Here I go again, talking about ticks.
Ticks are Arachnids, just like spiders, and are horrible nasty little things that easily attach to your dog, and can be very hard to detect, especially if you have a dark haired, long coated breed of dog like a barbet. I will hasten to add, the only time we have ever had ticks attach themselves to one of our dogs was on a trip to Germany, but as I said in an earlier post, we do have deer very close to home now, so I will have to be more vigilant.
OK, as I said previously, I personally would not recommend only using 'natural' deterrents. As I have been closely associated with the pest control industry, I have read many magazines published for that sector over the past years, and was very interested in a new product aimed at killing and deterring bed-bugs which like in America, are rampant in London too. As many products that we have previously used are now banned in Europe, there is always a need to find new products that really do the job, so I was curious when I read that a new product not only killed bed-bugs, but also ticks (and head lice, ear mites, spiders of all varieties, roaches and so on).
So here is the list of ingredients if anyone wants to try it at home.
Almond Oil
Glycerine
Eucalyptus Oil
Purified Water
and .625% overall of Clove Oil.
Oh, if you have cats, they need more Clove Oil.
Just mix it up and spray.
Hmmm.
Then look at this;
OSU Entomology Report Synopsis
Evaluation of Greenway Formula 7 for Management of Ticks and Bed bugs
Objective:
To determine the efficacy of a proprietary formula developed by American Achievers, LLC. Tests were made of their
product Greenway Formula 7 for management of ticks and bed bugs.
Location: Year: 2012
Laboratory Evaluation
Insect Physiology Laboratory
333,335 Noble Research Center
Oklahoma State University-Stillwater, OK
Rationale:
In Oklahoma, ticks are the vectors for animal and human infections including Rocky Mountain spotted fever,
anaplasmosis and ehrlichiosis. The immature, nymphal tick life stage is the most important for disease transmission.
Nymphs are difficult to see and can inject pathogens into a host virtually unnoticed. In addition, Oklahomans are
encountering bed bugs in many high density living environments including hotels and university dormitories. Bed bugs
are highly adapted to human habitations and feed almost exclusively on human blood. Bed bugs do not transmit any
diseases, but are the source of irritation and allergy to its human hosts. Finding effective and safe treatment methods to
eradicate these blood feeding arthropods is essential because ticks and bed bugs are becoming pesticide-resistant.
Target Organisms:
Nymphs of Amblyomma americanum, Lone star tick; Dermacentor variabilis, American dog tick; and Ixodes scapularis,
Black-legged/Deer tick: Immatures and adults of bed bugs, Cimex lectularis.
Experimental Design:
For each arthropod and life stage, three replicates were done. Small plastic condiment cups were utilized to contain the
ticks and bed bugs. A 100% concentration of Greenway Formula 7 and three one-tenth dilutions of the formula were
impregnated on glass filter discs and placed in cups. All dilutions were made with inert mineral oil. Additionally, a
control treated only with mineral oil was used. Twenty ticks or ten bed bugs were added to each plate. All plates were
stored in 96% relative humidity room with temperature and room photoperiod. Mortality was checked after one hour,
24 hours and 7 days.
Results:
For all replicates, both bed bugs and ticks, at one hour, no mortality was seen. For all replicates, at 24 hours, the 100%
treatment of the Greenway Formula 7 (non diluted) solution killed all the ticks, all the immature bed bugs and 90% of
the adult bed bugs. For all replicates, at seven days, the 100% treatment of Greenway Formula 7 (non diluted) solution
killed all the bed bugs. For all replicates and all other treatments including control with the diluted version, there was 0-
10% mortality with the ticks and bed bugs and did not vary over the course of a week. Bed bugs were not repelled with
the diluted version of the Greenway Formula 7 solution and repellency for ticks could not be determined. Ticks always
moved upward and away from the filter. Bed bugs stayed on or near the filter disks
Ticks are Arachnids, just like spiders, and are horrible nasty little things that easily attach to your dog, and can be very hard to detect, especially if you have a dark haired, long coated breed of dog like a barbet. I will hasten to add, the only time we have ever had ticks attach themselves to one of our dogs was on a trip to Germany, but as I said in an earlier post, we do have deer very close to home now, so I will have to be more vigilant.
OK, as I said previously, I personally would not recommend only using 'natural' deterrents. As I have been closely associated with the pest control industry, I have read many magazines published for that sector over the past years, and was very interested in a new product aimed at killing and deterring bed-bugs which like in America, are rampant in London too. As many products that we have previously used are now banned in Europe, there is always a need to find new products that really do the job, so I was curious when I read that a new product not only killed bed-bugs, but also ticks (and head lice, ear mites, spiders of all varieties, roaches and so on).
So here is the list of ingredients if anyone wants to try it at home.
Almond Oil
Glycerine
Eucalyptus Oil
Purified Water
and .625% overall of Clove Oil.
Oh, if you have cats, they need more Clove Oil.
Just mix it up and spray.
Hmmm.
Then look at this;
OSU Entomology Report Synopsis
Evaluation of Greenway Formula 7 for Management of Ticks and Bed bugs
Objective:
To determine the efficacy of a proprietary formula developed by American Achievers, LLC. Tests were made of their
product Greenway Formula 7 for management of ticks and bed bugs.
Location: Year: 2012
Laboratory Evaluation
Insect Physiology Laboratory
333,335 Noble Research Center
Oklahoma State University-Stillwater, OK
Rationale:
In Oklahoma, ticks are the vectors for animal and human infections including Rocky Mountain spotted fever,
anaplasmosis and ehrlichiosis. The immature, nymphal tick life stage is the most important for disease transmission.
Nymphs are difficult to see and can inject pathogens into a host virtually unnoticed. In addition, Oklahomans are
encountering bed bugs in many high density living environments including hotels and university dormitories. Bed bugs
are highly adapted to human habitations and feed almost exclusively on human blood. Bed bugs do not transmit any
diseases, but are the source of irritation and allergy to its human hosts. Finding effective and safe treatment methods to
eradicate these blood feeding arthropods is essential because ticks and bed bugs are becoming pesticide-resistant.
Target Organisms:
Nymphs of Amblyomma americanum, Lone star tick; Dermacentor variabilis, American dog tick; and Ixodes scapularis,
Black-legged/Deer tick: Immatures and adults of bed bugs, Cimex lectularis.
Experimental Design:
For each arthropod and life stage, three replicates were done. Small plastic condiment cups were utilized to contain the
ticks and bed bugs. A 100% concentration of Greenway Formula 7 and three one-tenth dilutions of the formula were
impregnated on glass filter discs and placed in cups. All dilutions were made with inert mineral oil. Additionally, a
control treated only with mineral oil was used. Twenty ticks or ten bed bugs were added to each plate. All plates were
stored in 96% relative humidity room with temperature and room photoperiod. Mortality was checked after one hour,
24 hours and 7 days.
Results:
For all replicates, both bed bugs and ticks, at one hour, no mortality was seen. For all replicates, at 24 hours, the 100%
treatment of the Greenway Formula 7 (non diluted) solution killed all the ticks, all the immature bed bugs and 90% of
the adult bed bugs. For all replicates, at seven days, the 100% treatment of Greenway Formula 7 (non diluted) solution
killed all the bed bugs. For all replicates and all other treatments including control with the diluted version, there was 0-
10% mortality with the ticks and bed bugs and did not vary over the course of a week. Bed bugs were not repelled with
the diluted version of the Greenway Formula 7 solution and repellency for ticks could not be determined. Ticks always
moved upward and away from the filter. Bed bugs stayed on or near the filter disks
Well, you can work out for yourselves I'm sure. Lets see what the results are in a few years time when it has been on the market, or will it end up like these? http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2012/09/cedarcidermb.shtm
As much as applying chemicals to yourself or your dog isn't ideal, it is for me, the only way to ensure that you are getting tried and tested protection from these nasty little bugs if you are living in or visiting a tick infested area.