Team Spending Time, Saving Cache Posted May 27, 2003 Share Posted May 27, 2003 My 1st run in with ticks was this past weekend... wow I was in Spring Hill, Florida and in the woods, I stopped to look at GPS and I saw ticks jumping on my feet and legs!! Faster then I could knock them off there were more on me, I finally just ran back to the parking area (1/4 mile). I had always heard that ticks mainly jump from leaves and trees, etc. but these suckers were on the ground. Lesson learned, I am using OFF bug spray on any outing!! I have lived in Fla my whole life and never ran into this before. Live to Cache... Cache to Live... Quote Link to comment
+timberlane74 & pumpkin Posted May 27, 2003 Share Posted May 27, 2003 I've been outdoors for over 30 years and never heard of ticks jumping! What made you think they were ticks? Never say Never...Never say Always! Quote Link to comment
Team Spending Time, Saving Cache Posted May 27, 2003 Author Share Posted May 27, 2003 Becuase if you did not flick them off yourself they burrowed in... They were in deed ticks, I ID'ed them on this: http://www.theanimalmedicalclinic.com/tick_id.htm They were the lonestar tick according to this site, they had a grey/white'ish dot in the middle of them. Live to Cache... Cache to Live... Quote Link to comment
+Bull Moose Posted May 27, 2003 Share Posted May 27, 2003 Oh yeah, I've had ticks come at me from the bottom up. I grew up in the land of more than 10,000 lakes (Wisconsin) and there were times where I thought they were opening some kind of time-space portal to come at me from additional axes. Quote Link to comment
+timberlane74 & pumpkin Posted May 27, 2003 Share Posted May 27, 2003 No doubt about it...they can come after you when their population is HUGE! I thought you actually saw them jumping...what they do is called "questing"...one of those useless things I took in a college elective...more info here: http://entomology.ucdavis.edu/faculty/rbkimsey/tickbio.html Never say Never...Never say Always! Quote Link to comment
+carleenp Posted May 27, 2003 Share Posted May 27, 2003 Almost every time I've encountered ticks they came up from the ground. In Nebraska, we have ticks, but except in certain areas they aren't really bad. They seem to be much worse on the east coast. I was in North Carolina last week and ticks were certainly an issue there. Generally, all the bugs out there were pretty nasty. The mosquitos are huge! I was careful about the ticks, but I still found one on the middle of my back when I got home last night. It must have been feeding on me there for a couple of days. Ick! Quote Link to comment
+Renegade Knight Posted May 27, 2003 Share Posted May 27, 2003 Until I got into geocaching I had only seen one tick ever and it was on my hand. I've never seen them 'questing' that would be cool to see. ===================== Wherever you go there you are. Quote Link to comment
+Huntnlady Posted May 27, 2003 Share Posted May 27, 2003 After having been repeatedly bitten by ticks from over 25 years of outdoor experience, I am now highly allergic to them. The first bite of the tick causes swelling and redness for about 4 inches in diameter and alot of pain. Yet I still don't like to use the deet because of the smell and toxicity. I have found that in areas such as parks where humans frequent, there will be few ticks, but in areas where the human traveler is rare the ticks will swarm in unbelievable numbers. Deer laugh when they hear my name! http://www.geocities.com/ihunts Quote Link to comment
+Team Shibby Posted May 27, 2003 Share Posted May 27, 2003 quote: I had always heard that ticks mainly jump from leaves and trees, etc. but these suckers were on the ground Maybe so, but you will find more ticks in a field of tall grass and weeds than you will on a forest floor full of dead leaves and pine needles. I have no doubt in my mind that they were ticks, after all in florida it rarely ever freezes so the population of bugs there must be maddening. I have yet to try any "Off" or bug spray, but I am in the market for permethrin. I plan to treat a few articles of clothing to use strictly for caching and nothing else. We have a sick amount of ticks here in NJ, so much in fact that it discourages me from doing some of the more "famed" caches here in my state because I know once I am 1/4 mile or more in the woods if I find a tick on me I am going to be completely miserable Kar TEAM SHIBBY!!!! Krs, Kar & Na Quote Link to comment
+DustyJacket Posted May 27, 2003 Share Posted May 27, 2003 That is what I do. I have a long-sleeved twill shirt, a tight ling-sleeved t-shirt, and zip-ff pants that I use only for caching. I hose them down with permethrin. I also use deet on my neck, wrists, and above my socks. The last time I went out in warm weather without all that, I was pulling them off my skin for 2 days! DustyJacket Not all those that wander are lost. But in my case... Quote Link to comment
+carleenp Posted May 27, 2003 Share Posted May 27, 2003 quote:After having been repeatedly bitten by ticks from over 25 years of outdoor experience, I am now highly allergic to them. The first bite of the tick causes swelling and redness for about 4 inches in diameter and alot of pain. Yet I still don't like to use the deet because of the smell and toxicity. I have found that in areas such as parks where humans frequent, there will be few ticks, but in areas where the human traveler is rare the ticks will swarm in unbelievable numbers. Ouch! Makes me glad that my recent tick didn't cause any real pain. Although I did read the posted article which said that after feeding, many adult ticks go off to lay eggs and die. When I pulled my recent tick off (which appeared to be an adult, 8 legs anyway) it accidentally got dropped and disappeared! Now I have visions of hundreds of tiny tick eggs waiting to hatch somewhere in my house! In the alternative, I have to watch for it to get attached to my dog. I agree about the areas that humans don't frequent. In Nebraska, the tick areas are just that. You can go out and never see a tick in most areas, but go somewhere unfrequented, at it is infested! Interesting! I also agree about Deet. I use it sparingly, and only when I really think necessary. I guess I hate the idea of chemicals on me. I also thought about treating my clothes, but have the same concerns. Since I am lucky and the ticks and mosquitos don't usually tend to like me, I figure I'll just deal with the idea of yanking one out of me from time to time (I have only had to do that a few times in my life and I am outdoors alot). I just hope I don't get Lyme or West Nile! Quote Link to comment
+DustyJacket Posted May 28, 2003 Share Posted May 28, 2003 When removing moving ticks, I use a Q-tip soaked in alcohol. For some reason, they stick and I can deposit them in a little pill-bottle filled with denature alcohol, and watch the blood-suckers die ! I hope that I've not dropped any in the house. Once or twice, I've gotten undressed in the garage. and put the clothes right into the washer. DustyJacket Not all those that wander are lost. But in my case... Quote Link to comment
+Zartimus Posted May 28, 2003 Share Posted May 28, 2003 En-case yourself in black rubber when you geocache. Wear a cape. Ticks hate that. Quote Link to comment
Team Spending Time, Saving Cache Posted May 28, 2003 Author Share Posted May 28, 2003 LOL now that is a cool GeoCostume! Live to Cache... Cache to Live... Quote Link to comment
+Marky Posted May 28, 2003 Share Posted May 28, 2003 quote:Originally posted by timberlane74 & pumpkin:No doubt about it...they can come after you when their population is HUGE! I thought you actually saw them jumping...what they do is called "questing"...one of those useless things I took in a college elective...more info here: http://entomology.ucdavis.edu/faculty/rbkimsey/tickbio.html I've been quested upon, and it was definitely from knee high weeds. However, ticks don't jump or hop. In questing, they grab on to you as you brush up against the plant they have quested up. I noticed that pants with zip off legs will cause them to quest up and get caught in the zipper which is kinda cool. That is a cool site (and my son attends UCDavis, so I guess I am helping fund that site ). I've never heard of soft ticks. I had no idea that there were ticks that could survive for over a year without feeding. I had always thought that they would die without feeding regularly. What nasty little creatures. quote:Originally posted by Team Spending Time, Saving Cache:Becuase if you did not flick them off yourself they burrowed in... Ticks are rather slow moving, and take a while to find an appropriate site to burrow in. It sounds like you are just a little paranoid. (Not that you shouldn't be.) Check out our log(s) on this cache if you want to read about questing ticks. We found over 120 of the little buggers on us, and it took three days before we found the last of them. Not one of them burrowed in (lucky us). --Marky "All of us get lost in the darkness, dreamers learn to steer with a backlit GPSr" Quote Link to comment
+TMAN264 Posted May 30, 2003 Share Posted May 30, 2003 I don't think I am every leaving Michigan ever!!!!!! Make a sanity check. Quote Link to comment
Team Spending Time, Saving Cache Posted May 30, 2003 Author Share Posted May 30, 2003 Quote Marky: Ticks are rather slow moving, and take a while to find an appropriate site to burrow in. It sounds like you are just a little paranoid. (Not that you shouldn't be.) I was not saying they would burrow in as I watched I would guess that they were hauling a** up my legs because I did have some deet around my ankels... but that evening we all had one or two on our upper thighs or middle of our backs. LOL I wasn't paranoid until they were running up my legs like I was standing in an ant pile!!!! (True story I am not exagerating here at all). I saw a wild turkey right were all this was going on, so I can't imagine how many that poor thing had on him. Live to Cache... Cache to Live... Quote Link to comment
+clearpath Posted May 30, 2003 Share Posted May 30, 2003 Last week, I went to the Doctor concerning a rash on my ankle. The rash looked similiar to a 'bullseye', it had a raised center about the size of a dime, then a band of normal skin surrounded by another band of red, raised skin. I remember scratching an itch on my ankle about 3 weeks prior to this rash. At the time, I thought it was a chigger bite. Well, it turns out that this rash is one of the first symptoms of Lyme disease. The weekend that the infected tick bit me, I had sprayed my ankles, waist and shoes with Deep Woods Off, that apparently did not stop this tick. Also, I never did see the tick that bit me. According to my Dr., he said that a high majority of people that contract Lyme disease never see the tick that did the damage. Well, the bullseye rash went from the size of a golf ball to the size of a baseball in matter of several days, then the anitbiotics seemed to have kicked in because the rash is fainter and has not grown in the last week and a half. I was lucky, so far, and have not experienced any further stages of Lyme disease. I was able to get it early and the Dr. thinks that I will be healthy and able to fight off questing ticks for many years to come. "heck, that scares me and I'm fearless" Quote Link to comment
+Mike&Laura Posted May 30, 2003 Share Posted May 30, 2003 I have lived here in SW Michigan area most of my life. Up until this year, I have only had one run-in with a tick. (About 25 years ago.) This year however, it has been an entirely different story. We have a couple of cats that are in and out of the house. So, Laura checks them for ticks every day. (Especially after I had found two in the house over this past week.) After bringing the cats in one evening a couple of days ago, I noticed a tick on my pant leg. (He was quickly squished!) Laura started checking the cats, and I couldn't believe what she had found. After only being out for an hour or so, one of the cats had three ticks burrowed in, and the other had two. Like I said, I have never seen them this bad before. Should we be concerned, maybe. Should we be afraid, NEVER! We just check ourselves out good before coming in the house. Quote Link to comment
+GeoFrake's Posted May 30, 2003 Share Posted May 30, 2003 Ticks are indeed nasty little creatures. I am almost convinced they search out DEET. Must be some kind of party for them. What is permethrin? I have never heard of this. Quote Link to comment
+Last Lap Gang Posted May 30, 2003 Share Posted May 30, 2003 Yep it is rather bad this season. Crashmore the Maryland Geocaching Persident posted on www.mdgps.net he is on medicine now because he caught the Lymes Disease very early at the red bullseye stage. I am wearing a bottle of Off on my body when I go out tomorrow and Sunday. Wags, Russ & Erin Quote Link to comment
CacheNCarryMA Posted May 30, 2003 Share Posted May 30, 2003 Permethrin is an insecticide-repellant. It's sprayed on clothing (directions say to avoid skin contact). It's also the chemical used in pets' flea and tick baths. I was out caching in the woods, wearing pants and hiking boots treated with permethrin. I looked down and noticed a tick had hitched a ride on the cuff of my pant leg. It was very satisfying to watch it, as it only managed to crawl about 2 or 3 inches before it withered, died, and fell to the ground. Quote Link to comment
+clearpath Posted May 30, 2003 Share Posted May 30, 2003 quote:Originally posted by Cache'N'Carry: ... It was very satisfying to watch it, as it only managed to crawl about 2 or 3 inches before it withered, died, and fell to the ground. Question: How do you know it died? Did you check its pulse? "heck, that scares me and I'm fearless" Quote Link to comment
CacheNCarryMA Posted May 30, 2003 Share Posted May 30, 2003 There was a very tiny bloodcurdling (although, I thought tick saliva contained anti-coagulants?) scream, and as the tick plummeted, there was a tiny trail of thick blue-black smoke. quote:Originally posted by clearpath: quote:Originally posted by Cache'N'Carry: ... It was very satisfying to watch it, as it only managed to crawl about 2 or 3 inches before it withered, died, and fell to the ground. Question: How do you know it died? Did you check its pulse? "heck, that scares me and I'm fearless" [This message was edited by Cache'N'Carry on May 30, 2003 at 12:16 PM.] Quote Link to comment
+phantom4099 Posted May 31, 2003 Share Posted May 31, 2003 Ticks don't jump on people, they attach to you when you are walking through grass/weeds (they climb up on this stuff waiting for something to brush up against it). So if you stay in the middle of a wide trail you should have very few ticks. If it is a narrow trail you may be better off (just slightly) walking off it since there is more ticks just along the sides of the trail (there in nothing for them to climb on in the trail so they gather just off the side on the tall grass/weeds). I find some of your guys’ reaction a little amusing (I also find it really amusing when people go to the doctor to have them removed), but then again I have been around ticks since I was a little boy. So I am no stranger to them (my last tick on me was just a few hours ago, and I was not even out side today). I find that OFF will not keep a person totally tick free, but it will cut down on the number you find. On one camping trip I found several ticks on me after an hour out side, after that I sprayed off deep woods and I don't think I found another tick on me the rest of the weekend. Wyatt W. Its late, I am tired, so what I am try to say is, sorry about the grammar. The probability of someone watching you is directly proportional to the stupidity of your actions. Quote Link to comment
+Team Shibby Posted May 31, 2003 Share Posted May 31, 2003 quote:my last tick on me was just a few hours ago, and I was not even out side today... I just have to ask... How do you sleep at night As much as I would love to live in a nice woodsy area, I would not want to have to constantly worry about tick checks every time I came in the house. I like the fact that there plenty of natural areas within a relatively short drive from my house, but for day to day living, I love the concrete jungle Then again, we gotta worry about cockroaches in the city areas so I dont know what would be worse, picking off a tick here and there or watching cockroaches scatter when you flick on the lights. Yuck!! Luckily I don't have to worry about either one, cause I would never sleep or eat for that matter Kar Quote Link to comment
+phantom4099 Posted May 31, 2003 Share Posted May 31, 2003 Actually spiders bother me more. Ticks are pretty slow, and around hear they only appear in the spring/summer months. And its fairly hard to tell where a spider may be hiding, where its possible to determine where ticks come from. But ticks start to bother me when the are green frum sucking blood (they get several times their body size if you let them). Wyatt W. The probability of someone watching you is directly proportional to the stupidity of your actions. Quote Link to comment
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