Guinea fowl for tick and pest control

In short

• Guinea fowl reduce the number of ticks on the lawn and around the edges of the yard, but don't get rid of them; they work best with short grass and a tidy yard.
• Roughly 8–12 guinea fowl per 1,000 m² (¼ acre) they patrol; a flock of at least 6.
• In summer give them little grain (30–50 g per bird in the evening): a hungry guinea fowl hunts more ticks and insects.
• Check the skin of children, adults and dogs every day from March to November; remove ticks with tweezers, no oil.
• A spreading red rash around the bite, fever or headache after a bite: see a doctor.
• Guinea fowl in the vegetable garden only with protection for seedlings, strawberries and tomatoes.

What's inside

Chapters

1. What guinea fowl really do
2. Ticks where you live
3. A yard ticks don't like
4. How many guinea fowl and where
5. Guinea fowl in the vegetable garden and orchard
6. People, dogs and ticks
7. Noise, neighbours and agreements
8. Losses and restocking
9. Guinea fowl through the year
10. How to measure the result
11. Common mistakes
12. Printable checklist

Worksheets

• Yard plan and tick zones
• Tick-count diary
• Tick-bite diary
• Flock and feed calculator
• Agreements, losses and restocking
• Guinea fowl and tick calendar