Tick City, USA

[CrazyCain]

WE are heading to a state park close to us this weekend. People are reporting lots of ticks all ready. Besides the obvious precautions ( Keep little dog out of weeds and woods while walking, tape ankles, tuck pants in shoes, wear a complete Tyvek whole body suit, complete with air assisted respirator) what are some of the best collar and area sprays out there to protect from the little, er.................
:whistling:

[Pull Toy]

Flame Throwers work well! :popcorn:

Just remember, Connecticut invented Lyme Disease! As a matter of fact, it was a half hour drive from here.

Check with your vet about a monthly pill to control fleas, ticks and worms. (Especially if you plan to visit "Dog Parks"!)

[xrated]

We live in E. TN and have been in this house since 2007. I've never had a tick on me and neither has my wife.....in all the years here, doing stuff outside that we always have done......until this year. I've only had one so far, but she has had 4 or 5 so far. There must me a LOT of those little bastages this year. We are having our entire yard sprayed tomorrow in hopes that we can reduce their numbers.

[Scout179]

While some bug sprays will help somewhat, Tick drop from trees and crawl on the ground. A surprisingly simple tick removal tool is one of the tape lint removal rolls. Also prompt clothing removal and showering will help. Safe and easy tick removal is a cotton ball with a bit of Palmolive soap. Do not pull ticks with your fingers! You will get more poision through your sweat glands than the tick will inject. ( per Dr.)

[notanlines]

Scout, "a surprisingly simple tick removal tool is one of the tape lint removal rolls" the girly-man ticks in Oklahoma might let go with a lint removal roller, but the ticks in Tennessee wouldn't even know it was there.:eek:
From Snopes: Using liquid soap to remove ticks is not an effective method of tick removal. Also from Snopes is that your suggestion of pointed tweezers gently pulling from the skin is the preferred method.
My normal method when a tick is found on my body is to run screaming aroud the RV, flailing my arms, until DW wrestles me to the ground and uses the tweezers. Then she gives me a treat.....kind of like the dog.:D

[JRTJH]

The best "bug spray" we've used is Avon Skin So Soft Bug Guard. Sold online and in all Avon stores, it's not the cheapest, but it works well for ticks, fleas, black flies, no-seeums, mosquitoes, gnats and red bugs. We have at least one bottle in every vehicle during the summer.

[xrated]

The best "bug spray" we've used is Avon Skin So Soft Bug Guard. Sold online and in all Avon stores, it's not the cheapest, but it works well for ticks, fleas, black flies, no-seeums, mosquitoes, gnats and red bugs. We have at least one bottle in every vehicle during the summer.

John, it's nice knowing that you are not only tick free, but you have smooth skin too! :popcorn: :D

PS...can someone say..........Open the door for that one?

[CrazyCain]

Scout, "a surprisingly simple tick removal tool is one of the tape lint removal rolls" the girly-man ticks in Oklahoma might let go with a lint removal roller, but the ticks in Tennessee wouldn't even know it was there.:eek:
From Snopes: Using liquid soap to remove ticks is not an effective method of tick removal. Also from Snopes is that your suggestion of pointed tweezers gently pulling from the skin is the preferred method.
My normal method when a tick is found on my body is to run screaming aroud the RV, flailing my arms, until DW wrestles me to the ground and uses the tweezers. Then she gives me a treat.....kind of like the dog.:D

Jim, sounds like the dreaded June bug!! :eek:

[JRTJH]

Once you get a tick on you, if it has embedded, the best method I've found for removing it is to apply a little Campho-Phenique Pain & Itch Relief Antiseptic Liquid. Just a couple of drops on the tick and it'll back out in about a minute, maybe even sooner. Don't pull the tick, the head may break off and cause a trip to the ER. Don't squeeze it, you'll inject "problems" under your skin. Don't use a heat source, match, cigarette or lighter, if you kill the tick, it can't back out of your skin. Don't panic or dance around, it'll only make you look "silly" and draw a crowd of people to offer their advice on what to do next.... Just sit quietly, let the Campho-Phenique do its thing and you'll be fine.

This might be a good time to suggest everyone check their immunizations to be sure their tetanus is up to date just in case you might step on a rusty nail or get a nasty scrape on the fire ring in one of the campgrounds we'll all be heading to in the near future.

Vern, Yup, I'm "tick free" (at least I was after raking the yard this afternoon), but as for smooth skin ???? At my age? Only a remote dream.....

ADDED: I forgot to add the picture of Campho-Phenique. This is what you'll find at WalMart or any drug store.

[Dave W]

Taping my pants legs closed or stuffed in my socks, sprayed down with a high percentage of DDEt then a shower afterwards and clothes washed is my usual defense.

We have ticks in our area - mega big time. Last spring my DW took our two pups on a 'play day' with another lady to a town park. Each of the dogs plus my wife had literally a dozen of those little bast@#$s on each of them. Luckily none had embedded - but a shower for my DW and a bath with some sort of nasty kind of 'sheep dip' for the pups. My DW is particularly shy about ticks since she was quite possibly one of the first in the US with Lyme disease when, in a past life, lived in .... Old Lyme, CT. For me, three times I have gone through the doxycycline regimen, one time after a tick found a private area where he decided to feast.

[kksfish]

Back home in the mountains of Virginia when the ticks got bad we dipped the animals once a week with a mixture of kerosene and water......worked very well! Course the kids hated being dipped.......

[flybouy]

For you city folks I suggest you stay at camp Ramada, or Hilton Garden Inn. For you country types offer to walk you neighbor's dog and have them walk ahead of you as bait so the ticks jump on them, not you.:hide:
Just kidding, jeez calm down:lol:

[sourdough]

For puppy we put Front Line Plus on her every month, 12 months a year and it seems to work well. When walking in tick infested areas some may get on her coat but they do not imbed. We check her out after outings and may find one or two on her but we just pick them off the fur.

For me, I've found that 2 of the anti flea/tick dog collars strapped together and then placed around my neck works good too.....and is somewhat of a fashion statement my wife thinks......especially in the brighter colors:D

Actually, if we think we are going to be in infested areas I/we use lots of DEET, 99% is better. We are in AR at the moment where we have historically ran into quite a few ticks but so far we've been lucky.

[LuvsPalmTrees]

For the pup I use Advantix II. It is waterproof and has a mosquito repellent in it. She is always outside and we have not had a problem yet. One drop per month - it's a little pricey but well worth it. As for her humans we use Deep Woods Off. Never had a problem yet and we camp in the state campgrounds and walk the trails all the time.

[xrated]

So a bit of an update......I had a tick on me approx. three weeks ago and for the past 10 days or so, I've started feeling worse and worse.....fatigue, body aches, joint pain, and then last night, chills and a bit of fever, along with stomach pain. I've got an appt. at the Dr. this afternoon and I am going to be tested to see what is going on. I suspect some sort of Tick Borne Disease, but hopefully the blood work/testing will reveal exactly what. I feel like I'm about 90 years old right now with all the soreness and muscle/joint pain.

[SummitPond]

So a bit of an update... I suspect some sort of Tick Borne Disease...

Vern

Jeez. That's terrible. If Lyme, treatment is available. One of my DW's cousins contracted Lyme 10+ years ago, and while she is not totally symptom-free all of the time, she is (about) 99% of the time.

Here are a few links from a service we use to spray our lawn:

your safety (https://mainelyticks.com/your-safety/)
education (https://mainelyticks.com/education/tick-education-and-science/)
Lyme disease (https://mainelyticks.com/education/lyme-and-other-tick-borne-diseases/) (see animation of the spread of this disease)
tick removal (https://mainelyticks.com/education/tick-id-removal-and-submisson/)
general FAQs (https://mainelyticks.com/education/faqs/) (including comments on repellents)

Good luck.

Ken

[notanlines]

Vern, I realize we're all only "ghost" friends here on the forum, but for the most part we do care about each other....keep us up on the results.

[xrated]

Thank you Ken for the links and info. And thank you Jim for the words of encouragement and friendship. I just took a 3 hour nap.......that is SO NOT ME in the middle of the afternoon. The house is 77 degrees and I was under an electric blanket to stay warm.

[LuvsPalmTrees]

Xrated - Good Luck. Sounds kinda like lyme but like SummitPond said it is treatable. Take care and relax.

[Dave W]

Now that doesn't sound good. Hopefully you can easily beat it - whatever bug you caught. Unfortunately Lyme Disease isn't the only nasty that ticks carry but a good couple week with doxycycline will help. Get better soon - we need you here

[kfxgreenie]

Flame Throwers work well! :popcorn:

Just remember, Connecticut invented Lyme Disease! As a matter of fact, it was a half hour drive from here.

Check with your vet about a monthly pill to control fleas, ticks and worms. (Especially if you plan to visit "Dog Parks"!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJ6joh5l6zY :lol::lol:

[wiredgeorge]

The best "bug spray" we've used is Avon Skin So Soft Bug Guard. Sold online and in all Avon stores, it's not the cheapest, but it works well for ticks, fleas, black flies, no-seeums, mosquitoes, gnats and red bugs. We have at least one bottle in every vehicle during the summer.


Don't know about the effectiveness vs ticks but about 25 years ago, we bought a time share in the hills east of Harrisonburg and first time out on the golf course, the pro asked me if I had any "bug juice". I said no as I didn't see any bugs but once out on the course there were SWARMS of gnats that made it hard to breathe when they found you. This was the spring. Most annoying thing I ever went through... at the turn, found he had spray containers of Skin So Soft for sale and once I used it, my skin got soft and the gnats no longer loved me! Good stuff.

[wiredgeorge]

xrated, Follow up on what your doc finds. Lyme is no bueno. BTW: We use Seresto flea collars and have for a few years now putting them on in early spring. We have 10 dogs and 3 cats but they seem to be well worth their overpriced cost. BTW: If any of you have ever tried to get a tick out by putting the sulpher tip from a match stick on the tick, it doesn't work. Try to pull it out best you can with tweezers and not bust it as that is where the bad stuff gets into you.

[xrated]

Now that doesn't sound good. Hopefully you can easily beat it - whatever bug you caught. Unfortunately Lyme Disease isn't the only nasty that ticks carry but a good couple week with doxycycline will help. Get better soon - we need you here

Well the blood test will take several days to come back, but my Dr, being proactive based on my symptoms, went ahead and wrote a RX for the Doxycycline and got me started on it this afternoon. That is exactly what I hoped she would do. My wife has had 6 ticks on her over the last several weeks with really no symptoms, but the Dr went ahead and wrote a prescription to take to the lab and get her checked too. Since she really wasn't showing any signs of symptoms, no antibiotics, just a blood test to check her.

[ctbruce]

Vern, prayers your way. Keep us posted. Lymes is wicked.

[zrxfishing]

I saw a YouTube video a couple years ago for tick removal. You use a q-tip to hold the tick flat against your skin while rotating it counterclockwise. It twists it’s head around & it releases it self. I tried it twice so far. Once on my daughter & once on my dog. Worked great! Once they release themselves they try and crawl away fast, grab them & kill them. Hopefully you guys won’t need to try it!

[Dave W]

I saw a YouTube video a couple years ago for tick removal. You use a q-tip to hold the tick flat against your skin while rotating it counterclockwise. It twists it’s head around & it releases it self. I tried it twice so far. Once on my daughter & once on my dog. Worked great! Once they release themselves they try and crawl away fast, grab them & kill them. Hopefully you guys won’t need to try it!

There is a little plastic tick removal tool that you can buy for a buck or so at a drug store. You slide the notch under then slowly twist the tick out. We have a couple and it works well, even on our two pups.

I've gotten to the point with those little @#$% that I can 'feel' them walking all over me even after I mow the yard on the tractor - instant shower and clean clothes. My wife is doubly cautious after having Lyme disease when she lived in Old Lyme, CT many years ago.

[xrated]

Vern, prayers your way. Keep us posted. Lymes is wicked.

Thanks Chip. I still haven't gotten any results from the blood testing but I am already starting to feel much better. Probably 75% of the achiness in my knees and hips is gone, I'm not nearly as tired/lethargic as I was just two or three days ago and I'm hopefully on my way to being normal again.........well, as normal as I was before! :lol: I have to say that earlier this week, I can't remember feeling that bad for a very long time.....probably pneumonia back in 1989 when I spent 9 days in a hospital and was running 105 temperatures for about 3 days. Anyway, thank again for the thoughts and prayers. It's nice to know there are folks out there that care. :thumbsup:

[ctbruce]

Thanks Chip. I still haven't gotten any results from the blood testing but I am already starting to feel much better. Probably 75% of the achiness in my knees and hips is gone, I'm not nearly as tired/lethargic as I was just two or three days ago and I'm hopefully on my way to being normal again.........well, as normal as I was before! [emoji38] I have to say that earlier this week, I can't remember feeling that bad for a very long time.....probably pneumonia back in 1989 when I spent 9 days in a hospital and was running 105 temperatures for about 3 days. Anyway, thank again for the thoughts and prayers. It's nice to know there are folks out there that care. [emoji106]Glad to hear your on the mend. That's great news.

My new motto: the only good tick....there are no good ticks.

[Tbos]

Thank you Ken for the links and info. And thank you Jim for the words of encouragement and friendship. I just took a 3 hour nap.......that is SO NOT ME in the middle of the afternoon. The house is 77 degrees and I was under an electric blanket to stay warm.



Hope you have a quick and complete recovery.

[xrated]

Hope you have a quick and complete recovery.

Thanks Tom....it's getting better every day.

[BamaRam]

If you want a natural solution to controlling insects around the camp site, try cedar oil. We have a 2 qt pump sprayer and mix 1/2 cup cedar oil with water and a couple drops of dish soap. We start at the door and mist the ground outwards until all of the solution is used. It provides a barrier for the awning area plus some.



There are some premix solutions out there but we buy a gallon of pure oil and mix our own. We try to avoid using poisons whenever it's feasible.

[xrated]

UPDATE........I got a call from my Dr. this morning and I don't have Lyme disease.....I have Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever! There are usually between 500 -600 cases annually reported in the state of TN and is much more common than Lymes here. Still, not many cases here, but TN, NC, AR, MO, and I think Oklahoma, combined account for 60% of the RMSF cases reported nationwide.

Anyway, I'm feeling much better and I'm a little over half way through my 10 day dosage of antibiotics. I'm feel fairly confident that it was caught early enough to avoid any long term health issues, which can lead to very, very serious issues....even death if not treated quickly enough.

Be vigilant and check for ticks every single time you come in for outside, even just being in your yard. We have very few trees on or 2/3 acres....just your normal grass lawn...AND...I had not been out hiking or in any kind of wooded areas.

[BamaRam]

UPDATE........I got a call from my Dr. this morning and I don't have Lyme disease.....I have Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever! There are usually between 500 -600 cases annually reported in the state of TN and is much more common than Lymes here. Still, not many cases here, but TN, NC, AR, MO, and I think Oklahoma, combined account for 60% of the RMSF cases reported nationwide.

Anyway, I'm feeling much better and I'm a little over half way through my 10 day dosage of antibiotics. I'm feel fairly confident that it was caught early enough to avoid any long term health issues, which can lead to very, very serious issues....even death if not treated quickly enough.

Be vigilant and check for ticks every single time you come in for outside, even just being in your yard. We have very few trees on or 2/3 acres....just your normal grass lawn...AND...I had not been out hiking or in any kind of wooded areas.


That's rough treatment from a little bug. Got any idea how long the tick was embedded or what kind of tick it was?


I pulled a dog tick from my neck a couple weeks ago but he wasn't fat yet and barely was hanging on. I liked him so much I took his picture.

[Dave W]

UPDATE........I got a call from my Dr. this morning and I don't have Lyme disease.....I have Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever! There are usually between 500 -600 cases annually reported in the state of TN and is much more common than Lymes here. Still, not many cases here, but TN, NC, AR, MO, and I think Oklahoma, combined account for 60% of the RMSF cases reported nationwide.

That sounds a bit better

Now that you menyioned it, a friend came down with RMSF after he and his family made a trip to Cape Cod and was bitten by a tick. IIRC, he was over and done with it in about ten days vs Lyme which isn't always as quick and easy

[xrated]

That's rough treatment from a little bug. Got any idea how long the tick was embedded or what kind of tick it was?


I pulled a dog tick from my neck a couple weeks ago but he wasn't fat yet and barely was hanging on. I liked him so much I took his picture.

I'm not sure on the time, but it was definitely engorged. We've been at this house since 2007, doing all the usual stuff outside.....mowing, pulling weeds, landscaping, etc, and neither one of us has EVER had a tick on us. Then, all of a sudden this year, Peggy has had 6 already and I've had the one that I found.

[xrated]

That sounds a bit better

Now that you menyioned it, a friend came down with RMSF after he and his family made a trip to Cape Cod and was bitten by a tick. IIRC, he was over and done with it in about ten days vs Lyme which isn't always as quick and easy

Yea, it's not too terrible if it's caught early, but if it's not, there are some very serious issue that can come from it....up to and including heart, lung, central nervous system, amputation, even death. Good to hear that your friend made a quick recovery and all is well.

[Tbos]

Yea, it's not too terrible if it's caught early, but if it's not, there are some very serious issue that can come from it....up to and including heart, lung, central nervous system, amputation, even death. Good to hear that your friend made a quick recovery and all is well.



Glad you are on the road to recovery.

[xrated]

Thanks Tom.....I'm happy to be feeling better....pretty rough week or so.

[MarcS]

I'm glad you're feeling better!

[ctbruce]

Vern, great news. Glad to hear your kinder gentler diagnosis. One day the microbes will win, just not today.

[xrated]

I'm glad you're feeling better!


ctbruce wrote:
Vern, great news. Glad to hear your kinder gentler diagnosis. One day the microbes will win, just not today.

Thank you both.... I appreciate that!

[xrated]

UPDATE: OK, I'm not really believing this is happening. So I am feeling pretty much back to normal, and Peggy and I went to N.C. this past weekend for our 4th Annual FZ09 Motorcycle rally around the Mt. Mitchell. As you may remember, Peg has had several tick bites and was tested the same time I went for my tests a week ago this past Wed. So Friday evening, we are getting ready for bed and she asks me to come over and take a look at a couple of spots on her legs....one on the leg leg and one on the right leg. OMG, she has TWO Bullseye rashes on those spots.....classic symptoms of the Lymes Disease bullseye rash. So tomorrow morning as soon as the Dr. office opens, she is going to try to get an appt to get in and have another blood test for Lymes (the one 10 days ago was negative), but now she has the rash....and she is starting to have some joint pain! I'm certainly not a Dr., but I am fearful that the blood tests are going to come back positive this time for Lymes. The Bullseye rash is not just a random occurrence, and given the fact she has had six bites total now, I'm not thinking this is anything but. I'll let y'all know once the blood work/testing comes back.

[Dave W]

That sure isn't good news. I hope a couple weeks of pills bring it under control.

An aside, the lady who lived next door was just diagnosed with Lyme according to her son who now owns the house. She got 'nailed' by a tick while golfing.

I hope that somewhere there is some research on a way to eradicate this disease. There are way too many cases and quite frankly, I don't even like to go out walking off pavement now

[SummitPond]

Vern

Jeez! Here's to a quick dose of antibiotics and a rapid recovery for your DW.

There was a big front page article in yesterday's paper (http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/20180603/tick-warning-lyme-disease-worse-than-22-broken-bones) on Lyme. And yes, there is research and believe it or not there is a vaccine; unfortunately it is only approved for dogs (see "Rewriting the Code of Life (https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/01/02/rewriting-the-code-of-life)", New Yorker Magazine, Michael Specter, 1/2/17). [I've linked the article.]

Good luck on the medical front.

Ken

[Tbos]

I hope Peg responds quickly to the meds and heals completely.

[xrated]

Thanks Tom....talk about a sickly bunch!

[LuvsPalmTrees]

SummitPond - we have our dog vaccinated for Lyme. She is always out in the yard or when we camp the brush and foliage along our campsite.

[ctbruce]

Vern, praying Peg heals completely. On another front, I'm staying the heck away from you two Tick-Magnets.

[xrated]

Vern, praying Peg heals completely. On another front, I'm staying the heck away from you two Tick-Magnets.

Thanks Chip! I knew that we both have "magnetic" personalities......but this is getting ridiculous! :eek:

[Overspray]

Xrated - any update on your wife? I hope all is well/on it’s way to being well with her at this point!

This is my first run in with ticks:

Last summer my family (2 adults, 2yr daughter, newborn son, 2 labs) went down to KY and stayed in a large cabin in the woods with her family. There were a total of 9 adults, 6 children, and 4 dogs all staying in the same household. The dogs would run in the woods, and at one point my father in law went for a walk in the woods to find some kindling for our bonfire. Fast forward a couple hours and he’s sitting on the couch. My wife says “dad, what is crawling all over your legs?!”


There were hundreds, if not thousands of teeny tiny tick larvae all over him. Immediate shower and quarantine of clothes. These little guys were so tiny it was hard to see them anywhere. We turned the whole house upside down looking.

Anyways, the next morning we head out and travel back to MI. Get all settled in and unpacked. The morning after that I’m at work and I get a call from my wife. TICKS EVERYWHERE, THERES TICKS ALL OVER, COME HOME NOW!!!!

Leave work, get home and scour the floors (thank god for a small house, I went over every square inch 2-3 times) for these tiny engorged larvae. Turns out we brought about 120 home with us (dogs). My daughter had none, son had one but hadn’t bit yet, wife and I both had none.

We assume my father in law walked through a nest of some sort on his travels in the woods, probably the mutts too. Each family had brought some home, most had to fog their homes. But we all dodged a bullet due to larvae can’t carry Lyme and I learned a very valuable lesson on ticks and tick prevention.