Layout:
Home > Ticks and more ticks...and poision ivy too.

Ticks and more ticks...and poision ivy too.

April 12th, 2017 at 01:10 pm

It's bug season again. Now that DH works outdoors, we're discovering new challenges. The big two are ticks and poison ivy. DH first encountered poison ivy over the winter. That's when we realized he is highly sensitive to it. I think we have a relatively good treatment plan in place now, but if anyone has any tips, please let me know. If he thinks he's exposed, he immediately washes with the Fels-Naptha soap when he gets home, and then throws all of his work clothes and gear into the wash. If it still develops, he gets by with lots of calamine lotion and hot showers. He's already got some nasty scars from his first bout, so I'm hoping we're now prepared for future outbreaks.

The second challenge is ticks. About a month ago, I bought 6 months worth of flea and tick meds for the pups. We tend to be a little more lax in the winter and didn't even do it last summer since they were never really exposed to the elements. However, now that we're in our house with a huge yard for them to play in that backs up to a wooded area, we needed to start treatment again. Yesterday, after lying down with the pups, DH found 3 ticks on himself. He says that he checked himself when he got home and didn't even work in a wooded area, so he assumed it was from the dogs. He then proceeded to inspect the house, and found several dead ticks on the floor. I did a very thorough deep cleaning yesterday (like washed the carpets thorough). Today, I plan to wipe down the baseboards and crevices with a mix of peppermint and lavender oils as those are tick and ant repellents. We didn't find anything on any of the animals, even the cat who doesn't have flea and tick repellent on. It looks like the medicine probably killed them off (hence the dead ones on the floor), but we have to be vigilant these next few months to ensure we don't have any more unwanted visitors.

6 Responses to “Ticks and more ticks...and poision ivy too.”

  1. Bluebird Says:
    1492009966

    My DH is also highly sensitive to poison ivy. When he knows he'll be near some, he takes a Benadryl beforehand. It really helps.

  2. Butterscotch Says:
    1492012379

    Ticks are the worst! Make sure your pets are up to date on their Lyme vaccinations!

  3. Carol Says:
    1492015549

    Something called Tecnu is also good for getting the poison ivy oils off. You also might look into "tick tubes" ( kind of pricey,I'm sorry to say) for your yard.

  4. rob62521 Says:
    1492024672

    Poison Ivy is such nasty stuff. A neighbor had some under his bush in the corner. He never cleans out that corner. My DH contacted it and was miserable for weeks because of it. Last year DH started spraying Roundup trying to get it under control (we have chain link fence between us) and last summer it didn't seem to growing. But, I'm sure it will come back and DH will need to do the poison again. We hate using Roundup for so many reasons, but feel we have no choice. i tried spraying a mixture of vinegar and Dawn on it, but it didn't even cut it.

  5. PatientSaver Says:
    1492041269

    I rely on Tecnu. There's a scrub you buy if you think you've been exposed, even before a rash appears, and you can often cut it off from even developing. They sell it in a set with the anti-itch ointment you use if you do get it, and it's very good.

    I don't spend as much time in the yard as I used to due to ticks. It's very sad, but they are rampant here. What state are you in?

    It's terrible.

  6. Debt-free by Thir-ty Says:
    1492172144

    Thanks for the advice everyone! We'll definitely have to try some of those ideas. We haven't seen any more ticks. We do checks daily. As for the poison ivy, poor DH is miserable when he gets it. He had a minor bout about a week ago. With the current regimen, it didn't develop into the blisters, but he had some bumps for a few days.

    PS, I'm in northern VA. Most of our yard in fine, but at the back of it is a 15X40 ft strip of woodland that blocks our neighborhood from the office building on the other side. DD2 (the GSD/husky) likes to run into the woods when playing chase which I think is where most of the ticks come from. She's on flea/tick meds now, and both dogs are up to date on all vaccines.

Leave a Reply

(Note: If you were logged in, we could automatically fill in these fields for you.)
*
Will not be published.
   

* Please spell out the number 4.  [ Why? ]

vB Code: You can use these tags: [b] [i] [u] [url] [email]