Down side of a warm winter

Well the winter that wasn’t is over and it left some good and bad.  The good is my peas are in the ground already and tilling this year was a breeze.  The bad is we are expecting a huge amount of bugs and ticks.  People In the area are already finding ticks on their pets and this is only April.  So having said that, this still may be our lowest year for ticks yet.  We fenced in our yard so the pets can no longer roam at will.  The cats will still bring some back but the dogs are pretty safe in the yard.  I have to say fencing in the yard was pretty easy did not cost much and has a lot of benefits.  One of those is with my chickens and Ginny hens loose in the yard we do not see many bugs, they gobble them right up.  And of course with the dogs staying at home they do a much better job keeping the place safe.  If you have a yard for your pets I would consider a fence it does not have to be high or complex.  This being the year of the tick it may be a good time to put it up.  Also If your pet gets a tick your need to take it off, but do not be hasty.  They come off pretty easy once you get the hang of it and the rip in half pretty easy if you go to fast.  Them ripping in half is bad it usually means a trip to the vet to pull the head out.  Light firm constant pulling and be patient.  We bought a new tool from our vet last year and it works great.  http://www.ticktwister.com/.  It is real easy to use and cheap to buy.