Tick Talk

[+Alan2]

Here's a NY Times article today regarding Permethrin impregnated clothes and how to deal with tick and other biting insects. Insects, Beware of Clothing That Bites Back

 

I use Buzz Off which seems pretty good so far. It's suppose to be good for thirty washings.

Edited May 24, 2006 by Alan2

[+edscott]

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.

 

From your description I will hazard a guess that you are not involved with ticks but perhaps chiggars. Ticks don't "bite" and release right away. They hang on for several days until they are gorged with blood. If you had over a hundred hanging on to you, it would be quite a sight.

[+clearpath]

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.

 

From your description I will hazard a guess that you are not involved with ticks but perhaps chiggars. Ticks don't "bite" and release right away. They hang on for several days until they are gorged with blood. If you had over a hundred hanging on to you, it would be quite a sight.

I've heard of people getting attacked by seed ticks, but over a hundred would be rare. If you have a hundred ticks hanging off your body ... go straight to the hospital cause you definitely have Lyme Disease.

[+Alan2]

Seed or larvae ticks do not carry disease. Only in the subsequent nymph and adult stages can they be infected. Deer tick life cycle

Edited May 27, 2006 by Alan2

[+cqedens137]

I've figured out why the ticks love us geocachers so much. It's because we hunt and carry these around. Take a look, the bug looks a bit like a tick.

 

They just think their coming together for a family reunion.

 

hey if you find this tick please don't burn, crush, flush,or feed him to your fly trap

he is not suposed to bite

 

cqedens137

[+RakeInTheCache]

If you think you'll escape ticks by caching in Europe, think again. I've already had 2 crawling across me after removing a cache from a stump. The difference here is that fully grown, they're the size of a pinhead., but just as liable to transmit nasty diseases. At least the American ticks are easier to spot.

[+Velvet]

I am the tick magnet in the family. Last time out, I found three and the others didn't get any. The time before that, I thought I was tick-free until ::shudder:: one crawled right down through my eyebrow and was heading for my eye. If I had SEEN it before I FELT it, I would have FLIPPED OUT!!!!

[+photoemagery]

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.

 

From your description I will hazard a guess that you are not involved with ticks but perhaps chiggars. Ticks don't "bite" and release right away. They hang on for several days until they are gorged with blood. If you had over a hundred hanging on to you, it would be quite a sight.

 

funny, my brother-in-law just today made the same comment. After looking at a pic, the "ticks" in question may very well have been chiggars. And if they were ticks, well, that's why she's on some pretty strong antibiotics just to be safe.

[+timrs2001]

I live in New Brunswick Canada and we went through a flea and tick disaster many years ago when we lived in Ontario.

I dare not mention anything about ticks and caches to my wife or she will leave after crushing my GPS.

 

Tim

Yesterday evening about 7 pm we found a cache near a local business. We had to walk about 10 feet through knee high grass to find the cache. No problem, signed log, traded TB's and were on our way. Had a good evening and went to bed about 11. At midnight I was woken up by something crawling near my leg. I tried to shake it off and go back to sleep. I felt it again, and jumped out of bed and turned on the light, expecting to find a spider. When I threw back the (luckily yellow) sheets, my husband saw a tick walking around. IN MY BED!!!

 

So, I let it crawl on a piece a paper and fed it to the Venus Flytrap in the kitchen and then TRIED to go back to sleep. I laid there for an hour and a half waiting...

 

I knew if there was one, there may be others. And where in the heck was that thing hiding for the last five hours? No bites on anyone, but ugghh! I finally fell asleep and dreamed about ticks all night. Today the sheets get a wash in hot water.

 

Here is my question. Are the ticks worse this year? Or is it that we are new to geocaching? We've walked through the woods with the girl scouts, boy scouts and just the family before, and never had a problem. Now we walk 10 feet through grass by a business and gets ticks in the bed. This is our fourth tick encounter this spring, even using DEET sometimes.

 

Are there superticks in Sacramento? Do I have to put off geocaching until it's cold? Help!

 

Signed,

Sleepless in Sacramento

[+ATMS]

My son, team memeber A, told me one night that his ear itched. Since he is prone to dry wax, I just figured a piece had broken loose. Later that evening he complained again. So I grabbed the light thingie that doctors use to look in ears and about had a cow when I saw LEGS in his ear!! I calmly told him ok...go watch TV and when and told my husband about it I was shaking. Being a Sunday night we had to take him to the ER to get it removed. It was partially embedded and the Dr. said good thing I brought him in to get it out. Not a place you want to try and fail at home and leave part of it in. Anyhow, after a total 30 minute visit to the ER and $97.00 later, operation tick out of the ear was successful!!

[+Alan2]

Here is my question. Are the ticks worse this year? Or is it that we are new to geocaching? We've walked through the woods with the girl scouts, boy scouts and just the family before, and never had a problem.

 

The problem is that since ticks have taken up geocaching, we're both walking the same trails. This will continue until they decide to take up a new hobby.

Edited May 28, 2006 by Alan2

[+TennesseeFlyBoy]

Yesterday evening about 7 pm we found a cache near a local business. We had to walk about 10 feet through knee high grass to find the cache. No problem, signed log, traded TB's and were on our way. Had a good evening and went to bed about 11. At midnight I was woken up by something crawling near my leg. I tried to shake it off and go back to sleep. I felt it again, and jumped out of bed and turned on the light, expecting to find a spider. When I threw back the (luckily yellow) sheets, my husband saw a tick walking around. IN MY BED!!!

 

So, I let it crawl on a piece a paper and fed it to the Venus Flytrap in the kitchen and then TRIED to go back to sleep. I laid there for an hour and a half waiting...

 

I knew if there was one, there may be others. And where in the heck was that thing hiding for the last five hours? No bites on anyone, but ugghh! I finally fell asleep and dreamed about ticks all night. Today the sheets get a wash in hot water.

 

Here is my question. Are the ticks worse this year? Or is it that we are new to geocaching? We've walked through the woods with the girl scouts, boy scouts and just the family before, and never had a problem. Now we walk 10 feet through grass by a business and gets ticks in the bed. This is our fourth tick encounter this spring, even using DEET sometimes.

 

Are there superticks in Sacramento? Do I have to put off geocaching until it's cold? Help!

 

Signed,

Sleepless in Sacramento

 

Ticks are just one hazard of being outdoors in the summertime. Usually they live around trees. Depending on what part of the country one is in, they may carry anything from Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever to Lymes Disease. The best way to avoid ticks is to stay out of the woods in the summertime. There is a reason that fall and spring are the most popular times for outdoor activities in the woods.

[+Sue Gremlin]

The best way to avoid ticks is to stay out of the woods in the summertime.

The hell you say! I'd rather take my chances and buy pallets of bug spray. There's some woods to be explored!

[+carleenp]

I've figured out why the ticks love us geocachers so much. It's because we hunt and carry these around. Take a look, the bug looks a bit like a tick.

 

They just think their coming together for a family reunion.

 

hey if you find this tick please don't burn, crush, flush,or feed him to your fly trap

he is not suposed to bite

 

cqedens137

 

Now that is a tick that I like!

[+clearpath]

We had a wild fire sweep through some property that we own last April. I'd say several hundered acres were burned in total. The nice thing is there are no ticks in that area, and no snakes, frogs, salamanders, turtles, Posion Ivy, May Apples, Eastern Cedar Trees, Buckbrush, Virginia Creeper, and many other once living organisms.

[+Marky]

After pulling off over 120 ticks off Joani and I after one cache, finding one or two doesn't bother me much.

 

--Marky