Repell ticks

Just a bit of trivia to throw in, ticks are a member of the spider family from what i remember. I'm not an entemologist, its just something that got stuck in my head.
The bit about pulling them out ... I've always pulled them straight out but hard not to squeeze the little buggers and push the toxins back into yourself. I read somewhere that when pulling them out your supposed to twist slightly? I haven't tried it yet.
When I took a calf riddled with ticks back to the yards and started taking the ticks out the calf died. Maybe if I encouraged the ticks to leave on their own, the calf might have survived ... one of those questions that have never been answered.
 
Joe I don't take offense too easily. If you're in the mood pm me with any info you think would help me. I hate the little bush lawyers.
 
yes i've been told to take certain ticks out by twisting anticlockwise, and since been told by entomoligists etc that twisting doesn't help at all. I've also since been told that taking a firm hold of them and just ripping them out won't push any more poison in than was there in the first place- and I've also been told that 'leaving the head in' won't do you any more harm than if you get a clean removal. Having said that, intuitively I'd have to say that not squeezing makes sense to me, and not leaving the head in makes sense as well, but i will bow before the wisdom of those that know better!
 
Yeah, come on Joe, if we cant stand to be corrected then we shouldnt be involved on a forum. Give us the dirt on Ticks. :thumbup:
 
how well does the sulphur powder stay on with heavy sweating? Do you have to reapply often?
 
Wadec,
I never had a problem with sweating washing off the sulphur powder. I put it on pretty heavy around the tops of my boots as that is a main entry point. With boots laced tight, wool socks and pants tucked in to form a tight seal the powder tends to stay even if you sweat there. I have only applied it once per day, wash it off at night when I got home. If I were camping, I would probably wait to wash it off till I returned home and maybe reapply some the next day. Be sure to check for the little buggers when you remove your clothes. I have found that they usually get on your body low down, often climbing up your boots. When they encounter the sulfur at the top, some will be turned away and some will continue on up your pants and seek entry at your waist, hence the need for powder there as well. Occasionally I have had them crawl onto my hands and try to go up a sleeve. Basically cover all areas of entry from your outer garments and you will be ok. BTW. Be carefull of your clothes and boots. If you are out for just the day, I would wash the clothes immediately on taking them off as there may be some on the outside. My dad used to dump sulphur powder inside and out on his boots after a day in the woods and leave them on the porch, not in the house.
OldSalt
 
Ticking you off:

By Joe.
Ticks have no distinct head
-adults and nymphs have 4 pairs of legs, larvae have 3.

some have a plate like scutum (the hard thing on the back)
Family: Ixodidae. In males, the entire dorsum may be covered, females and nymphs, only the anterior part of the dorsum is covered. (that means the females and nymphs don't have that hard plate covering their back entirely, their ass is hanging out.)

Ixodidae are your hard ticks-attach for extended periods of time, sometimes days for a single engorgement. ONLY the female becomes tremendously distended by engorgement (she becomes one big fatty)
Argasidae are the soft ticks- live in lairs, dens, burrows, Not as important as vectors of disease as the hard ticks. (They think is because of the sedentary nature of the soft ticks)

Ticks have 4 stages in their life cycle:
eggs, deposited on the ground. Its the only stage that isn't able to overwinter. The females can lay anywhere from 100-18,000
Larvae-6 legged
Nymphs-8 legs
Adults- 8 legs

Now I'm going to give some quick tidbits about some species
Three host ticks:
Dermacentor andersoni- Rocky mountain wood tick-
vector of Rocky mountain spotted fever (RMSF) (actually rickettsia) and Colorado tick fever (virus)
-western US and canada in areas where suitable host is found-ie. small mammals for larvae and nymphs, larger hosts for adults
-all stages feed on intermediate-sized hosts such as porcupines and jack rabbits
-nymphs are noticed in the spring time
-unfed can live long time
larvae 317 days
nymphs ca. 1yr
adults 413 days

to be continued
 
RMSF-
Rocky mountain tick research lab was established in Hamilton, Montana to study the disease.
H.T. Ricketts was assigned to the lab (remember rickettsia?)
he discovered an unnamed bacteria in 1911
he died of the disease in Montana


Dermacentor variablis
AMERICAN DOG TICK
East of the 100th meridian
3 host tick.........Larvae prefers small mammals, adults prefer dogs, but will feed on livestock and humans

RMSF- vaccine started in the west during 30's
severe reactions were common including hearing loss.
1176 cases in the us in 1980 (709 South Atlantic states, 321 in NC)
365 Cases in 1998 ...148 in South Atlantic states, 71 in NC)
The pathogen!: Rickettsia rickettsi
Invades and multiplies within cells that line small blood vessels, causes damage to cell nucleus. Causes blood to leak through tiny holes in vessel walls to adjacent tissues, causes the rash. Rash occurs in 20% of cases.
Rash appears within first week. Starts and the wrists and ankles, then it expands to the trunk.
Incubation period 2-14 days.
Can be fatal: 11.7% in 30-39 year old age class
-fatalities occur when there is lack of known tick exposure, no rash, and gastrointestinal involvement.

THE BAD GUYS:
Vectors of RMSF
Dermacentor andersoni Rky. Mt wood Tick
Dermacentor variablis (Am dog tick)
Amblyomma americanum (Lone star tick)
Haemaphysalis leporispalustris (rabbit tick)
-Rhipecephalus sanguines (Brown dog tick)


ok- THE NO MUMBO JUMBO on RKSF

Infection greatly reduced if the feeding tick is removed within 10 hrs of attaching

-many individuals become infected by de-ticking their dogs (dogs can become infected)
-crushing the ticks with their fingers and pathogen enters through abraded skin.

-need for early diagnosis and treatment is important

of 94 patients infected in NC
-death rates were significantly lower
- when treated within five days of onset of illness versus those that received delayed treatment

tommorow: Ehrlichioses
 
Outstanding info Joe. The clock will tick slowly until your next installment. Tick slowly, get it? OK, never mind.
 
Ehrlichioses:
Recognized in '86

2 forms: human monocytic ehrlichiosis, and human granulocytic ehrlichiosis-clinically almost indistinguishable.

aggregates in white blood cells.
Clinical characterization:
-generally a mild disease.
-fever, headache, myalgia, thrombocytopenia, leukopenia, and elevated liver enzyme levels.
-A rash occurs in 1/3 of patients

Severe cases
adult respiratory distress syndrome, renal failure, neurology disorders, intravascular coagulation (disseminated)
- 5% for HME, 10% for HGE
some report less than 5% for these diseases.

Diagnosis
-clinical indications
-lab confirmation by indirect amino assay.
treatment:
good ol' tetracycline

Lone Star tick
Amblyomma americanum
vector OF HME
three host tick; larvae and nymphs-indiscriminant feeders, adults readily feed on deer, livestock, humans.
-severe reaction to feeding

Black legged tick
Ixodes scapularis
3 host tick- 2 year lifecycle

importance:
Ehrlichioses isn't well recognized
non-specific symptoms may interfere with a timely diagnosis
could be life threatening
there is risk for blood transfusion transmission
there is no ehrlichiosis surveillance program
incidence rates haven't really been determined
many states lack lab equipment for proper testing.
 
I have had better results with the herbal bug juice brand "Green Ban" than with deet based products, but your milage may vary, and Green Ban is pricey and does stain.

Chickens, roaming free and not tossed a lot of feed, will generally decimate an area of ticks, so if you want to clean off the property nearest to your home, and don't mind chickens or guinea hens running around, that's worth a try before burning it.

Take Care,
Jeff
 
gallowglass said:
Chickens, roaming free and not tossed a lot of feed, will generally decimate an area of ticks, so if you want to clean off the property nearest to your home, and don't mind chickens or guinea hens running around, that's worth a try before burning it.

Take Care,
Jeff
Click to expand...

Thats some really good info! I've heard that too.
 
2dogs said:
Joe can you post a map showing the range of the various ticks?
Click to expand...

do a quick search on google, and stem out from that
such as
"california tick disease"
http://www.lymedisease.org/

also good link :
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/ehrlichia/Natural_Hx/Natural_Hx.htm

and this kind of confusing map:
tickmap.gif
 
Man Joe. I ask and you provide. Thanks!

During the 60s I lived on a cattle ranch in San Benito county, California. The rancher always said to stay out from under the trees the cattle used as shade because of the "pajahuellos". They are some sort of a tick. I was bit by one on my left bicep area when I was about 12 years old. I still remember the swelling and pain. IIRC I was sick from it also.

Here are some wonderful pics of the the vile creatures.
http://entomology.ucdavis.edu/faculty/rbkimsey/caticks.html
 
sORRY i didn't post yesterday. Tonight! I'll do a quick one on lymes disease

quick note : most adult ticks will be active around 50F and higher. Repeat, their thermal minimum for feeding activity is 50F If it has been above that for a few days, start thinking about them

2 dogs, great site: here is some backround biology you can read from the site 2dogs found: http://entomology.ucdavis.edu/faculty/rbkimsey/tickbio.html

usually anything with edu is from a college and can be trusted....(I have been wrong though :)!
 
For removing ticks, my wife and I have a couple of little things that are called "ticked off" that work well for us. They're basically little plastic spoons with a sharp, bevelled notch cut out. You slide the notch between the tick's body and the skin and pull the tick off. What I particularly like about it is that you can do this without squeezing the tick, which I keep hearing is a Bad Thing.
 
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