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Tick Talk


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I have very little experience with ticks. There aren't that many in the Colorado Rockies and even then there is very little brush and no thick weeds. Unfortunately I will be moving to Kentucky in July and will have to deal with them.

 

What repellants are effective?

 

DEET. It is the only product that I've found to make them stay away from people.

 

What can I use on my dogs?

Ask your vet - frontline and Advantage are what I know of, but I'm sure there are others... And, I know from having an elderly cat (16 years old and counting), that not all animals can handle every medicine, so just in case your pup has something to prevent it from using frontline...

 

Just in case - the flea collars you can find in most stores are not just worthless against fleas, but also worthless against ticks.

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I have very little experience with ticks. There aren't that many in the Colorado Rockies and even then there is very little brush and no thick weeds. Unfortunately I will be moving to Kentucky in July and will have to deal with them.

 

What repellants are effective?

 

DEET. It is the only product that I've found to make them stay away from people.

 

What can I use on my dogs?

Ask your vet - frontline and Advantage are what I know of, but I'm sure there are others... And, I know from having an elderly cat (16 years old and counting), that not all animals can handle every medicine, so just in case your pup has something to prevent it from using frontline...

 

Just in case - the flea collars you can find in most stores are not just worthless against fleas, but also worthless against ticks.

 

Buddy's had Lyme and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. We use to use Frontline, but when we found a couple of dead ticks and one half alive stick in him, we switched to Advantix collar. It's expensive but seems to work so far.

 

For me, I bought Buzz Off brand hat, shirt, pants and socks. They're impregnated with Permethrin - good for 30 washings. They're expensive but so far so good-haven't found any ticks on me. I still tuck the pants into the socks. Looks nerdy but I CANNOT STAND TICKS.

 

I usually like the winter for these reasons, but it was above 40 degrees mostly this past year so it didn't make much difference compareed to spring/summer (although just the adults are around in winter so easier to see.).

Edited by Alan2
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Ticks are alive and well in southern Md as well. In the last few weeks, we've pulled several little bitty deer ticks off us. We just deal. I've tromped around in the woods all my life and ticks are just there, same as snakes and other creatures that I really don't want to deal with but do. Strangely, I have not gotten Lyme though last year the doctor tested me for it and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. The Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever won! This year, we shall see.

 

Terri

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We went out yesterday and the tick population is thriving here in northeast PA! It was amazing actually. We went to three nearby caches on foot for about 2 hours and when we came out Fox had about 8 or 9 on him and I had at least another half dozen on myself. We removed them and retreated to the car before heading to lunch. On the way, we found 3 more and while waiting for lunch another 1 came out from hiding. We checked a few more times and luckily I was clear, but Fox said when he went home to take a shower he found another one. It's time for the bug repellent I guess. Sure glad they were just common wood ticks instead of deer ticks though!

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I know - not ticks, but on a related note:

I think that most bugs seemed a bit more zealous than usual. Yesterday, one of my caches was apparently covered in bees!

8f74d79b-1f6b-49c5-be60-66a5ef823ca4.jpg

GCRZWD

 

Dude!! I don't want to scare you or any thing, but if that picture there is actually your cache and those little insect looking things crawling all over it are actually for real bees....then your cache there was ACTUALLY partially covered with bees. :D:D:D

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I know - not ticks, but on a related note:

I think that most bugs seemed a bit more zealous than usual. Yesterday, one of my caches was apparently covered in bees!

8f74d79b-1f6b-49c5-be60-66a5ef823ca4.jpg

GCRZWD

 

I really don't like blue frownies, but if I came across this cache, and the option was to shoo away the bees and sign the log, or take the frownie, the frownie would win hands down! In fact, I'd probably be running back to the van and call it a day! I DON'T like bees. Probably from an unfortunate incident that involved a sting in my nose when I was a kid. Shudder.

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I really don't like blue frownies, but if I came across this cache, and the option was to shoo away the bees and sign the log, or take the frownie, the frownie would win hands down! In fact, I'd probably be running back to the van and call it a day! I DON'T like bees. Probably from an unfortunate incident that involved a sting in my nose when I was a kid. Shudder.

If it wasn't my cache - *I* likely would have opted for the blue frowny (and, to be honest, if someone sent me this pic and said they hadn't signed the log, I would have been fine with them claiming the smiley if they wanted it!). Just because I'm not allergic to them doesn't mean I like them.

 

in your nose?!?! youch!

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We bought some repellent with totally new chemistry, called Picaridin. It's astonishing how good it is. I have tested it a couple of times by actually placing ticks on my treated legs. They literally leap off. It's am amazingly good repellent, and it seems to work on Chiggers, too. We have found many ticks in the car or on our clothes as there are many in our area now, but none on our skin, and no bites.

It's called Cutter Advanced.

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I have very little experience with ticks. There aren't that many in the Colorado Rockies and even then there is very little brush and no thick weeds. Unfortunately I will be moving to Kentucky in July and will have to deal with them.

 

What repellants are effective?

 

DEET. It is the only product that I've found to make them stay away from people.

 

What can I use on my dogs?

Ask your vet - frontline and Advantage are what I know of, but I'm sure there are others... And, I know from having an elderly cat (16 years old and counting), that not all animals can handle every medicine, so just in case your pup has something to prevent it from using frontline...

 

Just in case - the flea collars you can find in most stores are not just worthless against fleas, but also worthless against ticks.

It's important to note that Advantage has no efficacy against ticks.

K9 Advantix does work against ticks, plus it repels them.

Frontline does kill ticks that come in contact with your dog, but it is not a repellent.

 

A great collar for ticks is called Preventic. You can get it at the vet's or online. They will not do anything for fleas, but are great for ticks. If I had a dog, this is the way I would go. It contains an ingredient called Amitraz that is also not a repellent, but it is very effective and prevents the tick from biting. Collars last a long time.

 

You can also use a small amount of DEET on your dog, those DEET wipes are especiall handy.

 

Of these things I mention, ONLY Frontline and Advantage can be used on cats.

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It's important to note that Advantage has no efficacy against ticks.

K9 Advantix does work against ticks, plus it repels them.

 

Oops - sorry! I had meant Advantix, but apparently having the cat in front of me (and not the dogs) led to a brain switch to Advantage. :(

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I have very little experience with ticks. There aren't that many in the Colorado Rockies and even then there is very little brush and no thick weeds. Unfortunately I will be moving to Kentucky in July and will have to deal with them.

 

What repellants are effective?

 

DEET. It is the only product that I've found to make them stay away from people.

 

What can I use on my dogs?

Ask your vet - frontline and Advantage are what I know of, but I'm sure there are others... And, I know from having an elderly cat (16 years old and counting), that not all animals can handle every medicine, so just in case your pup has something to prevent it from using frontline...

 

Just in case - the flea collars you can find in most stores are not just worthless against fleas, but also worthless against ticks.

 

Buddy's had Lyme and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. We use to use Frontline, but when we found a couple of dead ticks and one half alive stick in him, we switched to Advantix collar. It's expensive but seems to work so far.

 

For me, I bought Buzz Off brand hat, shirt, pants and socks. They're impregnated with Permethrin - good for 30 washings. They're expensive but so far so good-haven't found any ticks on me. I still tuck the pants into the socks. Looks nerdy but I CANNOT STAND TICKS.

 

I usually like the winter for these reasons, but it was above 40 degrees mostly this past year so it didn't make much difference compareed to spring/summer (although just the adults are around in winter so easier to see.).

CORRECTION. Tick collar I've been using is Preventic not Advantix. Thanks Sue Gremlin.

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Yep - add me to the list of people who think the ticks are worse this year than they've been lately. I've been caching since 2001, and never so much as saw a tick until this year. I found one crawling on the seat of my truck while caching, and I found one on my dog after caching. :)

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Yep, I'll agree with the sentiment that they're out early and heavy this year, we were pulling them off the dogs all winter. Yesterday we took a short trail along the beach. I didn't find any on me when we got to the car and didn't check kealia. When we got home he got out of the shower and told me had one on him. Then about an hour later our 7 yr old squeals at the "spider" in the bathroom on the wall. No spider, a lovely tick. We taught it how to swim in the toilet (they sink, did you know that!). So, I've got the crawls for the rest of the night. Well, I get up this morning head to the shower and guess what's at eye level? Yep, another one. Everything that was in the bathroom went in the wash. I'm now feeling things all over my skin, neat! This trail was all of .12 long and was a crappy cache to boot.

A side note, the ticked off scoops are wonderful for safely removing ticks once stuck to you without worrying about "pinching" them with tweezer or your fingers. You can find them pretty much anywhere that has camping supplies and many pet stores.

How many chickens do you need to keep it clear of ticks?

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We experienced one up in an altitude that I thought was still too cool for them to have become active. My cousin grabbed a cache that required a 3 foot climb up a bank through some bear clover (pungent burnable stuff, usually only 24-30 inches deep) to reach a fence post. Somewhere in that mess she managed a tick on her arm as we were driving back down. I thought it was some debris, but it was waving legs...Eww! Seems a bit early to me, but our so-called "Spring" was about 5 days this year too...we went from 64 degrees two weeks ago to 98 yesterday.

When we lived in Texas, we used a product called Zema-Dip on the dog, killed the ticks quite well, and that was before these systemic methods were around. Of course, out here in California, I couldn't find Zema-dip so we had to go with something else.

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Koikeeper and I found the ticks to be quite prevelant on our recent outting to Cape Cod Mass. Ticks can live 14 years under water (so we've read) ..... so washing the sheets will probably do nothing. Putting them down the drain just transfers them to another location to release their toxins.

 

I love your idea of feeding them to the venus flytraps! :( We burn them until they explode or are really crispy. :( Maybe Signal :lol: would eat them!

 

Use DEET sprays or lotions .... and inspect yourself and your clothing after completeing your hikes. It is best to wear light colors so you and your companions can spot them ..... even though the deer ticks are really small and are hard to see .... and are the worst for spreading lyme disease. :( ImpalaBob

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13 ticks sounds terrible. You're a brave soul.

 

I live in the San Francisco bay area, and I've had a very hard time with ticks this year. I've made a habit of doing a thorough inspection after every outing, and I've had to pull off a good half-dozen ticks over the last few months. Anyone know about the prevalence of Lyme disease in the SF area?

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Ticks can live 14 years under water (so we've read) ..... so washing the sheets will probably do nothing. Putting them down the drain just transfers them to another location to release their toxins.

I am very happy to report that this is not true. :( Never heard that one before, it's funny!

If you wash sheets to get rid of tick larvae or adults, they may survive, but it's not the best environment for them. It will generally kill them. In fact, if you find a wayward tick and don't know what to do with it, dropping him in a glass of soapy water will do him in. The soap reduces the surface tension of the water so he sinks and drowns. Blub blub.

You can also drop him in alcohol (your choice as to whether it's the good stuff or just rubbing alcohol) for a quicker death.

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Here in NEPA ticks have definitely been worse. We have only been out a few times and have found ticks on us after each trip. Ticks are one of the few bugs that REALLY creep me out.

 

On a side note, despite what many researchers claim, a tick does not need to be attached for more than 48 hours to infect with Lyme's disease. My husband contracted Lymes after a tick bite, and the tick was on him for no more than a few hours. I have known other people who also contracted it with less than 48 hours of exposure. Also, while deer ticks are the most prevelant carrier of Lyme's disease, other breeds of ticks can also be carriers of Lyme's disease.

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13 ticks sounds terrible. You're a brave soul.

 

I live in the San Francisco bay area, and I've had a very hard time with ticks this year. I've made a habit of doing a thorough inspection after every outing, and I've had to pull off a good half-dozen ticks over the last few months. Anyone know about the prevalence of Lyme disease in the SF area?

I'm not sure about the San Francisco Bay area, but the ticks have a high infection rate around Santa Cruz.

 

Here is a link to support groups in California if you want to ask questions for a specific area.

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I haven't read through this entire post so please excuese if this is out of line but I just lost my best friend (of the 4 legged variety) to a tick transmitted disease called ehrlichia.

It doesn't get the news that lyme disease does and most people (at least in my neck of the woods) have never even heard of it or know the symptoms.

Ehrlichia is especially common in the South and South West parts of the country.

It is preventable, easily tested for and easy to cure if caught in the begining stages.

PLEASE have your pets tested for this awful illness and ask your vet what you can do to prevent it!

 

 

Now back to your regularly scheduled programing...

Edited by spicy_victory
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One thing to remember is that ticks are extremely resistent little buggers. No product for your animal is 100%effective at killing and/or repelling ticks. So if a product is 90% effective and repels 90 out of 100 ticks, thats still 10 ticks that get through. No matter which product you use, always do a thorough tick check after your pet is outside where ticks could be a problem.

 

Fortunately, most tick-borne diseases take several hours to a couple of days to transmit. And as several posters have pointed out, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and ehrlichia are more serious problems in dogs, especially outside the Lyme-endemic areas. Don't be fooled by Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever's name--it is much more common in the east. I think North Carolina and Tennessee are at the top of the list for number of cases.

 

My recommendations for dogs: Preventic collars are the only product that will cause ticks to detach, but if you have a real long-haired dog, you may have to shave around the neck to get the proper skin contact. And you need a second product for fleas; if product is Advantage, you have to take the collar off until the Advantage has had a chance to spread out (the collar could absorb the Advantage).

 

K9 Advantix supposedly repels ticks, and the company promotional stuff the sales rep have seem impressive. But subjectively, I have seen more dogs on K9 Advantix with ticks than dogs with Frontline. The company blames it on that "90% effectiveness problem." The sales rep for Frontline claims that it kills the ticks fast enough before disease transmission, even thougfh it doesn't repel them. Either product is good enough as long as you do good tick checks. I don't like K9 Advantix for small dogs (I have seen toxic reactions).

 

For cats, the only safe product is Frontline. Fortunately, because cats groom themselves, they will remove many of the ticks themselves.

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Just a normal year in SE PA... my kill jar is about half full. I keep a small jar of rubbing alcohol by the Lazy Boy. When I find a tick on me or the dog it goes in the jar. They float for awhile then sink. When the jar is about half full I empty it down the sink and refill. No sense getting cranked about little critters that you can't do anything about.

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I don't know about repel but for Lyme's Disease concerns there is an innoculation in Europe. I was just over in Austria last month and in-laws cat kept getting ticks so we were talking about it. Apparently it is a mandatory innoculation once a year there. The first time takes a once a month for three month shot series and then a once a year booster. Unfortuantlly we weren't there long enough to get the series. ;) Before we left, ticks weren't an issue here. Now, we can't seem to go out side without finding the buggers. We've been debating about seeing if his parents could ship the stuff to us (you buy it over the counter at a pharmacy and take it to your doc to give you) but we don't know how to give each other shots and didn't think I could talk me doc into giving me of a foreign drug. Has anyone heard anything about the innoculation making it state side? I tried googling but couldn't find anything.

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As mentioned, Wisconsin is heavily populated with them in many areas. My concern is that I have not encountered any wood ticks in the last two years, but rather their more menacing cousin - the deer tick. I have had several of the deer ticks on me this year. But still ahve come up empty on a wood tick. (Not that I want to find one).

 

On a bright side, Door county, in Wisconsin, is believed to be one of the only counties in our state that is virtually tick free. Some speculate that it is because it is wedged between two big bodies of water and stays far cooler and drier.... we had a big outting there last weekend with 150+ people roaming around the woods and no reports of ticks whatsoever. All the years I have spent up there (25+), it is the only location I have never had a tick incident. Too bad, we did most of the caches there already.......

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I don't know about repel but for Lyme's Disease concerns there is an innoculation in Europe. I was just over in Austria last month and in-laws cat kept getting ticks so we were talking about it. Apparently it is a mandatory innoculation once a year there. The first time takes a once a month for three month shot series and then a once a year booster. Unfortuantlly we weren't there long enough to get the series. ;) Before we left, ticks weren't an issue here. Now, we can't seem to go out side without finding the buggers. We've been debating about seeing if his parents could ship the stuff to us (you buy it over the counter at a pharmacy and take it to your doc to give you) but we don't know how to give each other shots and didn't think I could talk me doc into giving me of a foreign drug. Has anyone heard anything about the innoculation making it state side? I tried googling but couldn't find anything.

 

Do you remember what it was called?

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Here's what a quick look into it turned up:

 

VACCINE MAKER PULLS DRUG OFF MARKET

Feb 26, 2002 | LAURAN NEERGAARD | AP

With tick season approaching, the maker of the nation's only vaccine against Lyme disease pulled it off the market, citing poor sales.

 

Lymerix had caused controversy in recent years, as patients said they were sickened by the vaccine and asked the government to restrict sales. Some filed lawsuits against maker GlaxoSmithKline.

 

Federal health officials said Tuesday they had found no evidence that the vaccine was dangerous. They urged people in Lyme-plagued states to take precautions against the pin-sized ticks that spread the disease.

 

Lymerix had $40 million in sales its first year on the market, and hundreds of thousands were vaccinated. But GlaxoSmithKline projected that fewer than 10,000 people would seek vaccination this year, and ended sales because "there's just no demand for it," said company spokeswoman Ramona Dubose.

 

Lyme disease is spread by ticks that live in wooded and grassy areas nationwide, but especially in the Northeast, from Maryland to Maine, and in Wisconsin and Minnesota. It causes fatigue, fevers and joint pain that can persist for weeks. Some patients develop severe arthritis. If not treated with antibiotics, Lyme disease can severely damage the heart and nervous systems.

 

The FDA (news - web sites) approved the sale of Lymerix in 1998. But the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (news - web sites) had urged that only people at high risk of Lyme disease be vaccinated, largely because the expensive vaccine didn't offer complete protection. Studies showed it was 80 percent effective after people got all three required shots.

 

After vaccinations began, some patients reported arthritis, muscle pain and other troubling symptoms.

 

Many of the symptoms were similar to Lyme disease itself, and 15 percent of the U.S. population has arthritis anyway. Scientists found teasing out any connection to Lymerix difficult.

 

In one study, 5,000 people got Lymerix and another 5,000 got dummy shots. Two percent of each group developed arthritis-like symptoms.

 

The CDC re-examined 905 possible side effects reported to the government between 1998 and July 2000. The CDC's results, just published in the journal Vaccine, found no signs that Lymerix caused arthritis, but did find 22 cases of allergic reaction.

 

Those studies don't persuade some critics. At least seven lawsuits are pending over alleged Lymerix reactions, and several hundred more people may file, said Philadelphia attorney Stephen A. Sheller.

 

"We're thrilled" that Lymerix is being taken off the market, said Karen Forschner of the Lyme Disease Foundation, who recently presented information to the FDA that she says suggests Lymerix safety studies were seriously flawed.

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If the Department of Entomology was to ever need a dynamic "tick per square mile" population count they could call on me...not a willing subject but no means! Put me smack dab in the middle and they will hone in on me like stink on dewdew.

 

I was out mushroom and wild asparagus hunting with two friends in SD, at the end of our hunt I came out with 13 ticks compared to 1 on each of them, garnering the coveted Tick Magnet Award for the 3rd straight year.

 

Being susceptible to tick bites, light skinned, fair-haired, I dress with a large brimmed hat, light-colored long sleeve shirt and pants. Being in love with the outdoors I will prevail... by adding duct tape to my arsenal along with a tick and flee collar... I might just stand a chance.

 

:ninja: In NewYork we definetly have a serious problem with ticks. So far this spring I've had about 20 - 25 ticks on me, luckly none were imbeded. Things to know about getting them off by the dept. of enviormential health. Pull the ticks off by the head quickly. If the head breaks off, try to get the rest of the head out of you're skin. Never burn them off or put vasoline over them to suffociate them, it causes them to regurgatate which is what spreads lyme disease. I had to go with my son who had ticks on him after we went strawberry picking two years ago and these are the things they told us.

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They're definitely out in full force here in South Jersey. Took the family for a short 1 mile hike and when we got back all 3 of us had about 6 or 7 on us. Only 4 of the ticks were the big ones. This probably could have been prevented if I wasn't in such a dadgum hurry to get out of the house. Spend the extra time to get your gear together before heading out(yuck, i hate the taste of my own medicine!).

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OK, i'm thinking my wife and I are just insanely unlucky after reading this thread, cuz you guys got away scott free with only 13 ticks or so. I have at least 20 or so bites on my legs from last weekends walk around the local reservoir, and my wife literally has over a 100 bites, 70 from the waist down. So needless to say, the tick population is thriving in Northern Va.

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Good scary story....I would not worry too much about the tick you found, I hope your venus Fly Trap liked it.

You will need to be cautious this year especially, with all of the extra rain we have gotten, the grasses are higher, and ticks love grasses. Anything could have dropped the tick you found, a dog, a deer, jackrabbit, you have them all in Sacramento (I live down in Marin).

Ticks often do not feed right away, sometimes they are stunned by going through a bath or a shower, sometimes they are on your clothing and must re-find you after being tossed in a heap on the floor.

I deal with ticks almost everyday, both for myself and for my dog, we are often out in the field, and grassland is the easiest way to pick up a tick, although they do hang out on other plants (the ceanothus plant *smells like lilacs is blue or white flowered, the flowers look like little fuzzy balls* is a favorite place of ticks).

To avoid bringing ticks home, check your clothing carefull, wearing lighter colored cloths make them easier to spot. Check the seams well, they like to hang out here where it is easier to grab ahold of the clothing for those long rides. Roll up your pants a bit and check your socks, wear long sleeves in tall grasses. If you have been in the field, when you get home, dont just toss your clothes on the floor, put them in the wash right away, check yourself for ticks when getting redressed. Dont panic if you have a tick attached to you. Get some tweezers, and place the tweezer head as close to your skin as possible, squeeze firmly and the tick should come out. If you have been bit and the tick is already feeding, dont panic, unless you see a BULLSEYE type rash. Although this is an indicator, there have been times when the rash has not been present. If you feel like you have a mild cold, or see a rash, or have been bitten and are concerned about LYMES, dont hesitate to get some anti-biotics from your doctor. The sooner the better.

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Good scary story....I would not worry too much about the tick you found, I hope your venus Fly Trap liked it.

You will need to be cautious this year especially, with all of the extra rain we have gotten, the grasses are higher, and ticks love grasses. Anything could have dropped the tick you found, a dog, a deer, jackrabbit, you have them all in Sacramento (I live down in Marin).

Ticks often do not feed right away, sometimes they are stunned by going through a bath or a shower, sometimes they are on your clothing and must re-find you after being tossed in a heap on the floor.

I deal with ticks almost everyday, both for myself and for my dog, we are often out in the field, and grassland is the easiest way to pick up a tick, although they do hang out on other plants (the ceanothus plant *smells like lilacs is blue or white flowered, the flowers look like little fuzzy balls* is a favorite place of ticks).

To avoid bringing ticks home, check your clothing carefull, wearing lighter colored cloths make them easier to spot. Check the seams well, they like to hang out here where it is easier to grab ahold of the clothing for those long rides. Roll up your pants a bit and check your socks, wear long sleeves in tall grasses. If you have been in the field, when you get home, dont just toss your clothes on the floor, put them in the wash right away, check yourself for ticks when getting redressed. Dont panic if you have a tick attached to you. Get some tweezers, and place the tweezer head as close to your skin as possible, squeeze firmly and the tick should come out. If you have been bit and the tick is already feeding, dont panic, unless you see a BULLSEYE type rash. Although this is an indicator, there have been times when the rash has not been present. If you feel like you have a mild cold, or see a rash, or have been bitten and are concerned about LYMES, dont hesitate to get some anti-biotics from your doctor. The sooner the better.

 

Thanks everyone for the useful information. I haven't seen anymore since the original post. When we cache I tend to be constantly looking at my legs for ticks. It has been hot here and I wore shorts last week. I have a mole mid shin that is about the same shape, size and color of a tick. Well, you can bet that faked me out many times throughout the day! We have been using DEET and doing tick checks frequently, but even though nothing is there, I still feel creepy crawly things here and there. I usually jump up, shake and look, only to find nothing. The mind plays some evil tricks sometimes. < <

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Another word of warning about ticks: do not assume that washing your clothing (even in hot water) will render garments tick-free. We have seen two that remained alive and well through the wash and double rinse cycles. Any clothing (don't forget jackets and backpacks) that were worn in a tick infested area should be placed in the dryer on high heat for a nice, long, bug-baking time. Our lint trap had several dead ticks in it after the nightmare at Magnetic Earth.

 

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/log.aspx?LU...53-de89453eb895

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Dumb ticks!

 

I returned from a great day of caching this weekend. Jumped into the shower and inspected myself. I thought I was "clean".

 

I woke up the next morning only to notice a very tiny (~2mm dia) black tick firmly attached to my inner thigh. I had to use a magnifying glass to confirm it was actually a tick. It was.

 

Using the mag glass and a pair of tweezers I removed the evil from my leg; he took a small chunk of skin with him. I wiped the site with alcohol and added antibiotic cream and a bandaid. The site felt a bit bruized for a day or so and the site is still a bit red (10 mm dia), but not scary or a bullseye pattern.

 

I am accumstomed to the much larger dog ticks in my area, especially this season. This little guy was unusual and the prolonged overnight duration of the bite makes me a bit nervous.

 

Are there any signs I should be looking for for Lyme disease or other nastiness from this tick bite?

Edited by markp99
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If you develop the "bullseye" rash, definitely get to your doctor and get on antibiotics immediately. However, many people never develop the rash . . .

 

In fact, if I lived where you live, I might go to my doctor and get the antibiotics anyway. Doxycycline is often the one of choice in the beginning.

 

Check all the resources on Lymenet.

 

Good luck.

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Having been raised in Oklahoma, finding ticks after being out in the wild was almost given. So ticks and tick removal never really bother me. Well that is till a visit to Wilson Creek Battlefield in MO. I walked from my car to a cannon, no more than 60 feet, on a mowed lawn. That was the only time that day I was off of a paved surface. Later that evening, while showering, I found a tick on the underside of my penis and another snugged under my testicles.

After living in Alaska for the last few years, I almost forgot about ticks altogther. Now that we're now in North Dakota, my children get the pleasure of learning about them. BTW they're thick up here this year too.

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