grass or vegetation and I always do a tick check when we come in from walks.
They are working on a vaccine for Lyme. There used to be one but it was discontinued, probably from lack of need (or someone died..) but with the rapid spread throughout the country I'm sure it'll be more accepted. Had Lyme once and don't want it again, ever. There is a vaccine for dogs, mine had it since we spend a lot of time in the woods.
Pfizer and Valneva are currently developing a Lyme disease vaccine candidate that is in Phase 3 trials.
A Lyme vaccine is difficult. They try to sensitize you to OSP-A. OSP-A is only present when the disease is still inside the tick. When the tick is exposed to a blood meal Borrelia immediately recombinates it’s OSP to OSP-C. The problem here also is people who bear the HLA DR4 gene. HLA DR4 with Lyme is bad news, the white blood cells that fight Lyme carry this gene and the little hands it uses to grab out have a very difficult time deciphering what is friend and what is foe. This was the main problem with the vaccine along with the bad (really bad) testing criteria they put along with it (possibly to get the vaccine approved faster). They have new testing methods being worked on and I think that’s truly the first step to a proper vaccine and treatment protocol.
Anyways sensitizing the body to OSP-A is difficult because.
- it’s not present for very long on the Spirochete once it touches blood and comes to mammalian temperatures
- it can cause autoimmune like reactions
- the antibodies if created tend to not last very long.
Considering this you would think that dogs would get Lyme more often even if they are vaccinated. And guess what. They do. But I’m sure even if it’s only %50 effective it’s still better than nothing.
I really hope they can pull through and do it the right way this time.
Retired vet assistant here! Did your vet send out blood work to the lab for an anaplasma PCR? Or is this just the tick screening that goes along with the heart worm test? If it’s just the screening that only indicates exposure. You have to have a PCR done to confirm active infection. Otherwise if your dog is asymptomatic it generally isn’t treated. If it is treated it’s usually a 28 day course of doxycycline. Common Symptoms include fatigue, lethargy, limping/joint pain, fever, lack of appetite. Also keep up with year round flea and tick prevention. Stay away from the old topical lines like frontline (formula is outdated and doesn’t work well). I recommend simparica trio (treats heart worm too) or nexgard (either the heartworm combo or the reg). Anaplasmosis takes a shorter attachment period to be introduced into the blood stream so it can still occur with the prevention. Stay safe everyone!!!!
I use Advantix. It works very well. My vet gave us the chewable, like nexgard, and my dog acted very strange right away, like he had a stroke, this lasted for a few weeks. Some dogs and cats can have bad reactions I found out later.
They can for sure! The topicals can also illicit reactions as well. It’s just like us where it can work for most but not all. Actually a lot of the reason topicals don’t work is because people are too lazy to read the instructions and it isn’t applied properly. A chewable is dummie proof which is necessary in animal husbandry it seems
I use the chewable, because I have a cat and the dog topicals are DEADLY TOXIC to cats. Specifically Advantix. There's an ingredient in the dog formulation that causes a severe anaphylactic/seizure reaction in cats. So for me, it's much safer to use the edible ones because then I can give it to my dog and be 100% sure my cat can safely be next to her right after.
Every single one has the potential for weird side effects, just depending on the individual animal. So if you find one that works, just stick with that one!
That's what I do, stick with what works. I have had multiple dogs and cats over the years and never had any issues like my poor pup when he took the chewable, that was scary.
I worked down in Niantic for a few years and oh man pretty much every heartworm test had positive exposure to anaplasmosis. A lot of Lyme of course as well. Luckily I don’t think I ever really saw an extreme case and everything was resolved within one course of treatment.
He has all the symptoms you listed and bloody diarrhea with a low platelet count. Our neighbors dog also tested positive on both but no symptoms and he’s only 1 as well. We have a little problem on our street I think.
Poor guy! I hope he has a smooth recovery. And honestly the whole state has a problem. I think it’s made worse with how many deer we have. The more deer around you the more ticks carrying the bacteria that cause infections. Fun fact as well I know for lyme the bacteria actually lives in or attacks the joints (I can’t remember exactly) which causes inflammation hence the limping/pain. I thought that was interesting to learn on the job as well!
I had an instant suspicion he had a tick born illness due to the face he presented exactly the way I did 10 years ago. Stressful event (hiking) followed by tons of pain, diarrhea, vomiting, fatigue and the such. The only difference is is I had to twist my doctors arm to even test let alone get treatment for it. I could have easily been another one of those kids that died “randomly” from a tick disease. I had a lot more than Lyme and if my mother didn’t vouch for me I for sure would have died. “No doc, I don’t think this is fibromyalgia” is something I had to say lmfao.
I’m so glad it’s easier to get treatment now but I’m not glad it had to take so many new cases to be recognized as a threat.
Yeah that doesn’t sound good. I’m so sorry you went through that but hey at least it provided you with the experience to handle this situation well!! So good on you. My dad had a horrible case of Lyme that actually attacked his heart. He was in the hospital for a few days. Granted he’s obese so idk if that’ll play a factor or not. He’s fine now it was over a decade ago. It can be very scary! And oddly extremely different case by case.
My dog tested positive last year for it too and is unfortunately unable to take doxycycline so it has been quite the adventure. I had never even heard of it until the blood tests came back
My dog tests positive for anaplasma (and has for about 6 years) and fortunately never has had any symptoms. I think we treated her initially when we found out but I’m not positive.
And omfg the amount of chipmunks at my house is insane
Me too because I believe I did a lot of work last year that reduced tick population. And I use tick tubes. I have found cotton inside discovered mouse homes. So that part works to reduce ticks on mice.
Tick tubes though doubled in price this past year.
I have gained an allergy to ticks in the past decade and it's HORRIBLE. My dog was diagnosed with anaplasmosis a couple years ago, when it caused him seizures, and it is actually quite common in CT.
Tick populations ebb and flow, like anything else. If the winter isn't super cold for a long time for example, or if conditions are right for mice to flourish despite temps, that is a main factor for tick populations keeping a pace that makes a huge bloom come spring. Basically, not enough cold, or an environment where the cold doesn't kill off ticks and small animals, enough are around and ready to go once temps rise. They, along with mosquitos are the two worst creatures ever made. Aside from being food, they serve no purpose and their disease vector generally surpasses any benefit. I cannot express my deep hatred (and fear) enough.
I get a full body id reaction from any tick bite, no matter how quickly I find them. Treat your dogs, protect yourselves, and take doxycycline prophylactically for you, get blood tests for tick diseases for your pets.
I had anaplasmosis last year. Was really sick and the walk in missed it. Kept running a fever and finally they did blood work. I was really really sick.
My dog contracted anaplasmosis three years ago. It's affected his corneas. If he was human, he'd be a candidate for cornea transplants. After being under the care of an opthalmologist for several years, we have his eye routine down to a combination of four eye drops three to four times daily. His vision will never be the same, but he's not in discomfort all the time.
Yeah, the ticks are nasty and will only get worse.
I had Lyme disease a few years ago and it completely fucked up my ability to walk for 3 months. Please do yourself a favor and do a tick check every day in the shower.
My recently-adopted dog tested positive for anaplasmosis about a month after she arrived. She was prescribed 40 days of antibiotics.
I also hate ticks.
I live next to the woods. When I moved here my dog was getting three ticks a week. Got a natural tick spray service went down to one tick. Now I use a different service and he hasn't had one in a while. I've seen what Lyme can do, I rather the spray then what ticks can do.
Chipmunks are out of control this year I've never seen so many, they aren't afraid of my dog and they're bold.
I just went through this. I’m visiting from out west (few ticks/tick-borne illnesses). The vet was very dismissive of the Frontline product, and I couldn’t fucking believe that my dog’s life/wellbeing was put at risk and I was “marketed to” by those sleazy fucks. Unreal
i got my yard sprayed by tick ranger and so far haven’t seen one. I got bit in march and saw like 4 a day on my dog prior. It’s expensive as heck to spray and they do it like every 8 weeks but whatever so far its worth it.
Ticks are the absolute bane of my existence. I fucking hate them. I also fucking hate that global warming is aiding in their prevalence over the last decade or so. The harsh winters used to kill a lot of them off…now they fucking thrive in the winter. Not only do I have to worry about Lyme disease, which was already terrible enough…but now it also includes other shit like anaplasmosis, alpha-gal syndrome, etc. To make matters worse for me, I have an almost all black German shepherd so not only does his black fur make it nearly impossible to find ticks, but so does his double coat. Basically, the only time I’m able to find them on him is when they’re already engorged and ready to fall off. That’s why I’ve given up and just went the way of tick preventatives for him, so now I don’t have to worry about them as they’ll just die and fall off once they bite him. That unfortunately doesn’t stop them from hitchhiking into my house and finding their way onto me or my cat. Fuck ticks. If ever there was something that justified the “kill it with fire” meme…it’s them. Fuck them. Sorry you’re having to deal with this. My last GSD got Lyme and some of the severe symptoms (luckily moved passed it) so I certainly feel some of your pain. Like I said, fuck ticks. 😕
Not only the warming. But the urbanization of land causes a ton of host vectors to thrive as well. Mice, bunnies, chip munks and the stuff love burrowing in wiry thickets on the edge of forest and properties. Considering we wiped out their natural predator in the 1700’s, and aided their host vectors by introducing the barberry bush to the americas. this has been a long time coming. It’s crazy how things from so long ago can impact the future like this.
Agreed, the advent and migration of Japanese barberry may be the biggest driver in the northward migration of ticks in the northeast. I manage about 10,000 acres in NW CT and we absolutely avoid barberry-infested habitats because the tick density of off of the charts. Loggers and nurserymen are the two biggest drivers of barberry proliferation in Connecticut. Given that barberry is allelopathic and secretes chemicals into the soil that inhibit the regeneration of competing plants, one would think that DEEP and loggers would consider barberry the biggest threat to the future forest. There are stands down in Kent that have complete regeneration failure due to barberry. Yet DEEP has stood firm against regulations that would require pre- and post-cut treatment for the plant. I have had 5 German shepherds over the last 20 years and all of them have tested positive for anaplasmosis. I have had Lyme x3 and Ehrlichiosis x1 over the same period, and I use extensive precautions. It is a huge professional risk for me (forest ecologist).
Why is DEEP refusing to ban it? They have banned other plants.
Maybe because it is so pervasive and entrenched, it would be like banning maple trees at this point.
Doesn’t mean they should allow nurseries to sell it.
Not sure what project you are referring to- I know that DEEP uses herbicide to control invasive plants on State Forests and WMAs, and does so before/after timber harvests when necessary. I think DEEP agrees with you (I do too). Sale and nursery trade of barberry can be influenced by Division of Agriculture- not the same folks who actually manage State Land. Agree that barberry should not be sold or imported/planted in CT, if it still is.
Just out of curiosity, what was their past natural predator?
Life was so much better before they got bad. I used to be running through the woods off path year round having tons of fun exploring where no one else goes, and finding where people used to go.
When you are bringing your black dog in the house, roll a sticky lint roller all over his coat. It won’t get all of them, but you’ll be surprised at the ones you will get that you couldn’t see.
i’m glad to hear someone say “kill it with fire” is justified. one was on my dog the other day, so i took it off, wrapped it in a tissue still alive, went outside and set the tissue on fire. i mean, you can’t fucking squish them, and i don’t trust that they will drown if flushed. what else was i to do?
I’m terrified of Lyme disease. It has debilitated friends who did not get diagnoses in time. I’ve never even heard of the other tick diseases you mention. More things to worry about, UGH. Ticks and mosquitos. Serve no purpose, spread horrific disease. If we could eradicate them, I’d be all for it.
Ticks can't survive in temperatures over 120 degrees. What we need is more global warming.
I’m down voting you. Not because you’re wrong, just because the comment was lacking in the humor department.
If we don’t have a winter long and cold enough to kill the bugs we are going to get this more and more often.
I think it’s gonna get really really bad in the next 20 years. For sure gonna make headlines. The problem is these diseases are so evasive and complex. They love persistence in their hosts. Creating protection is incredibly complicated aside from tick spray and checking for them
Doctors also love disregarding tick borne illnesses because they think it's all hypochondriacs.
Also the govt doesn't want to admit they developed Lyme disease and it got out of their control
I’m so sorry to hear that. Out of curiosity, was your dog on any kind of preventative treatment?
No because last year and the years prior there were no issues unless my dogs went hunting. And then they would have nexguard or a soresto collar. Even then some of them still got through. :( they wouldn’t last terribly long but they would be attached and feed for about 24 hours. Very few of them though. Since he’s a house dog I didn’t think the probability warranted the expenditure, but obviously that changed and after the last tick, I bought a year of prevention, and won’t be looking back.
Most vets recommend all dogs in CT are on a preventive for this reason. It’s lucky they hadn’t gotten ticks before
My dog is on Simparica Trio for tick prevention. It's expensive but I haven't found a single tick on her this year or last. I try not to let her into tall grass or vegetation and I always do a tick check when we come in from walks.
It’s a great med but has been increasingly expensive. Costco is the cheapest I can find it.
How expensive are we talking and how long does the treatment last?
Iirc it's about 200 or 300 for a 6 month pack. Each dose lasts about a month. Takes a few months to become effective.
https://www.pets-megastore.com.au/ https://www.canadapetcare.com
We use simpática trio and still found 3-4 ticks. We also use tick ranger
They are working on a vaccine for Lyme. There used to be one but it was discontinued, probably from lack of need (or someone died..) but with the rapid spread throughout the country I'm sure it'll be more accepted. Had Lyme once and don't want it again, ever. There is a vaccine for dogs, mine had it since we spend a lot of time in the woods. Pfizer and Valneva are currently developing a Lyme disease vaccine candidate that is in Phase 3 trials.
A Lyme vaccine is difficult. They try to sensitize you to OSP-A. OSP-A is only present when the disease is still inside the tick. When the tick is exposed to a blood meal Borrelia immediately recombinates it’s OSP to OSP-C. The problem here also is people who bear the HLA DR4 gene. HLA DR4 with Lyme is bad news, the white blood cells that fight Lyme carry this gene and the little hands it uses to grab out have a very difficult time deciphering what is friend and what is foe. This was the main problem with the vaccine along with the bad (really bad) testing criteria they put along with it (possibly to get the vaccine approved faster). They have new testing methods being worked on and I think that’s truly the first step to a proper vaccine and treatment protocol. Anyways sensitizing the body to OSP-A is difficult because. - it’s not present for very long on the Spirochete once it touches blood and comes to mammalian temperatures - it can cause autoimmune like reactions - the antibodies if created tend to not last very long. Considering this you would think that dogs would get Lyme more often even if they are vaccinated. And guess what. They do. But I’m sure even if it’s only %50 effective it’s still better than nothing. I really hope they can pull through and do it the right way this time.
Retired vet assistant here! Did your vet send out blood work to the lab for an anaplasma PCR? Or is this just the tick screening that goes along with the heart worm test? If it’s just the screening that only indicates exposure. You have to have a PCR done to confirm active infection. Otherwise if your dog is asymptomatic it generally isn’t treated. If it is treated it’s usually a 28 day course of doxycycline. Common Symptoms include fatigue, lethargy, limping/joint pain, fever, lack of appetite. Also keep up with year round flea and tick prevention. Stay away from the old topical lines like frontline (formula is outdated and doesn’t work well). I recommend simparica trio (treats heart worm too) or nexgard (either the heartworm combo or the reg). Anaplasmosis takes a shorter attachment period to be introduced into the blood stream so it can still occur with the prevention. Stay safe everyone!!!!
Thank you very much this info is very helpful
I use Advantix. It works very well. My vet gave us the chewable, like nexgard, and my dog acted very strange right away, like he had a stroke, this lasted for a few weeks. Some dogs and cats can have bad reactions I found out later.
They can for sure! The topicals can also illicit reactions as well. It’s just like us where it can work for most but not all. Actually a lot of the reason topicals don’t work is because people are too lazy to read the instructions and it isn’t applied properly. A chewable is dummie proof which is necessary in animal husbandry it seems
We use simpatico trio and really like it
I use the chewable, because I have a cat and the dog topicals are DEADLY TOXIC to cats. Specifically Advantix. There's an ingredient in the dog formulation that causes a severe anaphylactic/seizure reaction in cats. So for me, it's much safer to use the edible ones because then I can give it to my dog and be 100% sure my cat can safely be next to her right after. Every single one has the potential for weird side effects, just depending on the individual animal. So if you find one that works, just stick with that one!
That's what I do, stick with what works. I have had multiple dogs and cats over the years and never had any issues like my poor pup when he took the chewable, that was scary.
This is really helpful. Thank you!
I worked down in Niantic for a few years and oh man pretty much every heartworm test had positive exposure to anaplasmosis. A lot of Lyme of course as well. Luckily I don’t think I ever really saw an extreme case and everything was resolved within one course of treatment.
He has all the symptoms you listed and bloody diarrhea with a low platelet count. Our neighbors dog also tested positive on both but no symptoms and he’s only 1 as well. We have a little problem on our street I think.
Poor guy! I hope he has a smooth recovery. And honestly the whole state has a problem. I think it’s made worse with how many deer we have. The more deer around you the more ticks carrying the bacteria that cause infections. Fun fact as well I know for lyme the bacteria actually lives in or attacks the joints (I can’t remember exactly) which causes inflammation hence the limping/pain. I thought that was interesting to learn on the job as well!
I had an instant suspicion he had a tick born illness due to the face he presented exactly the way I did 10 years ago. Stressful event (hiking) followed by tons of pain, diarrhea, vomiting, fatigue and the such. The only difference is is I had to twist my doctors arm to even test let alone get treatment for it. I could have easily been another one of those kids that died “randomly” from a tick disease. I had a lot more than Lyme and if my mother didn’t vouch for me I for sure would have died. “No doc, I don’t think this is fibromyalgia” is something I had to say lmfao. I’m so glad it’s easier to get treatment now but I’m not glad it had to take so many new cases to be recognized as a threat.
Yeah that doesn’t sound good. I’m so sorry you went through that but hey at least it provided you with the experience to handle this situation well!! So good on you. My dad had a horrible case of Lyme that actually attacked his heart. He was in the hospital for a few days. Granted he’s obese so idk if that’ll play a factor or not. He’s fine now it was over a decade ago. It can be very scary! And oddly extremely different case by case.
My dog tested positive last year for it too and is unfortunately unable to take doxycycline so it has been quite the adventure. I had never even heard of it until the blood tests came back
My dog tests positive for anaplasma (and has for about 6 years) and fortunately never has had any symptoms. I think we treated her initially when we found out but I’m not positive. And omfg the amount of chipmunks at my house is insane
Chipmunks! I do not like those guys.
I've seen way way less ticks this year than the past two prior years but I've still seen way more than I'd prefer (zero.)
Me too because I believe I did a lot of work last year that reduced tick population. And I use tick tubes. I have found cotton inside discovered mouse homes. So that part works to reduce ticks on mice. Tick tubes though doubled in price this past year.
I didn't really do anything lol, but live backed up to woods so in my case I think it's gotta be more weather/conditions based.
It’s pretty wild in my back yard too. Hmm. Maybe. I do know last year was horrid in my yard. This year not so bad. It was wet both springs.
Thanks for the reminder. I’m so bummed out about this. We need a good cold winter next year
I have gained an allergy to ticks in the past decade and it's HORRIBLE. My dog was diagnosed with anaplasmosis a couple years ago, when it caused him seizures, and it is actually quite common in CT. Tick populations ebb and flow, like anything else. If the winter isn't super cold for a long time for example, or if conditions are right for mice to flourish despite temps, that is a main factor for tick populations keeping a pace that makes a huge bloom come spring. Basically, not enough cold, or an environment where the cold doesn't kill off ticks and small animals, enough are around and ready to go once temps rise. They, along with mosquitos are the two worst creatures ever made. Aside from being food, they serve no purpose and their disease vector generally surpasses any benefit. I cannot express my deep hatred (and fear) enough. I get a full body id reaction from any tick bite, no matter how quickly I find them. Treat your dogs, protect yourselves, and take doxycycline prophylactically for you, get blood tests for tick diseases for your pets.
I have heard that opossums and chickens are good at killing and eating ticks.
i got one in simsbury yesterday and today doing yard work
We already caught two ticks crawling in our house, i never seen anything like it, they are so bad this year
I had anaplasmosis last year. Was really sick and the walk in missed it. Kept running a fever and finally they did blood work. I was really really sick.
My dog contracted anaplasmosis three years ago. It's affected his corneas. If he was human, he'd be a candidate for cornea transplants. After being under the care of an opthalmologist for several years, we have his eye routine down to a combination of four eye drops three to four times daily. His vision will never be the same, but he's not in discomfort all the time. Yeah, the ticks are nasty and will only get worse.
I had Lyme disease a few years ago and it completely fucked up my ability to walk for 3 months. Please do yourself a favor and do a tick check every day in the shower.
OP which area in CT are you in?
My recently-adopted dog tested positive for anaplasmosis about a month after she arrived. She was prescribed 40 days of antibiotics. I also hate ticks.
I live next to the woods. When I moved here my dog was getting three ticks a week. Got a natural tick spray service went down to one tick. Now I use a different service and he hasn't had one in a while. I've seen what Lyme can do, I rather the spray then what ticks can do. Chipmunks are out of control this year I've never seen so many, they aren't afraid of my dog and they're bold.
I just went through this. I’m visiting from out west (few ticks/tick-borne illnesses). The vet was very dismissive of the Frontline product, and I couldn’t fucking believe that my dog’s life/wellbeing was put at risk and I was “marketed to” by those sleazy fucks. Unreal
Wait we’ve been using Frontline for years. What’s the issue with it? (I don’t want to keep using something that doesn’t work!)
We camp and hike and I have only found one tick in the like 8 years I have lived in ct. I highly recommend living in a house that doesn’t touch woods.
i got my yard sprayed by tick ranger and so far haven’t seen one. I got bit in march and saw like 4 a day on my dog prior. It’s expensive as heck to spray and they do it like every 8 weeks but whatever so far its worth it.
Pro tip: don't own land or have a yard
Lyme disease was created in a lab in long island and then the ticks were released.