This year will go down in the annals of history as the worst year for ticks. I personally have never seen so many. I am not normally a user of tick spray but I will be one this year.
Shouldn't this be in the politics and religion category?
Whoops...nevermind. I see now you were talking about real life. There were a few articles I've read lately that mentioned the ticks (which carry Lyme Disease) were heading north.
There were some good posts on what to use to get rid of the little buggers about a week or so ago.
I haven't seen any ticks this year - yet. Then again I don't get out as much. Actually I've never had a problem much with ticks here in GA. I remember one day coming out of the field on the way back to the office when I lived in NC. We pulled off the road and picked off ticks. I had 18 (yes, eighteen) on myself. We probably looked like a bunch of monkeys fleaing each other.
If I found that many ticks on me in one day, I would have taken that as a sign that it was time to get out of the field (immediately and for good!) at the very least.......
I dunno.... I don't recall any good years with ticks.
2 years ago SWMBO was helping on a project that encompassed an old cranberry bog. She must have hit a nest, or where ever they breed, and we picked over 30 off of her. I stopped counting at 30 that is....
The most I've ever had on me was 22, and that was TN before the days of Lyme Disease. I've had Lyme Disease 5 times and as far as I know I don't suffer any adverse effects. Once the flu like symptoms start I hit my doctors get my penicillin and move on. I think that I've had it so often that I'll test positive forever.
I will second the observation that there are way too many ticks this year! I used to get freaked out by just seeing a tick on me, not even dug in. Now, there are so many, it is no big deal. What does freak me out is the one I do NOT see.
All it takes is one to get you real sick!
You have to do the tick check religiously. My doctor suggests every 12 hours; when you come in from the field and again in the morning for the one you may have missed. Sounds like a good idea.
KS
> This year will go down in the annals of history as the worst year for ticks. I personally have never seen so many. I am not normally a user of tick spray but I will be one this year.
Shut up. Just shut up. I hate ticks.
I hate spiders, ticks just annoy me...
Man, you had to post about ticks, I'm going to do a plat amendment on a job I did three years ago, and guess what, this job had the most ticks I have ever seen, just as I stepped into the woods I looked down and the little b@stards were all over my pant legs, well over fifty at once....oh the humanity...I'll be dreaming about those little b*stards all night....thanks again..:-)
That's the only thing about being chained to a desk that I don't miss.
Ken, is Dutchess County still the capitol of Lyme Disease? When I left in '02 it had the most cases per capita.
Last summer I had all 3 varieties on at once in back woods Louisiana, I think it took all night for my girl friend to burn them off of me! And that was with a can of off on.
I hate chiggers..........
I'm just glad they don't have THEM, out here in Washington;-)
Cheers,
Dugger
I already have welt rings around the tops of both boots! Boudreaux butt paste takes the sting out.
it's too early for me to say that this is the worst year or not but they are always pretty bad here in north carolina. i have found at least one tick on me every day for the last few weeks.last year while working at badin lake they were so bad you could not work because they were so bad. take two steps and stop and remove ticks.take two more steps and stop and remove ticks. and i even wash my work clothes with a capfull of permethrin added but it doesn't seem to help.
Ken, is Dutchess County still the capitol of Lyme Disease? When I left in '02 it had the most cases per capita.
I am not sure about the official statistics, but there is a lot of it. Just about every one seems to have it, or has had it. (key word is "seems" - obviously not all have it) Then there is also Babesiosis and Ehrlichiosis. I was able to experience the latter 2 years ago; worst headache imaginable and a fever that steadily climbed to 104.
To again quote my Dr. - you have flue like symptoms and it is not flue season. Get it checked out!
US Map of Lyme Disease Cases
> Ken, is Dutchess County still the capitol of Lyme Disease? When I left in '02 it had the most cases per capita.
one dot represents a reported case of Lyme Disease.
infected tick areas
US Map of Lyme Disease Cases
Perry nailed it - I am several of those dots in the SE corner of Dutchess County!
KS
The tick that wasn't
Yesterday I found a tick on my gut right above the belt between my navel and the nether region. Pulled him off and pretty sure I got all of him. Couple hours later fixing to hit the shower I'm checking the usual suspect places. Found a small black dot on the left gonad. Looked like a tick.....got it off with my thumbnail. Bad move. Pinhole in the sack that bled out the size of a dime about every 3 seconds. This went on for about an hour. Wound up at the local fire station and they called an ambulance/peramedics! Finally got the bleeding to stop and didn't take them up on the ambulance ride to the hospital. BP was like 170/100, far from normal, the firemen said stress can raise your BP of which I replied yeah I guess if your left nut has been bleeding like this for an hour it probably is stress!
Never seen it before but guess this is what it probably was:
Angiokeratoma of the scrotum
US Map of Lyme Disease Cases
I wonder if on of those two dots about midway between the OR/WA border & the OR/CA border just East of the coast is my fromer employer in Eugene. He has/had three tick borne illnesses at one time real bad and for the longest time the Dr's in OR refused to admit Lyme "there's no Lyme disease in Oregon" was what he was told. He had to go to CA for treatment. There were whole days where he could not function at all and tried to just sleep on the couch in his office. Las ttime I talked with him he has been slowly been getting better, and at least on of the diseases has been eradicated.
new terror fears spread across hampton roads...:)
http://hamptonroads.com/2011/05/ick-beware-hampton-roads-latest-tick