Campers Tick warning
- Thread starter Shewie
- Start date
-
Come along to the amazing Summer Moot (21st July - 2nd August), a festival of bushcrafting and camping in a beautiful woodland PLEASE CLICK HERE for more information.
Thanks for that Shewie.
Anyone got any good tip on how best to avoid tick bites - other than not going out ha ha
Anyone got any good tip on how best to avoid tick bites - other than not going out ha ha
told you m8, deadly ninja ticks, jumping from blade of grass to blade of grass, stalking you in your sleep...
i reckon our next trip out we should pick up a few.
i reckon our next trip out we should pick up a few.
Well, I've got an interesting observation there... Me and locum76 were out camping up around Loch Earn a couple of weeks back, in classic short-grass tick habitat. He ended up with dozens round his ankles, whilst I got none. The most likely cause of the difference seems to be that he was wearing some kind of low-ankled fabric hiking shoes, whereas I was wearing (freshly polished) Lowa combat boots.
My hypothesis is that, in short grass at least, ticks (or at least the very small first-stage ones) find it difficult to get a grip on smooth leather. Or possibly they just don't like the smell of boot polish. I've had plenty of ticks in the past, so I don't think it's me or my feet...
There's another story about those boots from that trip, but I'm saving it...
Bah,
I never return from a trip with less than twenty on me. I reckon if you get em off quick and beware the symptoms of the diseases and all will be fine.
Rob
I never return from a trip with less than twenty on me. I reckon if you get em off quick and beware the symptoms of the diseases and all will be fine.
Rob
I've had 2 this year already, but then I do wear lightweight shoes and shorts most of the time...
good thread, always good to keep the awareness of this quite high.
good thread, always good to keep the awareness of this quite high.
Never had a tick, don't want one, would probably freak out having a bug eating it's way inside me, would want to pull it out straight away.
Whats the best thing to get them out in the field? I know pulling them out with your fingers is a bad idea cause the head stays in, and if you squish it it throws up in you.
Whats the best thing to get them out in the field? I know pulling them out with your fingers is a bad idea cause the head stays in, and if you squish it it throws up in you.
There's a few different ways Asa, many of them have been discussed on here before too.
I carry a removal tool I picked up in the vets and a pair of fine tweezers, neither of them have had to be used yet though. (reaches for the nearest bit of wood to touch)
I picked up 2 at the weekend at L Earn, I used the tweezers on my SAK to remove them, did a grand job, second one left its head, but managed to remove it. I need to get the little green plastic remover, it comes in small and large but its supposed to be the best for removing ticks, from us and pets.
Stephen
but its supposed to be the best for removing ticks, from us and pets.Stephen
O'tom Tick Twister is the safe way to extract ticks: http://www.lakelandbushcraft.co.uk/acatalog/Hygiene.html
The Otom, IMHO, is OK for removing ticks from the dogs, but not so good for getting them out of yourself! In most cases, we tend to notice the ticks in our naked hide sooner than we would notice them in the dogs thick fur; a tick that has fed for even a few hours becomes quite engorged and can be lifted out with the Otom, whereas the ticks that thave not had a chance to feed for long tend to slip through the 'prongs' of, even the smaller of the two, Otoms. I have found a tick lassoo type removal tool
www.Tickremover.com
to be far superior in every instance. The trouble with tweezers, even the fine-tipped ones, is that you run the risk of squeezing the tick and causing it to regurgitate it's stomach contents into your bloodstream; this is how I managed to infect myself with Lyme disease.
My various jobs, one of which required me to run about on mountains whilst involved in deer population management, kept me fit and I was always out with the dogs on the hill. And then in May 2007 I started feeling unwell and took some time off work. To cut a long story short, I'd contracted Lyme Disease from a tick bite. It took a lot of visits to the doctor before they took me seriously; they said, variously, that it was flu, a bug that was going the rounds, stress...I KNEW what it was, having done a project, whilst studying zoology, on ticks and the diseases they carry. One GP scoffed at me, saying that there was no Lyme Disease in Britain; at that point I felt justified in bull****ting, telling her that I'd written a thesis on Lyme Disease! I had my blood sampled 10 mins later and, when tested, it proved positive for antibodies to the organism that causes Lyme Disease.
Lyme disease is a notifiable condition....as in very frickin' serious!! Believe me when I say that you don't want to take chances with this disease; there is a woeful lack of knowledge about this debilitating condition and even some GPs haven't much clue when it comes to diagnosing it. In all fairness to the medical profession, the symptoms can be confused with a number of other conditions. Do some research yourself....find out more here
http://www.lymediseaseaction.org.uk/
www.Tickremover.com
to be far superior in every instance. The trouble with tweezers, even the fine-tipped ones, is that you run the risk of squeezing the tick and causing it to regurgitate it's stomach contents into your bloodstream; this is how I managed to infect myself with Lyme disease.
My various jobs, one of which required me to run about on mountains whilst involved in deer population management, kept me fit and I was always out with the dogs on the hill. And then in May 2007 I started feeling unwell and took some time off work. To cut a long story short, I'd contracted Lyme Disease from a tick bite. It took a lot of visits to the doctor before they took me seriously; they said, variously, that it was flu, a bug that was going the rounds, stress...I KNEW what it was, having done a project, whilst studying zoology, on ticks and the diseases they carry. One GP scoffed at me, saying that there was no Lyme Disease in Britain; at that point I felt justified in bull****ting, telling her that I'd written a thesis on Lyme Disease! I had my blood sampled 10 mins later and, when tested, it proved positive for antibodies to the organism that causes Lyme Disease.
Lyme disease is a notifiable condition....as in very frickin' serious!! Believe me when I say that you don't want to take chances with this disease; there is a woeful lack of knowledge about this debilitating condition and even some GPs haven't much clue when it comes to diagnosing it. In all fairness to the medical profession, the symptoms can be confused with a number of other conditions. Do some research yourself....find out more here
http://www.lymediseaseaction.org.uk/
They definately have my attention,having had a adult black legged dear tick on my hand and a tick nymph on my leg whilst passing the same area of high grass a week apart,both removed luckily before being bitten. Dingus Magee i know what you mean as soon as you suggest to a doctor what you think you have rather than them diagnose it, they seem to either not take you seriously or ignore you altogether.I dont want bitten by the damn things(also had a couple on me last time i was in the Lakedistrict) managed to spot them also before being bitten, lyme disease is pretty serious and can lead to complications including paralasis,whenever ive been through a likely area(eg bracken,long grass etc) i check myself as well as i can a bit obsessive but im like that,definately one of the advantages to winter camping is less of the little s**tes around.They are quite hard to spot in the nymph stage especially if wearing dull clothing as they are a brown colour and very small, the adults well the black legged one on me was quite easy being red and black and a fair old size,they are also tough s.o.b i tried squashing the nymph between my fingers but didnt do a thing to it.
