We had a bad problem one year with tics burrowing into the fleece of some of our boys in the far field, coming from the high grass areas. Even after mowing, the tics kept coming. We tried an alpaca friendly bug repellent, and they just laughed at it. After speaking with some local cattle farmers, they suggested some ducks, particularly the Muscovy breed (some say these may be mean). We started with two females and a male, and after a few hatchings, we had about ten. They scoured the pasture's high grass and dung piles, and within a couple weeks, not only were the tics gone, but also the gnats, flies, even mosquitoes! For the first summer in years, we could come out on a beautiful summer night without a suit of armor to protect us!

Shane and Kimberly May
Stick House Farm Alpacas

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