Jump to content

Guess who's awake? Ticks!


yankeepride

Recommended Posts

Just a quick warning, I picked up a pair of hitchhikers on me on Sunday, one of which was a deer tick. Seems the warm weather outburst was just enough to bring the dormant minions of Satan out to feed.

 

Just wanted to be sure everyone hitting the woods is on alert again.

 

Yeah, found one on my jeans in High Mountain Preserve in NJ this weekend. Love the description!

Link to comment

Banner Ad

 

I thought it interesting that there was a banner ad running above this thread, as you guys discussed how the ticks are attracted to you. Of course, I had to visit the site, it was an interesting trip. One of the symptoms listed is "distorted brain waves" at that point I realized , that although I was free of the disease, sadly many if not all of the geocachers I have come across are infected. :rolleyes:

 

But on a serious note, a friend was diagnosed with a tick borne illness, called babisiosis and bartonella, which apparently can co-exist with lyme, knowing that I spend time outdoors she was cautioning about ticks, but she was talking about these things co existing with lyme and saying that if you develop lyme symptoms but they do not resolve with the normal treatment, make sure you go back to be retested for other bacterial infections, although one is a parasite like malaria. She is a relatively young woman who has had myriad symptoms that sounded like arthritis, finally being diagnosed with a 3 prong case of lyme by a Dr. in Basking Ridge, NJ which is apparently a vector location.

Link to comment

Call a good trusted friend to help with body disposal :rolleyes:

 

But if you are talking ticks, the theory is that they need be attached for 24 hours before they start the exchange of the bacteria. Who tested this theory is unknown to me. But mark down the date on calendar and project out 3 months to see if you find flu like symptoms and or joint pain, which are common early signs. The telltale bulls eye rash is not universally found.

Link to comment

Thanks for the alert. I don't get skeered til the first chigger sighting, though... :laughing:

 

how about if you find a dead crushed one in the tub the next day?

 

You won't see a dead chigger. You mean a dead tick. The only way to tell the difference between a chigger and a piece of dust is the chiggers move. My first encounter with chiggers took me a while for it to sink in what was happening. I didn't see anyting but I sure felt them. Not until I looked very close did I know it wasn't PI or some other rash. And by the time you feel them, it's too late. But chiggers are only annoying, they don't carry pathogens like the nightmare Babisiosis or Lymes. Just seemingly endless itching.

Link to comment

I had lyme 2 summers ago. I had gotten a tic bite and completely forgot about it. 3 weeks later I thought I was dying and they tested me for everything under the sun, but lyme, because I failed to mention (or even remember) I had a recent tic bite. Well during the week of testing, a bullseye showed up on my shoulder blade and then I was treated. 2 rounds of tetracycline (ugh) - I think it was six weeks I was on this. The doctor said they don't generally test for lyme when they do bloodwork except when someone specifically says they were bit by a tic.

 

Also, for those of you who do not know - I've seen tics around year round. The dog would come home from winter hikes on a cold day and we'd still find tics. They find the warmth under the fallen leaves and hang out for the winter.

Link to comment

Still picking ticks off this AM from caching yesterday despite scalding scrub in shower. There was once a thread that mentioned a rinse for clothes that you used in the washer to give your hiking clothes some repellant properties. Anyone know what that was or where to get it?

Link to comment

Hiking around the Hudson Valley area yesterday I picked up a very great number of ticks - and they were all deer ticks. I was picking them off all day, and then all night after getting home and showering. Then overnight I found two others, one of which needed tick-surgery from my wife to remove it.

 

That must have been the greatest number of deer ticks I've carried in a single day.

Link to comment

The spray you want is called Repel Permanone, but any spray that contains Permethrin is similar. My can cost 7 dollars and I got it at Ramsey Outdoor.

 

You spray it on your clothing, not on your skin, it last through a couple of washings and kills ticks.

 

In winter, I wear light weight long underwear, I put my socks on after--I had no ticks at all. The first time I wore jeans this spring, I came up with 4 ticks. I try to avoid jeans in the woods at any rate.

 

For summer, I would suggest tucking pants into tops of socks if wearing lightweight hiking pants. You not only repel ticks but other people too.:unsure:

Link to comment

The spray you want is called Repel Permanone, but any spray that contains Permethrin is similar. My can cost 7 dollars and I got it at Ramsey Outdoor.

 

That stuff works. I don't know if it really kills them but I've used it every second washing or so and I've yet to bring any ticks home. I've had to flick a few off but so far so good as far as them getting past the clothing and reaching skin. I also top off with 40% deet at the trailhead.

 

I know it's inevitable that if you play in the woods, you'll contract things like Lymes but hopefully not too often.

Link to comment

Was camping out in Muttontown preserve this past weekend with my Boy Scout troop and I can't tell you how many ticks the boys found on them during the weekend. When packing up on Sunday one tent had no less than 10 ticks on it under the rainfly. It was horrible.

My son had a patrol meeting over at Blydenburg and found one on him. I have never seen a tick in that place before even after bushwacking thru there for the past 3 years geocaching.

If this past weekend is any indication of what the tick season will be like this year. Everyone should take care while out in the great outdoors and remember to do periodic tick checks often!

Link to comment

This is interesting to me. I've lived in Western New York State (Niagara County) all my life and I've never encountered a tick. And I've spent plenty of time hunting, fishing, hiking, etc. I didn't know there even were ticks in this area. I've never heard anyone even mention them, until I joined these forums recently.

 

ARE there ticks in my neck of the woods, or are they only found further east? Should I now cower in terror at the thought of going outdoors, or just trip along merrily on my way as usual, oblivious to the lurking menace?

Link to comment

I brought one home tonight after going into Ringwood State Park. It was crawling on my back under my T-shirt as I was sitting on the computer and I picked it off. It was a big job and met with the end of a ball point pen. Thankfully it didn't attach itself.

 

I think I'll bathe in Deet before going back there. I assume putting clothes in the washer should kill them? I did have a good check and got my wife to check me over in case I'd missed one.

 

Nasty little sods they are....... :P

Link to comment

I brought one home tonight after going into Ringwood State Park. It was crawling on my back under my T-shirt as I was sitting on the computer and I picked it off. It was a big job and met with the end of a ball point pen. Thankfully it didn't attach itself.

 

I think I'll bathe in Deet before going back there. I assume putting clothes in the washer should kill them? I did have a good check and got my wife to check me over in case I'd missed one.

 

Nasty little sods they are....... :P

 

they can live through a wash cycle and end up in the dryer! they can also crawl out of drains too! they can make a little air bubble when surrounded by water.

Link to comment

I came home to find one attached a few months ago during one of our warm spells and had to perform self-surgery. Fortunately it had only been attached a couple hours (although there was already a ring around the dern thing.) It's now preserved in alcohol just in case I start getting any symptoms. I use it as a reminder to spray the Deet.

Link to comment

So on June 14th I went after WeatherNowCast's Snow: Capped Columns cache in Ringwood. My log entry read "Thick undergrowth and lots of ticks found".

 

After removing many ticks in the field and four at home I thought I had caught them all. The following day I disovered one that was definitely not there before. My suspicion is that it was on my clothes and hopped off . I thought nothing more until an 8 inch ring appeared around that bite on Tuesday this week. I had spent the previous 3 days with fever, sweats, severe headaches and ringing in my ears, but thought it was flu. I went to the doctors on Monday, he saw the little red bites and ordered a serious of blood tests. Then on Monday night/Tuesday morning the ring appeared and I went back. Even the doctor was amazed at the change in 24 hours. The pain had god a lot worse too.

 

After two days on doxycycline the symptoms are beginning to subside, but I'm still weak, high temperature, headaches and ringing are still there.

 

Lesson learned - don't take ticks lightly. These were nymph deer ticks and were all still on the surface, not embedded. Only slightly larger than the head of a pin. If you have been in an active tick area, put your clothes in the wash (Preferably with some tick prevention additive). Then check yourself and shower. Check again and check the following day. I thought I was wearing all the right clothes and sprays, but it was hot and I untucked my T-shirt from my pants. That was the mistake. All 5 bites were around my belt-line.

 

Beware! Don't risk getting Lyme Disease. This is some bad stuff I'm going through!

 

Paul

Edited by PaulThBrit
Link to comment

Sorry to hear of your illness. And although it may sound as if I am being a smart alec, I really am serious,

drink TONIC WATER. As you may not be aware, the British used TONIC WATER to combat the ills of malarial illnesses. It is the quinine that helps, not anything you might add to it.

 

There is a parasitic disease: BABEIOSIS that is similar and is carried frequently in the same vector pool as the LYME Disease ticks.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babesiosis

 

I came across a young lady who had this in addition to the Lyme Disease. So do not just assume that Lyme Treatment will work for all tick borne illnesess. and if symptoms continue, look for other causes as there are two or three other pathogens that can be passed by the same ticks. This woman was ill for over a year and a half before diagnosis, she had had many other illnesses diagnosed as she had many many symptoms, including one I found charming in that she had the penchant to talk quite incessantly , droning on and on-- Oh, sorry .

Edited by Packanack
Link to comment

Thanks - I am well aware of the Tonic water story (Being British) and probably drink more of it than most people. That didn't help me.

 

I read your March 11 post about Babeiosys and other tick-borne illnesses and addressed these with my doctor. Apparently only 50% of people that get Lyme disease develop the 'Bulls-eye' rash but the Bulls-eye is 100% indicative of lyme disease so we are fairly confident that that is what I have.

 

Feeling a little better on my third day of Doxycycline and the rash is fading.

 

Paul

Link to comment

I started using a spray for clothes, REPEL PERMANONE available in the Outdoor Stores, as it supposedly kills them when they come aboard, I spray the lower legs of my pants

 

I was at a family gathering not too long ago, when one of the late arrivals came, saying he had just come off the golf course and had gotten a tick bite, seems he threw his towel on the ground, picked it up and drapped it over his neck, got bit, within one hour he had the Bullseye.

 

But back to the Quinine thng. Early in the Bike Season I used to take something called Hylands Leg Cramps with Quinine, Available at Walgreens , small bottle in supplement section or analgesic section and it works. Then I found that quinine can also work against parasitic elements, so now TONIC WATER is the hydration choice after a strenuos hike or bike. I haven't had a cramp in a long time.

Link to comment

How To Remove a Tick

 

Bet it would work on dogs too.

Spring is here and the ticks will soon be showing in heads. Here is a good way to get them off you, your children, or your pets. Give it a try. Please forward to anyone with children... or hunters or dogs, or anyone who even steps outside in summer!! A School Nurse has written the info below -- good enough to share -- And it really works!! I had a pediatrician tell me what she believes is the best way to remove a tick. This is great, because it works in those places where it's some times difficult to get to with tweezers: between toes, in the middle of a head full of dark hair, etc. Apply a glob of liquid soap to a cotton ball. Cover the tick with the soap-soaked cotton ball and swab it for a few seconds (15-20), the tick will come out on its own and be stuck to the cotton! ball when you lift it away. This technique has worked every time I've used it (and that was frequently), and it's much less traumatic for the patient and easier for me. Unless someone is allergic to soap, I can't see that this would be damaging in any way. I even had my doctor's wife call me for advice because she had one stuck to her back and she couldn't reach it with tweezers. She used this method and immediately called me back to say, "It worked!"

 

I do not vouch for this , but it is sent to me for what it is worth.

Link to comment

How To Remove a Tick

 

Bet it would work on dogs too.

Spring is here and the ticks will soon be showing in heads. Here is a good way to get them off you, your children, or your pets. Give it a try. Please forward to anyone with children... or hunters or dogs, or anyone who even steps outside in summer!! A School Nurse has written the info below -- good enough to share -- And it really works!! I had a pediatrician tell me what she believes is the best way to remove a tick. This is great, because it works in those places where it's some times difficult to get to with tweezers: between toes, in the middle of a head full of dark hair, etc. Apply a glob of liquid soap to a cotton ball. Cover the tick with the soap-soaked cotton ball and swab it for a few seconds (15-20), the tick will come out on its own and be stuck to the cotton! ball when you lift it away. This technique has worked every time I've used it (and that was frequently), and it's much less traumatic for the patient and easier for me. Unless someone is allergic to soap, I can't see that this would be damaging in any way. I even had my doctor's wife call me for advice because she had one stuck to her back and she couldn't reach it with tweezers. She used this method and immediately called me back to say, "It worked!"

 

I do not vouch for this , but it is sent to me for what it is worth.

 

Not good advice, the only way to get rid of ticks is to pull em out. Tweezers or a tick key work best. Any tricks like burning them, having them back out etc can cause the tick to release fluids that carry lymes.

Link to comment

How To Remove a Tick

 

Bet it would work on dogs too.

Spring is here and the ticks will soon be showing in heads. Here is a good way to get them off you, your children, or your pets. Give it a try. Please forward to anyone with children... or hunters or dogs, or anyone who even steps outside in summer!! A School Nurse has written the info below -- good enough to share -- And it really works!! I had a pediatrician tell me what she believes is the best way to remove a tick. This is great, because it works in those places where it's some times difficult to get to with tweezers: between toes, in the middle of a head full of dark hair, etc. Apply a glob of liquid soap to a cotton ball. Cover the tick with the soap-soaked cotton ball and swab it for a few seconds (15-20), the tick will come out on its own and be stuck to the cotton! ball when you lift it away. This technique has worked every time I've used it (and that was frequently), and it's much less traumatic for the patient and easier for me. Unless someone is allergic to soap, I can't see that this would be damaging in any way. I even had my doctor's wife call me for advice because she had one stuck to her back and she couldn't reach it with tweezers. She used this method and immediately called me back to say, "It worked!"

 

I do not vouch for this , but it is sent to me for what it is worth.

 

Not good advice, the only way to get rid of ticks is to pull em out. Tweezers or a tick key work best. Any tricks like burning them, having them back out etc can cause the tick to release fluids that carry lymes.

 

+1

Tweezers or one of the new removal gizmos is the only way to remove a tick.

Link to comment

Removal gizmo works fine...

And be careful out there...

I have been diagnosed with latent Lyme in February. On Antibiotics, Herbs, etc... for 9-12 month if all goes welll. It's no fun - but it won't keep me out of the woods... (The keep riding when you fall of a horse motto is fully applied)...

I have learned a whole new level of respect and personal preparation when heading into nature...

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...