TICKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Skrimpy]

A reminder to all who hunt in the woods. Be aware of Ticks, Tis the season, atleast in the Northeast. Was out this weekend, had 20-25 of them on me. Nasty!! Both deer and wood. Lymes disease is bad and prevalent. Where light colored pants and deet repellant. Also came across a sizeable water mocasin on the trail. What are some other nasties, youve come across? Just curious.

Goose

A cottonmouth in the Northeast? Where the heck are you hunting? NYC sewers? Yeah ticks suck. I found several crawling on me last time I was out and have actually had a Lyme screening (results pending) for joint pain. Never found any ticks embedded or any bullzeye rashes though.

 

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[cuddles17981]

Chiggers !!! Took a week and a half to stop scratching!

Niece got a Chigger under her skin somehow, looked like a small boil..ewww. I know ..

deet repellant

make sure that is what you are using to ward off ticks!
The hubby and I were walking along an old railroad bed and crossing was a long black snake. not poisonous, I know, but any snake gives me the chills..lol POISONOUS SNAKES -The Unites States has fifteen species of rattlesnakes; two kinds of water moccasins, the copperhead and cottonmouth; and two kinds of coral snakes.Cottonmouth-Average adult size is 20-48 inches but over 70 inches has been reported.
Range: From Florida all the way north to Virginia and west to Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas.Copperhead- Average adult size is 22-36 inches and up to 53 inches has been reported.
Range: Northern Florida up to Massachusetts, west to Texas and southeastern Nebraska.

 

[gtfd47]

Lyme Disease On The Increase, N.H. Officials Say
Cases More Than Doubled

POSTED: 7:17 am EDT May 25, 2007

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CONCORD, N.H. -- New Hampshire public health officials said cases of Lyme Disease more than doubled in the state last year, prompting them to urge residents to be on the lookout for ticks.

The Division of Public Health Services says Lyme Disease cases jumped from 271 in 2005 to 617. Officials said they believe there are more infected ticks, particularly the Southeastern part of the state and the Seacoast, and they said doctors are more aware as they look for signs of the disease.

Lyme Disease starts as a large reddish circular rash around or near a tick bite. Other symptoms include chills, fever, headache, fatigue, stiff neck, swollen glands, and muscle and/or joint pain. Untreated, it could lead to meningitis, facial palsy, arthritis and heart problems

 

[TreasureTales]

Although I am not a medical professional, nor do I purport to be an expert on this subject, I do have some firsthand experience and wish to help others avoid the trouble, expense, pain, and worry that came as a result of my own infection with Lyme Disease. I had the symptoms, including Bell's Palsy (facial tic). Unfortunately, the test for Lyme Disease always came back negative so treatment was delayed by several months. So if you have the symtoms but the test results are negative, check with a Lyme expert for assistance.

Lyme Disease is spread by ticks. The ticks carry the Lyme Disease spirochete that works its way into your blood system and then attaches itself to your muscle and/or nerve tissue. It can even attach to heart muscle, which can be fatal in some rare cases.

If bitten, don't squeeze the tick. Remove it so that no part of the tick remains in your skin.
Contact your doctor if a red bullseye rash develops or if you get flu-like symtoms following a tick bite. (Some people never get these early symtoms - so testing the offending tick is recommended)
Wear light color clothing, tuck your pants into your socks, spray DEET on your clothing, wear a hat, avoid tall grass and try not to brush against plants and trees.
Immediately after returning home, take off your clothes in the shower so that any ticks that fall off your clothes can be easily seen and then destroyed. (Do not squeeze ticks between your fingernails or your fingers - burn them or flush them or crush them between pieces of paper and then flush or burn the paper with the tick inside.)
Inspect yourself for ticks immediately upon returning home, especially where clothing is a little snug (waistbands, boot and/or sock tops, collars, cuffs).
Most cases of Lyme Disease occur when the tick has been embedded in the skin for at least 24 hours, so be sure to inspect yourself and your clothing for ticks as soon as possible. The 24 hours rule is not always accurate.
Many ticks that infect people with Lyme Disease are small, nymphal stage ticks that are very difficult to see. Look for new "freckles" or tiny spots on the skin that were not there before your trip into tick habitat.
Not all ticks carry Lyme Disease, so don't panic if you find an embedded tick. (By embedded, I mean it has bitten you and is working it's way into you, or is already settled in for a long meal.)
All ticks that are removed from your skin should be tested for the disease so that you know if it had Lyme Disease and therefore you'll know that you might have been infected. Chekc with your county health department - it may do the testing for a small fee.
Pets can get Lyme Disease, too, so be sure to check your pets for ticks if they are in tick habitat. And ask your vet about a good tick repellent.

There are many websites that give detaled information - do a search for Lyme Disease if you are interested in learning more.

 

[Skrimpy]

Chiggers !!! Took a week and a half to stop scratching!

Niece got a Chigger under her skin somehow, looked like a small boil..ewww. I know ..

deet repellant

make sure that is what you are using to ward off ticks!
The hubby and I were walking along an old railroad bed and crossing was a long black snake. not poisonous, I know, but any snake gives me the chills..lol POISONOUS SNAKES -The Unites States has fifteen species of rattlesnakes; two kinds of water moccasins, the copperhead and cottonmouth; and two kinds of coral snakes.Cottonmouth-Average adult size is 20-48 inches but over 70 inches has been reported.
Range: From Florida all the way north to Virginia and west to Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas.Copperhead- Average adult size is 22-36 inches and up to 53 inches has been reported.
Range: Northern Florida up to Massachusetts, west to Texas and southeastern Nebraska.

I guess I'm confused. I know there are "Water Snakes" (Non-poinsonous), and "Water Moccasins" (Poisonous), and that the water moccasin was also called the "Cottonmouth" because of it's bright white colored inner mouth. So I am confused. You're telling me that the cottonmouth and the water moccasin are two (or three) different snakes? I will have to do some research.

 

[LI Tom]

There are no cottonmouth water mocasions in the northeast.

 

[WV Hillbilly]

I guess ticks are bad everywhere this year . I've found several on my clothing but none attached to skin . Whoever listed honeybees as a bad thing I'll disagree with as I am a beekeeper . Now chiggers I hate . The little buggers darn near ate me up one time . Darn near went crazy before I quit itching . You can buy a product at your local pharmacy called Chigger Rid . It comes in a small bottle & does remind one of clear fingernail polish . It has a little brush attached to the cap & you dab it on the bite . HH

 

[bruizr]

monty's wintergreen oil on a Q-tip is right on for gettin' em off.
the best way to keep them off besides repellent is to take garlic supplements ( the no odor kind for those with friends ! ). i take them regularly and double up on them before going in the wild.
i came home and found 2 ticks inside my clothes but niether had bitten me. the garlic is a natural repellent for blood feeders like ticks, fleas, mosquitos and i don't know about vampires or chiggers. LOL!

 

[relikhunter]

try taking odorless garlic.Been taking it for several years.Don't think the ticks like it much.Have had them crawl on me but never had one embedded,plus it's good for your heart.......hh rh

 

[Skrimpy]

monty's wintergreen oil on a Q-tip is right on for gettin' em off.
the best way to keep them off besides repellent is to take garlic supplements ( the no odor kind for those with friends ! ). i take them regularly and double up on them before going in the wild.
i came home and found 2 ticks inside my clothes but niether had bitten me. the garlic is a natural repellent for blood feeders like ticks, fleas, mosquitos and i don't know about vampires or chiggers. LOL!

DON'T APPLY ANYTHING TO REMOVE TICKS! Just use tweezers and make sure you get them as close to your skin as possible (as far onto the head as you can) and remove. Make sure you get everything out.
Applying vasoline, nail polish, nail polish remover, solvents, or any other agent (or burn them for that matter) to make them suffocate thus pulling their head out will make them vomit into your skin. This increases your chances of getting Lyme Disease if the tick is a carrier. Just work them out with the tweezers getting as close to the head as possible. Keep the tick and take it to your doctor for ID and to make sure they didn't leave their head or mouth parts in your skin.

 

[Cynangyl]

Every time I see this thread pop up in unread posts it gives me the heebie jeebies! Ewwwwwww! I am gonna start doubling up on my garlic dose even if no one is sure it works.....can't hurt! lol

 

[bruizr]

the wintergreen oil makes them let go so that you do hot tear their mouth parts out below the skin when you remove them.

 

[Old Dog]

Out here we have scorpions, and hornets , blackflies , mosquitoes big enough they have a special hunting season all their own.

Just a part of the hobby if you can call it that...
I think obsession is a better description. LOL
OD

 

[Stacylee926]

After spending a weekend in the woods camping and hunting with our Virginia group, I am determined that nothing works to keep them off! I sprayed and sprayed with a deet product - still got ticks and mosquito bites.

I will just stay out of the woods for the summer - just for good measure.

 

[Old Dog]

Stacylee,

Don't deprive yourself of something you enjoy so much.
the fellowship of friends and to be one with nature.
would be terrible to do without.

Baby oil stops blackflies and gnats
Deet does chase mosquitoes off if you keep putting it on every couple hours.
Keep a jar of vasaleen handy for ticks and some clear nailpolish for chiggers.
Don't stir up the hornets and
just remember that some things are just unavoidable.

Enjoy this time of year.
Don't be a bug recluse

OD

 

[bruizr]

vitamin B-1 along with the odorless garlic gives more kick to the repellant effect. you can smell the B-1 coming from the pores of your skin if you sniff your arm 10 to 15 min. later and the bugs don't like it and will avoid landing on you. you will see them and feel them coming around but will not stay or bite you.

 

[gtfd47]

Tick-Borne Illness Spreads Across Massachusetts
Babesiosis Often Goes Undiagnosed

POSTED: 4:00 pm EDT May 30, 2007
UPDATED: 5:39 am EDT May 31, 2007

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BOSTON -- A potentially deadly tick-borne illness that is often misdiagnosed is spreading across Massachusetts.

NewsCenter 5's Heather Unruh reported Wednesday on how to recognize the symptoms and how to prevent the illness.

"I never saw a tick I never saw a bite," said Rick DiMichele, a 55, of Ipswich.

But it was a tiny deer tick that left DiMichele in terrible pain last summer.

"My spleen was so large I had trouble breathing," said DiMichele. "Another symptom was night sweats." "I had myself totally convinced it was cancer."

But it turned out that DiMichele had Babesiosis, a parasite infection that attacks red bloods cells. DiMichele believes he caught it in his own backyard. A neighbor and a dog were also diagnosed.

"It's the deer tick. It's the same tick that spreads Lyme disease. And as the Lyme disease risk has been spreading across the United States, so has the risk of Babesiosis," said Dr. Bela Matyas, medical director of the epidemiology program at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

Matyas said two people have died from Babesiosis in Massachusetts in the past decade. Thirteen cases were confirmed in Massachusetts last year, and hundreds more were suspected. But, Matyas warns, it is likely that there are thousands of undiagnosed Babesiosis cases in Massachusetts each year.

"Most people who are infected don't show any symptoms at all," Matyas said.

However, symptoms can resemble the flu: fatigue, fever, muscle pain and headache. They can last several days to several months. While the disease can be fatal, there is treatment.

"It's treatable with a combination of antibiotics and antiparasitics, and caught early it is usually treated without any difficulty," Matyas said.

After weeks of treatment, DiMichele was back enjoying the outdoors in Ipswich. But now he is taking more precautions.

"I check myself more carefully than I used to," DiMichele said.