I have been very unhappy with the crazy amounts of horseflies that are on the farm this year, they seem to be thriving in this heat in record numbers but compared to what I have been hearing on the CBC, that appears to be the least of my worries, first a number of years ago, there was a steady increase within my own area for heartworm for the hounds, Ok, I might not like giving them meds but given that the treatment is worse then the way to prevent it, it just makes sense to treat them monthly during the season and give their bodies a break during the winter months.

So first it was West Nile being on the increase in our area, ok, not good but unless you are young, old or have a immune issue, you should be ok, still not something to just blow off, however battling those pesky whiners, is nothing new on the farm, I will not use chemicals, I use ducks and they do a outstanding job, I use a number of those healthy ways, I reduce what can collect water, I use gold fish, I use mesh and if we are going into the woods, we will take along the bug dope, but we use it as sparely as possable while still getting the job done.

But the news that Lime carrying Ticks are now breeding and creating populations in and around is enough to make me get a mild “frown” for half a second at least, then I just sighed, I have had a plan in place in case this happened, first we already keep longer grass area as limited, no go area’s, we keep the one area long for the fireflies each year and then give it a cut down, we already go into the woods in pants, boots and light long sleeve shirts most of the time and I am of long habit a checker for ticks, and leeches so just need to be a little more checky then normal..

And then comes the big guns, I got on the phone and put a order in for six (the lowest order I could) can you guess what I will be getting??

Did you say guinea fowl really fast? cause I did, I don’t want to many, would like a trio of two female and one male when its all said and done, while the chickens and the ducks do a great job in the front yard, the guinea fowl are bigger roamers, and as they are great flyers, I am planning to raise them to think that the big barn is their “home” this means that my front yard will be kept clean from the chickens and ducks, but that the barn and pastures will be the guinea fowl range, it won’t stop the ticks from coming from the woods around me, but it will go a long way to keeping the amounts down.
While Lime can be controlled if you catch it fast enough and get your treatments done, otherwise, it can lead to long term health issues and to make matters even worse is the fact that it appears that many local doctors don’t believe that lime is in the area and or don’t seem to think about lime when they are thinking you have the flu, while it helps greatly if you have the bull’s eye rash, but often folks don’t, which I understand makes it harder to get the treatment you require.