Hi, Sue. Cut and paste this. I think you will find it has good information. http://www.tourdekalb.com/ BTW, welcome to Alabama.

Sue! Welcome to Alabama...you'll surely love it.

Whenever you have animals of any kind, there are likely to be their associated parasites. Ticks can be quite numerous in the wooded locations of ALL parts of the world, and Alabama will be no exception. I've spent time doing a little hiking in the area and came home tick free....and have never seen one in the many residential areas that I've visited.

I think that you need to worry about getting organized, packed, and all that awful stuff and forget about the ticks.

And don't forget that your local extension office will be a good place to make contact with after you get into town.

Here is a link that might be useful: Let's visit the extension folks!

In all my days traipsing through the woods of Alabama I have found 3 ticks and 0 lice on me. So they are out there in the woods, but they aren't going to be that big of a bother. I've had more problems with chiggers and poison oak. :-) Not to add more to your worry list, but something to think about.

Welcome to Alabama!

Welcome to Al. I was born in Ft. Payne many years ago and grew up on a farm near there. I still own my parents home and spend some time there and have a big garden there. There are two kinds of ticks: common dog ticks, which get on dogs and cats a lot, but seldom on people. They are about 1/4 to 3/16 in diameter but can swell up much larger when gorged on animal blood. They can be carriers of Rocky Mt. Spotted Fever but that is rare. Then recently we have become infested with deer ticks. They are less than 1/8 in diameter and I have ocasionally got them on me when picking green beans in my garden and get them more often when hunting in the woods. They can be carriers of Lyme disease but that is even rarer still. Lice? Not if your reasonably sanitary. I have seen them on deer that I've kiled. Never had one on me though. Your pets will need to be treated to repell fleas and that will probably repell ticks too. "Off", containing pyrethrin, will keep all these off you
We have three species of poisonous snakes, The copperhead, the timber rattler and the cottonmouth mocosin, and dozens of harmless species. None of them occur in large numbers though and the cottonmouth is almost always found around streams or lakes.
You'll experience the four seasons alright. Do you plan to live in the city or in the country nearby? Gardening is excellent, and so is the hunting and fishing in the nearby lakes.

Hi everyone and thanks for the responses so far..
I knew you guys would help me..
Since my dogs are treated against ticks here in Florida, I see no problems then, or???
I am trying to find us a nice property in the country but still close enough to Ft Payne so I can get me a job. I heard the schools are very good there..
Maybe someone knows a good realtor for Country Living Homes I could get in touch with..
I never sold a House b4 and I never relocated since I made the BIG MOVE from Germany to here..I loved Florida for its Wildlife and the beautyful places, but what happened in the last 6 years makes me sad.. :(
Construction after construction, all those dead animals at the roadsides, horrible..
I need to go back in the country, where my kids can play without me worrying about cars running them over etc..
I so enjoy Wildlife and I am not scared of Snakes etc..we have them down here also..By the way I found the Cornsnake again today, asleep in an empty plastic planter, I released about 7 Months ago..lol
I almost dropped the planter since I did not expected her in there..lol
Beautyful snake though..
Alright, back to Alabama..
Does anyone live close to Ft Payne who knows some realtor or could provide me with some flyers of Country Homes for sale??
I would pay the postage etc..I am looking for a home with a basement if possible, also 3 bedrooms is the minimum..
Please keep the infos coming, I so appreciate them..
Butterfly Greetings
I cannot wait to maybe meet you folks up there..
Susanne(SUE)

Sue,
You'll love Ft Payne and it's beautiful, wild areas. I am from Guntersville originally. I do not know a realtor in that city, but my daughter is a realtor in Huntsville (about 45 miles away). She could possibly help you find someone there if you aren't having any luck on your own. BTW, if you are around in mid-April, the Huntsville Botanical Garden has a plant sale every year. If not, do visit the garden sometime and meet some great new garden friends. They are expanding the children's area beginning this year and have a butterfly house that is just lovely. There are still a lot of German-heritage families in the Huntsville area, mostly from the old Von Braun rocket team days. You will also find a couple of good German restaurants in case you get homesick for German food.

As for dog ticks, one of the good monthly pills that combat fleas and ticks will help prevent ticks on your dog, but it will still be a good idea to check now and then in the summer anyway. Sentinel is a good all-purpose treatment in pill form (it also has the heartworm med included). We keep our dog on it, but occasionally will still find a tick, especially near the back of her neck or on her rump. Remove with tweezers & destroy. Some of the spray-on repellents such as Off or Cutter's work pretty well for ticks, but my husband and I still take off our work clothes in the garage or utility room and immediately put in the washer after working outside. We are in the country and occasionally find that one has hitch-hiked into the house with us on our clothes or shoes.

Best of luck during the move, and please let any of us know if you need more help.
Elaine

Dear Elaine,
thanks for your posting..
So, where do you live in AL?? I read your profile, which says 9 acres>> Awesome..
That is what I want: a few acres, Butterfly-Garden again, room for my kids to play..I think you know what I am trying to say here..lol
Thanks also for the info about the Butterfly-Garden ..def. wanna see that one..
We will move around Summer Break if everything will work out ok..
If you don't mind, please ask your daughter and maybe she can provide me with some infos..I also wrote the Chamber of Commerce..
Butterfly-Greetings
Susanne(SUE)

I have had dealings with an agency there and found them to be honest and efficient. I don't have an e-mail addy but their snail mail is: Summerville Real Estate
901 Grand Ave.S.
Ft. Payne, Al. 35967
The yellow pages list a Southern Properties Agency with a web site of: www.southernpropertiesagency.com and an e-mail addy of: info@southernagency.com.