France in Focus

10 facts about ticks - true in France as well as here - tough little blighters.

https://www.galaxus.ch/en/page/tiny-ann ... icks-33482

We've kept a tick remover - for people and animals- for years. A few sous from the pharmacie.

Interesting article, I didn't know ticks could survive in water, nor go without "food" for so long. I didn't know about the anaesthetic either !
We lived in a tick area for 18 years (we were surrounded by forest) and like Mad have always kept a tick remover, the only sure way of removing a tick safely without leaving anything behind. We often had to remove them from the dogs and (fortunately) less often, from ourselves. We adopted a Border Collie that kept running off (we never knew why, she was a nightmare ...) and one day she reappeared after a couple of days covered in ticks. I counted over 150 ... We reckon she must have slept where deer had been - they are some of the worse carriers of the pesky critters.

We know several people that have Lyme Disease which can be very debilitating. Other people we know have been caught and treated in time. We have been fortunate ... There were people near us who worked in the forest who never got bitten ....

Thanks for that. I thought I knew a lot about ticks but clearly I didn't. Will have to stop dispatching them down into the sewer.

After saying that I have been surprised by how few the cats have attracted so far this year. So few that I am reminded that we are behind schedule to give them their tick and flea treatments - but if they are not being attacked, why spread poison about.

I've given our cat his treatment on time - a 4-month liquid from the pharmacy, and so far so good. Our grass has been long all year, due to no gardener being available, and I'm afraid of Lyme disease after a friend caught it and was ill for years.

We put fly killer on a tissue, wrap it up and squash firmly with a heel before flushing into the fosse. Hopefully that does it. Never realised they were that tough!

Most anti flea/tick treatment for domestic pets contains “fipronil”. A rather long lasting toxic chemical, deadly for rabbits, bees, ducks and aquatic life. I would love to know if there is a safe alternative.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fipronil