how do i do this? we're moving july 31st out to the boonies, and while we're really looking forward to having a huge yard surrounded by 3.5 acres of our very own forest, we're not looking forward to the ticks. the day we went out to look at the place, we were standing in the yard and killed 3 ticks in the span of 15 minutes.

i know chickens are a good bet, and we do plan on getting some chickens, but i know nothing about raising them - don't i need to keep them in a coop? and even if not, i'm not too chuffed about having them running free around the entire yard - i mean, the kids are going to be playing in that yard. i do not want to be cleaning chicken poop off of shoes, feet, etc. i have lived in the middle of nowhere before, near a chicken farm. chicken poop is stinky. i imagine not having a large number of them will control that, but still, don't want it on our shoes.

so what can i do to keep the ticks out of the yard? we do use bug spray now, but does that repel ticks?? the current owners, friends of ours who are not crunchy in the least (well, they are sort of crunchy, in a self-sufficient sort of way, just not in the chemical-avoidance area) used to treat the property with seven dust. i don't really want to do that. alternatives?

eta: long sleeves and pants tucked into socks with a hat on top are not an option. we're in NC. it's hot.

What bug spray are you talking about? We use Shaman Quit Buggin Me lotion and it works with ticks, fleas, skeeters and chiggers. We are having a terrible time with both ticks and skeeters right now. Then I see on Animal Planet that a tick can go dormant for 18 years waiting for a host. CO2 brings it out of dormancy. Yikes!

family off skintastic in the tropical breeze scent :o

it hasn't been working all that great against the mosquitoes - and that's the main reason we use it, ds swells up horribly with any bug bite, and where we are now it's mainly mosquitoes, they're everywhere.

i just really have a thing about preventing ticks. i nearly lost a dog to rocky mountain spotted fever two years ago that she got from a tick. nasty, nasty stuff. i was just doing some net research and saw the same thing about dormant ticks detecting the CO2 and springing "back" to life. i hate the **** things.

I dunno if this would work, but my family had awesome results with repelling mosquitos when we went camping, by taking garlic capsules before we left, and the entire trip. Apparently it makes your skin taste bad, so they stay away. We used the odorless ones, so we didn't repell everyone else, too. :lol: Maybe it would work with ticks, too?

I posted then went and got the mail. I get back and a tick is crawling down my back. I am not sure if he came out of a tree or off the dog or what. If he came off the dog, he'd of had to have crawled up my arm first. How could I not feel him. So, I am guessing tree. I thought the dog was getting ticks from under the truck so I moved the truck. But, we noticed them whenever he was on the steps, right under the tree. I wonder what I can do there. We don't use commercial chemicals, only natural ones. I wonder what essential oil repels them. Perhaps mixing some with water and spraying the tree.

I know Organicmama~Kristerae/Dreamseeds has a bug repellant,,,all natural that she has tried out in Arkansas with good success.

good question ame - our neighbour was just diagnosed with lyme disease. between that and the fact that i absolutely cant keep the girls out of the backyard and they are now absolutely COVERED in mosquito bites (i mean covered from head to toe) we have used the kiss my face stuff, off, skintastic, burts bees, etc and nothing is working to keep the girls from getting bitten. we do a tick check every night, but since they can be the size of a period i know we coudl possibly miss one or more.

oh just found this

Care2 Greenliving :: Tick Repellant (http://www.care2.com/greenliving/tick-repellant.html)