Ticks latch onto the skin of mammals and feed on their blood. They can carry and transmit potentially fatal diseases such as Rocky Mountain spotted fever or Lyme disease.
If you let your dog or cat run around outside for exercise, you might run into problems with ticks. This problem can be especially troublesome if you live near a wooded area or a field of high grass. Your pets can carry the ticks back into the house where they can get on you. If you or your children venture outside where there are ticks, they may attach themselves to you, even if you don’t have a pet.
Step 1
Confine your cat indoors. Cats generally live longer, happier lives indoors because they are not in contact with diseases or in danger of being hit by cars or attacked by predators outside, according to Dr. James Richards, director of Cornell Feline Health Center.
Step 2
Keep your dogs in an area that is not a common place for ticks. Dogs, especially large ones, need to get more exercise than can be obtained indoors. Take your dog for walks on sidewalks using a leash to keep it safe. Build a fence for the dog that keeps it in your yard and out of thick brush or wooded areas to avoid tick problems.
Step 3
Teach your children tick-avoidance rules. Do not allow them to wander in forests, and tell them to stay on trails when hiking to eliminate tick problems.
Step 4
Pour 1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar into your pet's water bowl and add 3 cups of water. The ticks will not like the taste or smell of the vinegar emanating from your pet’s skin, so they will not attach to the skin. Apple cider vinegar is safe for dogs and cats to consume.
Step 5
Crush the berries of the beautyberry bush found in Mississippi into a pulp. Mix the pulp with some tea tree oil. Beautyberries are often used as a mosquito repellent, but the Agricultural Research Service has found the berry may work in repelling ticks as well.
Step 6
Apply the beautyberry mixture to the backs of your pet's ears and neck and other places your pet commonly gets ticks. Ticks usually attach themselves to places where there is less fur to get through and where the skin is thinner.
Things You'll Need
- Apple cider vinegar
- Beautyberries
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