To Stop Shedding
Try paper towels. To prevent a dog from shedding all over the house, dampen a sheet of paper towel and run it over his fur. The paper towel collects the loose hair.
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Tick Check
Wisconsin and Minnesota are red zones for Lyme disease.
There are also three other diseases caused by ticks: anaplasmosis, babesiosis, and RMSF. The wood tick does not carry any of these; however they are now finding out that mosquitoes, fleas, and some spiders (I got Lyme from a spider bite) now carry Lyme disease. Deer ticks are out year-round. They are very slow during December and January, and their main feeding time is May through July. The nymph and female ticks are the ones that carry the diseases. The males do not feed on animals; they just crawl around waiting for a female. Their life cycle is two years and they feed for two to four days. The tick has to be feeding on the animal for 24 hours before it can transfer the disease. The nymphs are baby ticks and are the size of a pin head; they look like a spot of dirt. The females are a little larger and have a red back. The size of a male is between those of the nymph and the female and it is black.
To help prevent Lyme disease and the three other diseases that deer ticks (otherwise know as beer ticks and black legged ticks) carry, there are a few things that can be done.
Start by sprinkling garlic granules in the yard. Your dogs and kids can play in it without any ill effects, and mosquitoes, ticks, and other creeping things do not like it.
You can also put cedar shavings around the bushes, kennels, and in the garden. I sprinkle the chips in my flower pots, around the house bushes, and wherever else. The dogs love to lay in it.
Use a natural tick repellant made from essential oils and herbs.