Ticks!!!

[farmboy]

As many of you know, the old steer escaped his pen and was located a mile a way from home in the "boonies". Ticks have invaded his body and I am working as hard as i can and am gaining little ground. They are taking their tole on him and he hasn't eaten but a 1/4 of his feed 2 straight days and always seems "drained" and can hardly hold his head up. Now, my question is, besides picking off ALL of them (IMPOSSIBLE, trust me, ive tried ) Can i spray on something chemically active to kill them off like WD-40 or something similar to aid him in this battle with out hurting him more. Most of the little buggers are on his sack area and his pits. Ive already pulled a good deal off of him and treated with Vicks vapo sav. He has accsess to water at all times and gets fed at night and still needs to gain weight (he's already made weight, just a little insurance) Ive also tried the curry comb with little success (cow)

 

[renegade]

When i lived in missouri we had that problem on horses you can try spraying vinegar on the ticks, we used alchohol on ourselves if we had a tick or go to the feed store and they have sprays that are for flys,ticks and lice but i dont know if i have seen just a tick spray before.

 

[red]

boy Farmboy, that is a tough one!
I'm not sure if ivomec or Dectomax will work for ticks or not? Make sure what ever you use meets the proper withdrawal time period.

Red

 

[red]

that is a good DL question. Is using something like DEET considered off label use? Short of pulling them off, not sure.

Red

 

[farmboy]

WELL I HAVE 30 DAYS TILL AUG 6 WEIGH INS

 

[red]

try this site Farm Boy:

http://pods.dasnr.okstate.edu/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-1932/F-7000web.pdf

 

[farmboy]

I SPRAYED SOME LIQUID WRENCH SILICONE SPRAY ON THE BAD SPOTS (cow)

 

[ROAD WARRIOR]

Most commercial pour ons should get both ticks as well as lice. WATCH the withdraw on the label if he will be sold for slaughter after the show.

 

[Cowboy]

I have only seen one or two ticks on my cows this and last summer -- iether up in the arm pit or on the side of the tail head.

I use a product called Permectrin II -- as far as I can tell, there is no slaughter withdrawal listed at all. I t lasts for at least 2-3 weeks at a time. Kills and repells all flies, and ticks either never crawl on the cow or die soon after. It sure has worked very well for us. We try and pour them (1 ounce doseage per thousand pounds) down the top line like you would with Ivermec, concentrating both on the shoulders and tail head areas.

It will last at least three weeks the first time, and about 2 wekk sper dose from there on. Good stuff -- comes in a quart size bottle, is a thick white liquid! Make sure you get the new version -- Permectrin II . It is the best!

Good luck -  Terry

 

[Jill]

A word of caution with any pour on you have not used on this calf before.  We poured a bull we were showing and it took his entire top line off, we have had this happen 1 other time and for that reason any time we have to do show cattle we do the injectable.  I would hate to have you have ugly blistered skin only 30 days from the show.

Got an email a couple of times that said if you use liquid soap (makes them let go) and a cotton ball they come right off, haven't tried it but it would be worth a shot.

 

[TJ]

Not sure how well it would work on an already tick infested animal or how much it might potentially harm the hair, but people who work in the woods often mist glass cleaner (windex, etc.) on their clothes/ boots because it will repels ticks, chiggers, etc.  It's not too harsh & is fairly cheap to use, but it has just enough ammonia in the product that insects don't like it.  Also, I am not sure how enviornmentally friendly or if it is even legal to use diesel on cattle, but a little diesel whipped on the bad areas should help. 

RE pour ons... I've never had a problem with pour on's, but I have heard stories about pour on's occasionally taking the hair off. 

 

[DL]

Not to make your day worse farmboy but once you get all the da** ticks off your steer give your vet a call and find out what tick born diseases are a problem in your area and if there is a reason to prophylactically give him some antibiotics - would hate for him to get sick before fair......different areas and different ticks carry different diseases and cattle have different susceptibilities to different tick born diseases (wow look at all those differents) - thre are lots of different products - just make sure you read the label and follow the withhold - also many tick born diseases are transmissible to humans - so be careful removing the iittle vile ones - good luck

 

[farmboy]

YEA, I HAD LIME DISEASE ONCE...IT SUCKED

THANK YOU FOR ALL THE HELP, HE SEEMS  A LITTLE BETTER AND TOMMORROW, I'LL BE SURE TO GIVE HIM SOME ANTIBIOTICS

 

[justintime]

I never saw a tick in my local until about 10 or so years ago, but there has always been lots in other parts of this country. It could be that we have very few trees here, but we do have ticks now.
A few weeks ago I went to a farm about 70 miles east of here to pick up a bull, and I saw what ticks can do to cattle for the first time. He showed me one of his Red Angus herd bulls and the ticks were hanging like grapes around his testicles and along his sheath.There were literally dozens of them on the bull.  I am sure there were some on other parts of the body as well. The bull really looked like he was in distress.He told me that they get them bad for about 6 weeks each spring, and have had reasonable success using Ivomec. He said that Ivomec seems to keep the ticks at bay for 2 -3 weeks.

 

[shorthorns r us]

there is a product called capstar that i say my vet give to a flea infested dog. they were GONE in 2 min. don't know if that can be used on bovines or if it gets ticks but it was impressive on that flea infestation.

 

[cwfmr181]

we use permectin 2 in a diesel base for ticks and fly control in our rope applicators for the pasture cattle and mix it up in a water base and mist the cattle that are in the show barn, both ways seem to work for flys and ticks. good luck farmboy

 

[justme]

Becareful pulling them off Farmboy.  The heads detach easily and they make for nasty infections.  I use to work for a dr. and that is the worst!  He use to coat a cotton ball with alcohol (really get it soaked) and cover the tick...they eventually back out.  For an infested animal that would take forever though!

Good luck ticks suck!

 

[farmboy]

HES CHEERED UP A LITTLE NOW, JUST HAS ALOT OF BUMPS ALL OVER HIM....IM BEING SURE TO TRY AND PULL THE WHOLE TICK OFF

 

[knabe]

out here in CA, we have something called foothill abortion

http://danr.ucop.edu/uccelr/vet09.htm

supposedly you can not lose one year if you expose heifers at right time of year and they get immunity.

 

[bluegrass]

Try Hartz 2in1 flea and tick shampoo for dogs can get it at Wal-Mart.