So, a tick story tonight.

[OAITW r.2.0]

Last edited Fri May 26, 2023, 10:09 AM - Edit history (1)

This morning, I had to do the mandatory "lets throw the ball outside, then chase me" play with the Skippa. Fine. Love to do it and it's great to hang out with the pup for a 1/2 hour of goofing around.

But then, I got to get down to bizness....reading emails, doing quotes, etc, During this time, I felt subtle movements on my leg, under my jeans. Nothing overtly noticeable....just scratch the leg and keep working. After a few scratches.....I realized. "oh oh, better check." Drop my trousers...(you can do this when you work in your home office), I found the source.....a tick.

They are flat little (

[Laffy Kat]

1. Is your dog on flea/tick repellent?

I realized this week that I needed to do that, too. 'Tis the season.

[OAITW r.2.0]

3. Oh yeah, just had his Big boy Nex Gard chewable last week. He;s a 6 month old Golden.

Backatcha

[Stinky The Clown]

20. Everybody Loves A Golden!!

[OAITW r.2.0]

22. He kinda pisses me off a lot....

but it's impossible to get mad at him....even though he's learned about the stuff in the trash that he can grab and rip up. And he likes to chew anything wooden (tv trays, wood trim). Because he looks at me and sez..."what?" Then, I smile.

[Easterncedar]

23. Oh he's got the look down!

I’m in central Maine, too. I’ve lost count already of the ticks I’ve picked off me this year. The perpetual feeling for phantom ticks is as bad as finding one! First one ever for me was 2009 - now it’s a plague.

It makes me sad for the kids who can’t lie on the grass and look at clouds anymore.

People ask me why winter is my favorite season.

[OAITW r.2.0]

26. Hello Neighbor!

Had another one on me when I woke this morning. My body awareness for ticks is increasing rapidly....

[Easterncedar]

28. These terrible disease stories are definitely making me more alert

But it’s the black flies that were getting to me yesterday. I’ve got some outdoor chores to do. At least the black flies don’t come inside!

My doctor gave me emergency antibiotics to keep on hand in case I find an embedded tick; but that was two years ago, after I sent a tick I had removed to the UMaine tick lab. Nice service. They confirmed it was a deer tick but said it didn’t have Lyme.

[2naSalit]

2. It's a thing in my world...

If you go out in the woods, like I do, or treck across a field, better do a tick check when you get home.

[OAITW r.2.0]

5. Indeed,,,,,I have 50 acres of land in a rural area.

Never had this many ticks to deal with,,,,seems like it is getting up here in Central Maine.

[2naSalit]

7. I recall...

A bad year for them in NH back in the early 70s. You couldn't open windows w/o screens or they would be all over the house.

And now that it's the season, I sometimes get heebi jeebies about them when something itches.

[Easterncedar]

35. Five on me so far today

I think I’ve proved the all-natural repellents I have are useless against ticks. I tried two kinds. I finally got out the DEET, for the second time in 20 years.

[OAITW r.2.0]

36. Whoa....that;s a lot.

Mowed the lawn late afternoon.....am being body conscious of any moving bugs that might have jumped on for some dinner.

[Maru Kitteh]

13. And it's been wet this spring so yeah, we've had a few in the house even

No sense in wondering how they got here. Myself and Mr. Maru are usually the only living things that routinely enter and exit the home.

The cats just look outside. They have no desire to actually be there.

[MontanaMama]

21. I have t seen one yet

but they’re lurking. I hate the damned things.

[Maru Kitteh]

24. We went to Waterton once, just walking on the sidewalk

Stopped into the pub for a bite to eat, looked down and here goes a tick trucking for it’s life across the table. I looked down and we were both crawling with them

I went in the bathroom and stripped, Yes I did.

[MontanaMama]

27. OMG!

I’m itching just reading your post.

[debm55]

4. Be careful. That happened to my husband last year. He didn't know what is was. He had a large red

mark on his abdomen, couldn't stand and was dehydrated. He was bitten by a tick and had Lyme disease. Was in the hospital for four days. Dog get monthly pills, but we have alot of deer around here.

[OAITW r.2.0]

8. I was in living in Massachusetts 4 years ago and got a tick buried in myarm.

I went to the Emergency room (against my wishes....I wanted to wait until a the cheaper walk in Care option was open)....cost me $500.00 as they gave me an anti-biotic.

[debm55]

10. Oh no, my husband was very sick, had water and antibiotic tubes attached. Had to call the ambulance

as he could not stand and fell. Be careful. Don't wear black and if going in a field check to see if there are any on you.

[OAITW r.2.0]

14. I wear long sleeves, jeans, and socks when working outside.

And do a check when I come in from the woods. Just have to be aware of anything moving on your body. Like I said in the OP, the tick was moving around and I knew it, but it didn't get to conscious level for awhile.

[ramapo]

6. Ticks by the dozen

It's a bumper crop this spring in North Jersey. I'm out in the yard/field/woods everyday. I pick a dozen or so off me everyday. They don't care that you wear repellent.

No bites though...I've had a few of those over the years .

I check myself obsessively.

Terrorists...the only way to avoid them is to stay inside and then the ticks win.

[Tetrachloride]

9. I am sorry to vehemently disagree with any sentiment on easy prevention.

Do not walk in grass over 4 inches tall if you value your life and voting Democratic.

One friend got Lyme’s Disease.

Another friend helped treat a person with Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. That person died.

Then another has Alpha Gal Allergy. No cure. No diet can fix the problem for some people.

or don’t worry at all. Let natural selection do its job.

Lyme’s Disease is the friendliest of the 3.

I’d rather get rabies than Alpha Gal Allergy, to make a comparison.

[debm55]

11. So did my husband--Lyme's Disease, In hospital for 4 days and 2 weeks on meds

[OAITW r.2.0]

15. Well, I am 70 and I will be goddammed if I will live my life in fear of a tick.

My solution, keep drinking plenty of alcohol. seems to neutralize the effects.

[cate94]

12. Driving through Wisconsin

Stopped at a rest area with G. Took her to the dog walk area and then took my turn in the people spot. G jumped on my lap when we got back in the car. I was petting and massaging her when I felt something moving on her back. I freaked and knocked it on the floor. Try and find a tick on black carpet. G hopped in the back and I have my head between my knees looking for the tick. By now we’re going 60 mph and I find it. Grabbed it with a Kleenex and threw it out the window. Sorry. I littered. Never happened before, and hopefully never again.

[jpak]

16. I never saw a tick in Maine until the year 2000

Don't ever tell me global warming is a Hoax.

[Easterncedar]

30. A friend in Wilton sprayed her property

Two years ago the ticks were massing around her windows and doors. I never heard of such a thing.

[MichMan]

17. Had one this morning crawling on my cheek in bed

Dogs sleep in bed with us at night, so I find one occasionally. Picked it up and deposited it in the mason jar filled with IPA we have for their tomb.

[OAITW r.2.0]

18. My dog does too.

I blame him for the one I I nailed last week while in bed. Same situation...you feel them while they crawl around your skin....taking more showers just to check for this little bastards.

[Talitha]

19. Last year I found one in the laundry - as I was taking it out of the dryer!

The damned little bloodsucker lived through the wash cycle.

[Easterncedar]

31. A friend found a living one

in a blanket she had put in a cedar chest two years before.

[Talitha]

34. Ewwww... they're like zombies!

[Jedi Guy]

25. They're really bad this year in Ontario.

I walk our dog every afternoon when I finish work, and if we pass through any kind of tall grass, one of us is carrying a hitchhiker. Last week I had three of the little buggers on the legs of my jeans when we cleared the grass.

He's on meds that kill them if they bite and drink from him, but sometimes they ride home without biting, drop off, and then make their way to me or (much more likely) my wife. There's something about her blood that hemovores find delicious, because they ignore me and make a beeline right for her.

[Easterncedar]

32. I dream of putting Frontline on myself

I’d lie in the grass and bait the little monsters.

[BlackSkimmer]

29. Be careful.

I contracted Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever last year.

Lived in the south almost my entire life, and I'm a big outdoors person. Never a problem until my 60s!

It's a nasty disease; I thought I had Covid. I never seek medical treatment, but for some reason I went to the ER. Glad I did!

Easily cured, but treatment is crucial.

I did find out that I can't get it again though, so that's a bonus!

[roamer65]

33. I thought it was another story on the Bloated Tick.