anyone use cedar chips during summer?

i was wondering if anyone here uses cedar chips for bedding during summer months? it suposedly repels fleas and ticks. we have a bad tick problem here and over 25 cases of lyme disease in our area last year. i could use lime around the property but that's a pain in the ass and alot of bags needed. I use spot on treatments on my dogs but that don't do shit but kill them after they bite and feed off them. any other suggestions are welcome too.

 

cedar chips/shavings do help, but the best thing is to try to prevent the fleas/ticks from getting a foothold. best thing i have found for that is Guinea fowl. i have ZERO fleas or ticks here, and its all because of the free range Guineas i keep. i realize that not everyone can keep them- but you dont need alot of room- an acre is fine for a half dozen birds.
other than that- as you stated-lime, and topical treatments. cedar chips will help too.

 

I think that I read on this board about Apple Cider Vinegar!!!!

 

Anyone have any experience with Diatomaceous Earth? It is said it control a variety of pests, including fleas & ticks. check www.permaguard.com

 

I've had good results with cedar chips, but I also use yard granuals every spring and keep my dogs treated. I have woods not even thirty yards from where my dogs are tied, and I have yet to see a tick on them.

 

I saw these birds earlier this week and then heard about them three times this week for controling ticks so I must be missing out on something. RR do they fly I am guessing no? Also do they shit all over the place? Any info would be great. I have four acres and I'm fencing it in soon so I may have to get some. Ticks drive me up the walls!!!!


Did some research: They do fly how do you keep them in the yard? Do they call all damn night?

 

yeah, i have heard of folks that keep these birds around....maybe an option when we move out to our permanent home which is about 5 acres, right now we have about an acre. the dogs are kept in kennel runs on top of decking...so they're off the ground. i scrub the deck once a week with dawn dish soap and spray the deck with wysiwash (chlorine tabs mixed in a spray gun) a few times a week.but being as the runs are right up against the woodline (with heavy brush) the little bastards still find their way in there. i figured cedar chips would make good bedding plus keep them smelling like cedar, thus repelling them some. i would say f*ck it and give them a lyme vacc but i have heard some bad sh*t about side effects and them being ineffective anyways.

thanks to all that replied. i didn't hear anything negative about using cedar chips, so i'll give them a shot. i used straw throughout winter and last spring we didn't have the runs built during heavy tick season, so this is a first. they are everywhere in our county. i pull at least 2 or 3 ticks off myself every time i'm out there with the dogs. f*cking parasites!!:mad:

 

Same here. Hope the cedar works out for you.

 

Diatomaceous Earth is the way to go, you can find it at most garden centers.

 

isn't that stuff poisonous to dogs?

 

Never used it but from what I read there is a food grade that you can mix in your dogs food for internal parasites as well. Check this site www.foodgradede.com

 

yup- they can fly, and good i might add! they are systematic predators. they will form a line and just scour the ground for bugs and weed seeds, like a typewriter.
you can keep them w/ patience-from hatching-... what you do is pen them up in a coop ( at 6 weeks of age) after 6 weeks you can let them out in their yard ( closed in yard attached to their coop) let them do this routine for about 6 months before you let them free range- that way they know where "home" is. around the same time every evening, go out and give them some scratch-its basically desert for them. that way they always come back to the coop for this "treat" even after free range

 

you might also try Innotek Electronic Flea and Tick Repeller

 

I don't mix it in their food but it does work GREAT for getting rid of flea's. You need to get the food grade kind if you are in fact going to use it at all on your yard, the other kind isn't good for dogs.

 

once had some chickens I read that Guinea fowl can take on a rooster , which is no small matter