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BS: Ticks
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Subject: BS: Ticks From: Melissa Date: 16 Apr 10 - 05:34 PM I don't want a yard full of ticks this year! Does anybody know a product that works well and is fairly cheap? I'd also be glad to know which common brands are not worth the effort/cost so I don't waste money/time. Thanks, M |
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Subject: RE: BS: Ticks From: LilyFestre Date: 16 Apr 10 - 05:52 PM Frontline works really well for my dogs. Do NOT waste your money on the stuff at PetCo and PetSmart that is all natural. It smells to high heavens...I'm talking gag material...and it does NOT work. AT ALL. Michelle |
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Subject: RE: BS: Ticks From: pdq Date: 16 Apr 10 - 05:59 PM Completely remove all weeds and un-necessary plants from entire yard. Clear an area 4' wide starting at the foundatuin of the house. Use those nasty chemicals that all your friends will tell you not to use. Read labels carefully before using and practise common sense safety procedures like wearing mask and washing hands. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Ticks From: Melissa Date: 16 Apr 10 - 06:01 PM I got a bottle of some 'natural' stuff a few years ago..thought it was so great that I found something that didn't stink too badly. Uck! I was wrong! It smelled kind of nice for the first couple squirts then it went on getting stronger and sticking in my nose. Oddly enough, I only used it once. Are PetCo/PetSmart ever cheaper than shopping regular stores? Last year, their flea/tick stuff cost more than buying it from a vet. This year, I want to treat the yard as well as the beasts. My neighbors are cattle and there's a really big herd of deer romping the area..and I expect this to be a worse-than-normal year for ticks (and fleas) I think if I can get something spread on the yard, I might not have to poison the cats directly so much during the season. Plus, it would be nice to go from the house to the car without having to catch ticks running up my legs while I'm driving. This place has a LOT of ticks. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Ticks From: ClaireBear Date: 16 Apr 10 - 06:06 PM What kinds of plantings do you have in your yard? I don't know much about this, but I do know that, for example, ceanothus is so tick-friendly that one of its popular names is "tickbush." The instructions on this site are a bit extreme for my gardening taste, but the guinea fowl solution might be workable. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Ticks From: Melissa Date: 16 Apr 10 - 06:07 PM pdq, what chemical to you suggest for around the foundation? Tick-ridding is a luxury and I need to find the best/cheapest option. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Ticks From: pdq Date: 16 Apr 10 - 06:19 PM I use a product called Malation Plus, the "plus" being Sevin. Sevin in known to cause an upset stomach if you drink some, which most sane people don't do. Malathion is less toxic than table salt, so the combination in Malathion Plus is quite benign, but effective on almost every yard pest including fleas, ants, and probably ticks. The yard clearing (not just clean up) is more important with ticks than you might think. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Ticks From: Melissa Date: 16 Apr 10 - 06:19 PM ClaireBear, Ha..that suggestion calls itself 'moderately easy' and I think it sounds like backbreaking tasking! I don't know what ceanothus is..I better look for a pic online and see if it looks familiar to me--I sure don't need anything to encourage ticks! I've been thinking about a couple guineas and wondering how they would fare here. They'd probably be the cheapest option but I'm not sure they'd do their job with so many cats wandering around? Surely they hide at night to roost so the coyotes wouldn't be likely to eat them and I guess I could give them away when the weather turns colder (so I wouldn't have to tend them during the winter. I do not like chickens and doubt I'd be fond of taking care of guineas) Lorsban/Dursban Has anybody used these? CB's link makes them seem kind of scary. Any idea how long it takes them to dissolve in the soil and be not so poisonous to animals? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Ticks From: Melissa Date: 16 Apr 10 - 06:32 PM pdq, Malathion would be available at a regular farm supply place? Is that a spray? Clearing the yard would be great..but I'm gimpy and pretty limited on how much I can accomplish and don't know how to prioritize the task. I do have a useful boychild who is planning to come do some work for me before long and if I knew which tasks to do first, I could put him to work on that. I can cut little trees and viney crap (and he can drag it) I can throw sticks and let him consolidate my small piles to a big one. He can rake/clear an area around the foundation and he can broadcast (or spray) the poison. Does that look like my sensible plan of attack? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Ticks From: Melissa Date: 16 Apr 10 - 06:35 PM Would I need to severely clean my side of the cattle's fence, or just the house? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Ticks From: pdq Date: 16 Apr 10 - 06:51 PM What I recommend for general "yard and garden" pest control is "Malathion Plus", a very specific product made by Ortho and destributed by Scotts. Leaving out either of the two ingrediants, Sevin or Malathion, will not do a good job on any of the pests I listed. Ticks often crawl up on annual grasses and similar plants and grab a ride with people or pets when they walk through to vegetation. Clearing the yard works wonders, even for the control of rats and mice. Ants like the cleared yard, but you can easily spot the mounds and spray them. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Ticks From: Melissa Date: 16 Apr 10 - 07:05 PM I'd like to dose at least an acre (and would prefer to do a larger area, but I guess that's what next year is for) Would it cost more for MalathionPlus than to get an exterminator? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Ticks From: pdq Date: 16 Apr 10 - 07:26 PM With an acre or more and not much physical labor available, perhaps calling a professional pest control outfit would be a good idea. Still, long term, I would recommend a 4' clear zone around the house foundation and a similar 4' cleared strip along the periferal fence line. Spray as often as needed with Roundup and Malathion Plus, alternating every two weeks. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Ticks From: Melissa Date: 16 Apr 10 - 07:33 PM Thanks, maybe I'll call around and do some pricing. Now that I have a semi-sensible idea on how to go about getting ready for a good dosing, I'm a little bit more at ease. These ticks are really creeping me out this year..they're hanging out where there's no vegetation and I don't think I've ever seen them do that. I appreciate everybody's input! thank you, M |
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Subject: RE: BS: Ticks From: Q (Frank Staplin) Date: 16 Apr 10 - 08:11 PM Sevin (Carbaryl) is good for small areas but gets expensive when you talk of acerage. As pdq notes, it is often sold with malathion, a good all-round insecticide. Sulfur (powdered) is good but may not be practical for you. This little article from the U. S. Army Center has good ideas for control based on vegetation control. So many plants and shrubs that we like can harbor ticks that this method is poor for landscaped and planted areas. http://www.smdc.army.mil/2008/Safety/Articles/TickControlAroundTheHome.pdf For large areas, talk to a pest control agency, but remember, birds and animals are always bringing in more. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Ticks From: GUEST,kendall Date: 16 Apr 10 - 08:12 PM I have about 2/3 of an acre so I hire a local exterminator. He knows exactly where to spray and I always ship the dog off to Mary's for a couple of days. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Ticks From: Joe Offer Date: 16 Apr 10 - 08:27 PM We have deer - lots of them. When we find them as road kill, they're covered with ticks - so I don't think there's any hope of getting rid of either the deer or the ticks. We try to clean them off the dogs several times a day, so the ticks don't get onto my 95-yr-old mother-in-law. She gets really sick when she gets a tick bite. I figure it's just part of living in the country, but I do try to take precautions when I'm working outside. The precautions didn't work for poison oak this week, and I'm miserable. My wife ended up with a nasty tick bite clearing brush, and I got the poison oak. Maybe we need a condo in the city.... -Joe- |
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Subject: RE: BS: Ticks From: Sorcha Date: 16 Apr 10 - 08:34 PM Some people are VERY allergic to Malathion, so check that too. (My neighbor is) Ticks do NOT like tall grass, so keep it mowed if you can. Dose yourself with tea trea oil, Lavender oil, or something like that. Even baby oil or such might work so they can't get a grip on you. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Ticks From: ranger1 Date: 16 Apr 10 - 08:45 PM The issue with using any sort of pesticide is the adverse effects it may have on all the things that eat the pests. Keeping your lawn cut may work better than pesticides, as well. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Ticks From: Rapparee Date: 16 Apr 10 - 09:38 PM I'd use season-long Roundup on the fence line and keep the grass mowed to about 2 or 3 inches. Wear a DEET-containing insect repellent, too, and get flea & tick collars for any dogs and cats. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Ticks From: MarkS Date: 16 Apr 10 - 11:18 PM First - keep the vegetation cut short. Second - keep as advised above - a wide clear swath near your home Third - Dursban does work if applied correctly, but you will likely need a lot of it and you must worry about allergic reactions. Last - We keep a flock of Guinea Fowl on our property, and we have noticed a drastic reduction in the tick population. Seems these birds just love ticks as their favorite food. They are in a pen overnight, but every year we loose some to owls and foxes. And if you are going to run Guineas, do not spray insecticide. Last plus - make sure your apply a good bug repellant (we like Deep Woods Off) before going outside. Be sure to spray if on your clothing from the knees down in addition to all the usual spots! Good luck Mark |
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Subject: RE: BS: Ticks From: Joe Offer Date: 17 Apr 10 - 12:50 AM Sorcha, I suspect that you meant to say something other than, "Ticks do NOT like tall grass." Do you want me to change it to something else? -Joe, miserably itchy today- |
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Subject: RE: BS: Ticks From: GUEST Date: 17 Apr 10 - 12:51 AM My sister keeps Guinea fowl to get rid of ticks on her farm in North Carolina. I don't know how well they do. I do know that they can hold their own against the cats. It's the schnoodle that kills them. I also know that they are the ugliest, stupidest, noisiest birds I've ever encountered. The chickens go to sleep at night. The guineas will squawk if there's a full moon.
Thanks. -Joe Offer- |
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Subject: RE: BS: Ticks From: Jim Dixon Date: 17 Apr 10 - 01:01 AM I discovered a neat, easy way to dispose of ticks that you find crawling on you when you're indoors. Fold it up inside a piece of Scotch tape. Masking tape will also work, but Scotch tape is more satisfying. You can see the little bugger in there so you know he'll never get out. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Ticks From: katlaughing Date: 17 Apr 10 - 08:06 AM Ugh, thanks for reminding me why I will probably always live at higher altitudes. No fleas here and, since I don't get out in the mtns. much, even when I did, very few ticks. Growing up in WY, I only remember ever getting one tick. When we lived in CT, it was a daily thing, along with fleas. Never again, if I have any say so.:-) Good luck! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Ticks From: Greg F. Date: 17 Apr 10 - 09:53 AM Both Carbaryl (Sevin) and Malathion are neurotoxins that effect the central & peripheral nervous systems. Carbaryl is also a known carcinogen. Check out the two MSDS's below. Try contacting your local Agricultural Extension office before you start spraying this toxic shit all over the place- particularly if you have childtren or pets. You may find the "cure" is worse than the disease. SEVIN Malathion |
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Subject: RE: BS: Ticks From: MarkS Date: 17 Apr 10 - 11:46 AM Jim What a great idea! Thanks |
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Subject: RE: BS: Ticks From: kendall Date: 17 Apr 10 - 12:03 PM Greg F have you ever had Lyme disease? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Ticks From: Greg F. Date: 17 Apr 10 - 12:51 PM Kendall, have you ever had organophosphate poisoning or known someone who has? I know you have personal experience of cancer. Neither is a lot of fun. Lyme disease is pretty easy to prevent and to treat, compared to the other two. But hey - your & Melissa's choice. I'm only providing information. Best, Greg |
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Subject: RE: BS: Ticks From: Greg F. Date: 17 Apr 10 - 12:58 PM Just noted Sevin 'clickie doesn't work- let me try again: SEVIN |
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Subject: RE: BS: Ticks From: katlaughing Date: 17 Apr 10 - 03:21 PM You can also smother ticks with petroleum jelly, i.e. Vaseline. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Ticks From: Q (Frank Staplin) Date: 17 Apr 10 - 03:29 PM The link provided by Greg F. gives good reason not to use Sevin 'wholesale'; that is why the information on the army site that I recommended is best if the area is large. If one wishes to encourage birds, however, cover is needed, not only for them but for insects they eat, and the cover produces seeds that are also required for food. Good inspection and hygene, for your animals, yourself and relations living with you, is usually best when dealing with Nature's critters. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Ticks From: Melissa Date: 17 Apr 10 - 07:45 PM It's kind of fun to think of guineas perched around howling at the moon. I think I'll opt for poison this year and consider guineas some other time. I don't particularly want to encourage birds. I don't want to poison them, but I'm not worried about killing their bugs or trimming their cover. I am a little bit hesitant to poison the snakes, toads and lizardy things..but I guess they'll probably go away for a while when we start romping around cleaning up the yard? There's a new guy in the neighborhood and I think he's been feeding the deer. The herd may have broken up by now. It hasn't been long since I looked out in the field and counted 35. They were moving and there were surely some in the edge of the wood that I couldn't see. My estimate is that there's 40-50 of them..sharing their ticks. Last season, I didn't see one of those bag things for cows to walk under and get powdered with bug chaser. I have an abnormal amount of ticks and they seem to have weathered the winter well. Thanks for your concern, Greg F. I agree completely with the part about it being up to me whether I spray shit around. I am aware that poison is unhealthy. I obviously think the risk is worth taking. As you can see, I am in the process of gathering information from folks who are likely to have experience with yard/garden poisons..people who are unlikely to gain a damn thing by promoting a product. Thanks everybody, M |
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Subject: RE: BS: Ticks From: Q (Frank Staplin) Date: 17 Apr 10 - 08:31 PM Poison the insects = poison the birds. Your neighbors also are affected by your actions. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Ticks From: Melissa Date: 17 Apr 10 - 09:27 PM I'm not sure I'll poison too many birds, Q. My cats have taught the birds to stay off the ground..the dog reminds them. Dead bugs don't fly or climb. I will read labels and/or talk to the exterminator about his poisons before they are spread. At the moment, I would say I'm more affected by my neighbor's actions than they are by mine. Nobody lives close and if a Bug Rights Activist Group wants to come protect these ticks from death, they are free to come gather them. I don't intend to go haywire with poison. I just want to be able to play in the yard and not have ticks walking on me all the time. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Ticks From: Joe Offer Date: 17 Apr 10 - 10:58 PM Katlaughing suggests smothering ticks with Vaseline. I've never tried that and I don't know if it works. Generally, we just pull the suckers out quickly and straight, and that works. Back in the Good Old Days, the Boy Scout Handbook suggested Vaseline, and one other remedy - you were supposed to light a match, blow it out, and put the hot matchhead to the tick and make him back out. Well, I lit a match, shook it out, touched it to the tick, and the flame came back and burned all the hair off my leg..... Back to the drawing board. -Joe- Oh, and fireman Dave Swan sent me a PM and suggested that I use Zanfel for poison oak. A tube cost me $40, but it worked! Thanks, Dave - I feel much better. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Ticks From: Melissa Date: 17 Apr 10 - 11:12 PM I pull them off and burn them..I like the satisfaction of watching their damn legs stick straight out and sometimes they pop. I think it would be kind of creepy to sizzle them while they're stuck! One summer, we were supposed to do the vaseline trick at camp. I think it takes a while for the tick to decide it is smothered and get around to unhooking. The girls were never patient enough for us to get to see whether that worked and we went back to our regular methods quickly. Zanfel sounds like a great product. Does poison oak really have 'hairy, erect leaves'? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Ticks From: Q (Frank Staplin) Date: 17 Apr 10 - 11:54 PM My father used a lit cigarette. The tick was supposed to let loose and back out, but another case (sometimes) of 'back to the drawing board'. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Ticks From: Stilly River Sage Date: 18 Apr 10 - 02:52 AM Beneficial nematodes are very good at keeping down or out the fire ants, fleas, and ticks. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Ticks From: Melissa Date: 18 Apr 10 - 02:58 AM what's a beneficial nematode? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Ticks From: Melissa Date: 18 Apr 10 - 03:06 AM Nematodes are wormy things? I don't think ticks have a stage where they stay in the ground waiting to develop, do they? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Ticks From: Jim Dixon Date: 18 Apr 10 - 01:30 PM Maybe we oughta round up them deer an' dip 'em, like this. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Ticks From: Q (Frank Staplin) Date: 18 Apr 10 - 02:27 PM Lyme disease so far has not been occurred in Alberta, but adjacent British Columbia is high-risk. The Lyme spirochaete has been found in a rabbit in central west Alberta, so the possibility of getting the disease is there. The best way to remove a tick according to the Alberta Health website is to grasp it gently with tweezers as close to the mouth as possible. Slowly pull the tick straight out- do not jerk or twist it. Check the bite area for at least two weeks. If a red rash appears, take the tick (if possible) and go to a doctor. Squeezing the tick may force bacteria out of the mouthparts and into- YOU. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Ticks From: Stilly River Sage Date: 18 Apr 10 - 02:40 PM I was extrapolating from the flea treatment, since I've heard him talk about both. But the original flea treatment is a little different (though I still think you ought to give the nematodes a try), because I do think there is a soil-level stage for ticks. Yes, they climb trees and shrubs, but when they've finished a blood meal they don't hop back on a bush, they drop to the ground. I think that's where you'll get them. From the Dirt Doctor site about tick treatment: Treatment is the same as the flea control explained on the web site with one change. Ticks like to camp out up high and be ready to jump off on passing animals for a little blood meal. Spray the shrubs, tree trunks, sides of buildings, etc. with one of the fire ant drench mixtures containing compost tea, molasses and orange oil. Beneficial Nematodes Beneficial nematodes should be used for soil-borne pests. Overall broadcasting is best. Spot treating helps if the budget dictates. In an organic program one treatment a year is usually enough. No, they do not hurt the beneficials. Apply per the label instructions for the control of fleas, ticks, grubworms, termites, fire ants and roaches. Beneficial nematodes are just one of the beneficial microbes that exist in healthy soil. That's why they seem to control more pests than they are supposed to. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Ticks From: Greg F. Date: 18 Apr 10 - 05:29 PM I don't think ticks have a stage where they stay in the ground waiting to develop, do they? http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+1588&aid=603 http://www.aldf.com/deerTickEcology.shtml http://www.deh.enr.state.nc.us/phpm/ticks.pdf |
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Subject: RE: BS: Ticks From: kendall Date: 18 Apr 10 - 05:38 PM I despise those little bastards! It's almost a phobia so I'll kill them any way I can. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Ticks From: Melissa Date: 18 Apr 10 - 06:31 PM Thanks, GregF. I learned that the hard covering/shell on ticks is called "scutum" Ticks lay eggs (I thought when they got full, the eggs were in that fat part..that the full tick died and the next batch hatched from inside the dead mamatick) and the larval stage is seed ticks (I thought 'larval' meant 'worm-like') Seed ticks run around looking for someone to eat..which would mean they aren't truly in the ground. Would nematodes be able to get them? Where would I shop for nematodes if I was going to give them a try? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Ticks From: MartinRyan Date: 18 Apr 10 - 06:42 PM Ticks? I thought this was a birdwatching thread... More particularly, when faced with them individually, I generally deal with ticks by dropping vinegar on them and then easing them off with a tweezers. Faced with the problem on my skipper's upper, inside thigh (don't ask!) on a boat a year or two ago, I substituted lemon juice - which seems to work just as well. Collectively? Cover up. Regards |
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Subject: RE: BS: Ticks From: ichMael Date: 22 Apr 10 - 09:57 PM http://store.doyourownpestcontrol.com/search.aspx?criteria=premier+sprayer You could call those people. Experts on insecticides. I had to order some stuff for black widows and scorpions. Nice folks, helpful, good prices. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Ticks From: Seamus Kennedy Date: 22 Apr 10 - 11:58 PM Pave the yard? |
