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Last year I got the fewest attached than I've had for years and years by using this stuff all over.

"Organic At Heart Stretch Mark Cream " formulated with rosehip, frankinsence and rooibos.

 

Haven't been quite as successful this year,but still better than other years using insect repellants .

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I think you may be just unlucky. My wife has never had a tick bite in her life - just as well as she totally freaks when she finds one on me. I've removed 16 from me so far this year (OK, 14, she managed to remain calm enough to remove 2 of them from round the back).

 

On the other hand, we can sit outside on a warm evening and the mosquitos will eat her to bits while I remain unscathed. Presumably it depends on smell.

 

Ticks are not insects (for a start, they have 8 legs as adults), so I wouldn't expect all insect repellents to work on them.

 

There was some preliminary research suggesting that clothing colour could help, but I don't know if it was ever conclusive and I also don't remember if they said that dark- or light-coloured clothing was better. (You're welcome, don't mention it. :P)

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Just been reading you advice and have just looked at link about lyme disease. I have removed tick's with tweezer's wrongly i must add.Just the other week we were out caching in woods. I went to get the cache and to my horror i was covered in tick's.My husband was in fits as i looked like a mad women, i have felt unwell but that just could be having a 14 year old staying with us <_< will order some spray and a little ryme my nephew told me' Tick tick stay away spare me for another day' it is worth a try :) .My mum thinks it could be down to blood type as my dad was bad for tick's, do they like a blood group over other ones.

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and a little ryme my nephew told me' Tick tick stay away spare me for another day' it is worth a try :)

Please tell me you are joking. <_<

My mum thinks it could be down to blood type as my dad was bad for tick's, do they like a blood group over other ones.

They don't "know" your blood group until they start biting. :yikes: But more seriously, ticks aren't interested in how humans decide to classify blood. Blood group is just a convenient human shorthand for one particular thing that's different about various types of blood, which affects how your immune system reacts to it. It's not like different flavours of juice. :lol:

 

Don't worry too much about the "wrong" type of removal. A fresh tick (less than 12 hours or so in your skin) should come out in one piece most of the time with tweezers. The longer they've been on you, the greater the tendency to fall apart and leave bits inside you when you pull them. My wife pulled one off me once which had probably been there for four or five days and the head stayed inside; my GP took 15 minutes to get it all out, with local anaesthetic and a stitch afterwards. (Hope you've all had lunch some time ago. :huh:)

 

If you've got the early stages of Lyme Disease, you will probably get some fairly substantial symptoms - see the articles. Don't rely on seeing the famous pinky-red rash - it doesn't appear in all cases. If you do go to your GP with fever etc, mention ticks and Lyme explicitly, especially if you don't live close to the area where you picked it up - not all doctors in all areas will think of it. Antibiotics will clear it up provided you don't ignore the symptoms.

Edited by sTeamTraen
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Don't worry too much about the "wrong" type of removal. A fresh tick (less than 12 hours or so in your skin) should come out in one piece most of the time with tweezers.

 

But isn't the other part of the problem that by using tweezers you can squeeze the contents of their guts into your bloodstream while removing them, thus increasing the likelyhood of contracting Lymes disease.

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But isn't the other part of the problem that by using tweezers you can squeeze the contents of their guts into your bloodstream while removing them, thus increasing the likelyhood of contracting Lymes disease.

 

Thats correct, the worst thing you can do is squeeze the body or try to make the tick leave by burning/covering. There are hundreds of different bits of 'advice' on getting rid of ticks, lighters, vasoline, nail varnish remover etc.

 

The tick doesn't like these things and the stress can also trigger the tick to 'throw up' and infect the host.

 

The O-Tom tick removers are the best, but they're almost impossible to keep as they're small and easily lost (I've losts dozens of them). But any decent hook or keyhole type of remover is just as good.

 

:)<_<:yikes::lol:

If you're at the Weston Super Mare Mega then come to the Mega Scotland Stand, we'll have some tick key removers for sale (essential equipment in Scotland, proceeds going to Mega Scotland event), these are great as they double as a keyring, so less chance of loosing them.

:huh::D:D:D

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But isn't the other part of the problem that by using tweezers you can squeeze the contents of their guts into your bloodstream while removing them, thus increasing the likelyhood of contracting Lymes disease.

Possibly, but if you pull quick enough presumably the head will be out before the vomit goes the other way. Also, relatively few ticks actually carry the Lyme disease parasite anyway. From what I've read, if you get the tick out within 12-24 hours you're fairly safe from Lyme; the thing to worry about is tick-borne encephalitis (TBE), which is caused by a virus that can be transmitted from the first bite. That's not endemic to the UK but we have it where I live - in fact I'm in a rare part of the world where we have both. So I've been and got myself vaccinated against TBE.

 

Oh, and if I may be permitted a "Dr Spock" / "Trivial Pursuits" / "Spitting Images" moment: it's "Lyme" disease, named after the town of Lyme, Connecticut. No "Mr. or Ms. Lyme" was involved. (Sorry, but I am that person who wants to scream when people say "Robin Reliant" instead of "Reliant Robin". :))

Edited by sTeamTraen
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My wife pulled one off me once which had probably been there for four or five days and the head stayed inside; my GP took 15 minutes to get it all out, with local anaesthetic and a stitch afterwards. (Hope you've all had lunch some time ago. <_<)

 

 

If going to the G.P for removal of the broken off heads results in needing a stitch afterwards :) we will continue to remove broken off ones ourselves .

Sometimes takes longer than 15mins though .

(Spare you the details of our method using needle and tiny pointy scissors )

 

Friend of a friend recently told us the Hospital used a tiny suction device to successfully remove a whole tick from a boy childs ... (insert suitable word allowed here)

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My mum thinks it could be down to blood type as my dad was bad for tick's, do they like a blood group over other ones.

 

I think that is an interesting theory .

 

I'm O Posiitive and ticks like me.

I am A+ and to my knowledge have never had one, although my son has.

i was also told that you should pull and twist anti clockwise and the head is less likely to come off. But reading the articles that have been posted here it advises against this,so which is correct?

I have a relative who while relieving himself acquired one, he contemplated leaving it there to see if it would make a useful addition :unsure:

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The US Centers for Disease Control - who know their stuff, generally :unsure: - recommend removing ticks with regular tweezers (don't crush the stomach) and a simple pull (no twist). That's good enough for me. See here. They also have tips to reduce your chance of being bitten.

 

Here is a scientific paper indicating that, although some people do seem to attract more kinds of ticks than others, no correlation could be found between blood group (ABO) or rhesus factor (+/-) and tick bites.

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Friend who goes on a lot of field trips in the US and UK etc recommends long sleeved shirts and also long trousers tucked into boots. Clothing should be light coloured to make ticks more visible and another good idea ( she uses it) is to wrap duct tape, sticky side out, to tape top of socks to trouser legs , almost gaiter like. She says it can be useful to put a loop or 2 of it at wrist of shirt too. Also says the things you find when you take the tape off can be worrying!

 

Lidl and Aldi sell anti mozzie bands which you wear to keep biting things at bay. You wear one on the wrist and one on the ankle ( diagonal opposites) and it appears to work for ticks too. on a camping trip in the Highlands Piglet1 wore one on each limb (overkill) and never had any bites from mozzies or ticks whilst her companions were howking the things off and swatting like mad.

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Just been reading you advice and have just looked at link about lyme disease. I have removed tick's with tweezer's wrongly i must add.Just the other week we were out caching in woods. I went to get the cache and to my horror i was covered in tick's.My husband was in fits as i looked like a mad women, i have felt unwell but that just could be having a 14 year old staying with us :( will order some spray and a little ryme my nephew told me' Tick tick stay away spare me for another day' it is worth a try :blink: .My mum thinks it could be down to blood type as my dad was bad for tick's, do they like a blood group over other ones.

 

Our son is looking after our house while we're in the US. He has been feeling unwell for a while and on finally going to see the Doctor got told he has a mild case of Lyme Disease. Probably from a mozzie bite after the mozzie had fed from a deer or other carrying animal. He's got 2 weeks of Antibiotics -

 

Yes, he had been out caching in the woods a couple of weeks previously.!!

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What is the point to a tick? What do they Contribute the the life cycle apart from food for bird's ect. If i'am right they are related to spider's.Where do you get those wrist/leg bands from.I made some gators out of my old walking sock's i cut the foot part out and i keep them in our bag, they can be pulled over my boot's and around my ankle's when needed.Going caching now it is raining so it may be beastie free today.

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You can always take your own personal portable tick control unit. Below is a picure of ours we had whilst caching on holiday at the Eastern end of Long Island, New York last summer :anitongue:

 

Tickcontrol.jpg

 

I have also seen people mention the use of Marmite. Not for smearing it over your bare skin, but just the regular consumption of it. I am a Marmite lover, and haven't found any ticks on me yet. But that could just be luck.

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:):blink::lol::P

If you're at the Weston Super Mare Mega then come to the Mega Scotland Stand, we'll have some tick key removers for sale (essential equipment in Scotland, proceeds going to Mega Scotland event), these are great as they double as a keyring, so less chance of loosing them.

:D:D:D:D

 

Save me two of these please ........

 

There are definitely ticks around on the Mendip Hills at the moment, so I would advise anyone that is out walking in the long grass, bracken etc whilst in the area for the Mega event to check for ticks at the end of the day.

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Seems to me there are more ticks about this year but at least Walking magazines and other press articles are paying a bit more attention to it these days. We've been a bit paranoid about them since a friend was laid up in hospital seriously ill in intensive care after a tick bite and we now follow the usual precautions i.e. tuck trousers inside socks, wear long sleeve trousers etc. but don't seem to think this makes much difference as ticks crawl over your clothes and find a way in anyway. There are a few more tick prevention products and even a test kit to test any tick you find to see if it is carrying Lyme disease. See Tick-Test from www.steppingout.co.uk. It is just out and we have some on order, but hope we don't need it.

I think it would be useful if there was a database where people can say where and how many ticks they have picked up, so we can avoid these areas.

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we just got back from devon and whilst down there the dog had again got ticks, we spoke to the local farmer who ran the camp site and he kindly removed the ticks for us and for no fee (and wouldnt accept anything either) we asked him how he did it and he told us to get hold of the tick twist to right and pull down and you will get it out whole and before it can push anything into the dog. we have a tick tool but he said it was easier to do it without (maybe as he is so experienced).

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Can someone tell me what the best thing is to keep ticks away from me. Whenever we go caching they always bite me but not my husband.In the past few weeks i have had 7 or 8. :o

I use a Product made by Sawyer. I have clothes I wear just for caching, and what you do is spray the clothes instead of your skin. I spray my hiking shoes, socks, my pants from the knees down, the top part of my shirt, and a hat. You just wet the clothing down slightly and let it dry over night. The application is supposed to last for six washings. So far it has worked well for me, I have been tick free since I started using their product.

 

They have a website at:

 

http://www.sawyerproducts.com/SP620.htm

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A friend once told me that they had an interesting tick experience and they got rid of the little blighter with a cigarette by burning it off. Yowza! And the tick was on his most personal part! Double yowza! ;)

 

I've had quite a few discussions with a buddy I go running with (Whilst running!) about mozzies. Mozzies love us and whenever we are out with friends we are the ones that get bitten and the others get nothing. My friend told me they did some research as part of their undergrad science degree that concluded that mozzies are attracted to a particular smell that you give off in your breath or your sweat. It doesn't mean that this is a bad smell, just one that they are particularly fond of. That's why some peeps get bitten more than others. I think tick attraction probably follows the same principles.

 

When I cache in Chelmsford (Essex) I get bitten loads every single time. I have one of those roll on insect repellents, but when I use it on my legs when wearing shorts, dirt blows up from the ground and sticks to my legs so I look extremely dirty by the time I finish! DOH! I've noticed that when I've cached near Brighton and Devon recently I've had absolutely no bites! So, I guess I just smell good to Essex Mozzies!!! :o

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A friend once told me that they had an interesting tick experience and they got rid of the little blighter with a cigarette by burning it off. Yowza! And the tick was on his most personal part! Double yowza! :o

Wherever it is on your body, that is a monumentally bad idea, and not only for the risk of burns.

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I must be doing something wrong - grew up in the New Forest wearing shorts all summer, moved to Devon and spent 15 summers in shorts on Dartmoor ...... and I STILL haven't managed to pick up a tick :P

 

Oh - having eczema and psoriasis may have some bearing though :o - I think my skin's just so unpalatable, they take one bite and jump off again ;):)

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My friend told me they did some research as part of their undergrad science degree that concluded that mozzies are attracted to a particular smell that you give off in your breath or your sweat.

 

My GP told me that taking a daily Vitamin B Complex capsule / tablet was known to act as a repellent and reduce the risk of insect bites. Not convinced that it works on insects but it did work on my wife.... she ran off with the gypsies shortly after I started taking them. ;):o:P

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Thanks i will check them out. Just hate the things even the dog does not get them just found yet another one thanks muchly

 

I feel your pain in the past three year we have probably removed half a dozen ticks from Jess :) (they are very hard to find on her, you try searching a long haired collie inch by inch for ticks :( ) maybe one or two from my little 'un none from my other half (cos he is a sour blooded auld git :D:D ) and dozens from me (I must tast nice :D )

 

I honestly don't think anything will stop them, if they want to have a bite of you and suck your blood they will ;) the only thing you can do is get someone to give you a good check over (could be fun :P ) after returning from a day out caching.

 

Mandy :D

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A friend once told me that they had an interesting tick experience and they got rid of the little blighter with a cigarette by burning it off. Yowza! And the tick was on his most personal part! Double yowza! :P

Wherever it is on your body, that is a monumentally bad idea, and not only for the risk of burns.

 

I never said that it was a good idea! I still tell him regularly he is crazy for doing that!! ;)

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Thanks i will check them out. Just hate the things even the dog does not get them just found yet another one thanks muchly

 

I feel your pain in the past three year we have probably removed half a dozen ticks from Jess :D (they are very hard to find on her, you try searching a long haired collie inch by inch for ticks :) ) maybe one or two from my little 'un none from my other half (cos he is a sour blooded auld git :D:( ) and dozens from me (I must tast nice :D )

 

I honestly don't think anything will stop them, if they want to have a bite of you and suck your blood they will ;) the only thing you can do is get someone to give you a good check over (could be fun :P ) after returning from a day out caching.

 

Mandy :D

 

Well speaking from experience - I once brought home a tick from Ireland (via Gatwick as I remember), attached to my ankle. When I discovered it, I phoned the local GP, who told me to phone the local vet for advice! He told me to pour something alcoholic over it and then cover it with Vaseline. After a day or so it fell off. More than 10 years later I still have it in a small plastic magnifying pot, much to Ali's disgust. In fact I might turn it into a travel bug.......

 

We've both had leeches all over us. The first time, one attached itself to Ali's index finger. I thought it was excellent and I wanted to see what it actually did. As I held her finger and said something a long the lines of 'wow, look it's feeding already', she did a little jig, swore a number of times and demanded I helped her. As it was only a brown leech it was easy to flick off. During the day we got loads on us, but they were easy to remove as soon as we saw them - so we ended up not being that bothered. Back at our accommodation, we checked each other - getting the all clear. However, after 10 minutes in the shower, I looked down to see a very full looking leech disappearing down the plug hole........I'd like to think it had just fallen off from behind my ear :D .

 

As for Tiger leeches. Don't get me started on tiger leeches. Now they hurt like mad! I'd walked about 4 feet off a path and when I returned, it felt like something was chewing at my stomach. At the same time Ali said I had blood on me. When I lifted up my shirt, there was a 2" fat tiger leech just to the left of my belly button! Cue me doing the 'leech jig', trying to flick it off. For the rest of the afternoon Ali didn't speak to me. Apparently I'd made a deal with her after the brown leech episode on our previous holiday, that whoever got a leech on them had to leave it there until the other had taken a photo of it!

 

The absolute worse thing you can do for a bloodsucking parasite by the way is to try to burn it off. Potentially the contents of its stomach may go back into you.......

 

Edited to add - there's no way I would use alcohol and Vaseline now - but this is what I was told to do at the time.

Edited by Nick & Ali
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We only ever found a tick on ourselves after reading about them on these forums maybe going back three year or so (although we have been caching about 6 year) so I am reading nothing about leeches :P;)

 

In my humble opinion the only "safe" way to remove a tick is with a tool made for the job, we have the little green two pronged forks ones and the tick o matic ones that go on keyrings and they both do a grand job :D

 

I have no fancy for sticking a burning cigarette on myself to get a tick out or suffocating it with vasoline, or putting nail varnish on it, I would think by doing those things you will make it chuck its guts up inside you.........if I find one on myself I want it out immediately which can almost always be done if the tick key is on the car keys and in the First Aid Kit at home and the cars, it is MY blood the tick is going to get as little of it as possible!!!

 

M :D

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When I discovered it, I phoned the local GP, who told me to phone the local vet for advice! He told me to pour something alcoholic over it and then cover it with Vaseline. After a day or so it fell off.

The vet I telephoned when my cat had a tick on her face told to drop a small amount of methylated spirits on to it (he didn't mention Vaseline). That worked very well and the tick dropped off a short time later. Had to be a bit careful not to get the alcohol in her eyes, though. Pretty tricky when she was going absolutely berserk at being held down.

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We only ever found a tick on ourselves after reading about them on these forums maybe going back three year or so (although we have been caching about 6 year) so I am reading nothing about leeches :unsure::blink:

 

In my humble opinion the only "safe" way to remove a tick is with a tool made for the job, we have the little green two pronged forks ones and the tick o matic ones that go on keyrings and they both do a grand job :blink:

 

 

Where did you get your tick key from? I have yet to find a really good tick remover, and since I've tired the vasoline trick - the tick promptly desired to do something unspeakable to my arm (luckily not an infected one) - I am thinking that direct action and hoicking the little so-and-so out would be the best method.

 

As to leaches. Been there and done that in Belize.

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We only ever found a tick on ourselves after reading about them on these forums maybe going back three year or so (although we have been caching about 6 year) so I am reading nothing about leeches :unsure::blink:

 

In my humble opinion the only "safe" way to remove a tick is with a tool made for the job, we have the little green two pronged forks ones and the tick o matic ones that go on keyrings and they both do a grand job :blink:

 

 

Where did you get your tick key from? I have yet to find a really good tick remover, and since I've tired the vasoline trick - the tick promptly desired to do something unspeakable to my arm (luckily not an infected one) - I am thinking that direct action and hoicking the little so-and-so out would be the best method.

 

As to leaches. Been there and done that in Belize.

Have a look HERE or just Google o'tom

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Have a look HERE or just Google o'tom

 

Ah the o'tom. Heard it's next to useless for self removal. Brilliant for removing from dogs / cats etc...

 

Anyone else confirm / dispute this?

It works fine for me... I've had to use it a few times over the last few years and it's worked perfectly (How is it any different removing them from cats or dogs? If it's brilliant on them, it'll be brilliant on you).

That is, provided you can reach the little b*ggers. If you can't then you may need the help of a 'trusted' friend :unsure:

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Have a look HERE or just Google o'tom

 

Ah the o'tom. Heard it's next to useless for self removal. Brilliant for removing from dogs / cats etc...

 

Anyone else confirm / dispute this?

 

The tick twisters you can buy now come with two twisters in the pack (different sizes). The smaller one is brilliant for getting the nymphs ... which are the ones we usually end up with (often can only tell that they are a tick/nymph with a magnifying glass and the twister still gets them)

 

The ones they sold a few years ago were the bigger size (great for adult ticks which is usually the size they are when people spot them on their pets) but useless for the nymphs.

 

Most vet practices (and good pet shops) will sell them.

Edited by Maple Leaf
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)

 

I honestly don't think anything will stop them, if they want to have a bite of you and suck your blood they will :P the only thing you can do is get someone to give you a good check over (could be fun :blink: ) after returning from a day out caching.

 

Mandy :D

 

I have never had one ... not that i know of ... and I would know wouldn't I?

I have seen them on other peoples dogs so know what they look like ...(I know! ..... I sound stupid don't I?)

 

I check my dog for them but she has such thick fur ... could I be missing them?

 

This is how thick I am but ..... is it obvious if you have them yourself?

I'm caching through really long grass, thick bushes, sitting down in long grass to sign logs all the time .... now i'm getting worried" :D

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)

 

..... is it obvious if you have them yourself?

I'm caching through really long grass, thick bushes, sitting down in long grass to sign logs all the time .... now i'm getting worried" :P

 

You won't feel them initially , thats why you need someone else to check the hidden bits..

When they "grow" you can feel them , wouldn't advise the vaseline technique ....that causes them to regurgitate , and thats when Lyme can be transmitted .

 

Other tools for the job are :- http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=bl_sr_kitchen?...he%20Tick%20Key

Used both ,they are fine , the only comment I have is that the Tick key works better on smaller Ticks ..

Re dogs, I treat mine with "Advanticks" monthly ... its like Advantage used for fleas , (expensive with 2 mutts) but covers Ticks as well ..... Kills cats though , so not a good idea if you have a cat which "grooms" your dog .

Sheep or deer + bracken or long grass = Ticks :blink:

Edited by Flyfishermanbob
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never burn off a tick, i was told years ago to burn them off but in fact they will heave up their stomach contents and push it straight into your blood stream and dieases like lymes could be caught.

 

there are many good tick remover devices out there, but after seeing how clean and quick the tick removal was done by the farmer recently i think i will stick to that method.

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