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Ticks in Southern Ontario


Tri_Again

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Has anyone had any problems with ticks in Southern Ontario?

 

I didn't even know that they were much of an issue in this area until I was bit by one on Saturday.

 

I'm hoping to set this forum up to share information about them. I know very little, but I'm learning fast.

 

The Ontario Government is currently doing a study on ticks in this area. If you are bit, after removing the tick (please find instructions on how to properly remove a tick) put it in a container (old pill bottle for example) and take it to the public health office. I dropped my "friend" off this morning and should hear back in a couple of weeks.

 

I know that my girlfriend (keep_on_shinin') is very concerned about ticks now. I can't imagine it is a big issue, but I would like to know what others know. My guess is, if we take all the proper precautions the chances of contracting anything (like Lyme Disease) is slimmer than being in a car accident on the way to the cache...but I just don't know.

 

Please let me know what you know, or any recommended sites about ticks.

 

Thanks and cache on....I hope!!!

 

Tri_Again

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Has anyone had any problems with ticks in Southern Ontario?

 

I didn't even know that they were much of an issue in this area until I was bit by one on Saturday.

 

I'm hoping to set this forum up to share information about them. I know very little, but I'm learning fast.

 

The Ontario Government is currently doing a study on ticks in this area. If you are bit, after removing the tick (please find instructions on how to properly remove a tick) put it in a container (old pill bottle for example) and take it to the public health office. I dropped my "friend" off this morning and should hear back in a couple of weeks.

 

I know that my girlfriend (keep_on_shinin') is very concerned about ticks now. I can't imagine it is a big issue, but I would like to know what others know. My guess is, if we take all the proper precautions the chances of contracting anything (like Lyme Disease) is slimmer than being in a car accident on the way to the cache...but I just don't know.

 

Please let me know what you know, or any recommended sites about ticks.

 

Thanks and cache on....I hope!!!

 

Tri_Again

 

As the others in our "BT Bunch" already know,I was bit two weeks ago as well after our first hike on the Niagara section of the Bruce Trail. I know one other cacher found one on him as well.

 

From what I understand (and feel free to correct me if I'm wrong), it is mostly the black-legged tick that carries Lyme Disease in Ontario and they are mostly found in the Long Point/Turkey Point and along the lake Erie part of southern ontario. The other ticks that you find are mostly dog ticks...they are a little larger and have a brown patch on their backs. This is what I gather from what I have read. The one that bit me was one of the later and is the most common.

 

While we were hiking that weekend, we happened to be chatting about ticks coincedentally and Rovers3 mentioned Permethrine. I did a little digging in the forums as well as researching on the net and this stuff definately sounds like the best stuff to use. You put it on your clothes, not your skin, and it is completely safe for humans. They tell you not to put it on your skin as your skin oils break it down and it is no longer effective. They claim that Permethrine bonds to the fibers in your clothing and will survive up to 6 weeks of washing as well.

 

I had a hard time finding it in Canada and since I was placing an order from REI in the states anyway, I ordered a bottle. I will post back what I discover. I know one couple somewhere (maybe in these forums) talked about one of them wearing DEET and the other Permethrine as they went into the tall grasses near where they live. She had something like 4 or 5 on her when they came out, he had none. i will still use DEET on my skin as well.

 

Here are some links:

 

http://www.health.gov.on.ca/english/public...se/lyme_mn.html

 

http://www.gvta.on.ca/ticks.html

 

http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/id-mi/tickinfo-eng.php

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Ticks in Ontario? Yikes! I didn't know. Where were you hiking? I hike on the Bruce Trail all the time (mostly BlueMountain section and north.) I've never done a tick search while living in Ontario. EEgad!

In the mid 80's, when I lived in Nova Scotia, a wee tick took up residence on my thigh for a few days. I still have a bump on my leg to prove it!

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I'm pretty sure I picked up the tick will caching in Brantford, although there is also a small possibility that I picked it up in the morning when we were caching in Hamilton.

 

Keep_on_shinin' and I are planning a trip to Vermont in the summer and have discovered that ticks are even more of an issue there. We are trying to figure out what to do. I'm more of the...don't worry about it, we'll cover up and everything will be fine, but I think she's starting to think she wants to cancel.

 

I guess the part that I'm still not certain of is how often people are bit and it leads to something more serious?

 

Thanks to everyone who's responded already, especially M3J who had some great information.

 

Thank you, thank you.

 

Tri_Again

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Ticks in Ontario? Yikes! I didn't know. Where were you hiking? I hike on the Bruce Trail all the time (mostly BlueMountain section and north.) I've never done a tick search while living in Ontario. EEgad!

In the mid 80's, when I lived in Nova Scotia, a wee tick took up residence on my thigh for a few days. I still have a bump on my leg to prove it!

 

I don't think its an issue up where you are. Its mostly along Lake Erie shoreline. There will always be the occasional tick no matter where you go.

 

We were in the Niagara/St Catherines area.

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I'm pretty sure I picked up the tick will caching in Brantford, although there is also a small possibility that I picked it up in the morning when we were caching in Hamilton.

 

Keep_on_shinin' and I are planning a trip to Vermont in the summer and have discovered that ticks are even more of an issue there. We are trying to figure out what to do. I'm more of the...don't worry about it, we'll cover up and everything will be fine, but I think she's starting to think she wants to cancel.

 

I guess the part that I'm still not certain of is how often people are bit and it leads to something more serious?

 

Thanks to everyone who's responded already, especially M3J who had some great information.

 

Thank you, thank you.

 

Tri_Again

 

I think the stat I read was something like an average of 15 - 20 cases of Lyme Disease in Ontario in a year but half or more of those are from folks who travelled to the US and brought it back with them.

 

In other words, you likely have a greater chance of being hit by lightning than getting Lyme Disease.

 

In answer to Dano's question, I did not feel it bite at all. I have a feeling that it came home on my clothes on the saturday, jumped off me and onto the couch, then jumped back on monday night when I sat down in my shorts. I did not find it till tuesday morning but I never felt it, even as I took it off.

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Can you feel them bite? Do you know they are attached without doing a visual search?

Not usually. That's why you have to do visual inspection. One good thing, is that they don 't normally bite and attach themselves immediately. They can be present for some period (I seem to remember 1 to 2 Hours, maybe longer) before they bite and imbed themselves. They don't infect until they do that.

 

JD

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In my case the tick was on the back of my left calf muscle. I didn't do a visual inspection right away as I didn't even think about it. I'm estimating it was on my leg for about 7-14 hours. Everything I've read so far tells me that it needs to be on for about 24 hours before there is any real danger (but don't quote me on that!!). Anyway, I actually thought that I was having a small muscle spasm. It felt like a pinch, nothing more. When I went to go to bed I took a look, and there it was.

 

I too heard that the only area that has ticks that we should be concerned about are along the north shore of lake Erie, of course about a month ago we did a trip along there and didn't know...fortunately it was uneventful.

 

I'm not trying to create any type of panic, just create a discussion chain where people can get informed so that their caching can be more enjoyable.

 

Tri_Again

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Last week my son helped me do a bit of gardening around the house here in Hamilton Ontario and I would have never thought to check him for tics before bed. The next morning he woke up with one baried in his chest. He didn't know what it was so he pulled it out during his bath that morning. The little bugger (the tic, not my son) left a big hole in his chest. My wife called telehealth and they did not seem to be too alarmed, they just said to keep an eye on him.

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Ticks in Ontario? Yikes! I didn't know. Where were you hiking? I hike on the Bruce Trail all the time (mostly BlueMountain section and north.) I've never done a tick search while living in Ontario. EEgad!

In the mid 80's, when I lived in Nova Scotia, a wee tick took up residence on my thigh for a few days. I still have a bump on my leg to prove it!

 

I don't think its an issue up where you are. Its mostly along Lake Erie shoreline. There will always be the occasional tick no matter where you go.

 

We were in the Niagara/St Catherines area.

 

I picked up two ticks last summer, yep, along the Northern Lake Erie shoreline (Haldimand County). I'm pretty sure it was at a cache near the town of Jarvis. And they were in fact of the black-legged variety. Got them off before they attached though. I'll be in that area again later this month, you'd better believe I'm going to DEET up. :grin: Thanks for the links, some good info.

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My doctor told me to keep an eye on the area where the tick bit. She sad the first sign of Lyme Disease is a bullseye shaped rash radiating out from the bite spot.

 

As a side note, my Permethrine arrived today. I'll let you all know how it works out.

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Funny this topic should come up, I saw a tick for the very first time a few weeks ago. I was caching around Niagara region, maybe Welland area. I flicked it off me in the car on the way home, not knowing what it was. Then I remembered the little icon in the attribute section of the cache page, it looked just like it.

 

I have found 4 ticks in total, on 3 caching trips, all in Niagara region. (Please don't ask me why I keep going back there!) None have bitten me, all have been found on my clothes, and one on the shower curtain rod. I check myself as soon as I get home, and throw my clothes in the washer right away and shower.

 

I have read a lot about ticks in the US forums, and they recommend 30% DEET for the skin, and permethrine for the clothes AND backpack. The Permethrine last several washings,(weeks to months). Wearing long pants and shirt is supposed to help but I'm not wearing a long shirt in 30 degree heat, it's bad enough I have to wear pants! I plan to treat 2 sets of clothes, and only wear them for caching.

 

Ticks bites apparently don't hurt because they secrete something that numbs your skin. They must be latched on for about 24 hrs to cause concern.

 

And of course, I feel things crawling on my skin as I write this. :grin:

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When hiking the lower Iroquoia section of the Bruce Trail I happened upon some suveyors in the woods who said that they have seen quite a few ticks this year compared to other years. We have also seen a number of dogs with ticks in the Toronto area this year so it may be that with changing climate we will have to be more vigilant.

Permithrin on the clothes works the best and there are Permethrin dog collars and sprays for your dog. How long it lasts on your clothing depends on the concentration used. Beware though that Permethrin is toxic to cats. There are a number of species of tick that can carry Lyme disease but the black legged or Deer Tick has been implicated the most.

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We had a family case of Lyme disease last year that we picked up caching in New Hampshire. Two weekends ago I pulled over a dozen off the oldest squirrel and several off the others immediately after our first cache attempt of the day which was Binbrook Trio: Final. I am pretty sure they got them there and not at church! lol. We have run into ticks quite a bit in the Brantford area while caching and while visiting a friends country home. I used to pull them off and save them but after our bout with Lyme I did some research and I thought I learned that the Lyme Ticks were very small and these ones are very big. So now we just do full body inspection and pull them off. I make light of it with the kids--A post caching "Tick" removal party is now part of our spring routine.

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Girls,

 

I'm curious, how did you discover that you had Lyme Disease. How long did you have it before you knew, how long did it take to recover from it? Did it hinder your caching desire? Do you think you could have avoided it if you had prepared differently?

 

Sorry for all the questions, but keep_on_shinin' is in my opinion starting to border on irrational fear (sorry honey!!) about this. I say, we have to live our lives. I think we need to be smart about it, but I don't want to stop doing something that I love just because of this risk. On the other hand I want to understand and support keep_on_shinin' and her concern.

 

Thanks,

 

Tri_Again

Edited by Tri_Again
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Here is a link to a paper by Dr. Scott Taylor, a researcher on Lyme Disease http://www.autoimmunityresearch.org/lyme-disease/

 

And here is a statement from that paper

 

"There are more carriers of LD than just the deer tick. There is a tremendous misunderstanding regarding the vector (carrier) that transmits Lyme disease. First of all, the familiar tick vector called the deer tick (Ixodes dammini) and black-legged ticks (commonly called deer ticks) (Ixodes scapularis) are more prevalent and spreading wider than reported. Secondly, these ticks are not the only vector able to transmit Borrelia species. Several other tick species such as the Lone Star ticks (Ammblyoma americanum), western black-legged ticks (Ixodes pacificus), and wood ticks or dog ticks (Dermacentor variabilis) can transmit it too. Unfortunately, this critical information is not being reported by health officials to the public and medical community. The widespread distribution of these tick vectors greatly increases the prevalence of Lyme disease well beyond that of official reports. The public needs to understand the potential danger of all tick bites, not only that from the deer tick."

 

So don't just write off other ticks.

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Girls,

 

I'm curious, how did you discover that you had Lyme Disease. How long did you have it before you knew, how long did it take to recover from it? Did it hinder your caching desire? Do you think you could have avoided it if you had prepared differently?

 

Sorry for all the questions, but keep_on_shinin' is in my opinion starting to border on irrational fear (sorry honey!!) about this. I say, we have to live our lives. I think we need to be smart about it, but I don't want to stop doing something that I love just because of this risk. On the other hand I want to understand and support keep_on_shinin' and her concern.

 

Thanks,

 

Tri_Again

 

I agree! We can not stay out of the woods. I wish I had some advice for keep_on_shinin', but all I can say is there is some great information in this thread as far as Permethrin, 30% deet, long pants and long sleeves, and of course all the external links, mostly to official government agencies.

 

Sorry though, I couldn't help but notice some recent logs, and there is definitely some activity out there. But you can see in all cases, the seekers were aware of the threat. Welland area #1 Welland area #2 (both from the same cache). And Port Colborne area

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Sorry though, I couldn't help but notice some recent logs, and there is definitely some activity out there. But you can see in all cases, the seekers were aware of the threat. Welland area #1 Welland area #2 (both from the same cache). And Port Colborne area

 

I was at that Welland cache and didn't notice any ticks... too busy trying to avoid the swim, and the mozzies were driving me nuts. And I'm sure that I carried a tick home that day. In the last few days I've been much more vigilant when I'm on the trail, careful to stay in the middle to avoid brushing the plants. But when it's time to bushwhack, the cache radar is much stronger than the tick radar...lol. The DEET and the checks when I get home makes me comortable enough to keep up with the caching. However, I did just see a picture of a tick on the web page link and it's TINY!!! I didn't know they came that small. The ones I'm finding are much bigger.

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I've had ticks on me in the York Forest, south shore of Lake Simcoe and also near my home in Caledon but none had the chance to sink their teeth in. They are big, you can't miss them. That said....My wife's friend got bitten by a lyme disease infected tick in Algonquin Park about 9 years ago. There aren't supposed to be any lyme disease ticks up there, and certainly none at that period in time. Sadly, it took her over a year to be diagnosed and begin treatment, and she had to go to Massachusetts where they were more familiar with the disease for this. She's still not 100%, probably never will be, and only started working again a couple of years ago. It bit her behind the ear and went unnoticed for days.

 

I nearly forgot. My mother got bitten by something that left a bullseye mark on her last summer. When she showed me I had to tell her about deer ticks and lyme disease, to which she immediately went into panic mode. She went to the doctor and had the standard blood test, which takes 2 weeks. it was not lyme disease and more likely a spider bite. All spiders are poisonous by the way.

Edited by Couparangus
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:)

 

Was that confused smiley guy for my post? I'm going to a big racing weekend at Cayuga Speedway in a couple of weeks, so I've probably seen every cache description from Ft. Erie to Simcoe. According to this link this is the corridor where lyme disease carrying ticks are most common in Ontario. But out of 100+ caches, those were the only three tick reports I've seen.

 

I agree with a couple of other comments posted, the two deer ticks I had on my person in Haldimand County last summer were huge. Almost Lady Bug sized. Except they're much flatter. :mad: It was late summer though, maybe they get bigger later in the season?

Edited by TheWhiteUrkel
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I'm very new to geocaching but I do spend many hours outdoors at my other hobby birding. Ticks have been a topic of discussion with that group as well. We are finding ticks all over southern ontario. In places that had non only a couple years ago. We have found the best thing to do is stop and do regular tick checks of your pants when in grassy areas. As often as every few minutes. Of course a complete head to toe check at the end of the day is still required. I know of one person who's personal record is 168 in one day.

 

All in all this still has to be one of the safest places in the world to enjoy the outdoors.

 

Caz

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Was that confused smiley guy for my post

 

Sorry for any confusion it had nothing to do with your post. I entered my post and it said it didn't go then I entered again and it said it didn't go through and it seems both did. I deleted one post and entered the confusing smiley guy as I'm totally confused with how the posting works on this site :)

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I'm very new to geocaching but I do spend many hours outdoors at my other hobby birding. Ticks have been a topic of discussion with that group as well. We are finding ticks all over southern ontario. In places that had non only a couple years ago. We have found the best thing to do is stop and do regular tick checks of your pants when in grassy areas. As often as every few minutes. Of course a complete head to toe check at the end of the day is still required. I know of one person who's personal record is 168 in one day.

 

All in all this still has to be one of the safest places in the world to enjoy the outdoors.

 

Caz

 

 

Do you get a new icon for that?

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I live in Nova Scotia and I know that we have seen way more ticks this year than ever in the past. Not sure if it is weather related or what. For the people concerned about Lyme disease. It is around, and it is in many different kinds of ticks. But I also got a tick on me in a big public parking lot so go figure on how you may get them. Geocaching is such a healthy activity, no one should limit it due simply to a fear of contacting a disease you could get just wallking out to get the morning paper. Bottom line, dress appropriately (I like scrubs with elastic in the hems, light weight in the heat but closed off to ticks!) wear DEET and if you want add in other repellants. Then no matter how careful you are, remember to do a tick check when you get home (or to your hotel room, tent space etc) and pull off any you find. Although they can give you the creepies thinking about them they are really not all that bad. Had my son have a lyme type reaction. He was treated as if it was the disease (before the quick test results) and is just fine now.

Edited by theconvent
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Well, it's finally happened to me too. I was out yesterday with the "Challenge Caching 2" group in the Grimsby area and came home with a tick attached to my right knee. I was wearing long pants, so the critter must've crawled up my leg at some point during the day. Using tick tweezers (the first time I've used them for what they were intended) I grabbed it at the head and pulled straight out. I was surprised at how well attached it was. It didn't look like any mouth parts were left behind. I've saved the tick and will call my doctor on Monday for further instructions. Here is what the tick looks like and here's an image of the tick bite. A couple of other cachers have emailed me saying that it looks like a dog tick. It appears that way to me too.

Edited by ElectroQTed
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Well, it's finally happened to me too. I was out yesterday with the "Challenge Caching 2" group in the Grimsby area and came home with a tick attached to my right knee. I was wearing long pants, so the critter must've crawled up my leg at some point during the day. Using tick tweezers (the first time I've used them for what they were intended) I grabbed it at the head and pulled straight out. I was surprised at how well attached it was. It didn't look like any mouth parts were left behind. I've saved the tick and will call my doctor on Monday for further instructions. Here is what the tick looks like and here's an image of the tick bite. A couple of other cachers have emailed me saying that it looks like a dog tick. It appears that way to me too.

 

Welcome to the club Ted! Looks the same as the one I had...yup, dog tick.

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We didn't stick around for the Challenge caching on Saturday, but we were encountering ticks at caches in St. Catherines. Fortunately we spotted them before they became a real problem and we swatted them off before they 'set in' or got into the car. Will definately be more vigilant this summer, as I've never EVER encountered the things before now.

 

Hope they're not in Maine, NS, NB or Quebec yet - those are caching areas for me this summer.

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We didn't stick around for the Challenge caching on Saturday, but we were encountering ticks at caches in St. Catherines. Fortunately we spotted them before they became a real problem and we swatted them off before they 'set in' or got into the car. Will definately be more vigilant this summer, as I've never EVER encountered the things before now.

 

Hope they're not in Maine, NS, NB or Quebec yet - those are caching areas for me this summer.

 

I'm going to Maine in Sept so have been looking for info on ticks in that area. Look at the article in the Sun Journal.

 

Lyme disease threat accompanies 'ample' supply of ticks in Maine

 

Saturday, June 14, 2008

PORTLAND (AP) - Maine officials say there's a bumper crop of ticks, and that's leading to fears of more Lyme disease this spring.

 

Dr. Pete Rand from the Vector Borne Disease Laboratory at the Maine Medical Center Research Institute says there's an ample number of deer ticks that carry Lyme disease.

 

But it remains to be seen whether that'll translate to more infections.

 

In Maine, the number of Lyme cases grew from 71 in 2000 to 529 last year. Officials caution that part of the trend could be greater awareness of the disease, which is marked by a bulls-eye rash.

 

Lyme disease is easily treated with antibiotics. Left untreated, though, it can cause chronic problems including arthritis.

 

link http://www.sunjournal.com/story/270083-3/M...ticks_in_Maine/

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Hope they're not in Maine, NS, NB or Quebec yet - those are caching areas for me this summer.

 

Then you don't want to see this pic from a cache raid in NS a few weeks ago.

 

No ticks in NB......yet.

 

Yikes!! Quite the pic!

 

Sorry Greg, they are quite common in Maine and the northeast in general. I think they tend to be more common in areas with lots of shorelines as I believe they hitchhike on shorebirds.

 

Rovers3, you might know best...is that not the case?

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Hope they're not in Maine, NS, NB or Quebec yet - those are caching areas for me this summer.

 

Then you don't want to see this pic from a cache raid in NS a few weeks ago.

 

No ticks in NB......yet.

 

Yikes!! Quite the pic!

 

Sorry Greg, they are quite common in Maine and the northeast in general. I think they tend to be more common in areas with lots of shorelines as I believe they hitchhike on shorebirds.

 

Rovers3, you might know best...is that not the case?

 

We're headed out west so I hope its not as big an issue out there.

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I took my little friend to the Public Health Office today (Environmental Health & Lifestyle Dept.) and they will be sending it off for testing and call me with the results. They thought it would take about a week. Correspondence with others that were along for the hike on Saturday revealed that some found ticks on their clothing, in their cars and in bathrooms where they disrobed.

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Well, it's finally happened to me too. I was out yesterday with the "Challenge Caching 2" group in the Grimsby area and came home with a tick attached to my right knee. I was wearing long pants, so the critter must've crawled up my leg at some point during the day. Using tick tweezers (the first time I've used them for what they were intended) I grabbed it at the head and pulled straight out. I was surprised at how well attached it was. It didn't look like any mouth parts were left behind. I've saved the tick and will call my doctor on Monday for further instructions. Here is what the tick looks like and here's an image of the tick bite. A couple of other cachers have emailed me saying that it looks like a dog tick. It appears that way to me too.

 

Another reason to hate Grimsby. :rolleyes: Interesting pics. We certainly have reports from all over the Niagara Peninsula. Good luck on the testing, it will probably be fine being a dog tick.

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I was out with the "Challenge Caching Group" on Saturday in the Grimbsy area and had my first encounter with these little critters. My brother noticed something crawling on my neck after we got back to the car from doing a cache. He grabbed it and threw it out the window. It wasn't until I got the e-mail from ElectroQTed with a picture of his little friend that I realized it had been a tick on my neck. I found two more at home on the bathroom floor the next day. They must have come off my clothes which I threw into the dirty clothes hamper. I got one in a pill bottle and contacted Halton Health Services. They want me to bring it in for tests. I'll post the results.

I never realized that these things were so prevalent in this area. This is my third summer caching and ticks have never been an issue.

I hope this doesn't put me off hiking in the woods, I'd hate to just do parking lot lamppost micros all summer.

Edited by Zoeker Bill
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In my 5 1/2 years of caching I have never encountered a tick in Ontario (We did find a number of them 5 years ago while caching in Germany) and always was under the impression that we didn't have ticks in Ontario. It does worry me now that during our group caching on Saturday that our group encountered almost a dozen ticks while caching in the Grimsby and surrounding area. It's a beautiful area to cache in, but not sure if I want to cache there again anytime soon or wait until the winter months.

 

My question is, how do these ticks get on people? Fall from the trees? From the grasses we walk through? From the plants that we brush up against?

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In my 5 1/2 years of caching I have never encountered a tick in Ontario (We did find a number of them 5 years ago while caching in Germany) and always was under the impression that we didn't have ticks in Ontario. It does worry me now that during our group caching on Saturday that our group encountered almost a dozen ticks while caching in the Grimsby and surrounding area. It's a beautiful area to cache in, but not sure if I want to cache there again anytime soon or wait until the winter months.

 

My question is, how do these ticks get on people? Fall from the trees? From the grasses we walk through? From the plants that we brush up against?

 

Ticks wait until someone passes by the plants/grasses and "jump" on. They don't fly. Its mostly from plants and grasses. I have not heard of them falling from a tree, though I guess anything is possible.

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Last year Dreadnaught and I got bitten by ticks in Virgina. We were travelling home from Geowoodstock5

We decided to do some caches on the way home and hit a few rest stops. Not being very smart I didn't spray

and got a tick. It was very very small. It was removed alive. I think the most important thing to do is

remember to use deet. Spray your socks and ankles really well. And if your wearing shorts make sure you spray your legs really well too. Once we sprayed up they didn't both us after that.

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In my 5 1/2 years of caching I have never encountered a tick in Ontario (We did find a number of them 5 years ago while caching in Germany) and always was under the impression that we didn't have ticks in Ontario. It does worry me now that during our group caching on Saturday that our group encountered almost a dozen ticks while caching in the Grimsby and surrounding area. It's a beautiful area to cache in, but not sure if I want to cache there again anytime soon or wait until the winter months.

 

My question is, how do these ticks get on people? Fall from the trees? From the grasses we walk through? From the plants that we brush up against?

 

Ticks wait until someone passes by the plants/grasses and "jump" on. They don't fly. Its mostly from plants and grasses. I have not heard of them falling from a tree, though I guess anything is possible.

 

I trained at a military base a few times (American, in Wisconsin) where the ticks were so bad, they could make a horror movie out of the place. :( They always told us to avoid tall grasses. In the built up areas of the base, they even had "natural areas" where they didn't mow the grass, I suppose in an attempt to provide habitats for the ticks, and of course you were told to never go in those areas.

 

So just from that I've always tried to be careful in tall grasses. Does anyone have any links to "official information" on this subject?

Edited by TheWhiteUrkel
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Ticks wait until someone passes by the plants/grasses and "jump" on. They don't fly. Its mostly from plants and grasses. I have not heard of them falling from a tree, though I guess anything is possible.

 

Ticks jump now?

 

What, didn't notice the quotes?? Its an expression.

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Wow....I didn't know ticks were so busy here in Ontario either. We tend to cache in shorts and shoes I guess I will be putting pants on the kidlets and I for our next caching adventure when out on the paths and when we have to bushwack a lil. I'll be doing inspections of them too when we get home. Thanks for all the helpful informative links, especially for those of us who were oblivious to the fact that they were here.

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