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Wednesday, August 26. 2020

A daughter is spending a week camping and hiking - tent - in upstate NY. Adirondacks. She asked me about ticks.

I explained good ticks and bad ticks. Then I had to send her this, for fun:

Posted by Bird Dog in Music at 16:36 | Comments (12) | Trackbacks (0)

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If she's worried about ticks tell her "don't camp under trees where animals (especially cows) gather.

#1 sennacherib on 2020-08-26 16:51 (Reply)

And stay off animal trails and avoid brushing against vegetation wherever possible. The ticks climb to the top of grasses and such and wait to latch on to whatever passes by.

#2 Talnik on 2020-08-26 17:11 (Reply)

I somehow contracted a tick borne illness a few years ago, an alpha gal allergy caused by the lone star tick. If I eat any mammal meat I go into anaphylactic shock. So no more burgers, steak, ham, pork chops, sausage, bacon, veal... I'm not a worrier, and don't tend to be careful in the woods, even now, and I never would have believed that the tick borne illness that causes this was actually real if it hadn't happened to me. It's not life threatening though.

#3 LP on 2020-08-26 17:39 (Reply)

i had never heard of that! thank you for educating me about that oddly named affliction. i guess there's no cure? like lyme's, but less serious? And good word, sennacherib, to avoid hangin out under the cow's shade tree!

#3.1 mharko on 2020-08-26 20:50 (Reply)

Very real thing. My sister and a nephew contracted it also. It seems to "wear off" over 3-5 years or so, at least for some people.

#3.1.1 Knucklehead (Link) on 2020-08-27 11:28 (Reply)

mharko,
A long time ago I was up at Ft. Hood for reserve training and the place where they had picked for our operations was where cows congregated ( people leased the place for their cows) for shade. That night there was so many ticks that the dead oak leaves were moving under our feet. I'll leave the rest to imagination. If you've got one good tree in an open area look around real good before you use that area.

#4 sennacherib on 2020-08-26 21:31 (Reply)

mharko,
Not to be long winded, but if you're worried about snakes always be careful of the south side of a hill in the spring or fall. That's where they'll den and if it isn't cold enough they'll come out for the sun.

#5 sennacherib on 2020-08-26 21:35 (Reply)

They're all bad. And the forests in the northeastern US are very tick-prone in late-summer/early fall.

When the South American fire ants invaded the southern USA in the 80's, the one beneficial effect was that they decimated the tick populations. They used to be much worse.

Use DEET liberally (some controversy whether it works on ticks) or Permethrin and check carefully every few hours. I was clearing brush and picked one off my elbow yesterday. You don't want any of the tick illnesses.

#6 Aggie on 2020-08-26 22:24 (Reply)

I do woods work in the far NE US, and get ticks on me regularly, usually during the Spring and Fall. I am always surprised at folks who say 'I had a tick on me for weeks', or 'days'. When you bathe run your hands over your body - a "new mole" is almost always a tick. Anything "new" should be examined closely, as ticks tuck in their legs when they embed. If you get them out within 24 hours, the chances of tick borne diseases are reduced. Permethrin is good against ticks. For removal, get a plastic tick spoon from your vet. Thoroughly disinfect tick "holes" and do it every day until they heal. Stay healthy my friends...…

#7 tim ferrell on 2020-08-27 06:25 (Reply)

After reading all these comments the only thought that comes to mind is how could I possibly have survived all that time outdoors in upstate NY and still be alive?

#8 AlexG on 2020-08-27 07:18 (Reply)

We walk in the forest daily. We get ticks on our clothes. We brush the clothes off before getting into the car and take them off in the garage and shake them out. We still find ticks.

#9 Anon on 2020-08-27 10:37 (Reply)

AlexG - my experience has been that over the past 20 years ticks have become far more common in the NE woods. Back in the day, a tick was an oddity, even in the deep woods, at least for me. No more, I'm afraid. I don't buy in to the hysteria (ie going to the emergency room if you get a tick bite - I know people who do this), but at the same time, if you get tick bites regularly, you have to deal with it proactively.

#10 tim ferrell on 2020-08-28 06:56 (Reply)

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Wednesday, August 26. 2020

Ticks