Ticks

[JB73]

Originally posted by Toad
I get lots of 'em. 8 yesterday got all but 2 before they latched. Maybe I oughta dive in the pond first too..............

GAAA...

where are you going that you get 8 ticks in 1 day!??!?!

i have never had one in my life

i have seen them up north in michigan UP, but never has one gotten on me.


what kind of cavemen, outdoorsy people are you all that tick checking is a regular occurance? ; )


vomiting ticks... that and flying chlamydia in one week, now i have heard it all.

[Pongo]

Got lymes in the army before anyone here really knew what it was. The epidermiologist just said it was a seasonal skin problem..lol this was in 1985.
The sores got huge and they were all over my shoulders, so the 70-80 pound rucks we were humping just tore them all open and my tee shirts were basically bandages.
My buddies had to put the ointment on my back part and they really loved that. I was really worried that I would get it on my face.
At the time never made the connection with the tick I had the week befor. I still have the scar on my belly from removing the tick with tweezers and hot pins and every other dam thing.

Never even left the Recce course I was on. I probably attributed the symptoms to the 7 day a week bag drive I was on for 8 weeks.

[T0J0]

Originally posted by SunTracker
, I found a tick on my back.  I pulled it out with some tweezers as best as I could, and I think I got its jaws out of me.
 

I always have known you liberals eat your own...Now you have first hand experience..  !

[WhiteHawk]

not sure about prventing ticks from latching on, but a good method of removal is to heat up some tweezers red hot, and get the tick as close to the head as possible.  It usually lets go right away.  The trick is not to squeeze the body because that is how you get the diseases. by squeezeing the body, the juises go through thier mouth into your blood.  I usually soak the area in alcohol before i remove it, but i dont know if that helps but it cant hurt.
  If you have one in a 'hard to reach' area, it is better to go to a doctor or nurse to have it removed, just to be safe.

[Seagoon]

Hi SunTracker,

I once picked up close to a dozen in one day of playing in a field in Nova Scotia.

The advice regarding covering yourself in DEET is good. I use Deep Woods Off (the unscented version) and that works very well. DEET can also be used for getting them off. Spray the little buggers with it in situ and they'll let go in a jiffy, no head, no squeezing, no rumaging for the tweezers.

As far as advice for avoiding them. Avoid leaf piles and walking through standing grass above ankle height. When you come in from areas they are likely to be, take off your outer clothing and then check that first (that's where they start the climb) also, run your hand through your hair every now and then while you are outside (course for some of us, that becomes less time consuming every year).

- SEAGOON

[Toad]

I hiked the perimeter and other interesting parts of 80 acres I'm looking at buying. The dogs think the place we have now is too small and too "suburbia" to have fun. I agree.

I went through some streambeds; I probably got most of them in there as I went through the brush.

[SunTracker]

Thanks for the advice guys.  The tick I had on my back was a tough one.  I used about 10 matches to try to get him off, and he wouldnt budge.  Then I sprayed him with Deep Woods OFF (with DEET), even after 15 minutes he wouldnt come out.  Finally I had to drive to walmarts and buy some tweezers.

[AWMac]

This is from the CDC on ticks.


Embedded ticks should be removed using fine-tipped tweezers. DO NOT use petroleum jelly, a hot match, nail polish, or other products. Grasp the tick firmly and as closely to the skin as possible. With a steady motion, pull the tick's body away from the skin. The tick's mouthparts may remain in the skin, but do not be alarmed. The bacteria that cause Lyme disease are contained in the tick's midgut or salivary glands. Cleanse the area with an antiseptic.


Mac

[Seagoon]

Originally posted by SunTracker
Thanks for the advice guys.  The tick I had on my back was a tough one.  I used about 10 matches to try to get him off, and he wouldnt budge.  Then I sprayed him with Deep Woods OFF (with DEET), even after 15 minutes he wouldnt come out.  Finally I had to drive to walmarts and buy some tweezers.

Suntracker,

You done killed him with the matches. Of course he isn't going to let go after that.



- SEAGOON

[slimm50]

Originally posted by Curval
The match thing worked like a charm for me.

Not sure how you would manage to burn yourself doing it, but maybe I have good hand/eye co-ordination.

As to chasing around the dog with a match...why would anyone who has a dog chase it around?  You simply say "Come here" and if the dog is trained properly it will do so.  

I don't have cats.

Problem with burning 'em off is they regurgitate under your skin, or even directly into your bloodstream, before letting go, if they let go. Usually I can simply pull 'em off with tweezers. Just be sure you grasp 'em as far forward as you can so ya don't pull 'em in half. The petroleum jelly thing ought to work, also.

[Tumor]

Geez you bunch of panzies!!!   Between Coon-hunting, trudging miles through pasture/woods to get to a sweet fishing spot and other such outdoor activity... I lost count of how many Ticks I pulled off me before I was 10!

Just yank'em off and don't worry about it.  If you hear there's been a case of Lyme locally, well of course watch for symptoms.

Chiggers are far more troublesome!! Only because nothing itches like a chigger bite... bump into some "chigger weed" and you'll wish for lyme disease!

[slimm50]

Originally posted by Tumor
Geez you bunch of panzies!!!   Between Coon-hunting, trudging miles through pasture/woods to get to a sweet fishing spot and other such outdoor activity... I lost count of how many Ticks I pulled off me before I was 10!

Just yank'em off and don't worry about it.  If you hear there's been a case of Lyme locally, well of course watch for symptoms.

Chiggers are far more troublesome!! Only because nothing itches like a chigger bite... bump into some "chigger weed" and you'll wish for lyme disease!

Heheheh, yer right Tumor. Couple of years ago our scout troop went to summer camp in north arkansas. Never have I seen so many ticks in a two week period. We have a very large troop (about 60 boys went with us that year). As you can imagine, at first there were a lot of squeemish, cry-baby types who thought they were gonna die because the got a couple of ticks on 'em. By the end of the campout though, even they were completely oblivious to them, pulling them off as naturally as breathing. Needless to say, there were a lot of funny tick stories for their parents when they got home.

[Tumor]

Originally posted by slimm50
Heheheh, yer right Tumor. Couple of years ago our scout troop went to summer camp in north arkansas. Never have I seen so many ticks in a two week period. We have a very large troop (about 60 boys went with us that year). As you can imagine, at first there were a lot of squeemish, cry-baby types who thought they were gonna die because the got a couple of ticks on 'em. By the end of the campout though, even they were completely oblivious to them, pulling them off as naturally as breathing. Needless to say, there were a lot of funny tick stories for their parents when they got home.

Did you know I was referring to my youth in Arkansas?... or is it just that it's the tick capital of the USofA? lol

[slimm50]

lol, no I didn't know. But I'm not surprised.. I think it must be the tick capitol of the world.

[rpm]

Learned this little trick while working with a surveyor. Get a dog flea/tick collar with the easy detachable clip. Put one around each ankle before treking off into the deep grass. Works like a charm. You can keep them in a ziplock bag for later use.

On a related note. My brother in law told me about a buddy of his that he was working a power plant rebuild with in West Virginia. They found a bar after work and his buddy managed to talk one of the local girls into a make out session in the parking lot. After a little oral exploration in the dark he was surprised to find the girl had 3 nipples. The suspense was too much, he had to get a look at that 3rd nipple he was suckling on, having never seen such before in his life. He flipped on the dome light to discover the biggest brown tick he had ever seen. True story.