Ticks - Have you seen this?

June 30, 2003

My girlfriend and I were looking for this cache and got to the coordinates. She asks me, "What are these things crawling on me?"

I took a look at her shoes and I see DOZENS of tiny ticks crawling around. I look down at my shoes and see the same thing. I'm not exaggerating here. There were literally dozens of ticks crawling around on our sneakers. It was almost like a swarm of ants or something, but I'm absolutely positive they were ticks.

We ran back to our car and took our shoes and socks off. They were so infested that we left them there - the ticks were so tiny that they were difficult to detect, and I wasn't going to get them anywhere near my car. We drove home barefoot.

I've been on hikes where I've had two or three ticks hanging on to various parts of my clothing at the end of the day, but I've never seen anything like this swarm. Has anyone else?

3k · June 30, 2003

I haven't and sure as heck don't want to either. That would scare the doot right out of me. Did you make sure to do a body check when you got home to make sure they didn't get anywhere you didn't see?

______________________________________________________________________________________

Caching without a clue....

June 30, 2003

Ran into this for the first time yesterday.

While reading map and gps I noticed little tiny ticks falling onto the map and gps screen.... we moved on quickly. These little predators were pin head size or smaller.

June 30, 2003

Definately use some OFF or some other bug repelant. I've had plenty of ticks all over and not one of them was fun. If you do get one that gets into your skin the best way to remove them is with tweezers. Just grab the whole area around the bite and remove the whole thing. Yeah it hurts but what can you do?

6.4k · June 30, 2003

The NY/NJ/CT area is among the worst in the country for ticks, and we are having an especially bad year. Looks like Tom and Gunx are both right in there (as am I). Sounds like the ticks you were dealing with were deer ticks, which are probably the worst since they are so small, and because around here they often carry Lyme Disease. Prevention is the key here. There are dozens of good threads here on the subject already, I suggest you read them. In a nutshell:

Dress properly. Wear light colored clothes so ticks are easy to spot. Tuck in everything, even if it makes you look like a dork. You won't look cool if you get Lyme.

Pick out a set of "caching clothes" and treat them with Permethrin. It costs $1.25 a week to properly keep a set of clothes treated. Don't forget your shoes and socks. Drink a glass of water instead of a bottle of coke and your set for the whole weekend.

One word, DEET. The stronger it is, the better it works and the longer it lasts. No matter what the old timer down the street tells ya, there is nothing else in the world that works as well. Re-apply as needed. No, one application will NOT last you all day.

Check yourself often during the day. If you're with someone else, check each other out. Run a fine toothed comb thru your hair. When you get home, strip naked and check well (this is way more fun with a partner!).

If you find a tick, forget what you've heard about burning it, smothering it with vasoline, or killing it with alcohol. Yea, you'll get the tick out, but only after it's reguritated it's stomach fluids (along with any diseases it's carrying) right into your bloodstream. Grab the tick with tweezers (don't crush it) and GENTLY tug. Just keep a little pressure on it and eventually it WILL let go. Tug too hard and you will leave the mouthpiece inbedded which could lead to infection. Better yet, get a tick removal tool.

If you suspect the tick has been embebedded for more then 5-6hrs, call your doctor. If you catch it at this point, Lyme is preventable with a few weeks of oral antibiotics. If you wait until you show symptoms of Lyme, some of the effects of Lyme may not be reversible.

Tae-Kwon-Leap is not a path to a door, but a road leading forever towards the horizon.

4.8k · June 30, 2003

As has been said, the deer ticks are the small ones. There are also ticks refered to as a "seed ticks" but I have heard the term used different ways. On the east coast, I have heard this term used to refer to a particularly tiny kind of tick that is different from the deer tick (but I believe also carried lyme). In the midwest, the term is used to describe a nest of just hatched ticks. A friend of mine ran into this form and ended up with over 100 embedded in herself. Fortunately, that kind cannot spread lyme because the tick has to feed once before it contracts it to spread it (my friend was the first meal for them). Still, she obviously was very unhappy!

June 30, 2003

Without a doubt, this is an exceptionally bad year for them in the NE. In the past, I've never seen more than one or two crawling on me. This year has been heavier. This weekend, my daughter and I were out and hit the jackpot. Just like you, it looked like ants crawling up our pants. This was not at one isolated spot, but throughout the 5+ mile hike. I'm being conservative when I say that between the two of us, we picked off over 100 of the little buggers; some wood ticks and some deer ticks. I'm not heading out again without some really strong repellent. Maybe the fact that this was the first sunny weekend after 15 straight with rain had something to do with it? Perhaps the wet spring after such a dry year last year has really brought them out.

GoPherStash

6.4k · June 30, 2003

I forgot to add one thing.

STAY on the trail as long as possible! Very few caches I've done have actually required more then 100-200ft of bushwacking, tops. I'd much rather walk .2 miles of tick-free trail then bushwack 500ft and be covered in ticks by the time I reach the cache.

Tae-Kwon-Leap is not a path to a door, but a road leading forever towards the horizon.

5.7k · June 30, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by carleenp:
...and ended up with over 100 embedded in herself.

That is just, well, icky! We had a ton on us at one cache (120+ between the two of us), but they were big pacific coast ticks, easy to see, slow, and none embedded before we got them off us. It was rather nightmarish, but nothing compared to what your friend went through. eww!

--Marky

"All of us get lost in the darkness, dreamers learn to steer with a backlit GPSr"

4.8k · June 30, 2003

quote:
That is just, well, icky! We had a ton on us at one cache (120+ between the two of us), but they were big pacific coast ticks, easy to see, slow, and none embedded before we got them off us. It was rather nightmarish, but nothing compared to what your friend went through. eww!

To make it worse, she didn't know what they were, so she tried to scrape them off with a spoon when she got home. That left the mouthparts of some in her, which caused some bites to get infected and increased allergic reactions. She was miserable for several weeks. It goes to show why being educated about ticks is well worth it!

3k · June 30, 2003

I haven't seen that yet this year although I have found ticks. But a number of years ago I was walking with a friend on a trail. He looks off to the side and says Holy Sh**, look at the size of that bobcat! I said that's not a bobcat! That's a mountain lion! The big cat was sunning himself on a rock in a power line clearing, (right here in Residential CT) and he looked over, gave us a contemptable look for waking him from his nap, got up off the rock, all 6' of him, and loped off in the other direction. We decide to follow him to see where he went and walked into the cleared area. Next thing you know the deer ticks (the tiny ones) are all over us, I freak and start pulling them off while running out of there. Man eating mountain lions, BAH! I laugh in their face. Bloodsucking ticks! Get me the heck out of here!!! That still cracks me up. We never told anyone for a long time about the big cat, we didn't want anyone looking for him.

Cache you later,

Planet

So many caches, so little time.

June 30, 2003

As a follow-up, my GF and I did a thorough search for attached ticks and didn't come up with anything. I think we got them before they managed to bite us.

I've only been caching for a little bit, but I grew up walking around in the woods and have had three tick bites that I can remember. I don't remember them ever having been so bad. It would suck if I had to stop looking for Tupperware in the woods just because there are goofy little bugs waiting around to bite me and give me diseases. Anybody know what leads to a good/bad season for ticks? Is something changing about the environment that they're suddenly out there in greater numbers?

Thanks, Mopar, for the advice. I don't know that I'll have clothes treated, but I'm going to look around for some repellants containing DEET.

4.8k · June 30, 2003

quote:
posted June 30, 2003 10:10 AM
I haven't seen that yet this year although I have found ticks. But a number of years ago I was walking with a friend on a trail. He looks off to the side and says Holy Sh**, look at the size of that bobcat! I said that's not a bobcat! That's a mountain lion! The big cat was sunning himself on a rock in a power line clearing, (right here in Residential CT) and he looked over, gave us a contemptable look for waking him from his nap, got up off the rock, all 6' of him, and loped off in the other direction.

That is soooo cool (the part about the lion, not the ticks)! I have always wanted to see a mountain lion. I have come across fresh tracks before, but never actually seen one.

6.4k · June 30, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by Tom Hespos:
As a follow-up, my GF and I did a thorough search for attached ticks and didn't come up with anything. I think we got them before they managed to bite us.

I've only been caching for a little bit, but I grew up walking around in the woods and have had three tick bites that I can remember. I don't remember them ever having been so bad. It would suck if I had to stop looking for Tupperware in the woods just because there are goofy little bugs waiting around to bite me and give me diseases. Anybody know what leads to a good/bad season for ticks? Is something changing about the environment that they're suddenly out there in greater numbers?

Thanks, Mopar, for the advice. I don't know that I'll have clothes treated, but I'm going to look around for some repellants containing DEET.

No problem, Tom. Any time the temps are above freezing you need to check for ticks. The permethrin thing really isnt a big deal, it's a spray can you can get almost anyplace you can find DEET. just lay out your caching clothes the night before, and spray them down well and let them dry. They are now good for 2 weeks or 2 washings. It keeps the ticks and skeeters, chiggers, and all the other nasties away, and as far as chemicals go, it's pretty harmless to humans. As a matter of fact, the reason it's only good for clothing and not skin is the sweat and oils your skin natually produce actually neutralizes the permethrin. DEET does work on clothing too, but can damage certain types of material. Also, about the equally priced concentration of DEET is only effective for a few hours, whereas the permethrin will protect you for weeks. If the nasties cant get past your clothes, you don't have to worry so much about your skin. Like I said, treating your clothes works out to be about the same per week as 1 cup of coffee or a soda, not really a lot of $$$ compared to the Dr bills and time lost from work if you get Lyme, West Nile, or any other bug transmitted nasties.

Tae-Kwon-Leap is not a path to a door, but a road leading forever towards the horizon.

June 30, 2003

When we first started caching back in mid May, my daughter who is 8 years old got four ticks on the back of her head and on on her armpit and we removed them properly. About 2 1/2 to 3 weeks went by and then she broke out in a rash on her shoulder and neck and around one of her eyes. I took her to the doctor and turns out that she has Tularemia. She took her round antibiotics and goes back to be retested on July 3rd. Isn't it sickening that when you find a really great way to get away and have fun, that something like those little creatures stopes you. The doctor told us no more geocaching for our daughter until the ticks are gone. All I can say is (because she is just as addicted as the rest of us) thank God for virtuals. Right now, we don't really have other options if we take our girls with us except virtuals.

Let's hope for a short summer and get rid of the ticks.

"Nice find! I must go tell Harry, Ron and Hermione."

4.8k · June 30, 2003

quote:
I took her to the doctor and turns out that she has Tularemia. She took her round antibiotics and goes back to be retested on July 3rd.

Some people in Nebraska recently got Tularemia by hitting an infected rabbit with a lawn mower. They got the inhaled form, so the CDC came and checked everything out. It is important to remember that ticks carry lots of things besides lyme, so again, precautions are worth it even if (like me) you aren't in an area where lyme is common.

June 30, 2003

I know - isn't it sick. At first when I was researching it, I thought "What???" but then found out that the deer ticks can carry it.

"Nice find! I must go tell Harry, Ron and Hermione."

June 30, 2003

quote:
I've been on hikes where I've had two or three ticks hanging on to various parts of my clothing at the end of the day, but I've never seen anything like this swarm. Has anyone else?

Same thing happened to me when I was a kid. Fortunately, it's been rare so far.

____________________________

- Team Og Rof A Klaw

All who wander are not lost.

1.4k · June 30, 2003

My wife and I got swarmed 6 years ago while backpacking but not since. We pulled about 30-40 ticks off of each other that night. They were small about the size of a pinhead. It was a bad event all around. On the up side neither one of us got sick or anything.

June 30, 2003

A word of warning: Deet, while excellent for mosquitoes, is questionable against ticks. One study showed it only deterred ticks on skin 85% of the time. Permethrin is REALLY the best bet, as it kills ticks on contact.

For more info, check out http://www.tickinfo.com/permethrin.htm

July 1, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by Tom Hespos:
My girlfriend and I were looking for http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=c621cfbc-5d5f-4c3d-befe-af31b0dc676a and got to the coordinates. She asks me, "What are these things crawling on me?"

I took a look at her shoes and I see DOZENS of tiny ticks crawling around. I look down at my shoes and see the same thing. I'm not exaggerating here. There were literally dozens of ticks crawling around on our sneakers. It was almost like a swarm of ants or something, but I'm absolutely positive they were ticks.

We ran back to our car and took our shoes and socks off. They were so infested that we left them there - the ticks were so tiny that they were difficult to detect, and I wasn't going to get them anywhere near my car. We drove home barefoot.

I've been on hikes where I've had two or three ticks hanging on to various parts of my clothing at the end of the day, but I've never seen anything like this swarm. Has anyone else?

what you got into was a mess of seed ticks, that's what we call them here. it is kinda freaky to see them crawling all over your feet. in my experience they usually attach around the ankles & no where higher.

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if you cache it, they will come.

July 2, 2003

Living in the Lyme Disease capital of the world definitely gives one pause before undertaking outdoor activities. But there are just so many of the little buggers around that unless you stay locked inside you are bound to be exposed to them. My son had Lyme last summer. We pulled a tick off his neck and about 5 days later the tell tale bulls eye rash appeared. After a course of anti-biotics he's fine. Dr.s around here are cautious to prescribe anti biotics right away, unless actual symptoms are present. The blood test for Lyme is not very accurate (lots of false positives, lots of false negatives) so sometimes unless symptoms are actually present it is extremely difficult to diagnose. The danger here is that sometimes no physical symptoms aren't present until the disease has progressed dramatically. Pretty scary stuff.

Some of the myths we have been able to de-bunk are: While deer ticks are the main carrier of Lyme, any tick (wood ticks included) that has attached to an infected animal can spread the disease.

If an infected tick does imbed on you the longer it stays imbedded the greater the risk of infection. Ticks pulled off within the first couple of hours may not spread the disease to you even if they are carrying it (NO guarantees though).

Lyme is a real problem for pets as well. If you are bringing your pet along, you may want to think about treatment such as "frontline". Lyme disease can be just as debilitating to your pet as it can be to you.

Permethrin is definitely the best defense. However my own personal experience indicates that some of the old time tricks may work as well. I eat alot of garlic and spicy type food and I put Tobascoe on just about everything I eat. While I have had a number of ticks crawling on me, I haven't had one actually imbed in quite literally years. Maybe just a coincidence but I'm not planning to change my diet.

In the past the state used to spray for both ticks and mosquitoes but due to environmental concerns this is no longer done. In my opinion there needs to be some sort of balance struck, as Lyme is a major health problem and mosquito borne West Nile is appearing more frequently as well.

While I do take precautions while in the outdoors, I have no intention of letting these little creatures dictate my life.

fvvfdc2

July 7, 2003

Just as an update to this thread...

Evidently, I missed a tick or two. On Thursday, I found one on my right side, so the little bastard was probably there for four days. I managed to get him off without breaking his mouth parts off, and I saved him in a little jar in case the doctor wanted to see him or test him.

Separately, I developed a red rash behind my right knee, around what I thought was a mosquito bite. The doc told me on Saturday that this was almost certainly the "ring rash" associated with Lyme disease. I probably had a tick bite that I didn't know about from an earlier geocaching trip, and now I almost certainly have Lyme. I started on the antibiotics yesterday. Blood test results should be in this week.

Damned parasites...

4.5k · July 7, 2003

Sorry Tom about the LYme. I'm sure the antibiotics will take care of it. I waqs on antibiotics myself taken precautiously after being bit by a Lyme infected tick.

I cache on LI too and Lyme's pretty bad all around the NY NJ PA CT MA etc area. Unfortunately the best time to cache is when it's below 40 degree as far as ticks are concerned. I have to admit, they take a lot of the fun out of caching.

Good luck

ALan

July 7, 2003

dadgum... I cache to escape the stress of working at the airport. Now I gotta wear my biohazard suit to cache!

Wherever you go, there you are!

July 7, 2003

Chiming in on this thread a bit late, but you can read about my experience at The Hatchet Creek Cache. It was rather disturbing, and finding that many ticks while going down the highway is not a fun experience. Apparently we found all of the ticks - not a single person has reported any problems before or after our visit.

----

When in doubt, poke it with a stick.

July 7, 2003

Am I the only person who, when reading this thread, found themselves sort of scratching and itching and reflexively looking down at their ankles?

I'm glad to know that I'm not being a sissy about ticks. I HATE creepy crawlies, and I thought that I'd just need to get some pals to make the woods less threatening to me. (Yeah, I cache alone, but only in suburban parks where I'm unlikely to wander off and die, and if I fall and break my ankle, somebody would probably hear me yelling from their back yard.)

Anyway, I'm both comforted and alarmed to hear that I'm NOT being a hysterical sissy.

Thanks for the tips on permathrin. I think that, coupled with lots of DEET on the skin, should help me feel better.

BTW, would it even do me any good to look up "brown recluse" or is it true that they're perfectly ordinary-looking little spiders that I probably wouldn't get a chance to ID, anyway, so why scare the beejeezus out of myself?

July 7, 2003

You know, this seems to be a bad tick season everywhere. I'm in Southern California (I know, I know ) and it's horrid! It's not bad enough that I'm picking them off of dogs at work, but picking them off of me at play!! UGH! We have bug spray in the van at all times, plus we both carry tick removers. (little sister and I) Picked them up at PetSmart for 50 cents each. Best thing I ever got!

Never invoke anything bigger than your head.

July 8, 2003

I was out in the weeds for 1/2 hour yesterday, and ended up with 4 wood ticks crawling on my clothes and one imbedded, but hopefully I got it in time. Since I spend so much time outside, I took the course of Lymerex shots a couple of years ago, and I got all my pre-deployment shots (yellow fever, dyptheria, tetanus, etc) a couple of months ago, so I can probably ride across country in a bug-infested box-car full of rusty nails without suffering any ill effects.

"People think it must be fun to be a super genius, but they don't realize how hard it is to put up with all the idiots in the world."--Calvin

July 8, 2003

i feel your pain. here in north carolina we have "seed ticks" in the eastern half of the state. they are the larval form of the lonestar tick, and where you get one you are likely to get a hundred. on several occasions when i forgot to deet or permethrin up i have been the victim of the hoard! to avoid them use deet on your skin (works on clothing too), and spray clothing with permethrin (not for skin). it is truly gross to look down and have a literal swarm of ticks climbing up your limbs. aaaaaahhhh! -harry

July 8, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by Indiana Cojones:
....Permethrin is REALLY the best bet, as it kills ticks on contact.

Be careful! It will also kill your cat on contact!

Doesn't seem to bother dogs. This is one reason why you don't use dog flea/tick repellants on cats.

geospotter

July 8, 2003

quote:
Be careful! It will also kill your cat on contact!

Doesn't seem to bother dogs. This is one reason why you don't use dog flea/tick repellants on cats.

This isn't exactly correct. Low concentrations of permethrin (usually 2% or 1%) are found in many commercial "flea dip" and powders and are safe for cats. The problem is that there are high concentration (typically 45-60%) powders that are only safe for dogs. It also usually makes cats very sick, but is treatable in about 80% of the cases. However, it doesn't come up that often any more now that everyone uses fipronil (Frontline Top Spot). The concentration on the clothing is usually 10-15% and I've never heard of a cat getting sick from it, but I wouldn't spray it on them or their bedding.

I'd also like to note that permethrin is highly toxic to fish and bees and some studies indicate it isn't so good for human infants either.

July 8, 2003

BTW, would it even do me any good to look up "brown recluse" or is it true that they're perfectly

ordinary-looking little spiders that I probably wouldn't get a chance to ID, anyway, so why scare the

beejeezus out of myself?

Response to katybird.

No, I'd be more concerned about the ticks than the brown recluse. As it's name implies it likes to stay hidden. Just don't stick your hand where it doesn't belong and you'll be fine. Carry a stick and bang it around in crevaces before you put your hand in there, and if you're still worried, wear thick leather glove and long sleeves. Brown Recluse and Black Widows don't scare me as much as ticks. They aren't looking to get a meal off me and won't bite unless provoked.

July 8, 2003

Tom,

As pre your question as to what might cause heavier infestations is something that causes ALL bugs to be heavier in different years.

Believe it or not, a heavy snow cover through the winter will cause a larger outbreak of all sorts of pests (this goes for your plant bugs too).

No matter how damnedably cold it is outside, about 1' underneath a good snow cover it's always 32*F and it's a breeding pit for bugs. So if you had alot of snow this past winter that's why.

However, on the flipside, if it's very cold with little or no snow cover, the little buggers will usually freeze as long as they don't overwinter inside the ground or in the plants.

But even with my relative knowledge on insects I still never leave my Geo-Mobile without making sure I've sprayed some repellant within the last 3 hours. Now, my body absorbs odors of things like that so I make sure to spray more often than may be suggested, but with things like Lyme disease and West Nile virus, I'd rather be safe than sorry.

Happy Trails

Draegon, Cache Care-taker of the OKIC

Team Draegon

Cincinnati, Ohio USA

"To conquer without risk is to succeed without glory"

Ticks - Have you seen this?

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