Daminix is tubes filled with permethrin-soaked cotton, which supposedly the mice take to their nests and it kills all the ticks on them, thus breaking the cycle.

Last time I looked it was REALLY expensive, several hundred dollars but I figure I could soak my own cotton and put it in PVC tubes, or quart milk cartons, or wax-soaked paper towel tubes. So does it work?

If I fence the deer out of my acre would that help keep the ticks out? I still have voles, mice, shrews, birds, squirrels, rabbits, groundhogs, but I understand the deer are necessary to the cycle.

I have had at least 15 tick bites this season. Testing the boogers is prohibitive and my experience with testing is that once they lost the tick, and once it was dead and had a bacterial overgrowth and they couldn't test. Prophylactic antibiotics for months - out. Had Lyme once; very obvious; hope any second bout is also obvious.

I think I have developed an immunity to ticks - any tick on longer than a few hours appears to be dead - but it took a few bites and a couple heads left in to rev it up this season. Must say I get a kick out of picturing my white blood cells eating them up from the inside. But four kids and hubby haven't developed it and they aren't so conscientious about tick-checking - at least I can check the two year old.

Any advice on ticks would be so appreciated. Can't keep guinea hens. Zoning regs and chicken hawks.

Lisa