I don't know what the record is for the most ticks in a day but I've had a lot lately.?ÿ Yesterday was somewhere in the neighborhood of 60 and everything from the big lone star ticks to the little bitty dots.?ÿ An adjacent landowner was decent enough to go way up into the woods with us yesterday to show where a corner tree stump was that he remembered falling down years ago and it had three blazes on it etc etc.?ÿ It was a huge help and he got covered up with ticks in the process.?ÿ The bad part for him was that he already had that tick disease where you can't eat meat.?ÿ He said he ate a Wendy's hamburger a couple years before and from just above his bootline to the top of his head he swelled up and broke out, itched everywhere, and literally couldn't have picked up a phone to call for help.?ÿ It went away after a half a day or so.?ÿ?ÿ
Over the last month, I have had about six tick free days.?ÿ Some days it will be a dozen or 30 or 2 but those little buggers have been everywhere this year.?ÿ A SEAL friend of mine said to use tea tree oil so I started using shampoo and conditioner with tea tree oil in it from top to bottom in my morning shower and had 4 tick free days in a row.?ÿ I thought I had it licked until my record day of 60.?ÿ Even sprayed Repel on as a belt and suspenders approach but with no luck.?ÿ The landowner said to use Hartz flea and tick spray for dogs and I've been considering it.?ÿ It can't be good for you but Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever aren't either and I LOVE a good steak.
I appreciate this post. ?ÿJust can??t bring myself to click the ??like? button. ?ÿThank you.
Vicks vapor rub is a good deterrent... It also wards off mosquitos and stops itching from plants and insect bites...
I put that @#!% (stuff) on everything.
I've never had more than a dozen or so attached to me at the end of the day.?ÿ I've had what seemed like hundreds crawling up my legs.
My four year old daughter has had two tick bites her entire life and ended up with Lyme.?ÿ We think we burned it out with antibiotics but may never know for certain.?ÿ I'm of the opinion that medical science is missing a major piece of the puzzle when it comes to disease transmission from insect hosts.?ÿ I'm aware of one case where Lyme disease caused severe pychosis to the extent that a young man was institutionalized.?ÿ Fortunately, his mother refused to accept the doctor's recommendation for long term care and through her own research discovered that her son's early bloodwork landed in the, "maybe, kinda, sorta" Lyme disease zone. Antibiotics alone took the young man from raging violence back to his mild mannered self.
There's no substitute for Permethrin on your clothes as it kills the buggers and keeps them from infecting your loved ones or anyone riding in your work truck.?ÿ Keep all, and I mean all, hair trimmed short.?ÿ A few garlic pills or raw cloves eaten the night before and morning of,?ÿ will help keep insects and everything else away from you.?ÿ
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@murphy?ÿ
The U.S. EPA decided that permethrin was "likely to be carcinogenic to humans" if it was eaten
Have to remember to eat the garlic and put permethrin on the clothes and not vice versa.
I got married in the mountains on horseback and after a couple days of camping and not looking close enough for ticks, I got the dreaded bullseye around a couple of them.?ÿ Simultaneously, I developed a lump on my neck and got checked out at the VA.?ÿ My test came back positive for Lyme which was maybe good news but turns out there are lots of false positives for that.?ÿ The doctor gave me antibiotics and said coincidentally that it would also cure any STDs if I had any.?ÿ My new wife did not think that was funny.?ÿ Also, the lump turned out to be cancer which was a bigger drag than Lyme disease.?ÿ 5 years later, I still have the wife but not Lyme or cancer.
Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever is no fun, but treatable if caught early.?ÿ Had it two Summers in a row.?ÿ Never before or since.?ÿ First time I thought I had Covid due to the surge in temperature.?ÿ The big problem is that they need to run about six tests with your blood to determine which disease you have.?ÿ You will notice that on your bill.?ÿ That means a day or two hold before they know which meds to prescribe.
In the summer of 2015 we were tasked with a topo of 20+- acres in a county south of us. The other guys found a few ticks at the end of the day but I had about 300-400 tiny ticks that looked like specks of dirt on my ankles and lower legs.. all stuck on. It was sweltering hot and I was ill equipped to deal with them on-site so we drove 40 minutes back to the office and then I had another hour home before I could deal with them. My wife tried tweezers, pliers, etc but couldn't grip them. She wet a cloth with vinegar and rubbed across them. They instantly came off. No tick borne sickness, by some miracle. My ankles and legs to this day are discolored in the bite areas.
I don't personally know how effective this is on ticks but lately I've been drinking apple cider vinegar daily to deal with muscle spasms in my lower back and my understanding is it's also apparently effective against ticks. No idea how it works but ticks apparently hate vinegar. Periodically when I over do it, which happens a lot, my back will go out and I can be crippled for weeks. A couple shots of apple cider vinegar and those muscles relax significantly, with the added benefit of making me less appealing to ticks. Guess it helps there aren't many ticks here. The stuff is also great on my hair making it soft and lustrous, what little I have left anyway.
https://homeguides.sfgate.com/vinegar-kill-prevent-ticks-89192.html
My medical insurance company refused to pay for the blood testing for Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.?ÿ And it was an eye-opening amount.?ÿ I contacted the insurance company's "gripe line"?ÿ and was told they couldn't cover "unnecessary" testing.?ÿ I asked the lady to look down at the bottom of the page for the diagnosis code and description.?ÿ It read Rickettsia - RMSF.?ÿ She didn't know what that was, but apparently felt it wasn't worth paying for all those tests.
I educated her briefly and politely.?ÿ They finally paid the bill.
PS - I don't ever want to get that sick again.?ÿ I would have needed to feel better just to die.?ÿ F*ck them ticks.
No known exposure, seen them a couple times and have a somewhat irrational fear of them now that I live in a part of the country where they are common.
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I haven't had one on me since I was a kid.?ÿ I thought plain old Off would keep them away but maybe not.?ÿ When we did find them the only way we could kill the damned things was to burn them with a match or smash them with a pliers.
I like the dog chemicals idea though; let us know if you do that because I want to tell people. ?????ÿ
I like the dog chemicals idea
I've heard flea and Tick collars around your ankles works; never tried it.
I've never had a tick on me in the 32 years I've lived in Washington.
My medical insurance company refused to pay for the blood testing for Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.?ÿ And it was an eye-opening amount.?ÿ I contacted the insurance company's "gripe line"?ÿ and was told they couldn't cover "unnecessary" testing.?ÿ I asked the lady to look down at the bottom of the page for the diagnosis code and description.?ÿ It read Rickettsia - RMSF.?ÿ She didn't know what that was, but apparently felt it wasn't worth paying for all those tests.
I educated her briefly and politely.?ÿ They finally paid the bill.
PS - I don't ever want to get that sick again.?ÿ I would have needed to feel better just to die.?ÿ F*ck them ticks.
My sentiments exactly.?ÿ I hate ticks.?ÿ Back in the day when I carried a plumb bob every day I would screw the top off and drop the little %*&^%#$ down in it.?ÿ Then starve the little SOB to death.?ÿ In the early '70s In had long hair.?ÿ I went to get it trimmed one time and a CUTE young lady was doing the trimming.?ÿ We were chatting when all of a sudden she screamed in my ear and ran off.?ÿ A dadblasted little tick had attached himself in a fold in my ear and she was SCARED of ticks.?ÿ Did I mention that I hate ticks.
Andy
I don't understand the?ÿthe reluctance to pay for testing.?ÿ Some years ago, I was working on some conservation land with one of my project managers on a Tuesday.?ÿ By Friday I was in the hospital with a 106?ø fever and a brutal headache.?ÿ I was in the hospital until Tuesday and out of work another week or so.?ÿ The project manager that was with me began to feel ill and went to the hospital.?ÿ He told them I was in the hospital.?ÿ They declined to perform any Lyme disease testing; they did offer a spinal tap as he could have meningitis.?ÿ His wife dragged him out of the hospital.?ÿ Went to an urgent care, they did test for Lyme and treated him for Lyme right away.?ÿ ?ÿHe was positive.?ÿ
Sickest I have ever been.?ÿ I never had any rash.?ÿ My initial testing came back inconclusive, but the IgG and IgM blots was positive.?ÿ ?ÿ?ÿIf you do not get better and you test negative for Lyme, you may have another blood borne infection.?ÿ ?ÿGo to CDC and search tick borne diseases.?ÿ ?ÿI am fortunate that my doctor will treat me in any event, just a course of antibiotic.?ÿ Testing and drugs are cheap compared to long term treatments for late-stage issues.?ÿ I just do not understand corporate medicine.?ÿ
If you want a tea tree oil soap?ÿ try this "Remedy Soap Tea Tree Oil Body Wash".?ÿ I get it on Amazon.
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@murphy I've been treating my work clothes for the past few years and this seems to have been the best solution for me.?ÿ I actually feel pretty good about it since it is applied and then allowed to dry as opposed to dousing myself with a spray before going into the woods.
