Tick kit

[BILLy]

Hi
I was thinking of putting a tick kit together, Does anyone carry such thing as a tick kit? Not just tweezers to pull it off but treatment etc? And what do you carry? And what methods of use please.
Cheers
Bill

 

[cranmere]

I just carry a tick remover. I usually have a basic first aid kit which includes an antiseptic wipe. There really isn't much else you need to do in the field.

 

[Quixoticgeek]

Not wanting to hijack, but what are peoples thoughts on the various tick removers on the market?

Julia

 

[Fin]

I've actually had ticks - after a jungle survival exercise in Belize. Searching for them in your pubic hair was almost as bad as actually finding them! I have to say I've never had the problem in Europe, though I know they are a potential problem.

My girlfriend and I recently acquired a wee dog that had been abused by it's previous owners. Amongst other ailments, he was infested with ticks all over his back legs. The vet gave us a tick removal tool (kind of like a miniature pry bar) plus some alcohol based solution for the affected areas.

It's the only specialised tick gear I've seen - so your local vet maybe the best place to shop.

 

[Toddy]

I like those little otom tick removers, they're really good in use, simple and very effective, but the wee tools are just too easy to misplace and lose especially when out, and, they're made of green plastic.
Lately we've been using tick keys instead since they fit securely onto a keyring. HWMBLT says it's not such a certainty type feeling using it though; he wasn't quite sure whether he'd gotten the whole tick or missing a bit at the head end

I packed some of the little alcohol swabs beside mine in my pocket first aid kit, and I know folks who also pack one of the tiny little plastic 2ml tube with the screw/press caps. They capture the tick(s) and drop them in there so that if the tick bite does go funny then the tick can be tested for Limes disease. They put the (dated) tube into the freezer and the tick dies but is kept for investigation if necessary.
I have to admit that having done that once after HWMBLT removed a tick, finding this wee test tube bottle thingie with a dead tick in it in the bottom of the freezer drawer was a touch I don't even know if it's necessary; need to find out.
Thankfully the bites seem to have come to nowt.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[cranmere]

I have the otom one like Toddy. It seems to work pretty well on the neighbour's dog!

 

[Quixoticgeek]

Having a look on amazon for the otom remover, I found this review

Ever since I bought this tick remover, and showed it to the cat, our cat refuses to collect any ticks from the garden,
so even as a deterrent, it seems to work well!

Note - does not necessarily work as a deterrent with all cats.

 

[TarHeelBrit]

Although ticks where we walk aren't a great threat if you stick to the trails (we don't ) you never know when a little hitchhiker may show up so I carry these.


These plus a few alcohol wipes should solve any ticky problems.

 

[Will_]

Where I live there are ticks everywhere!
I carry an O'Tom Tick Twister. It does the job well for me and for the dog
The dog gets ticks almost every day in the summer, her long fur makes them really hard to find.
I usually get them once a month or so. My wife normally discovers them and is disgusted

 

[FreeRangeGoth]

I haven't had much luck with the various tools. Fingernails seem well evolved for this job. Steriwipes help too, though.

 

[Didgeridoohan]

I always carry something similar to the green tool TarHeelBrit posted a picture of. That plus some disinfectant (alcohol wipes) is really all you need...

Fingernails feels dangerous. You risk squeezing the little bugger and then it can spew a nice cocktail of nasties straight into your bloodstream.

 

[TarHeelBrit]

I always carry something similar to the green tool TarHeelBrit posted a picture of. That plus some disinfectant (alcohol wipes) is really all you need...

Fingernails feels dangerous. You risk squeezing the little bugger and then it can spew a nice cocktail of nasties straight into your bloodstream.

There are a lot of people who have mastered the fingernail scrape technique, but if you don't know what you're doing you could, as you say, squirt all sorts of nasties into your bloodstream.

 

[Macaroon]

Any way of "scraping" ticks off is a dangerous game to be playing; the crucial thing in removing them is a screw action, they wind themselves in and you need to unwind them out. I've not had Lymes but years ago I had major problems with infected bites where the head of the tick, or part of it, had remained in the site due to the wrong way of removal.

 

[reddave]

spray your clothes with permetherine as a first line of defence, then o'tom twister

 

[ADz-1983]

I have a Tick Key (from group buy here) and a otom tick remover.

 

[Shewie]

Otom tick twister and more lately the Tick Key, along with a mini tube of antiseptic cream (Savlon), if I'm heading to tick country I make sure my clothing has had a good douse of permethrin too.

 

[rickyamos]

I have three dogs that love to play in the long grass over the fields, can anyone tell me if there is a particular way of checking for ticks on the dogs, what they look like, size etc

Many thanks Rick

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[FreeRangeGoth]

Oooh, I don't scrape! I just get my nails underneath it and pull, slowly. Or just use pointed 'medical' tweezers, making sure to not cut the mouth parts off by squeezing too tight.

Rickyamos: they look like black dots, close up more like a crab-bug. Dog ticks are about 5mm long, raisin-sized when full. Deerticks are smaller. Both are easier to see on short fur, harder on long fur. Horrid little sods.

 

[Mesquite]

I have three dogs that love to play in the long grass over the fields, can anyone tell me if there is a particular way of checking for ticks on the dogs, what they look like, size etc

Many thanks Rick

Have a read of this Ricky

 

[rickyamos]

Many thanks for the link.

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