Ticks.

They are really bad this year here in the hills of Orange County, Ca., I was finding them on my dog in December after we walked the trails, which is a first. I have been lucky and haven't had any dug into me yet. My wife has had a couple on her. We stay mostly on the wider trails and try to avoid brushing up against the scrub, but the ticks are thick this year. I have never had a problem with them in the 12 years I have been hiking the trails around my home.
 
Pulled ticks off everybody in the family except for me this year. And we haven't even been in the woods yet!

I live in one of the most Lyme infected areas of the country, it gets scary when theres so many of em.
 
Ticks can be a real PITA. When out in the woods, you just have to keep checking yourself and catch them before they start to burrow in. I don't like wearing shorts when in "tick" country/season. A light weight pair of cotton pants, high top shoes and a couple of rubber bands around your ankles can help keep those things at bay. Don't lay down on bare ground. Carry a fine toothed comb.
 
Connecticut=most Lyme disease per capita of any state
Litchfield County=Most Lyme disease per capita of all Ct counties=Lyme disease capitol of the WORLD!--Y'all come visit!--KV
 
peichor said:
Go to a feed store and pick up a box of cow tags. Put it on your pack or something, but not on bare skin. If you're in open fields put it on your boot. In wooded areas put it up higher. Ticks will fall on you from trees. Anyway, the cow tags keep everything off.
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Ticks don't fall on you from trees. Good and funny reading material that will make you feel a lot better about ticks:

http://homestead.org/NeilShelton/Ticks/Ticks!.htm
 
Have not had trouble this year which is VERY surprising. Warm Winter and hot dry Summer. The medicated ear tags for cattle help with ticks and ciggars. I wear them undedr the laces on my boots.

Bill
 
Take tick bites very serious

Lyme disease is a very underrated and horrible disease

Take it from someone who regretfully knows
 
I have family in Southern Oklahoma and they've said the ticks are terrible this year. I think in my area (North Texas) there are more than usual, but we didn't have much of a winter either.
 
kvaughn said:
Connecticut=most Lyme disease per capita of any state
Litchfield County=Most Lyme disease per capita of all Ct counties=Lyme disease capitol of the WORLD!--Y'all come visit!--KV
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I agree. I have had Lyme and so have my three kids. You can't even enjoy the woods anymore. Deer hunting last fall I pulled off about 60-70 ticks while sitting in my stand.
 
Ticks are rare here in the PAC north wet. So rare I don't even know how to remove them. But the trend here is seriously on the increase. We found five on my dog after a day hike a couple months ago. This has to be a record here. I was so shocked I took him to the vet to have them removed. So, educate me on the best protocol to safely remove ticks from my dog and/or myself. I have no clue and I'm terrified I'll leave the head in if I do something incorrectly.
 
Quirt,
I can pass on what I was taught- before removing, take an ink pen and draw a circle around the tick, then remove with gentle pull straight back out with tweezers(there are some designed just for tick removal), clean site with peroxide and treat with antibiotic. Check removed tick with small magnifying glass to ensure head is there. watch site for a few days for redness and swelling. Drawing a cricle around the tick before removal helps locate the spot to monitor. I would also place the removed tick in a ziploc and toss in freezer- if redness and swelling occurs, take tick to Dr. with you.
Bill
 
lmalterna said:
Quirt,
I can pass on what I was taught- before removing, take an ink pen and draw a circle around the tick, then remove with gentle pull straight back out with tweezers(there are some designed just for tick removal), clean site with peroxide and treat with antibiotic. Check removed tick with small magnifying glass to ensure head is there. watch site for a few days for redness and swelling. Drawing a cricle around the tick before removal helps locate the spot to monitor. I would also place the removed tick in a ziploc and toss in freezer- if redness and swelling occurs, take tick to Dr. with you.
Bill
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Thanks Bill! Sage advise. I carry a small pocket mag glass anyway so now this justifies it even more. I have a pair of Uncle Bills Silver tweezers squirreled away in all my kits. I'm assuming this will work or do I need something else/better?
 
First time I have ever had a deer tick was this year. Don't know why and don't care.

God, I hate those sumbitches!
 
Quirt,
I saw an ad once for specialty tweezers for ticks that sort of formed a hollow as to not squish the abdomen and cause regurgitation back into your body but I have always just used regular tweezers. Just go easy and pull straight back out and the heads almost always comes. I usually found the feeding ones by the itching that they cause.

Methods I was warned away from was placing a hot match head on them or using salve or medicines to make them back out. Sounds like you are equipped. one more thing i might ad for use away from home would be a mirror. They do like to get in "out of the way" places ;)
Bill
 
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