SA Farm's journal

[Baymule]

If ticks are that bad, you might ought to change your mind about guineas. We have a trio, I call them the Looney Gooney Guineas. One hen is sitting on a nest, 3rd clutch of eggs. This time nothing came in the night and ate them. A neighbor wants guineas, so I will give him some of the chicks. I hate ticks too. Guineas sound pretty darn good to me!

 

[Mike CHS]

We had serious tick issues with Seed Ticks several years ago. When I started spraying Nitrogen on our paddocks I added Malathion to the water and sprayed it at the same time. Neither of us has gotten a tick in a couple of years. I never see any on the sheep and I handle them a lot.

 

[SA Farm]

Thanks for the suggestions, you guys I’ll pass them on to DH.
I’ll even think about the guineas again

 

[greybeard]

We had serious tick issues with Seed Ticks several years ago. When I started spraying Nitrogen on our paddocks I added Malathion to the water and sprayed it at the same time. Neither of us has gotten a tick in a couple of years. I never see any on the sheep and I handle them a lot.

Oh good lawdy..I feel for ya regarding seed ticks. When I was a teenager and this country was still open range, you couldn't walk 20' without a cloud of them coming up both jeans leg as we had to stuff our jeans cuff down inside our boot tops to try to keep them out. A pestilence of Old Testament biblical proportions...I was chewed up with them on my legs, ankles, arms and abdomen,I was ashamed to go to and dress out for gym class in high school. We doused our boots with diesel and powdered sulphur with only helped some.When we'd get to the house, our clothes stayed out on the porch and when we bathed we added some bleach to the water and you could see dozens of them floating on the top of the water. Itch like mad and I clawed at my ankles till they were raw and red.

2 things got rid of them. The end of open range and the big time arrival of fire ants.

 

[Baymule]

I hate seed ticks enough that I welcome the fire ants.

 

[B&B Happy goats]

@Baymule. ..what are seed ticks ?
I got rid of ticks here by using bug granules. ....no fleas ...nonthing

 

[Mike CHS]

Seed ticks are the larvae form of ticks but the problem is the sheer numbers. Where there is one, there are dozens if not hundreds.

 

[SA Farm]

Don’t know why, but I just felt like taking pics today despite the dreariness of it. It was a good day to get things done as I had to get up early to drive DH to work (our car has been having issues).
I cleaned the house, did the dishes, swept and vacuumed, cleaned out the indoor brooder for the poults that just hatched.
Then I went out and finally fenced the garden and replanted some of the peas the chickens had kicked around.
Phew.
Said garden (still have some work to do on it, but it’s coming along)

My new fruit trees and a comfrey plant my mom gave me <3

The lambies are now weaned and grazing like champs.

The crazy goslings were running around like the goofballs they are. They’re so silly and cute!

The ducklings are almost big enough that I can tell the boys from the girls. Still not 100% on all of them, but I have a good idea.

Chicks growing like weeds.

The sweetgrass hen finally out of quarantine. She looks weird as she was turning as I took the pic

And some chicken porn for those of you who appreciate such things lol

 

[greybeard]

Seed ticks are the larvae form of ticks but the problem is the sheer numbers. Where there is one, there are dozens if not hundreds.

Not hundreds...Thousands. Each female tick lays around 4000 eggs.
Not my foot but I've seen both of mine look close to this condition..or worse.

 

[Baymule]

@Baymule. ..what are seed ticks ?
I got rid of ticks here by using bug granules. ....no fleas ...nonthing

It has been explained, but they are tiny. Take a regular straight pin, not the kind with the colored plastic head, the kind with the small metal head. A seed tick is smaller. When you blunder through a nest of those devils they swarm all over, dig in and burrow out of sight. I'd almost druther hug a fire ant nest.