[Closed] PSA: Ticks -- Check Yourselves Out guys/gals.

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approx 4 a day on the dogs at the moment

none on us yet!!

My daughter had one on her arse last week. Serves her right for wearing very short shorts 😀

Used to get them every other ride in summer - haven't had any since I started using this stuff:

https://www.smidgeup.com

can't recommend it highly enough.

Where are you guys based?

I had one on my left testicle once. It drove me nuts...

Get the hammer out!

For the tick and not on his nuts.

South Gloucestershire for me.

Can't stress this enough:

CHECK YOURSELF FOR TICKS ❗

Found a tick embedded in neck day after local walk; through woods, over golf course, and fields grazed by sheep, i.e. not hacking through waist high undergrowth.
A week later had all sorts of strange symptoms - bad guts, zonked out, weird aches and pains. [No rash].
Now halfway through course of antibiotics. Hopefully nothing too sinister, but still getting strange aches and pains.

Inspect yourself after every outing and get yourself a tick removal tool.

This time of year has the highest number of ticks, but they are active and feeding all year round at anything above ~4degC.

And get someone to check the places you can't. Any excuse to post something by Brad. "I'd like to walk you through a field of wild flowers, I'd like to check you for ticks."

Avon Skin so soft works a treat with the bonus of being good for your skin

north hants here and there are bloody loads!

Had one a few weeks back. Proper strong bugger. Don't have tick puller used fine tweezers. Didn't come out. Had to dig him out!

Going to try this:

For you: In a spray bottle, mix 2 cups of distilled white vinegar and 1 cup of water. To make a scented solution so you do not smell like bitter vinegar all day, add 20 drops of your favorite essential oil or bath oil. Eucalyptus oil is a calm, soothing scent that also works as a tick repellent, while peppermint and citrus oils give off a strong crisp scent that also repel ticks. After mixing the solution, spray onto clothing, skin, and hair before going outdoors. Reapply every four hours to keep ticks at bay.

http://wtaq.com/blogs/the-great-outdoors/158/home-made-tick-repellent-so-cheap-and-so-easy/

Pulled one out me calf this morn. Acquired it last evening in Contin forest.
well part of it, my daughter removed the remainder with a needle.

You really don't want then to puke in you so Google how to get out ticks, which does not include using tweezers. Get a puller from a chemists shop or take them by surprise and flick them out with a finger nail.

Never having had one in 53 years I've had 3 in the last two weeks, including one on me nipple.
Anyone not feeling like things are crawling on them?

Really handy, fits in your wallet

http://www.tickcard.co.uk/

OAB_household = 7 this year already, three in me. 🙁

Good post redthunder. More info:

John Caudwell's new charity website:
https://caudwell-lyme.net/

British charity:
http://lymediseaseuk.com/

An increasing number of people with autoimmune conditions are being diagnosed with Lyme or co-infections.

Haven't seen any on the Hampshire Coast, do they like seawater?? 😛

It's clearly a very emotive subject, but I think it's worth stating that chronic Lyme disease is, at best, a controversial concept. There is an astonishing amount of nonsense on the internet about Lyme disease. Before people go taking pseudoscience websites as read, consider reading this link for a bit of balance: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/748084_2

It's a bad season already for them.

Never seen this many so soon.

Wife had 4 after a doe expedition at the weekend.

Never having had one in 53 years I've had 3 in the last two weeks, including one on me nipple.

I had a friendly one latch onto my tit on Islay a few years ago. The Mrs got it off with a twister (that we had for the dog)
If she'd used a blowtorch it wouldv'e been less painful.

Horrible horrible horrible little barstewards , everytime I get one I am then convinced I've got limes. All signs indicate I dont, yet. 🙂

I'll repeat some internet nonsense, based on personal experience...

http://singletrackmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/lyme-disease-everything-you-wanted-to-know-and-stuff-you-wish-you-didnt/

... or perhaps I really had ME/CFS which got better over a long course of antibiotics. Thanks to the placebo effect, maybe?

... or perhaps I really had ME/CFS which got better over a long course of antibiotics. Thanks to the placebo effect, maybe?

I'll repeat some internet nonsense, based on personal experience...

http://singletrackmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/lyme-disease-everything-you-wanted-to-know-and-stuff-you-wish-you-didnt/

Did you really read the link I posted in the 13 minutes it took you to reply? It's quite a long article... Perhaps I should do you the same discourtesy? Actually, I've read your article before.

The balance of this question is not reported online. My post is there for balance. I'm not intending to deliberately antagonise anyone. Although I can see which way this is going...

It's clearly a very emotive subject, but I think it's worth stating that chronic Lyme disease is, at best, a controversial concept. There is an astonishing amount of nonsense on the internet about Lyme disease. Before people go taking pseudoscience websites as read, consider reading this link for a bit of balance: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/748084_2

Superficial - we need your password to access your link. Thanks.

I didn't realise it was password-protected - Sorry.
I guess you may need to sign up. It's free, but I guess of limited use to most people.

Of course this means slowoldgit didn't even click the link? 😆

Well, it's a fair question. One of the effects of whatever was wrong with me makes me a slow and hesitant reader away from my comfort zone. I got as far as seeing it was a medical journal and didn't proceed further. Plus I didn't want to sign up.

I get a bit shirty because it seems a lot of victims are failed by the medical system. John Caudwell is currently trying to gather data about numbers affected. He feels very let down.

5 days walking through knee high bracken in sheep grazing areas and not a single tick, thank ****. My first experience was 9 of them in one day. Hate them!

I've just chanced upon this. It's a Doc's experience with LD patients in Tayside, Scotland.

LYMEDISEASEACTION.ORG.UK "http://www.lymediseaseaction.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/TaysidePerspectiveLymeTalk.pdf"

Superficial - shall read tomorrow, having discovered I already have an account with Medscape. 😳

How do you find them on yourself?

I have yet to have one, even though my kids have had one each. It could be geographical based on where I ride but the last few rides have been in deer country.

[quote=molgrips ]How do you find them on yourself?I look after every ride. In fact, at this time of year I look every time I get undressed!! That may mean standing in front of a full length mirror.

That may mean standing in front of a full length mirror.

Have I left that bloody webcam switched on?

Again 😳

The mix is complete. Even though it smells of "Essence of Fish & Chip Shop"

1 part distilled vinger
2 part distilled water
10 drops of essential oil orange
10 drops of essential oil peppermint

"Spoon" as the tick would say. Or call it " perfumed ponce"

Reports to follow.

Ps I have some old colonge earmarked, old spice.

Touch wood, I've never knowingly had a tick find its way on to me. Don't know if thats luck or location. Macc based

M6 - The little ones on me looked like I'd pricked myself on a thorn. Blackthorn, perhaps, they tend to look more swollen and angry on me. There would be a little dark dot in the middle and a small reddish swelling around. Then I found one right under the centre of my watch. Realisation dawned. I'd been working in woodland that day.

What is all this homebrew bollocks?

Permethrin treated clothes (tick kryptonite) and the old tropics trick of running lightweight long sleeve clothing.

Dear god, you bunch of ninnies - would you use your homebrew crap in Dengue/Malaria country?

Anyone got a recommendation of a tick removal tool? Or even better a link? Thanks

Permethrin treated clothes (tick kryptonite) and the old tropics trick of running lightweight long sleeve clothing.

I've had bites to my stomach and thigh - in both cases the areas were covered with clothing.

Were they also covered with permethrin? If they were, in my experience - you'd be very very unlucky.

Were they also covered with permethrin? If they were, in my experience - you'd be very very unlucky.

No - my point is that covering arms/ legs doesn't seem to work. I suppose there's also the argument that it stops you seeing the ****ers.

I'm not sure about the earlier recommendation for Avon Skin So Soft - it seems to stop midges biting but I was wearing it when I got "ticked".

Speaking of the tropics, in the Amazon, I had a mosquito bite me through my shirt.

Permethrin kills ticks stone cold on contact with them.

Hence they physically have to be touching your clothing for the stuff to work, hence the reason why you wear full length clothes.

And wearing full length clothes is still a basic piece of advice even for mossies, it does lessen the amount of bites you receive.

.....just don't stoke any kitty cats with permethrin treated gloves 😀

It's also probably a carcinogen when taken orally (like most things), so take your pick - maybe get cancer if you decide to huff it for whatever deranged reason or maybe get lyme disease.

jakd95 - Member
Anyone got a recommendation of a tick removal tool? Or even better a link? Thanks

[url= http://www.lymediseaseaction.org.uk/what-we-are-doing/shop/ ]Tick Twister[/url]
They might by a £ dearer here, but it helps support a Lyme charity

Anyone tried these insect repellent clothes from Craghoppers. [I think it uses permethrin].
[url= http://www.craghoppers.com/nosilife-collections ]Craghopper Nosilife - Insect Repellent Clothes[/url]

Speaking of the tropics, in the Amazon, I had a mosquito bite me through my shirt

Happened to me all the time in Finland.

Old Spice or Hai Karate will kill then dead 🙂

Luckily never had one either. New Forest / Hampshire based.

redthunder - do you have Lyme disease?

Help needed:

https://caudwell-lyme.net/2016/06/01/call-for-participants-in-a-study-on-the-genetics-of-lyme-disease/

in the Amazon, I had a mosquito bite me through my shirt

In Scotland I had a cleg bite me through my cycling shorts, wee buggers.

The ticks are pretty bad at the moment in SW Scotland. I've regularly had to stop so I can flick them off my legs after running through any sort of ground cover. Found some in the car too after we'd got off the hill at work the other day. It'll be worse once the bracken is fully out. Thankfully the dog has been treated.

One more today 🙁

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[url= https://c7.staticflickr.com/8/7352/26814131534_81b1205282_o.jp g" target="_blank">https://c7.staticflickr.com/8/7352/26814131534_81b1205282_o.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/GRtr7E ]P1310694[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/58162507@N07/ ]SGMTB[/url], on Flickr

Seeing this thread today made me pop and buy a tick remover card to keep handy. Bought some tick tweezers last year for Scotland. Off to Wales tomorrow with livestock around the woods so will keep vigilant. Only me picked them up before now, thankfully small ones.

Had 9 on me last month in one go, i think from YHA bedding but not sure.

All the ones I've had ( 15 in one night record) were tiny and seemed to be almost completely buried with only back legs and tip of its arse showing. There was nothing for a "Tick Twister" to slide under claw hammer style to allow the twist.
Tweezers seem to be the only option, with a needle to remove any left over bits. Must have had hundreds over the years and always seem to find them the next day despite thorough checking and showering. High strength DEET seems to work as a deterrent but smidge almost seems like an attractant.
Has anyone heard of a dog style tablet for humans?

redthunder - Member
Old Spice or Hai Karate will kill then dead

wysiwyg - Member

I had one on my left testicle once. It drove me nuts...

LOL. 😀

Unfortunate getting that on your chin redthunder, still at least you can smile about it 🙂

@bedmaker

Thats my nail for scale.

The other pic is a needle. It stayed alive for quite a while and then eventually turned to dust in the sun. Not unlike a vampire, loves blood and hates the sun.

I saw a patient with the classic bullseye rash of erythema migrans ie Lyme disease this week. First time I've seen it in over 20 years since qualification. Old chap who had a flu like illness then painless disseminated rash, loads of them all over his body. Not aware of any tick bites. South Yorkshire.