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Ticks

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This past winter rains have brought the ticks out in force. Out on a hike the other day and kept having to brush them off. I try to wear light colored clothes on hikes like this so I can spot them before they find skin.
 
There are good bugs... dragonflies and spiders eat mosquitoes and wasps.

That said, I've started spraying around my foundation with Tempo SC and I've seen zero ants (at least, in my house), but there are still dragonflies buzzing around and some spiders, so I'm OK with that. No mosquitoes, though, and I haven't seen any ticks while my neighbors have.

I don't spray crap in my yard as I don't really have an inferiority complex towards bugs. 😛
 
I treat my hiking\camping clothes with Permethin. No issues with ticks.
I'm sure it would be a pain in the ass if had them in my yard.
 
Captante said:
And with good reason!


Deadliest insect on earth!
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Malaria Mosquitoes Cause More Than 1 Million Deaths per Year

Ya know, Steph Curry is involved with an organization called "Nothing but Nets" which IIRC has him making a monetary contribution when he makes 3 pointers. The money goes to financing mosquito netting where malaria is a big killer. I personally figure it helps his 3 point shooting. A motto of mine shooting hoops is "nothing but net!"
 
Use permithin treated clothes if you are out in the woods, wear light colored clothes so you can spot them and blouse your trousers and tuck in your shirt so that they have to get to your arms or head to find skin. The CDC has good guidelines for protecting your yard. Rodent habitats are how they get close to your house.
 
Just saw a post on FB today that someone found one in a playground here. Yikes. Really not good.

Miss the good ol days when the only thing we had to worry about is bears, and sometimes moose. They generally don't really attack and you can see them from a safe distance.
 
Muse said:
Rattlers and black widows are legit threats and not as much as people would think.

You have to be pretty unlucky to get bitten by a Rattler. That rattle tail is there to alert you. They aren't looking for trouble.

It's just the female black widow whose bite is poisonous. I have lived where they are for decades. I have encountered a few, but very rarely. You aren't apt to run into one. They typically are in dark out of the way places, say under your house, maybe in a corner. And they hang out in their web, just sit there, is my experience. You will very very likely see it before it's any possible menace to you. And again, they aren't looking for trouble. They just want a fly to enter their web and have lunch. The female is a kind of medium sized spider. Not tiny, not big. Maybe IIRC all in all about the size of a 25 cent piece. There's a red hourglass on their abdomen, that's how you ID them.
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We have only one species of rattle snake and it is very rare here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massasauga
 
Red Squirrel said:
Just saw a post on FB today that someone found one in a playground here. Yikes. Really not good.

Miss the good ol days when the only thing we had to worry about is bears, and sometimes moose. They generally don't really attack and you can see them from a safe distance.
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One?

Over 20 years ago I walked diagonally across the field behind my older brother’s house as a shortcut on my way to the store. When I got to the street I had at least 5 ticks on my shoes and pants, crawling up and looking for a patch of flesh to bed into. I figure this recent “tick explosion” must be worse to be noteworthy if that level of tick activity wasn’t. It was just a field of grass.
 
Ironicly was at the ER today to go see my dad (unfortunate day for that but thankfully he's fine now) and there was someone in the waiting room that got bit by a tick. This is getting bad.

I did not even know these things existed in first place until a few years ago when I heard about them being here. This sounds like the sort of thing that should only be found in the deep outback of Australia.

Starting to reconsider my dream of owning property in the bush. Though this particular person that was at the ER got it from their own back yard so it seems even outside the bush you're not safe.

I think the only thing they'll be able to do is come up with some kind of antidote shot you can take if you get stung, or some kind of repellent cream. Having to wear pants in the middle of summer is kind of unrealistic.

How big are these things exactly anyway, is there any chance of seeing them with naked eyes? Seems even mowing the lawn might not be safe anymore. Is taking a shower enough to take them off?
 
Red Squirrel said:
How big are these things exactly anyway, is there any chance of seeing them with naked eyes? Seems even mowing the lawn might not be safe anymore. Is taking a shower enough to take them off?
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Offhand I’d say 2mm long, at least for the last one I found crawling on me. Taking a shower every day helps, not sure if it’s sufficient.
 
Oh that's visible with naked eye at least, but yeah could be easy to miss especially if you are dirty from whatever work you were doing outside. There's a very special way you need to take them out too, you can't just wipe them off.
 
pcgeek11 said:
You think getting a tick bite is bad. Get some chiggers and you will know true misery.

https://www.medicinenet.com/chigger...t_are_the_signs_and_symptoms_of_chigger_bites

View attachment 7459
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I had those all over my feet a couple of years ago after sitting around a campfire barefoot. Was INCREDIBLY painful...like a burning itch that wouldn't go away. Creams, sprays, pills...nothing worked. Finally found soaking my feet in ice water gave relief. Actually had to stay home from work that day because I couldn't get shoes on 🙁
 
Red Squirrel said:
Ironicly was at the ER today to go see my dad (unfortunate day for that but thankfully he's fine now) and there was someone in the waiting room that got bit by a tick. This is getting bad.

I did not even know these things existed in first place until a few years ago when I heard about them being here. This sounds like the sort of thing that should only be found in the deep outback of Australia.

Starting to reconsider my dream of owning property in the bush. Though this particular person that was at the ER got it from their own back yard so it seems even outside the bush you're not safe.

I think the only thing they'll be able to do is come up with some kind of antidote shot you can take if you get stung, or some kind of repellent cream. Having to wear pants in the middle of summer is kind of unrealistic.

How big are these things exactly anyway, is there any chance of seeing them with naked eyes? Seems even mowing the lawn might not be safe anymore. Is taking a shower enough to take them off?
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Who goes to ER for a single tick bite? Was there an allergic reaction or something?

Have you ever seen a dog with ticks? I've seen mangy stray dogs with THOUSANDS of ticks latched-on and feeding all over the dog's body. Do not search Google for "dog covered ticks." Do not.

Size varies GREATLY depending on species, age, and whether they are currently engorged or not.

V0o5dvs.jpg


KL3gd0c.jpg


I've seen much bigger than these too.
 
Red Squirrel said:
Ironicly was at the ER today to go see my dad (unfortunate day for that but thankfully he's fine now) and there was someone in the waiting room that got bit by a tick. This is getting bad.

I did not even know these things existed in first place until a few years ago when I heard about them being here. This sounds like the sort of thing that should only be found in the deep outback of Australia.

Starting to reconsider my dream of owning property in the bush. Though this particular person that was at the ER got it from their own back yard so it seems even outside the bush you're not safe.

I think the only thing they'll be able to do is come up with some kind of antidote shot you can take if you get stung, or some kind of repellent cream. Having to wear pants in the middle of summer is kind of unrealistic.

How big are these things exactly anyway, is there any chance of seeing them with naked eyes? Seems even mowing the lawn might not be safe anymore. Is taking a shower enough to take them off?
Click to expand...
“Fleas and ticks” are common across North America, buddy, but that’s not supposed to scare you. A tick bite isn’t like a wasp or scorpion sting. It’s less than a mosquito or flea. You don’t even feel it. It’s painless, like a leech.

It’s the potential for disease that’s scary, but it shouldn’t be any more scary than getting bit by fleas and mosquitoes. Try to pull the tick out by the mouthparts using tweezers so that it doesn’t leave any of itself embedded. If you are worried about Lyme Disease in your area then preserve the tick for later analysis and monitor yourself for symptoms. You bring it to the doctor if you show symptoms. Otherwise, throw it out and go about your business.

Getting a tick is something nearly every North American outside the desert and urban areas has had to experience. Yes: Even Canadaians. It’s painless and common, which makes your perspective pretty amusing. 🙂 Do they not have any stray dogs where you are? If you find one in the middle of the summer, take a look: it’s likely loaded with big, fat, engorged ticks.

Seems really weird that you didn’t know these existed here. A bit like thinking we don’t have spiders in North America!
 
I remember getting ticks on myself when I was a kid. We'd just tweeze them off and burn them.

One time I found a tick on my balls. No idea how it got there, but I was OK. Never had a tick on me since.
 
CZroe said:
“Fleas and ticks” are common across North America, buddy, but that’s not supposed to scare you. A tick bite isn’t like a wasp or scorpion sting. It’s less than a mosquito or flea. You don’t even feel it. It’s painless, like a leech.

It’s the potential for disease that’s scary,

Seems really weird that you didn’t know these existed here. A bit like thinking we don’t have spiders in North America!
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Exactly that's what makes them so scary, that and the fact that they are so small and don't hurt so you don't even know they're on you unless you're constantly checking yourself. If you're doing work outside and getting dirty it makes it even harder and also puts you at risk of accidentally squishing one on you and not being able to remove it properly.

We did not have them here (where I live) before, these are new, maybe only within past few years. One of the nice things of living here in the north is not having to worry about these sort of dangerous bugs or dangerous stuff in general but that seems to be changing now.

I'm hoping they come up with a vaccine or antidote or something though. Something like an epipen if you get bit you just take the shot. You still have to know you got bit though. Never had to worry about this stuff before so guess I just need to get into a new habit of checking every square inch of my body each time I go in the bush. Beard and long hair might be problematic... lol.
 
Red Squirrel said:
Exactly that's what makes them so scary, that and the fact that they are so small and don't hurt so you don't even know they're on you unless you're constantly checking yourself. If you're doing work outside and getting dirty it makes it even harder.

We did not have them here (where I live) before, these are new, maybe only within past few years. One of the nice things of living here in the north is not having to worry about these sort of dangerous bugs or dangerous stuff in general but that seems to be changing now.

I'm hoping they come up with a vaccine or antidote or something though. Something like an epipen if you get bit you just take the shot.
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In my experience ticks are a BIGGER issue when you go north.

As someone who used to obsessively swat his hair every time he passed under a tree with the false assumption that ticks would deliberately fall on you from the trees above, I understand the fear... but I’m trying to put it into perspective. Reminder: Fleas spread bubonic plague and are typically much smaller than your average tick (maybe nymphs might be smaller? I dunno). Unlike ticks, fleas thrive indoors where people live.

Finding a tick on you isn’t a big deal. Just save it and be mindful of symptoms.

I guarantee you ticks didn’t suddenly arrive where you are. They are known for occasional population explosions but they exist pretty much everywhere that has wildlife they can parasitize (wolves, bears, deer, mice, etc).
 
CZroe said:
It’s the potential for disease that’s scary, but it shouldn’t be any more scary than getting bit by fleas and mosquitoes. Try to pull the tick out by the mouthparts using tweezers so that it doesn’t leave any of itself embedded. If you are worried about Lyme Disease in your area then preserve the tick for later analysis and monitor yourself for symptoms. You bring it to the doctor if you show symptoms. Otherwise, throw it out and go about your business.
Click to expand...
If it’s a deer tick - go see your doctor (at least here in NH). You’ve got two weeks to start treatment for Lyme disease before before risking long term recurring symptoms.
 
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