From:
sukie crandall
Date: 2005-06-03 22:12:49 UTC
Subject: Re: [ferrethealth] I found a ferret & I need help!
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-id: <D826E999-291B-4E3C-95FC-2E29535CFCE9@optonline.net>
In my quest to find out how to avoid bringing in ticks which
themselves pose a health risk without risking exposing the ferrets to
compounds which themselves may pose a health risk I have found:
http://www.aspca.org/site/News2?
page=NewsArticle&id=10900&security=2142&news_iv_ctrl=2682&AddInterest=TR
UE
(DEET poses risks to dogs and cats, so very possibly also true for
ferrets.) Includes:
>DEET (N, N-diethyl-meta-toluamide) on pets is NOT
>recommended. Dogs (and cats) are very sensitive to DEET
>and may develop neurologic problems...
and
>The use of products containing concentrated essential oils
>such as tea tree oil (melaleuca oil), pennyroyal oil, and d-limonine
>is also not recommended...
>cause serious health problems in pets, such as weakness, paralysis,
>liver injury, and seizures.
http://www.dph.state.ct.us/BCH/infectiousdise/tickborne/tick.htm
which among other things includes some useful effectiveness figures
http://npic.orst.edu/
(to which I have written directly seeking this info)
http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/extract/285/1/41
(There goes an old myth...)
Seeing things like
http://environmentalrisk.cornell.edu/WNV/WNV-LArchive/0578.html
is interesting because in skimming I didn't notice any effectiveness
data; hopefully I just missed it
A material safety data sheet for one product, Sawyer Clothing Tick
Repellent:
http://www.sawyer.com/sawyer_products/pages/sawyer_news/msds/Sawyer%
20Clothing%20SP646.pdf
(also
http://www.sawyer.com/sawyer_products/pages/sawyer_news/msds/Sawyer%
20Pump%20MSDS.pdf )
includes
>Labeling; Precautionary Statements: KEEP OUT OF REACH
>OF CHILDREN. Do not allow children or pets to contact treated surfaces
>until spray has dried. Do not allow spray to contact food,
feedstuffs,
>or water supplies. Thoroughly wash dishes and food handling
>utensils contaminated with this product. Do not retreat clothing
within
>2 weeks unless the clothing has been laundered between treatments.
>Other Precautions: CLOTHING TREATMENT ONLY. DO NOT APPLY TO SKIN.
so I guess that I could find out what is available locally and also
look up those MSDS, or could stick to similar compounds. I know that
there have been some ferrets reported in the FML as poisoned by
Permethrin but they had a high exposure to the compound when wet.
If this winds up being the solution think I'd be inclined to some
synthetic versions due to an allergy to mums in one family member.
***** I noticed in
http://www.cdc.gov/nasd/docs/d000901-d001000/d000960/d000960.html
that deer tick nymphs can be translucent so it may well be true also
for some of the other species. This may explain the "white" and
"yellow" ones mentioned by a poster. It would not be eggs being seen
but the nymphs who are young enough to still be quite clear. Having
run into a grouping of young nymphs (perhaps by a rodent burrow since
some types of ticks have their first non-egg life stage on ground
nesting rodents) would also explain why the numbers look to be
increasing. The small ones are very small but as they grow they
become noticeable. I am glad to have an answer to that mystery since
it didn't add up. It includes:
>Seventy percent of all Lyme disease cases occur from the bite of the
>immature (nymph) deer tick. Before feeding, nymphs are the size of a
>poppy seed with a dark head and translucent body. After feeding,
they s
>well and appear dark gray and round, about the size of a mustard seed.
and
>INFECTED DEER TICKS MUST FEED FOR AT LEAST 12 TO 24
>HOURS before they can begin to transmit the Lyme disease bacterium.
>Therefore you should remove ticks as soon as possible. Take a shower
>after outdoor activity and check your body thoroughly, paying close
attention
>to the armpits, the groin, and neck. Use the buddy system!
says a lot about why Dr. Sue emphasized treating -- longer feeding
time equals increased risk rate.
Nymphs are hard to find and are the ones who transmit Lyme Disease
because of having come from feeding on ground nesting rodents. It
turns out that NJ is particularly bad for infected percentages of
deer ticks because we have a high White Footed Mouse population.
*****
http://www.sussex.nj.us/cit-e-access/webpage.cfm?TID=7&TPID=3761
includes instructions for the safest removal of ticks as does:
http://www.rach.sill.amedd.army.mil/Departments/PREVMED/
Environmental_Health/Field/Ento/ticks.htm
http://www.wildernetwork.org/deet_vs_permethrin.html
has comparative info
There does NOT appear to be any optimal answer. The best answer
appears AT THIS POINT IN MY LIMITED INVESTIGATION to be to use the
synthetic pyrethrines and be absolutely sure to let them dry before
the ferrets can be near them. Maybe I'll also thin the out of closet
coat racks so that we can hang the sprayed shoes and just plain wash
any clothing used right after walks.
---
If the discussion leads to anyone wondering about pesticides and
local West Nile Virus mosquito control here is an ASPCA Poison
Control article for you:
http://www.aspca.org/site/News2?
page=NewsArticle&id=11119&security=2142&news_iv_ctrl=2661&AddInterest=TR
UE