+markp99 Posted July 5, 2006 Share Posted July 5, 2006 I'm not sure if my observations are correct or meaningful, but I have noticed a pretty drastic decrease in the number of ticks on my clothing/body/elsewhere. It's been at least a few weeks since my last sighting until Monday when I had one scurrying along my arm as I was signing a cache log. Maybe the mosquitos and deer flies have chased them away? Or maybe the extended and very heavy rains here in the northeast have affected them? Any similar observations? Quote Link to comment
+sbell111 Posted July 5, 2006 Share Posted July 5, 2006 I wish we were in your area. If anything, ticks are worse this year as we had a very mild winter (even by local standards). Quote Link to comment
+AuntieWeasel Posted July 5, 2006 Share Posted July 5, 2006 Geez, not in New England. I've been ticked half to death lately (including several of the tiny, tiny, deadly little buggers). Quote Link to comment
+TrailGators Posted July 5, 2006 Share Posted July 5, 2006 I wish we were in your area. If anything, ticks are worse this year as we had a very mild winter (even by local standards). They are worse in our area. I had 26 on me after finding one cache a couple of months ago. That was a new personal best! Quote Link to comment
+Jhwk Posted July 5, 2006 Share Posted July 5, 2006 Geez, not in New England. I've been ticked half to death lately (including several of the tiny, tiny, deadly little buggers). We call those "seed ticks" here in the ozarks. I would rather find 50 regular ticks (dog ticks, deer ticks, whatever you might call them) than a single seed tick. Those things just creep me out. I can barely feel them and they are hard to see unless they are moving. ewwwww.... We have had little rain here this year, and a very mild winter, but my personal tick count seems low. I usually find one or two now, when I used to find six or seven. Now I have to go take a shower. Quote Link to comment
+markp99 Posted July 5, 2006 Author Share Posted July 5, 2006 YES, ticks this year have been horrendous here in NH. My observation is that they may be letting up lately. - one can only hope. Quote Link to comment
+TeamExtremeMaine Posted July 5, 2006 Share Posted July 5, 2006 If I remember correctly, ticks generally let up/become sluggish during the hottest part of the summer. They are most active in late spring and early fall. That may explain the decrease you are seeing lately because the weather is finally getting warm. I've noticed less of them too, but lots more mosquitos the size of small birds! Quote Link to comment
+sbell111 Posted July 5, 2006 Share Posted July 5, 2006 Geez, not in New England. I've been ticked half to death lately (including several of the tiny, tiny, deadly little buggers).We call those "seed ticks" here in the ozarks. I would rather find 50 regular ticks (dog ticks, deer ticks, whatever you might call them) than a single seed tick. Those things just creep me out. I can barely feel them and they are hard to see unless they are moving. I'm with you. A few wees ago, I hit a couple of caches, but didn't really get into the woods at all. About an hour after I stopped caching, I was driving home and noticed a tiny tick climbing up my dashboard. I tossed it outside, but spent the rest of the ride home itchy and scratchy. Quote Link to comment
+edscott Posted July 5, 2006 Share Posted July 5, 2006 I'm not sure if my observations are correct or meaningful, but I have noticed a pretty drastic decrease in the number of ticks on my clothing/body/elsewhere. It's been at least a few weeks since my last sighting until Monday when I had one scurrying along my arm as I was signing a cache log. Maybe the mosquitos and deer flies have chased them away? Or maybe the extended and very heavy rains here in the northeast have affected them? Any similar observations? It's their normal cycle. Lots of them hatch in the spring and go looking for food. It dies down, spikes again in early fall, and then is relatively quiet for the winter. Quote Link to comment
+9Key Posted July 5, 2006 Share Posted July 5, 2006 Ticks are nasty little creatures, but at least they don't leave horribly itchy little red welts like chiggers. I haven't seen any ticks here in north Texas (maybe its too dry for them) but the chiggers are beyond belief. Quote Link to comment
+W7WT Posted July 5, 2006 Share Posted July 5, 2006 I am from Southern Illinois so I know what ticks and chiggers are. I now live in Bremerton, Wa where we do have some skeeters. We made a three week + trip to Southern Illinois taking I 90 but then dropping down to US 20 in NE and IA. Drove from Northern Illinois to Southern Illinois and did a lot of caching going and while there. Came back on I70 through Mo. KS, CO, UT, NV, ID, OR and then home. My biggest concern was ticks but we never saw a one and skeeters were no problem. This was from Memorial Day for about 24 days. We also had beautiful WX except for one night in my hometown we had a thunderstorm. Guess we lucked out. Dick, W7WT BTW we found 174 caches. Not bad for a couple in their 80's. Quote Link to comment
+radioscout Posted July 5, 2006 Share Posted July 5, 2006 In Europe the number of ticks is increasing dramatically. Cachers who don't use repellants find 10 or more ticks on their skin after one day of geocaching. And there is no vaccination against the european lime disease. Quote Link to comment
+AuntieWeasel Posted July 5, 2006 Share Posted July 5, 2006 Ticks are nasty little creatures, but at least they don't leave horribly itchy little red welts like chiggers. I haven't seen any ticks here in north Texas (maybe its too dry for them) but the chiggers are beyond belief. Ach! Chiggers! Despite the fact they don't carry diseases, aren't poisonous, and generally represent nothing but itch, I nominate chiggers for the World's Most Evil Parasitical Insect. As an old gentleman remarked to me once, "if'n a chigger was the size of your thumb, it'd've kilt you." Funny, when I lived in chigger-infested territory, I don't recall ever having a serious case. It's only when I moved away and came home to visit. Jeez, I still have scars on my ankles from an infestation ten years ago. And there is no vaccination against the european lime disease. There's no vaccination against the American form, either. It's the same disease, isn't it? I read somewhere that the Patient Zero of Lyme Disease was in Germany. Whatever. I know more and more people who have tested positive for Lyme, and I'm terrified of having an undiagnosed case (very bad mojo). My doctor doesn't like the test, because it throws off too many false positives, but I make him give me one every year. Quote Link to comment
+BadAndy Posted July 5, 2006 Share Posted July 5, 2006 Tick sightings in Idaho are most certainly on the increase. After a 15 year drought of never seeing a tick on me, I had one crawl across my neck earlier this year. That's like a 1000% increase in a single day. Quote Link to comment
JohnX Posted July 6, 2006 Share Posted July 6, 2006 We call those "seed ticks" here in the ozarks. I would rather find 50 regular ticks (dog ticks, deer ticks, whatever you might call them) than a single seed tick. Those things just creep me out. I can barely feel them and they are hard to see unless they are moving. ewwwww.... A friend of mine once got one of those tiny ticks stuck to her eyelid. She had to go to a doctor to get it removed. He asked how it got there and she said she didn't know. He then looked at her and said: "Well, didn't you feel it crawling across your face?" Quote Link to comment
+Skillet68 Posted July 6, 2006 Share Posted July 6, 2006 I went all last year without seeing a tick on me. (Wasn't caching, but was in the woods) This year I find 2-3 every time I go out to the forest. Quote Link to comment
+geognerd Posted July 6, 2006 Share Posted July 6, 2006 Ugh. Many more ticks and mosquitos than last year. Lots of PI too. Bad enough that I am trying to avoid caches that are in areas likely to have either. That means mostly doing urban caches. Can't wait for late fall and winter, when I can be more omnivorous in terms of caching. Quote Link to comment
+Blaidd-Drwg Posted July 6, 2006 Share Posted July 6, 2006 Geez, not in New England. I've been ticked half to death lately (including several of the tiny, tiny, deadly little buggers).We call those "seed ticks" here in the ozarks. I would rather find 50 regular ticks (dog ticks, deer ticks, whatever you might call them) than a single seed tick. Those things just creep me out. I can barely feel them and they are hard to see unless they are moving. I'm with you. A few wees ago, I hit a couple of caches, but didn't really get into the woods at all. About an hour after I stopped caching, I was driving home and noticed a tiny tick climbing up my dashboard. I tossed it outside, but spent the rest of the ride home itchy and scratchy. Isn't that the case. I went out Monday and found one on me. I spent the better part of the remainder of the day looking for the little crawling critters. I never found any, but I was sure looking. Quote Link to comment
+OzarksJim Posted July 6, 2006 Share Posted July 6, 2006 Like Jhwk, I live in the Ozarks as well (Southwest Missouri) and the ticks this year have been worse than I've ever seen. And I'm not even talking about in the woods--I'm talking about my own back yard. I'll usually have a couple ticks on me after mowing the yard with the riding mower. What's REALLY nasty is when the ticks feed on your dogs, get fully engorged, and then fall off inside your house. More than once this year I've seen something that looks like a small grape on the carpet, and it's a fully engorged tick. Fortunately I haven't stepped on them yet, but I've been told it's kind of like stepping on a ketchup packet you get at those fast food places. BLECCHHH!! Quote Link to comment
+Henki Posted July 6, 2006 Share Posted July 6, 2006 Wow, this is the first year that people down here are reporting seeing ticks. I had never encountered them until we went caching in northern MS in February; the pooch picked up a few. Quote Link to comment
rocketmann Posted July 6, 2006 Share Posted July 6, 2006 I actually havn't noticed that many ticks in Nebraska this year. Don't know why not. Maybe I just havn't been getting out in the woods enough. Ticks are nasty little creatures, but at least they don't leave horribly itchy little red welts like chiggers. I haven't seen any ticks here in north Texas (maybe its too dry for them) but the chiggers are beyond belief. I visited a scout camp in the Black Hills in June and the chiggers were horrid there. But yet, like in Texas, there aren't any ticks. Quote Link to comment
+ParrotRobAndCeCe Posted July 6, 2006 Share Posted July 6, 2006 I'm not sure if my observations are correct or meaningful, but I have noticed a pretty drastic decrease in the number of ticks on my clothing/body/elsewhere. That's because they're all on my dogs. Quote Link to comment
+Davispak Posted July 6, 2006 Share Posted July 6, 2006 I'm not sure if my observations are correct or meaningful, but I have noticed a pretty drastic decrease in the number of ticks on my clothing/body/elsewhere. It's been at least a few weeks since my last sighting until Monday when I had one scurrying along my arm as I was signing a cache log. Maybe the mosquitos and deer flies have chased them away? Or maybe the extended and very heavy rains here in the northeast have affected them? Any similar observations? Its all the previous visitors to the caches carrying all the ticks out before you get there Quote Link to comment
+GPSlug Posted July 6, 2006 Share Posted July 6, 2006 Its all the previous visitors to the caches carrying all the ticks out before you get there Is that what the 'T' in CITO means? Quote Link to comment
+Yamahammer Posted July 6, 2006 Share Posted July 6, 2006 Ticks are nasty little creatures, but at least they don't leave horribly itchy little red welts like chiggers. I haven't seen any ticks here in north Texas (maybe its too dry for them) but the chiggers are beyond belief. Yup, no ticks yet this summer. No fleas either on my dogs. But the chigger, ah yes, the chigger. They're thriving right now in Texas. Quote Link to comment
PCFrog Posted July 6, 2006 Share Posted July 6, 2006 Please come to Wisconsin to get your fair share of ticks. This is the worst summer in 7 years. Our yard is not even safe this year. Quote Link to comment
+brodiebunch Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 I blame global warming, therefore its George Bush's fault Quote Link to comment
+George1 Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 Just my two cents. I lived in Maryland for 25 years and had a real problem with ticks. I happen to be a "Tick Magnet". We won't even talk about those nasty little Chiggers. Now I live in PA and do a lot of maintenece on the Quehanna Trail. This place is infested with ticks too. The good part is there are no Chiggers in PA. Anyhow I started using these products on my clothes and I never get ticks anymore. The repellents with Permethrin in them will keep Ticks and Chiggers off you. THESE PRODUCTS ARE ONLY FOR ON YOUR CLOTHES!!, NOT YOUR SKIN.. I wear shorts a lot of the time and as long as my clothes are sprayed and I put some insect repellent onl my exposed skin I never get ticks at all. These products have worked for me. There is also a new one at Walmart that I think is called Permanone. I never leave home without clothes that have been treated. It will also last for several washings. I usually mark the tags with a magic marker to indicated that the clothes have been treated. Quote Link to comment
+khaytsus Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 Perhaps TMI... but last year after a hike through the woods (not Geocaching, just hiking) the next morning I got up and went to pee and the stream went two directions. After much confusion, cleaning up what had happened, I examined the.... area.. and found two of the 'seed ticks' right on the business end. I was *not* amused. Quote Link to comment
+markp99 Posted July 7, 2006 Author Share Posted July 7, 2006 Yup. TMI! Oh, and ouch!@ Quote Link to comment
+BomberJjr Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 Geez, not in New England. I've been ticked half to death lately (including several of the tiny, tiny, deadly little buggers). Yea, I have to say. The ticks have been horrible up here in New England. Surprised I haven't gotten lime disease yet. I actually just found a tick on me this morning, but go figure, I wasn't even geocaching. Even spraying myself down pretty well this past Monday didn't stop one of these little guys from clinging to my leg. Quote Link to comment
+Team Cotati Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 I used to be bothered by ticks but ever since I began bathing only once per week they have been leaving me alone. Try it, you never can tell. Quote Link to comment
+CharlieP Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 The bug factor has been lower that normal in recent weeks here in northern Georgia. I think it is because we have had very little rain. My lawn is dying, but at least there are no mosquitos, and few ticks and chiggers. Every silver lining has a dark cloud. Quote Link to comment
+Kacky Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 (edited) We call those "seed ticks" here in the ozarks. I would rather find 50 regular ticks (dog ticks, deer ticks, whatever you might call them) than a single seed tick. Those things just creep me out. I can barely feel them and they are hard to see unless they are moving. ewwwww.... A friend of mine once got one of those tiny ticks stuck to her eyelid. She had to go to a doctor to get it removed. He asked how it got there and she said she didn't know. He then looked at her and said: "Well, didn't you feel it crawling across your face?" DUH, if she'd have felt it would she have let it get on her eye? What a dumb doctor. Edited July 7, 2006 by Kacky Quote Link to comment
wvmtnrecluse Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 Lots of comments about the quantity of ticks. What are the methods you all use to get them off once they have attached to you? Quote Link to comment
+markp99 Posted July 7, 2006 Author Share Posted July 7, 2006 The *best* method is with tweezers. Grab just between the head and your skin and pull carefully so you don't leave any small bits behind. I wipe the area with alcohol, then antibiotic cream and a bandaid. The old "match head" approach (so I have read) may cause the little bugger to regurgitate into the wound, increasing your chances of infection. Quote Link to comment
+Fish Below The Ice Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 I'm not sure if my observations are correct or meaningful, but I have noticed a pretty drastic decrease in the number of ticks on my clothing/body/elsewhere. Maybe the mosquitos and deer flies have chased them away? Or maybe the extended and very heavy rains here in the northeast have affected them? Perhaps they're being suffocated by all the excess poison ivy. dave Quote Link to comment
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