Lyme disease is going to be bad this year
- Thread starter unclemoustache
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goosegunner
ArboristSite Operative
My wife figured it out the hard way. Red rash on her hands, she said it felt like someone was holding a torch on them. She had to run them under cool water every 10 minutes or so.
We live in the country so it is tough but I am going to do what I can to reduce risk.
Permethrin sprayed clothing.
Feet
Change wood cutting clothes in outbuilding.
Insect control on yard
Kill as many mice as possible, from what I have read it comes from a bacteria that mice carry. So the tick had to have fed off a mouse the first go around. Not sure about tick tubes, I think I would rather kill the mice?
gg
dingeryote
Blueberry Baron
Just a heads up. The old standby for Ticks and disgusting insects around the house "Sevin" is going through the roof in price.
The active ingredient "Carbaryl", is now only manufactured by one company "Bayer" due to EPA shenanigans jacking the cost to the point no generic alternatives are out there. Of course this would coincide with a peak year for Ticks and the alternatives are nowhere near as effective or rainfast. If you are quick, hopefully you can snag some of last years stock with last years price still on it.
Been pulling the little brown dog tick nymphs off of the Mutts for about a week now.
I might have to look into getting some Guinea fowl around here.
Stay safe!
Dingeryote
The active ingredient "Carbaryl", is now only manufactured by one company "Bayer" due to EPA shenanigans jacking the cost to the point no generic alternatives are out there. Of course this would coincide with a peak year for Ticks and the alternatives are nowhere near as effective or rainfast. If you are quick, hopefully you can snag some of last years stock with last years price still on it.
Been pulling the little brown dog tick nymphs off of the Mutts for about a week now.
I might have to look into getting some Guinea fowl around here.
Stay safe!
Dingeryote
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Darnit! I just put Sevin on the shopping list. 
stihly dan
Addicted to ArboristSite
Worked on an ac unit in the city on black top for 20 minutes. On the drive to the next stop found 3 ticks crawling on me. Ya its going to be bad this year if there in the concrete jungle to.
Sagetown
Farmer and a STIHL
Thanks for that info on the 'SEVIN'. I use it a lot out here in the country.
The government must go to the same school as the Weather Men.
As for the Guinea Fowl, they're kinda wacko. They make excellent Owl food. That's why I quit raising them. But I heard tell that ticks will kill Guineas. Now chickens, and especially Bantams will eat about any little critter that moves. Reminds me of a big Bronze Turkey Gobler I had. He always like to follow me around the barn yard. One day I accidently broke a coke bottle, and he immediately gobbled up a big chuck of it, and lived.
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Mice are definitely determined as the reservoir and the others: deer, humans, dogs, etc are the source of secondary meal in their lifecycle. Bacteria is actual a subclass called a spirochete named Borrelia burgdorferi (after the guy who first isolated them -Burgdorf) Think of it as a corkscrew particularly adapted to viscous environments, which is nasty. The thing is also very small and needs a dark-field electron microscope to visualize and is part of the reason it is hard to target by the bodies normal immune response; and why it takes lots of rounds of AB treatment.
I spent a year doing research on the things in the mid 80's when they were still figuring it out and guess some of it "stuck". Makes me extra paranoid in the woods after cutting etc. I leave the clothes outside, hit the shower but still find them. Due to the lack of a good test other than very specific and expensive one, they usually just go for the doxy. route. FWIW Among antibiotics, it is generally recognized as being safe for longer terms.
Justsaws
Addicted to ArboristSite
I have found that keeping the grass in the yard down as low as possible and as free of leaf/twig litter helps control the ticks as well. Actually purchased a new walk behind bagger this week to aid in this and am currently shopping for a rider.
It is not a solution but certainly seems to help a great deal. Mowed on monday and could already do it again.
Trees and bushs should be trimmed back out of normal walking areas to eliminate the casual brushing while walking in the area.
Normally do this when it is frozen outside, not so much this last winter.
Will be doing more weeding with herbicides this summer and pesticides will certainly be is use.
It is not a solution but certainly seems to help a great deal. Mowed on monday and could already do it again.
Trees and bushs should be trimmed back out of normal walking areas to eliminate the casual brushing while walking in the area.
Normally do this when it is frozen outside, not so much this last winter.
Will be doing more weeding with herbicides this summer and pesticides will certainly be is use.
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I find that keeping the blood well saturated in whiskey will cause the little devils to look elsewhere for dinner... or, at least that's what I tell my wife.
Justsaws
Addicted to ArboristSite
Blood thinners can make mosquitos explode.
sweetjetskier
ArboristSite Operative
Some facts on Ticks:
They do not fly,hop, skip or jump- they are not in the NCAA tournament.
Ticks need to be transported by some means: humans, birds, dogs, deer, mice, chipmunks, etc.
Ticks are mainly in wooded, shaded areas, so they dont dry out, they can not live in full sun as they will dry out and die quickly.
Habitats for mice and chipmunks are prime areas for ticks: stone walls, brush piles, pachysandra, leave litter, woodlines, etc.
stihly dan
Addicted to ArboristSite
I don't believe this to be true. Take a field, dirt area or gravel pit. millions of ticks there in full sun. of course they are so small there is shade in about every natural surface for them.
tooold
ArboristSite Operative
I just finished up my antibiotic for lymes. I had a tick bite and I got the big red circle around it. I looked at the tick and compaired it to pictures and confirmed it WAS a deer tick. We have been pulling a few ticks off the dogs every day here.
Sagetown
Farmer and a STIHL
I use STOCK TOX on my cattle rubs. It's 10% permethrin. Matter of fact I put some out yesterday, and got it all over my boots and jeans. I guess I'm good for six washings now.
kwalshy
ArboristSite Member
I found a deer tick on me yesterday, embedded in my skin on my right side between the ribs. It wasn't in too deep, I felt it while showering & it came out head & all. The bulls eye is there so I'll be keeping an eye on it & getting over to the Dr's office as a precautionary measure. 20+ years ago I was on a cycle of antibiotics for this...here we go again.
