HELP - Ticks!!

[TheBoots]

I hope someone can help! Apologies for the long post - short version at the end.

We moved last year to the countryside with our baby and 2 cats. Last year we had a couple of ticks but nothing major, but the cats stayed mainly around the garden while they got used to their territory.
This year, however they're roaming for quite a distance - into the field next to ours with long grass, the sheep field, and the woods out back. And they are bringing back so many ticks! Not embedded (we use Frontline to protect them), but crawling around in their fur. After stroking them we often find a tick crawling on our hand. Between us, we've been finding ticks embedded on ourselves several times a week.
I'm VERY anxious about Lyme Disease, and the other disease ticks can carry, not to mention it's just really unpleasant to find these bloodsuckers everywhere.
Now the dilemma...this is a situation that can't continue. It's not safe for either us or our daughter to have multiple ticks embedding themselves on us. But what can we do? Our cats love to roam, and I'm struggling with the idea of making them housecats - I think they'd hate it! On the other hand, we took on a commitment when we got them to look after them and it would break my heart to give them away.
Has anyone had this situation before and if so, how did you solve it?

TLDR, our cats keep bringing loose ticks into our house and we keep getting them. How can we stop this happening?

could you get one of these collars for each cat? they are meant to repel ticks, and although I can't say I have tried them myself, they have good reviews.

Thanks for the recommendation, definitely worth a try. I'd just be concerned that where the Frontline hasn't worked to repel ticks these collars might not either. Anyone on MN had good results with these?

Bump

One more bump for the evening crowd...

Not sure about repellent but we use Advantage tick spot on. Cat doesn’t seem to get any ticks and there are a lot around here. I don’t think it repels the ticks but kills them when they bite. My only other suggestion would be to not let your cat in for a few hours so that the ticks all have a chance to bite and then they die. I am also super paranoid about Lymes. I have to try not to think about it. My daughter had a tick on her eyelash line the other day. So awful. She’s only 2

We use Frontline and that seems to stop them biting the cats themselves, it's the live ones in their fur that drop onto the lawn where my daughter sits, the sofa, the bed etc and we get bitten! I had to get my husband to take one our of my back this morning and yesterday my husband sat on a chair the cat had not long been on and within 15 minutes found 3 ticks on his leg - one had already bitten and two were still crawling around. It's horrendous!
Bless you fiding one on the lashline - did you get it out ok?

Of course, I’d forgotten about the lawn. I was just thinking you could stop the cat coming in the house until they’d all fallen off or bitten and died. But you can’t if they fall off in the lawn. I got the lash one out. I was there (panicking inside) thinking that my husband was going to have to restrain her head with her screaming while I got it out. But she just held absolutely still. It was incredible. Then another time my daughter had one on her thigh. I noticed it while she was weeing and then she was trying to pick it off. I kept telling her not to because I don’t want her to squeeze its body and push the Lyme disease into her. And the same evening my son (4) had one right in the corner of his eye. Where the tear duct is. And that’s just three stories. I’ve got many more. But doesn’t sound as bad as your situation. Sorry I can’t be more help. How about a quick flea comb when he comes into the garden? With a bucket of hot water ready. Might not get rid of them all but would some.

Advantage does not kill ticks only fleas.
Frontline has no repellant activity it only kills ticks once they have attached within 24-48hors.
Seresto collar is the only product for cats which actually repels ticks and helps prevent them getting on the cat at all.
Regarding yourself long sleeves and socks on any walks, thoroughly check children after walks and being in garden. Ticks do not start to transmit Lyme disease until they have been attached 48 hours so regular checking and removal with a tick hook should be preventative. But also checking tick bite sites regular the bulls eye rash can take several weeks to appear.
Most humans acquire ticks from walking in areas of long grass and then not checking themselves.

Oh actually it’s Stronghold flea and tick I get. Frontline doesn’t work in our area. But it’s not a repellent. It only kills once they’ve bitten. Also, some research shows that Lymes can be transmitted straight away. It’s more likely after 48 hours but can be transmitted before.

We live in a very tick-ish area and have two cats. Seresto collars work really well for us and we haven’t seen ticks on the cats since we first started using them a couple of years ago. They’re ugly and obviously they’re collars which a lot of cat owners won’t like, but they do the job.

I’d never seen a tick before we moved here and they still make me feel utterly gross but they’re on the increase and all you can do is look out for them. My son had one in his lash line too

Oh god another lash line tick! So ming