Deer Ticks!!

[ironman]

Thought I'd give alittle heads up. Went for alittle hike today before the rain out in Pillsbury State Forest and wow were the deer ticks thick. We would stop every so often and look at our legs and remove another four or five every time..a couple of regular ole wood ticks as well. I've never seen so many deer ticks though. I went completely unprepared for ticks...guess I thought it too early, I thought wrong. Make sure if you go out..for whatever your hunting for to keep that in mind. Good luck.

[gorrilla]

When I move up north of Brainerd 3 years ago, I've had deer ticks so early the snow was still on the logging roads and as late as two weeks of hard frosts. If the temps are above 40 its possible if not probably up here. My GSP has even had Lymes already, despite being on the vaccine. The only break we've had is at the end of last summer through the fall they were seemingly nonexistant in the woods, I have to assume because of extremely hot and dry conditions.

[bae501]

What does the vaccine consist of? I was at my property in Motley this weekend and picked at least 15 deer ticks off of me. I fear Lyme Disease.

[gorrilla]

I was referring to the series the dogs get. Mine was only on his first of two, and contracted it. He wasn't able to get up in the morning and just whined. Our vet gave him a shot similar to arthritis treatment and that helped, but after only two days of antibiotics he was back to normal.

[Double D]

Sounds familiar - I was in the woods SW of Pine River this weekend and found some on both me and my son.

Has anyone ever gotten the shot for Lyme disease (human I mean)? I know they have them, and I wondered if it was already too late this year.

DD

[IRISHSOBNO4]

i have the shot series for lymes. 3 shots, get the first one. then 1 month later the second and then the third one is a year after the first. for some reason they have to be spaced out in this interval to be effective.

[Meaney]

is there any kind of spray or repellant that a person could wear to keep ticks off?

[nate larson]

Check out my post about tick repellant.

http://www.fishingminnesota.com/forum/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=1052975&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&fpart=1#Post1053642

[doser]

I too had the shot for Lymes .....but they took it off the market a few yrs ago. They found it was causeing strokes and heart attacks in men over 50. I'm 33 so I hope I have a few yrs yet!

[IRISHSOBNO4]

Great news for me, i have a bad valve in my ticker!

[jkcmj]

I have picked up two deer ticks and one wood tick that managed to get attached before I found them. Had the 1st deer tick attach right to the side of my nipple and the second hid under by dunlap where I was sure not to spot him! The good old traditional woodtick just burrowed into my scalp where there supposed to be!

[Nova]

I have never seen the ticks so bad in the Fergus area as they were this last weekend. Fortunately they were all wood ticks, but man I had to pull 100 ticks off me in 3 days and I haven't had a tick up there in 5 plus years. We need a good hard winter to slow these things down

[CrappieAttitude]

Isn't there some old wives tale about putting rubbing alcohol on a tick before removing them? Last night my wife picked one off of her and part of it was embedded. Have any of you ever put anything on a tick prior to removal to let them little buggers ease up a bit.

CA

[Nate McVey]

Just a match on the "back-end". Light it, blow it out and stick it on there.............makes them let up enough to not pull a chunk out!

[MOBY RICHARD*]

This seems to be shaping up to be the worst tick year ever!

Be careful not to get them too hot or you will kill them and they can really be stuck then!

Also some are saying now not to irritate them with anything or they may expel the fluids into you, which cause the problems.

I have tried alcohol and had very limited success in this helping to remove them. It may be good for disinfecting though. If either type ticks are in even a little on me, I end up with a reaction/infection, even if I get all of it out, and then put alcohol and then antibiotic gel on.

Also if using a tweezer, do not squeeze the body, or again you will sqeeze fluids out of the mouth. Only sqeeze the head at most, and do not mash!

After trying many methods, I try to find them before they get in. If they are in a little, I grab with fingers and pull firmly. If they are in too far, time for surgery, just do not cut the tick, and make sure all parts are out!

Once out, I fire em up with a lighter wand. I do not tear or cut them. I do not want to touch any fluids.

[Nate McVey]

ya, you never want to kill them in you.............you want to get the match just hot enough to irritate them.......thanks for clearing that up Moby

[McGurk]

I heard a new removal technique this weekend, and fortunately we didn't have to try it. If you can, try it and let us know if it works or not: Cover the embedded tick entirely with a glob of thick dishsoap (I don't know if any thick liquid will work) and let it sit for a minute or so (Unsure of time length). In theory, it will detach completely and you can then just pick the little bugger up and kill him in whatever way you find suits you.

[MOBY RICHARD*]

I will give that a try, hopefully we wont need to soon.

I have however tried a thick glob of antibiotic gel.

It didnt seem to work, but maybe the soap will irritate.

I think the theory is to suffocate, but then they might gurgitate their fluids. Thanks for the tip, they are getting even worse, though a lot more of the larger non deer ones.

I'm getting scratchy just thinking about them!

[Neiko]

We were riding in St.Croix SF and I lost count on how many ticks the group pulled off. My brother had 1 on his back and one in a very private spot. He was able to get the private one by himself but the other one he had to have the doc remove the head. Both areas were black and blue. The Doc gave him some antibiotics for the deer ticks.

[MOBY RICHARD*]

Wikipedia.c0m has some info on ticks. It says they can cause bruising. They can inject an anticoagulent to keep the blood flowing.

They can transmit several types of disease.

Ticks are the largest cause of disease transmission to humans in the US, and second only to mosquitos Worldwide! Yikes!!!

[BLACKJACK]

Was heading up north last weekend fishing and felt something along my hairline, sure enough a woodtick. Hes now alongside the road north of Wadena. Earlier this week I had one in my ear at work. The little buggers are thick this year, I take a shower every night and try to do regular tick inspections - whether my wife wants to or not - and I still find one dug in now and then. Had one on my privates a few weeks ago. Good reason to scratch!!!

From what I've read the ticks have to be dug in for 24 hours in order to pass on any diseases, so regular checks of your body is important. Its a given that if you take a walk in any tall grass this time of year that you will get ticks, so vigilance is the key.

[nofishfisherman]

Man, reading this thread gave me the Hebbie Jebbies. My skin is crawling.

Make sure to get all the Chiggers off to. I had one of those guys bite into me and I didn't notice it right away. It gave me some sort of soft tissue infection and knocked me on my butt for atleast a week. It was like the worst flu I have ever had. Nothing makes you feel weaker then getting taken down by a bug thats only the size of a poppy seed.