Damn ticks

[bowaholic]

I got my first tick ever on me this year, it hadn't attached yet and I made a tick pancake with it!  My girlfriends dogs are getting them at least once or twice a week! With the mild winters they aren't dying off like they used to. 

[Jennifer]

They said they needed a doctors note clearing her once it was removed (they covered it with a band aid).

I took her to doctors... couldn't stand it..so I pulled bandaid.. and then the tick in waiting room...they sent us home with no bill or tests...come back if bullseye rash Appears

 

Wish that doctors weren't using old info... I don't want to scare you but the lack of bullseye rash doesn't mean much. Though it's true that the longer the tick is biting, the higher the chance of infection.

 

Be very careful pulling ticks. If you squeeze or overly irritate them they regurgitate back into the bloodstream and that can cause infection, too.

[alwaysarchery67]

Thanks jenn

[132 eight pointer]

I had a tick crawling on the back of my neck last Mon. when I was skinning a deer. Put it in a plastic bag and then in the garbage.Had one crawling on garage floor too,Gumout carb cleaner killed it .I had them on me last year too after hunting one evening.I didn't know that there isn't always a rash.

[NFA-ADK]

Remember it is not just deer that can transmit ticks.  Mice, rats and other animals can transfer this pest.  Keep your cats indoors, spray your dog and check them on a daily basis if you live in one of these types of areas.  Spray the clothes you use outside in these areas and your family's clothes that they use outside.  Don't risk your health!  Spray and check yourself every time you venture outside in these tick infested zones!!!  Hoping for a good frost!!!

[the blur]

^{I was scouting this weekend.  No deer, no scraps, no scat.  But I got a deer tick, and it was 45 degrees out.  I sprayed my pants and boots with permathin, and this tick was crawling up my arm.  So next time, I need to spray my upper body too.    I have no idea how this little bugger got on my arm.  I must of been leaning against a tree.}

[bluecoupe]

I've seen 'em jump from weeds/limbs to my shoulder in the spring trout fishing.  That's what started me using Sawyers in the first place. Used it ever since.

[crappyice]

I picked a handful off my pants today-no clingers though which is good. Some credit permethian since I had none on my hunting pants which was treated early in the season. These ticks were on pants tha were not treated. I unwisely decided to walk a new patch of woods after I changed from my hunting gear. Found some good rubs, no scrapes and a many ticks. I guess deer are in the area, just not where I'm sitting!

[Jennifer]

The primary vector for deer ticks are actually mice, believe it or not! Though of course, deer and other mammals do carry them as well.

[shawnhu]

The primary vector for deer ticks are actually mice, believe it or not! Though of course, deer and other mammals do carry them as well.

The white-footed mice!

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[dbHunterNY]

it's important to strip down and check yourself every time you come in.  also I store outer layers (Scent Blocker) in a Ziploc big bag.  it goes from the bag directly into the dryer for activation.  I heard that the heat kills the ticks but I have yet to see a dead one in the dryer.  I've gotten them on me crawling but mostly just attached.  if you get them off right away that evening there's little to worry about.  still should be cautious of the signs though.

[Steve7]

My wife had it for 1 year before she was diagnosed.  Practically crippled her at 40 y/o and couldn't do nothing for herself...even opening a bottle of water was a chore.  Terribly illness that I witnessed first hand and I probably brought the tick in as she doesn't go near the woods.  She's really good now and pain free for 6 or 7 years but does get flare ups occasionally.  Be very vigilant checking yourself.  The buck I got over the weekend was loaded beyond belief.  

[Steve7]

Rent or try and get the movie "Under Our Skin".  Very informative information on what Lyme disease can do to you.   The link below has the full movie for free.  Some of these people are scarred for life from it.....

 

It is an EXCELLENT documentary

 

http://www.snagfilms.com/films/title/under_our_skin

Edited October 30, 2013 by Steve7

[the blur]

My son went camping, and I got 2 ticks.   He brought them home on his back pack.

[Jennifer]

Rent or try and get the movie "Under Our Skin".  Very informative information on what Lyme disease can do to you.   The link below has the full movie for free.  Some of these people are scarred for life from it.....

 

It is an EXCELLENT documentary

 

http://www.snagfilms.com/films/title/under_our_skin

 

Yes, I have chronic Lyme. I fist contracted it 20 years ago when the local doctors didn't really know much about it. It has not been fun.

[RangerClay]

Be ever vigilant !

 

I went all weekend at hunting camp, watching carefully with only one tick crawling on me. Then I picked one up in the parking lot while loading my stuff to go home.  Bastard sunk his fangs in me on the way home.  He was promply picked and flicked.

[BUCKANDAQUARTER]

My mother contracted lymes sometime between 1988-1990. She went from being a true super mom to practically bed-ridden. You can see in the family albums the change in her, the family and the state of the house. Nobody understood what was going on. It ruined the family, not just her. Doctors had no clue. She figured it out and pressed for a Lymes test, and they more or less laughed at her. The first test came back negative and she pressed for the second. Sure enough, positive. They IV treated her and at the time I was in 5th grade, she had first gotten sick when I was barely in school. They had no clue how to treat it and didn't do it properly. Needless to say she still struggles every day, many days can't even get out of bed. 25 years of suffering due to a tick. Nuts. Nothing to fool around with. I always check and still find a few here and there. At least they treat me before the test even comes back with all the false negatives.

[Jennifer]

My mother contracted lymes sometime between 1988-1990. She went from being a true super mom to practically bed-ridden. You can see in the family albums the change in her, the family and the state of the house. Nobody understood what was going on. It ruined the family, not just her. Doctors had no clue. She figured it out and pressed for a Lymes test, and they more or less laughed at her. The first test came back negative and she pressed for the second. Sure enough, positive. They IV treated her and at the time I was in 5th grade, she had first gotten sick when I was barely in school. They had no clue how to treat it and didn't do it properly. Needless to say she still struggles every day, many days can't even get out of bed. 25 years of suffering due to a tick. Nuts. Nothing to fool around with. I always check and still find a few here and there. At least they treat me before the test even comes back with all the false negatives.

 

So sorry to hear about this happening to your mom. It is a much more complicated disease than many realize, especially with all of the co-infections that can occur. You are right, back then (and even today sometimes) a lot of doctors would laugh about it. I experienced this a lot. It's cost me a lot financially and physically to deal with it over the years. I was 11 when I was bitten and I've never known a 'normal healthy' day of my adult life, pretty nuts!! The fact that I am able to be active at times is a testament only to how darned stubborn I am. I like hunting too much.

[martin]

SteveC, on 20 Oct 2013 - 1:13 PM, said:

Yeah, they're brutal this year. Yes, by all means go to the sawbones and good luck!

I swear by this stuff.

http://www.sawyer.com/tech-bugs1.html

I have this stuff and I also swear by it. I still check myself. I have been testing it on Stink bugs and soon to be Cricket spiders.

[Steve7]

Again the sad part of this is how the medical field dismisses the illness...

 

http://www.snagfilms.../under_our_skin

[Jennifer]

Holy moley... hunted the same area, same trails as we have been all fall, but today we all came out with new decorations. Must have had 10+ ticks on (the outside) of our clothing each. This is the worst I've seen it in this area, and I pay close attention.

[BUCKANDAQUARTER]

Steve thanks for the link, I am going to check that out. It is horrible how uninformed and dismissive doctors are about Lyme. I had all the symptoms off it and was treated even with a negative (I can't remember the percentage of false negatives but I think it is like 50%) and I went to a different doctor for a dislocation and he asked me why they treated me if the test was negative, and disagreed with the decision... It is standard procedure to treat with antibiotics for any tick bite. He must have missed the memo.

 

Jennifer, I hadn't had a single tick this year until Monday, then all of the sudden I found five deer ticks while in stand. I got home and there was one attached under my armpit. The worst I had was about 7 years ago and I had 33 on my camo! I was sitting in some of those short bushes that have the small berries (uhg... the name is slipping my mind right now!) Luckily those were dog ticks.

[the blur]

Chickens eat ticks.  If I had the property, I would have a few chickens running around.

[Steve7]

Steve thanks for the link, I am going to check that out. It is horrible how uninformed and dismissive doctors are about Lyme. I had all the symptoms off it and was treated even with a negative (I can't remember the percentage of false negatives but I think it is like 50%) and I went to a different doctor for a dislocation and he asked me why they treated me if the test was negative, and disagreed with the decision... It is standard procedure to treat with antibiotics for any tick bite. He must have missed the memo.

 

Jennifer, I hadn't had a single tick this year until Monday, then all of the sudden I found five deer ticks while in stand. I got home and there was one attached under my armpit. The worst I had was about 7 years ago and I had 33 on my camo! I was sitting in some of those short bushes that have the small berries (uhg... the name is slipping my mind right now!) Luckily those were dog ticks.

 

BAAQ...  the film is both informative and disturbing.   Just be careful and spray yourself down.  I have to come in my house after hunting practically naked and leave all my camo in plastic bags in the garage.

[Jennifer]

Chickens eat ticks.  If I had the property, I would have a few chickens running around.

 

Guinea fowl will often eat ticks, but chicken don't, or don't often. I tried offering some to mine directly yesterday... my birds only seem to go after larger insects.