Tick barrier/mosquito barrier

Lils

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Garlic barrier/mosquito barrier. Does anyone know if this product is dangerous to desert tortoise? Need to get rid of ticks in yard.
 

RosemaryDW

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Bulb plants in this family are one of the few plants this forum has seen harm tortoises. While it's unlikely your tortoise would want to dig down to the bulbs and eat them it isn't a risk you should take.
 

Lils

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Bulb plants in this family are one of the few plants this forum has seen harm tortoises. While it's unlikely your tortoise would want to dig down to the bulbs and eat them it isn't a risk you should take.
I am not planting garlic. It is a tick deterrent. Liquid that is diluted with water and sprayed in yard.
 

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Levi the Leopard

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I am not planting garlic. It is a tick deterrent. Liquid that is diluted with water and sprayed in yard.
Is this being sprayed on the same yard the tortoise eats from? If so, I wouldn't.

My tortoise eats what grows in my yard so I won't let anything be sprayed on it. I don't even let my husband drain the hot tub water onto the lawn. I don't want the chlorine and other chemicals used to balance the water on Levi's food.
 

RosemaryDW

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Oh I see.

I'm assuming the product in question is made with pressed garlic bulb extract. While I have a hard time imagining a bite or two of something sprayed with this stuff would be risky I still wouldn't use it, again because allium bulbs have demonstrated harmful properties. Tortoises have died.

For all the queries people put down here for "dangerous" or "bad" plants the only cases of sick tortoises I've ever seen reported here were from tortoises eating alliums or other bulbs, such as tulip.
 

Tom

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Garlic barrier/mosquito barrier. Does anyone know if this product is dangerous to desert tortoise? Need to get rid of ticks in yard.
The best solution for ticks is guinea fowl. They can be loose during the day and lock them up at night. Nothing works better. Chemicals, repellents and poisons never work. I've seen this many times.
 

dd33

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The best solution for ticks is guinea fowl. They can be loose during the day and lock them up at night. Nothing works better. Chemicals, repellents and poisons never work. I've seen this many times.
Tom, do you think guineas eat the ticks or just annoy them to death?
 

Lils

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The best solution for ticks is guinea fowl. They can be loose during the day and lock them up at night. Nothing works better. Chemicals, repellents and poisons never work. I've seen this many times.
Unfortunately I can't do that. The dogs would most likely kill them. My vet also confirmed that this is not the product to use if you have a turtle. Also not good for dogs. Has anyone had any experience with diameters earth?
 

Tom

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Unfortunately I can't do that. The dogs would most likely kill them. My vet also confirmed that this is not the product to use if you have a turtle. Also not good for dogs. Has anyone had any experience with diameters earth?
I've tried diatomaceous earth for ants. Got food grade, totally dry, poured it right into their anthill and all over them. I had little white ants running around. Over the next week or so I watched the ants coming and going, doing their ant business walking right over and through my pile of diatomaceous earth. It did nothing. I've tried it several times in several situations and seen zero effect from it.

What type of ticks do you have. Dog ticks or reptile ticks? Let's see if we can figuring out something that will help you...
 

Lils

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I've tried diatomaceous earth for ants. Got food grade, totally dry, poured it right into their anthill and all over them. I had little white ants running around. Over the next week or so I watched the ants coming and going, doing their ant business walking right over and through my pile of diatomaceous earth. It did nothing. I've tried it several times in several situations and seen zero effect from it.

What type of ticks do you have. Dog ticks or reptile ticks? Let's see if we can figuring out something that will help you...
Dog ticks. Live in AZ. They're everywhere in the dirt. Can treat the dogs, but need to treat the yard and keep the turtle healthy at the same time.
 

BernieL

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We have the same problem, with three different kinds of ants. One variety comes out in armies anytime I disturb the ground in part of our front yard, the other two are in the back yard, where our little guy Pete roams freely, along with several little frogs and at least twenty small lizards. So I bought the food grade diatamaceous earth and did what Tom did, with the same results (healthy white ants). I called the pest control guy we used before we had to go on budget (and before Pete came to us). He used to use Terro, which I believe is pretty toxic stuff, but says he also has a 'natural' product that he sprays, that shouldn't hurt Pete or the rest of these creatures, but will destroy the ants. I'm concerned.
 

Tom

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We have the same problem, with three different kinds of ants. One variety comes out in armies anytime I disturb the ground in part of our front yard, the other two are in the back yard, where our little guy Pete roams freely, along with several little frogs and at least twenty small lizards. So I bought the food grade diatamaceous earth and did what Tom did, with the same results (healthy white ants). I called the pest control guy we used before we had to go on budget (and before Pete came to us). He used to use Terro, which I believe is pretty toxic stuff, but says he also has a 'natural' product that he sprays, that shouldn't hurt Pete or the rest of these creatures, but will destroy the ants. I'm concerned.
Terro baits are sugar water and boric acid. Not too toxic at all. I still keep them out of reach of the tortoises, but I don't think it would harm them even if they got to the bait tray.

Amdro Ant Granules are very effective when poured right into the entrance of the ant colony. This type IS very toxic, so on the rare occasion that I use this inside the tortoise enclosure, I cover the small pile of poison with a wire basket and stake it down with tent stakes, until the ants remove the poison granules and carry them underground to their queen and colony, which only takes a few hours usually.

The ants and other potentially dangerous wildlife can have the entire world EXCEPT for my tortoise pens. They can't be in my pens or in my house. The rest of the world is theirs for the taking and I don't bother them.
 

Lils

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We have the same problem, with three different kinds of ants. One variety comes out in armies anytime I disturb the ground in part of our front yard, the other two are in the back yard, where our little guy Pete roams freely, along with several little frogs and at least twenty small lizards. So I bought the food grade diatamaceous earth and did what Tom did, with the same results (healthy white ants). I called the pest control guy we used before we had to go on budget (and before Pete came to us). He used to use Terro, which I believe is pretty toxic stuff, but says he also has a 'natural' product that he sprays, that shouldn't hurt Pete or the rest of these creatures, but will destroy the ants. I'm concerned.
I too would be concerned about any type of product used by an exterminating company, but would ask for the ingredients before allowing your guy to spray. I checked with my vet and she says diamoteous earth (food grade) is not toxic to a tortoise but can irritate mouth, nose, and membranes so I won't be able to use DE. Please let me know what your exterminator says.
 

TammyJ

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Garlic barrier/mosquito barrier. Does anyone know if this product is dangerous to desert tortoise? Need to get rid of ticks in yard.
What species of tortoise do you have? What size are they? Do they live or roam in the same space as the dogs?
 

jaizei

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Diatomaceous earth shouldn't be inhaled because its silica but if you aren't dusting the area with the tortoise there/over the top of the tortoise, its fairly safe.

If a pest control company has an 'organic or natural spray', its probably some sort of essential oil/s.

You could also try sulfur, tho you would probably have the same problem as the diatomaceous earth in that the dust prob shouldn't be inhaled. Could try mixing with water and spraying yard but I'd never tried it that way.
 

Lils

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What species of tortoise do you have? What size are they? Do they live or roam in the same space as the dogs?
Sue is a desert tortoise. Yes he roams in the same yard as the dogs.
 

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