First Tick Bite

[morch]

About 10.30 last night I was sat watching the TV when I thought that my ankle was a little itchy. I had a quick look and was shocked to see an engorged tick :yikes: about 5 mm round, about 4'' above the ankle bone, about wear the top of your sock would be.

Removed with a sterilised pair of needle nosed tweezers, very carefully making sure to get right under the tick so as not to squeeze the little basket. Got it all out and used a bit antiseptic and looks OK this morning.

I have no idea where it came from. Wasn't there when I had a shower 12 hours earlier. Haven't been out n about or in the woods since Sunday. I didn't think they were around yet.

Now off to see if I can get a couple of tick removal tools, on a bank holiday in this area I think I'm going to struggle though.

Dave

 

[Toddy]

Miserable damned things
Might have come in with the dogs or on your clothing; they do cling even if they can't get to the skin to bite until they've had a wander.
atb,
M

 

[Savagewolfrm]

Hi guys I am in the north Devon area and so far I have been very lucky however my poor dog has had 4 of these buggers removed from him in the past few days and they were bigguns will be keeping eye on him and family

 

[Wayland]

Snip> Now off to see if I can get a couple of tick removal tools, on a bank holiday in this area I think I'm going to struggle though.

Dave

Your local vet may well stock them, that's how I got mine for the dog.

(Priory Vet Centre, 3, St John Street, Whithorn, Newton Stewart, Wigtownshire DG8 8PD)

 

[andybysea]

They can be active all year round,much less though in winter,spring and late summer i think is the most active,the recent warm weather would'nt have helped,there was a prog on discovery a few days ago were a guy had got one form his lawn(inAmerica)and it led to a life threatening illness, like wise when my brother was at uni in Bangor,one of the guys house sharing got one from the garden,anywhere a mammal has walked(mouse, fox, vole,bird etc) they could have fallen off and be waiting for the next victim.

 

[morch]

Thanks Gary, never thought about the vet, the chemist had some weird looking wire contraption but i thought i'd get one online. I'll try the vet first though.

Andy, any idea how long they can live for without finding a host?

Its weird but i feel like i'm crawling

Dave

 

[andybysea]

A LLLOOONNGG TIME!

Read this good article,

http://animals.howstuffworks.com/arachnids/tick2.htm

 

[morch]

Cheers for that Andy, I'll certainly be more aware in the future

Dave

 

[Toddy]

If it's bothering you at home, my vet sold me stuff to be sprayed in a closed room that would kill fleas, ticks, etc., (I was hand rearing three stray orphan kittens who had come with every kind of parasite known to man ),

Spray the room, close the windows and doors and leave it closed up for a couple of hours. Then hoover it out and it should be fine.

Kind of put my mind at rest anyway Heaven knows how toxic the spray is though

cheers,
M

 

[bb07]

Ticks I feel your pain. Knowing the nasty little buggers are waiting for you on an outing really puts a damper on being out.
Growing up in the southern part of the province, we had lots of them to deal with. As bad as us humans got them, it's the dogs that really suffered.
Since moving to the north over thirty years ago, I can happily say I have not seen a single tick here. And I really like it that way
But I still get the shudders thinking about them.

 

[filcon]

Dave were the dogs lying at your feet, they,ve maybe carried them in. I would check your dogs anyway.
The tick,s have maybe jumped off the dogs if they were hanging on a lean part of the leg, ear ,etc where they did,nt get enough blood.

phil

 

[Ian S]

I bought my O'Tom tick remover from my local vet. Less that £5 if memory serves, and they had a number in stock.

Cheers

 

[Laurentius]

Keep meaning to get myself a tick removal tool or the right tweezers since I am a sandal and shorts wearer in this hotter weather. Never been bitten by a tick so far though, last year it was the horse flies that did for me, got a nasty infection.

 

[Bigfoot]

^

I haven't worn shorts in the great outdoors for years, particularly the last 2 or 3 seasons when it seems to me that there were just loads of ticks around, much more prevalent than I can remember. Or maybe my blood is just maturing with age?

I picked up a tick in the Trossachs last week (in the woods just to the south of Loch Achray) and even then I had long trousers, tucked in socks, long sleeved shirt etc but still managed to pick up one of the little beggars on my shin. How he got there I have no idea but he must have worked hard at it! I didn't spot him until I got home (I always do a check after a camp or a day walk) but I have a pair of tick tweezers in the FAK as well as antiseptic wipes and soon got rid of him. He hadn't had time to gorge himself so it was an easy removal. Horrible little blighters, I think I hate them even more than midges!

 

[Harvestman]

Ooh, a tick in the Trossachs! Nasty.

 

[bert333]

I'd check where the wife's been ....

 

[yerbache]

These are what we get issued in the Forestry Commission:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/OTom-Twister-People-Animal-Resealable/dp/B001BATLY4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1303755325&sr=8-1

 

[Toddy]

That's a really good price what a shame about the delivery cost though :yikes:
The vet usually charges about a fiver for the pack.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[gsfgaz]

I got a nasty one in my leg at the weekend in glentrool ... horrible thing's ... i ordered a tick remover on ebay for under a fiver with postage ... ...

 

[HHazeldean]

I got a pack of 'Tick Twisters' at the Outdoors Show for about a fiver. I once had 11 ticks at once after a weekend excursion to the New Forest, not very nice!