Tick season is here!

[foxmeadow]

We took a walk around the knob we live on this morning. I was aware that there would be ticks lurking, but I was not prepared for what I got. We (Izzy, 1 yr. old GSD and Malinois mix) walked a mowed trail that took us under no hanging branches where we might pick up a hitchhiker, about a mile and a half. Izzy is being treated with Nexgard, which seems to be very effective. When we got back to the house, I did a cursory inspection in the mirror, and found one on my face. Over the next half hour I found 6 more, so I took a shower and inspected everything I could see in the mirror. When I had removed my jeans and shoes I sprayed them with Backwoods and went to the shower. After, I found two more crawling on the floor near my jeans. After disposing of them, I felt another on my neck. Ten ticks in a half hour hike.
From now on, I'm dosing my shoes and pant legs with repellent. My grandson had been crawling all over the dog, so he got an inspection, and we found no ticks.

Usually what we have here is wood ticks, dog ticks and occasionally deer ticks, which are so small they are hard to find. I usually get bitten every year at least once, almost always by wood or dog ticks. This year I found a deer tick right over my adam's apple. I carefully removed it, applied antibiotic ointment, and put a Bandaid over it. The next morning one side of my neck was swollen and tender. I went to Urgent care, and the very young doctor said not to worry, Lyme's Disease is very rare in Oregon, but he still prescribe antibiotics for ten days. I had an appointment with my regular doctor a few days later and he said Lyme's Disease was very much evident in western Oregon and advised me to report any changes in health immediately.
Best advice I could find on ticks is here https://thatoregonlife.com/2019/06/everything-you-never-wanted-to-know-about-ticks-in-oregon/
Be safe out there...

Edit @ 6:15 Pm Since writing the above, I've found two more. Never seen anything like this..








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[tdemore1743x]

I would keep up with tests.
My girlfriend was patient #6 in Oregon, diagnosed in 2013 when she was a teenager.
It has caused nothing but issues throughout her life

 

[Koda]

Want to start a heated tick removal argument, tell someone their beloved tick twister removal devices actually makes the problem worse.


(ducks and runs for cover)

 

[FATAL125]

I went to Urgent care, and the very young doctor said not to worry, Lyme's Disease is very rare in Oregon

Stupid Mother F-ers!

Such a bullbubblegum line!

My wife, who has been battling Lyme for almost a decade now, was told the same thing dozens of times that its "super rare in WA state".

Its absolutely NOT super rare...

It IS, more often than not, misdiagnosed and improperly treated.

Western medicine knows bubblegum about this disease and the dozens of co-infefections that go along with it. Its absolutely debilitating and crushes individuals and families.

I could tee off on this for a long while, but I'll refrain.

@foxmeadow stay safe out there. You're pups too as they are susceptible to Lyme as well.

 

[WAYNO]

We sure don't understand everything there is to understand about ticks, and who ticks prefer, or why. It's too bad the medical community also does not understand ticks or take them seriously. But in fairness, neither did we. If somebody had a tick, we'd brush or scrape it off, or dig it out, or even burn them out with a match or cigarette, and life went on. Story was, ticks breathed thru their arse, and if you put a drop of baby oil on their butt, they'd suffocate and back out on their own. I never knew any of my hunting buddies to admit to carrying baby oil.

I've spent many years in the outdoors, and I can count on two fingers the ticks I've had, while at the same time I've shot deer with so many thousands of ticks, they looked to have a black beard when the cape was hanging from a tree. Yucko.





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[Jay Walk]

Doc told me the same thing, I think I have had three separate ticks.

 

[rgold1963]

I have been bitten by ticks 9 times. Each time, the reaction got progressively worse. Every doctor I went to said "there is no lyme disease in Washington". The last Doctor I saw said he had actually had it and was quite concerned no other doctor ever suggest I get tested especially with the reaction I was having to the last bite. He put me on 30 days of Doxycycline and then had me get tested. Fortunately, the test came back negative which may have been from the Doxy and I have not been bitten again since then. I have several scars from the bites and it was an extremely unpleasant experience each time I had to remove them.

 

[Tlock]

I would keep up with tests.
My girlfriend was patient #6 in Oregon, diagnosed in 2013 when she was a teenager.
It has caused nothing but issues throughout her life

I had Colorado tick fever back in 2020, it was absolutely terrible! I was down for almost a month. It came off one of the spring bears I killed

 

[Tlock]

Want to start a heated tick removal argument, tell someone their beloved tick twister removal devices actually makes the problem worse.


(ducks and runs for cover)

I've used a tick key lots, they seem to work pretty good. It doesn't break the head off

 

[Duneblaster]

If you have dogs or cats that go outside check their tails. We adopted a cat from a neighbor and it had huge deer tick on his tail. A big nasty lookin' thing that looked like it was about to pop. I had to use a pair of curved hemostatic forceps to grab it by the head n' pull it off. You have to be careful or you can cause the tick to expell toxins if you squeeze them. The unfixed male cat that had the tick turned out to have FIV aka cat HIV... it was an outside cat and had a constant eye infection. The vet claimed it was highly contagious and it had to be put down. Not sure if it got the FIV from the tick or what but you gotta check their tails.

Ticks aren't in the NW area of the state but we got 'em down here. And we have some huge black widows.

 

[GunSmoke]

How have I never had a tick?!
I've spent a lot of time in the woods, gutted and cleaned deer and black bear.
Never even seen one. Not that I'm complaining, just genuinely curious.
Also, I always heard you were supposed to burn them off.... that work?

 

[Duneblaster]

How have I never had a tick?!
I've spent a lot of time in the woods, gutted and cleaned deer and black bear.
Never even seen one. Not that I'm complaining, just genuinely curious.
Also, I always heard you were supposed to burn them off.... that work?

Ticks hang out on the ends of blades of grass. They hop onto you as you walk through grass or walk on trails.

Burning ticks off isn't recommended because they can barf toxins up as they're burning. And that will end up in your bloodstream. You have to yank them off by getting the foreceps (or a tick key) in front of their head between your skin and the head of the tick. Don't let the tick get pinched or disturbed in any way as you pull it off.

 

[lonebull]

Second the tick key, they work great! Ticks are always a problem in Eastern WA. This seems to be a very bad year, probably because winter was so warm last year. I have found 3 crawling on me this year, none got to the biting stage. My wife insists of weed eating the tall grass and has had no less than 15 on here this year. 2 have bitten here and had to be removed with the tick key. I tell her she is a "tick magnet". Mosquitoes are especially bad this year here also, and they love me....

 

[GunSmoke]

Ticks hang out on the ends of blades of grass. They hop onto you as you walk through grass or walk on trails.

Burning ticks off isn't recommended because they can barf toxins up as they're burning. And that will end up in your bloodstream. You have to yank them off by getting the foreceps (or a tick key) in front of their head between your skin and the head of the tick. Don't let the tick get pinched or disturbed in any way as you pull it off.

So essentially pry them off?

 

[Bobbygun]

I encounter ticks pretty much every year. This year I've had one crawling on my arm and another crawling on the inside of my windshield. Caught both of them between thumb and forefinger and popped them between my thumbnails. A couple of years ago I felt what I thought was a bee sting me on the back of my hand. It was a tick that bit me. That was really odd because the ticks that bit me in the past simply attached to my skin and I never really felt any pain. I always check for ticks after a woods visit and have never had one get buried very deep. My hunting buddy on the other hand, had one get embedded while fishing over in central Oregon a few years back and had to have a doctor remove it. He ended up getting Lyme's Disease. Initially his doctor didn't recognize it, but my friend was doing his own research and recognized the symptoms. He went back and demanded antibiotics, which were then provided. He seems to be doing fine now, but I've heard/read some horror stories.

 

[OutwardHound]

I've had one tick that I know of. Picked it up while walking in a local park. Didn't know it. A few days later I see what looks like a watermelon seed hanging from under my right arm bicep. Then I noticed what looked like pale rings of bruising around the area. Got into to see the doc right away. He gave me an antibiotic injection then prescribed oral meds for 10 days or so. Seemed to take care of it.

 

[lonebull]

With a tick key slide it under them from the rear towards the head and pry them off. Usually real easy to do.

 

[Certaindeaf]

One guy, a Canadian, I follow on YouTube got himself all tick-proof and then filmed himself getting bit on the ankle by an armadillo. Just sauntered up and bit him, lol.
He got pretty spooked by all the responses and took all the rabies shots. I told him they carry leprosy too.. just trying to do my bit.

 

[CountryGent]

Lyme disease is a bad mother. One of my colleagues wife had it and it pretty much messed her up beyond description. We live in a beautiful place here in the Northwest, but it isn't without danger. Take all precautions when it comes to ticks.

 

[lonebull]

I bought my tick keys at the local hardware store years ago but they are available on Amazon also.