Ticks

[NightHawk]

. He was surprised to feel them running wind sprints in his underwear on his drive home.


 That sent chills up my spine, I hate ticks!!!

[no]

I must just be lucky, been bitten hundreds of times over the years & never had Lyme. Everyone I know has had it.  We get over run here in NY.  Two of my beagles had it & one had airliciosis. Both really sick & had a month of meds. I ran them last week & despite the k9-advantix still pulled ticks off them. Mike

[Jeremy]

I've posted this before, but here it is again...

Everyone who spends time in the woods (or the garden, park or anywhere else) would do well to check the CDCs website on   Lyme Disease   and check out the link to 'other tick borne diseases' as well. Ticks aren't the only problems either.

Lyme disease is caused by a specific bacteria that can be carried by blacklegged ticks. These ticks are in their highest concentrations where the most cases are reported, but can be found in nearly all of the US. The rest of the country has other types of ticks that carry different bacteria that cause a bunch of other nasty problems.

Not every tick carries the bacteria and not every bite results in an infection. Though Lyme Disease is caused by a specific type of bateria, there are a number of different strains, each with it's own little quirks (same with E.coli outbreaks too... ever wonder how the CDC tracks down where the E.coli originated from? Each strain is slightly different genetically).

The damn bloodsuckers can carry a bunch of other little 'bugs' that can cause serious problems and present many of the same symptoms as Lyme Disease.

A blood test is only reliable in the later stages of an infection, and by then your chances of comlications goes up.

As Rob unfortunately has found out, some people have problems for years after the bacterial infection has cleared up. The exact cause is unknown, but the chances of it happening go up dramatically the longer you have the infection! Antibiotics are the best way to get rid of a bacterial infection quickly. Your body can do it alone - and does on a daily basis - but when something comes along that really challenges it (and this bug does) your immune system starts to act a little funny. There's credible data that suggests the lingering effects are autoimmune in nature.

When your body has a bad infection (like the late stages of Lyme disease) your immune system is really cranking, trying to find some antigen it can make antibodies against so it can fight the infection. Unfortunately, when your immune system is stressed that bad, it starts making mistakes, and can start making antibodies against things that aren't a problem, or worst case, part of your own body.

After that response has died down the cells that caused the problem don't go away. They are there waiting to see something they recognize so they can start the process all over again. Allergies work the same way (this is also the basis for how vaccines work). These cells can stick around for years or even a lifetime.

[Gary Logsdon]

Wow, this brings back some bad memories.  In the 70s, when I was in western KY attending Murray State University, I spent quite a bit of time at nearby Land Between the Lakes, AKA, "The Lonestar Tick Capital of the World"!  You might walk around in the woods all day at LBL without one tick attaching itself, then POW, what seemed like thousands of the little buggers would be crawling all over you!!  The "seed ticks", in reality, were larval stage Lonestars, which could be identified from the tiny star like markings on their backs.  As I recall, the original "Permanone" (permethrin product) was developed specifically for use by workers/loggers in the LBL area due to the heavy number of Lonestars.  As I said, LBL was (and IS) known for it's ticks. It's use was originally limited to just a few states. For the last few decades I've pre-treated my clothes with permethrin during spring turkey season and also in the fall until we get a killing frost.  Wear rubber gloves and an carbon filter mask when spraying and watch where the over spray drifts. Make certain that waistlines, cuffs, and zippered openings get special coverage!  Allow your sprayed outer garmants 2-4 hours to dry and then BAG them until you're ready to put to use.  This helps extend the effectiveness of the treatment.I also wear elastiv bands around the tops of my boots to seal my pant cuffs.

[SELFBOW19953]

I was born and raised in Florida.  We had a sulphur water well.  Even though we got bugs-chiggers, ticks, etc-we really noticed a difference when we went on vacation, and were away from the sulphur water.  When we came back home, the bugs tore us up for about a week.  When we had the sulphur back in our system, things were better.  My grandfather always dusted his pant legs cuffs with sulphur powder.

My wife has lymes right now.  She has an appointment with the infectous disease specialist tomorrow-her first.  She doesn't hunt, doesn't wander in the woods, we don't have high grass, our dogs don't go in the woods, nor do our horses.  I figure she either got a tick off of me, or from the buck I killed, when she was admiring him.  Hopefully, we caught it early enough.

I've been lucky so far-KNOCK ON WOOD!!!!  I use Sawyers or Permanone religiously, especially from March through November.  I spray my bare skin with Deep Woods Off, put on my socks and spray them,, then put on my hunting clothes treated with a permethrin

[DannyBows]

I lost my Brother to "Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever", another Tick carried disease. He was 14 years old, I was 16. They got on the Dog during a weekend trip to visit relatives in West Virginia, back in 1975. My brother was fine for a week, then real sick for a week, then it took him. It was rare enough that they didn't recognize it in time, thought it was Scarlet Fever until it was too late. Very nasty illness. I have relatives in the Mountains that went thru it, recovered, but have very bad eyesight from it. Ticks are EVIL!

[larryh]

taking flowers of sulfer mixed with honey or something and warm water is what i've used for about 70 years. never have had one single tick bite. lots of times i come home from riding for cattle and have 20-30 ticks clinging to my t shirt, but they definitly don't cling to me.
my kids took it growing up and never had a tick bite either. have had some mosquitos bite anyway but very few.

[Pointer]

Trab...get yourself some of the Sawyers product to treat your clothes...just be sure to let it dry completely. Forget the odor which is minimal anyway...a deer will smell you regardless of what you do as far as odor control.  The only solution to that is keep the wind in your favor.
I'm in Ny too and the state is crawling with those little pests...tested positive for lyme exposure 15 years ago too...teh tick was still attached to my leg 2 days after my hunt ended.
The permanone definitely works...I spray my whole outfit including the fabric seat on my 3 legged stool and my fanny pack...everything. I have to say that I haven't found a tick on my clothes since I started using the stuff.

[Jason Hansen]

My Dad and I hunted Illinois back in 2006 during the opening week of archery deer season.  It was record high temperatures...roughly in the high 90s for that week.  When we made it back to Michigan a week later, I had one dug into my knee.  I gently pulled it off and noticed a couple other ones.  Ever since that ordeal, I haven't been back.  I freaked out and went for a test...all came back negative.  Of course this whole time waiting for the results, I was researching it on the Internet and talking to people who know others that have it...bad, bad stuff.  The landowner in Illinois said it wasn't uncommon for him to remove 10-20 after a day outside and it didn't bother him at all.

[Trab]

Thanks guys for a lot of you relating to my concern......selfbow I think you are nice and thorough..

I've been lucky so far-KNOCK ON WOOD!!!! I use Sawyers or Permanone religiously, especially from March through November. I spray my bare skin with Deep Woods Off, put on my socks and spray them,, then put on my hunting clothes treated with a permethrin

And Pointer I will heed your advice with Sawyers .....
Much Appreciated Guys !!
     
Trab

[Lost Arra]

Thanks for the reminder.
I sprayed my clothes this weekend.
(After getting 3 tick bites chasing hogs. I didn't realize the ticks were out yet.)

[the force]

I havent seen a tick in WV for a few years they must not like gettin on me.

[Stinger]

Great thread!  I never heard of the Tick Key, but I found some today and bought several to pass out to friends.  My son got Lyme disease about 18 years ago on a summer trip to Oklahoma but caught it in time to where the antibiotics beat it down.  He has not had a problem since.  I get tested every year just to make sure.

[illianabowhntr67]

I posted on this same topic last year.After hearing some great advice I went out shed hunting without spraying down and guess what!A critter attached to me.I got some blood test done come back neg.Another 14 days of doxiciline.

[coaster500]

Never really thought about it until now but in the 26 years I lived on 80 acres of brush in northern California, I think I can only remember a couple of time when a tick actually bit someone in my family. Our well always had that sulfur smell and a ton of iron (you better like orange everything)? Never gave it much thought until this thread. We had billions of ticks and all of us had them on our bodies from time to time? Interesting, my horse’s rarely had a tick burrow in but would be covered in them at certain times of the year.

Maybe there is something to this sulfur thing?

[PAPA BEAR]

i'm gettin scared to go into the woods man.you guys are scarin me.  :D    :D    :D    

[Bill Turner]

My local Wally World stopped carrying the permethrin for clothes last season. Like Pavin I found it at REI. I've never heard of the product mentioned above by Sawyer. Can anyone provide any details? I've used sulphur powder successfully to combat chiggars for years. Keep it in an old sock in a plastic container in my truck. Dust myself with the sock before going into the field from April through September. Don't use it during the fall deer season because of odor. By the way, get the sulphur powder at your local feed store not the drug store. I promise you won't like the cost at the local CVS/Walgreen's.  

[ksbowman]

Evidently I've become complacent about ticks. I lived in and have hunted areas that are infested with ticks all my life. Kansas and Missouri have so many ticks that to go out in the field and not pickup any is rare. I use deet sprays most of the time but to go a week without having a tick or two bite you are rare. I live on a farm and every day I'm out out with animals and ticks.I've had many days when I'll pull 6-8 ticks off me. Every night when I shower I always check myself good and remove any that are stuck.Usually I feel them trying to burrow in and pull them quickly.Once on a hunt in Texas hill country I had 38 seed ticks on one leg and they are so small I just scraped them off with a pocket knife.I've always heard as long as you remove them within 24 hours the chances of transmission of disease are minimal.They are just a fact of life to me and so far after 59 years I haven't got any disease from them but I don't discount the possibility to get them, just keep watching the bites for any signs.  Ben

[John3]

Myself as well ks.. I am so used to ticks that I don't even think about them.  I do spray from my knees down and COVER my boots with DEET.  Before doing this it was not uncommon to pull off 6, 8 or more crawling ticks a day.  I did start to wear shorts when scouting in August and early Sept just so I would feel the ticks crawling. I do make it a point to kill every tick that gets on me..  

[Rob DiStefano]

Originally posted by ksbowman:
... I've always heard as long as you remove them within 24 hours the chances of transmission of disease are minimal. ..

transmission of borrelia or other infectious bacteria is dependent on basically two things: if the tick is carrying infectious bacteria and if the tick upchucks its stomach contents into your bloodstream.

the fact that it's sucking out yer blood is a oneway flow from you to it, and that will not allow transmission of disease to you.  however, ticks that have been attached for up to and over 24 hours can have a 'reverse flow' as their stomachs fill with your blood, and the infection is streamed back into the host body (you).  

you can make a tick 'sick' by doing an incorrect removal technique such as heating it with a lighted match, or covering it with nail polish or squeezing its body (thereby turning the bug into a hypo and injecting yerself with nasty tick juice).  

the better removal method is grabbing at the head (which may already be imbedded under yer epidermis) or if yer lucky and it's not fully attached, by its proboscis, and pull straight out with no twisting.  tweezers help lots, get it down low to yer skin.  obviously the tick's size plays a big role in removal.  the seed ticks are gonna be a gamble no matter what.  wood and dog and deer ticks are bigger and at least somewhat easier to remove.

make no mistake - you can get lyme disease from any infected tick, not just deer ticks.  the ticks pick up the borrelia mainly from rodents.  

a tick's proboscis (mouth) has retractable 'barbs' that anchor the mouth and head under yer skin and once anchored they will not come out without busting off inside of you.  pulling off the body and leaving the head and mouth stuck in you is far better than squeezing its body contents into you. the tick parts left in you will come out, eventually.  been through that many times.