# Tick prevention for North and Northeastern states



## G-bear (Oct 6, 2015)

I have three dogs. I have a lake home on acreage in the woods of Northern Minnesota. My dogs spend a lot of time walking the woods with my husband and I. I have them vaccinated for Lyme disease and I give them Nexgard. I prefer Nexgard because it is a once a month pill. I do not use topical treatments nor do I use flea collars. There have been reports of Frontline becoming ineffective in MN according to my vet. 
I give the Nexgard from March to December (since Nexgard protects forward as opposed to heartworm medication which protects backwards) I try to cover the months when ticks are most likely to be active in the state in which I live. I do not give Nexgard at the same time which I give the dogs their heartworm medications. I give the heartworm preventative on the first of the month and the Nexgard is given 15 days later. Doing it that way is a personal preference as I do not want to give them too much medication at the same time. 
I also bathe the dogs on a regular basis with JP tea tree shampoo. This was recommended to me by my vet for a dog with some skin issues. I have since learned that in addition to being a soothing shampoo for allergies tea tree oil is also a natural repellent. I specifically purchase JP tea tree shampoo as it is made by co owner of the Paul Mitchell line of human hair care products and all of their pet products are free of chemicals and are tested on humans. 
Lastly, because our lake home is in an area well known for biting flies and deer flies I also spray the dogs (and myself) with a 50/50 mixture of Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar and water before we go hiking. Another member had told me about the effectiveness of this combination to keep away biting flies and she was correct. 
I have used all of the above methods for the past 2 years on my three dogs. I have never found a tick on any of them . 
I hope this answers your questions.


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## kelseypr95 (Jul 5, 2016)

We have had 0 ticks using nexgard.


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## gdgli (Aug 24, 2011)

Vectra 3D

My vet says it keeps everything off the dog.


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## Tahnee GR (Aug 26, 2006)

I use Advantix, and also a natural spray mixture with rose geranium oil, which helps repel ticks. I spray the dogs and myself before we go on walks around the property.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Vectra 3D - as needed. 

I don't like overdosing junk on the dogs, especially topicals. And we don't technically have as bad a tick issue as other places. Only 1-2 really bad months.


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## Alaska7133 (May 26, 2011)

All it takes is one tick bite. When I travel to the states I use flea/tick stuff before I leave and heartworm pills on the return. We don't have dog ticks in Alaska. I purchase VCA brand items, which are private label from all the usual manufacturers. VCA brand appears to be cheaper than the rest. So maybe look at theirs as an option. Maybe because we don't have ticks, fleas, heartworm or most worms up here, that the advantix, etc. is hard to find up here. I just hope we never get those nasty bugs up here.


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## ceegee (Mar 26, 2015)

Lots of ticks here (eastern Canada). Our dogs are on Nexgard. It works well. I hate that we have to use it, but I have a couple of friends whose dogs have been very sick with TBD, and one whose dog died.


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