Ticks everywhere

[Kaptain_K]

Man, what is with the ticks? I pick several off of me every night at home. Is this a problem for you guys and what do you do about it in tick season? I wonder if there is some sort of systemic repellent one can take like I give my dog?! I have been dousing my boots and jean cuffs with a good tick spray. Maybe not using it enough.
Kaptain

 

[jason j ladue]

never have had one! they look nasty though. my cats get one once in a while

 

[Kaptain_K]

2 earlier today, and 3 more since i posted while watching Meet the Fockers. OMG, that was hilarious. Anyway, I've never seen this many of them. I don't know if it's to be expected or what. Weird thing happened with the dog yesterday. We were in the kitchen, I look down and find what looks like a stepped-on grape with thick grape jelly squirted all over the floor. Hmm, well it ain't a grape, but has what looks like half a grape skin lying on the floor. I concluded at the time that it must have been a bloodblister on one of his pads and he stepped on it and popped it. I checked all of his paw pads last night and couldn't find a thing...no healing wound, nothing. I am wondering now if it was a huge engorged tick between his toes that popped, leaving the body looking like a grape skin! Man, these are starting to gross me out. 2 of the 3 I found during the movie were in my pants. None have latched on yet, i keep finding them dashing up my arm or leg, or in my waistband. Do you suppose the dog is bringing them in, and his Proline is repelling the ticks, so off they jump onto the floor and furniture???
Here's a link from the Iowa State Entomology Dept. while I do a little research: http://www.ent.iastate.edu/imagegal/ticks/
Kaptain

 

[Monkeywitha_saw]

i was told to take your roll on deoderant and put it on the openings of your shirts,pants top and bottom and the top of your sock ?

 

[treeseer]

Some ticks cause lime disease, lime disease can kill or disable on its own and causes cancer too. Mild winters here lately, tick numbers very high.

 

[Tree Wizard]

Deer ticks are the carrier of Lyme disease. They are smaller than the dog tick. This does not mean that deer ticks won't get on dogs though. Ticks will be active down to 30 degree temps so they are seen early in the year compared to other insects & spider family members. When I was working in the Ohio River Valley, deer ticks were referred to as turkey ticks. We would wear tick & flea collors around out pant's legs.

 

[fwf]

i was told to take your roll on deoderant and put it on the openings of your shirts,pants top and bottom and the top of your sock ?

This is not true, or at least not true for everyone. I have found, and I know others that agree, that using any kind of deodorant or fragrant product can attract insects, including ticks.

If you research any of the easy home-type insect repellent ideas, you will find that they seldom work for everyone. I think body chemistry has more to do with it than anything else

DEET has been proven to be the most effective against insects (including ticks), And shower immediately after working, and have someone else check you for ticks.

Joe

 

[jamie]

shower?

dont have a shower, have a bath, then the little feckers cant breath, they let go and float to the surface, then kill em, set fire to them or something. a shower would just be like a day out in the rain.

if they are latched on to your face i wont suggest holding your breath underwater....

jamie

 

[okietreedude1]

, have a bath, then the little feckers cant breath, they let go and float to the surface,
jamie

That doesnt work either. they can live w/o air for hours. Thats like the old tale of putting nail polish on them (which doesnt work either).

Your best be is DEET. The higher concentration the better. douse your pants, boots, waist, neck....anywhere there's an opening they can crawl in.

Ive been out turkey hunting the last 2 weekends and dousing w/ deet havent found a single tick.

Another suggestion, I know youll feel stupid, but tuck your pant legs INSIDE your boots.

 

[Manco]

I have heard that clear nail polish is for chiggers or (red-bugs). You apply the polish after they get under your skin. Never tried it to see if it works though.
Yes the thing you saw on the floor was a tick that was probably scratched off by a paw. They will get as large as a marble when they've been on a dog for a while.
Don't put the repellents on your bare skin. Some of the strong ones will make you feel sick.

 

[clearance]

I got ticks when I was spacing out in the bush years ago, knew a little about lyme disease, wasn't too happy. Dug a couple out of my side in pieces with my Buck, hard to tell if you got it all that way. Guys have burned them out with cigarettes, soaked them with gas and who knows what else. I tried to keep my hardhat and longsleeved shirt on all day. Keep you hair short, check yourself in the mirror after a shower.

 

[056kid]

Ah ticks. Back in VA nobody gave them much concern,(so many of them) But here in oregon people treat them like monsters that kill on contact. I could care less about ticks but some general house hold rules are check everynight with lighter in one hand and alcohol in the other. If you find a bulls eye where the tick bit you get to the doctor, that is the first sign of a lime disease tick bite. They are really nothing to worry about, just a pain in the ass.

 

[NickfromWI]

056 Kid was right on with the bullseye tip.

Don't burn a tick off. They have been know to regurgitate half-digested blood back into you, which then causes infection. Same can be true if you use the suffocation techniques like covering in nail polish or vaseline.

Just tweezer them off carefully, then wipe clean with alcohol or triple antibiotic.

And can somone answer me this- why bother killing the tick you just pulled off you? I throw them in the back yard. There are trillions of them out there anyways, so is it worth it to kill this one?

love
nick

 

[fwf]

...There are trillions of them out there anyways, so is it worth it to kill this one?

love
nick

Yes, it's called revenge!

 

[056kid]

???? right

 

[Virginia Grit]

Ticks 101

It's Lyme disease, not Lime disease. It is carried by deer ticks. Very small and impossible to find. If you have a bite with a red "bulls eye" around it, go to the doc and get antibiotics else you will get Lyme disease and eventually die.

Bigger ticks carry Rocky Mtn Spotted Fever. It also is deadly, just quicker.

As suggested, use tweezers to pull a tick off, then alcohol on the bite.

Remember to put Frontline or something like it on your cats and dogs. For horses, use Inside Out. It will protect them against mosquitoes, ticks, etc.
Unfortunately there's really nothing for humans.

 

[Proj Eng]

Deet, and Permethrin come to mind. Along with tucking in clothes and separating your work clothes from you before you enter the house.
Frontline has worked wonders for my pets. Only dead ones found every now and then.

At the very worst, we once pulled 44 ticks off our dog after a half day hunt someplace. I check her after any weekend in the woods or outside for a long period of time. These past few years I haven't found hardly any, so I think the numbers of ticks will be going up.

 

[Kaptain_K]

Ok thanks folks. I'm being a bit more diligent with my clothes when I come home, and better about spraying my boots and pant cuffs. I'll be danged if I'm gonna tuck my pant legs into my socks though!

 

[fwf]

Ok thanks folks. I'm being a bit more diligent with my clothes when I come home, and better about spraying my boots and pant cuffs. I'll be danged if I'm gonna tuck my pant legs into my socks though!

Don't stop at your boots and pant cuffs! Ticks live on plants and can jump up to 60" onto their host (you). Spray all of the openings of your cloths and your cap, or you're just forcing them to jump a little higher for their meal.

 

[NickfromWI]

Ticks live on plants and can jump up to 60" onto their host ...

Hmmmmm, never heard that one before.

love
nick