Ticks

[MattBoyer]

When I was a kid we used to spend a good deal of the summer camping in the mountains and never saw a tick. Not one. We slept outside without tents, and the only things we knew about ticks was what we read in our boy scout manuals. Now I hunt grouse and fish brookies in the same section of mountain and literally, quite literally, stop to pick about 5 ticks off of my pantslegs every 15-20 minutes. It's absolutely insane. I thought I was just tastey, but after taking a few friends hunting they all said the same thing. They were never going back there. Girls! I can't help but wonder if the fact that there were relatively few bobcats and almost no coyote, but now there are thriving populations of both, might have in some way contributed to this. On a side note anybody that wants the location of my favorite brookie stream is welcome to PM me. I'll give it up in a heartbeat, just not in public.

Boyer

 

[Fishidiot]

Here in SC Pa Lyme Disease is a very real threat. Several of my friends have had it and my sister got it in Pittsburgh from a tick that latched on to her in Frick Park. Although I see a lot more of the large dog ticks, the tiny deer ticks are common too. A few years ago I discovered a clothing treatment for sale at the clothing store at Ft Benning GA that you apply to your clothes to keep ticks and other bugs off. This treatment goes by brand names like Durannon and has the active ingredient permethrin. You spray your clothes and shoes and it repels/kills ticks. They say it lasts on the clothes for months although I treat my boots about every two weeks in summer. I treat my fishing vest a couple times per year. Since using this stuff I almost never get ticks on me anymore.

 

[Chaz]

Nearly every county in the state has occurances of lyme disease, it is a real epidemic and it seems to very little "air time." There is far more likelyhood of getting lyme disease then the bird flu yet no one is even working on a vaccine for lyme disease. I know quite a few people that have it, of course if you're JackM this is only anecdotal evidence and should be taken with a grain of salt, but the bottom line is every time you go out side take a shower when you get back, it's your best defense against getting lyme disease.

 

[JackM]

Chaz wrote:.... of course if you're JackM this is only anecdotal evidence and should be taken with a grain of salt....

If the Center for Disease Control published a report saying that Lyme occurred in less than 1/100th of the cases of tick bites, I would bet you and a few others would deny it because a friend of your cousin's barber had a contrary experience.

 

[steve98]

Can I put a Large for Dogs.

Flea and Tick collar around my ankle to keep them away?
Or are the chemicals inside them not good for me?

 

[Wmass]

Again, having some experience in the medical field I can tell you that there is no chance of getting Lyme's disease if you pull the tick off in the first 24hours. YOU HAVE NO CHANCE! So, the best way to avoid Lyme's disease is to simply check yourself at the end of every fishing/hunting jaunt into the woods.

PS- I forgot to mention one sorta cool thing that can happen to you after a tick bite. Ticks carry a toxin in their saliva that can cause a form of paralysis that ascends from the site of the bite up until you are paralyzed. The paralysis is only temporary (24-72hrs) but there are apparently case reports of people having to be ventilator-dependent until the toxin wears off.

 

[Wulff-Man]

Chaz wrote:
....but the bottom line is every time you go out side take a shower when you get back, it's your best defense against getting lyme disease.

EVERY time you go out??? Sounds a bit too much like Monk (Tony Shaloob) to me! :-D

Wmass wrote:
Ticks carry a toxin in their saliva that can cause a form of paralysis that ascends from the site of the bite up until you are paralyzed. The paralysis is only temporary (24-72hrs) but there are apparently case reports of people having to be ventilator-dependent until the toxin wears off.

Hopefully no one will bury you before you come to (Spider bite episode on "Lost" a couple weeks ago). :-o

Obviously I've been watching too much TV and not fishing enough recently!

My son got Lyme's last year. Don't want to tell you where the tick was. Had the red target mark and got symptoms, like the flu and very achy muscles. Treated by doctor and recovered fine.

 

[tomatocan]

My little Am. Water Spaniel allegedly caught lyme disease, she was 2 y.o. and could not climb up the steps, L sided facial droop, Asymmetrical tongue and joint weakness that would migrate side to side and front to back. It was aweful, she was vaccinated against Lyme, but still was symptomatic and tested postive for lyme. We had her on the prescribed doxycycline (Sp?) for 9 months with no significant change. We scheduled her at NC state ($1000 just to get in the door) for work up, took her off the Doxy a week prior per their orders, AND she recovered fully. Saved $1000 +, I guess it was the threat of going to a big time vet that did the trick. The dangdest thing, now a wild thing again, even caught a squirrel on the run in front of my wife the other day. I bet you all in PA could of heard the shrieking....

 

[bigjohn58]

My brother one time in turkey season had over 30 ticks on him. We've been fishing Cedar Run in Clinton County before and had 15 or so on us. Ticks are just part of fishing anymore. When I was a kid we didn't have them but about 6 or 7 years ago they are everywhere! I blame it on the lack of deer. They lost their hosts so now they have to come find humans. My advice is watch where you leave your clothes from fishing and make sure to take a shower whenever u come home. I still fear the copperheads more then the ticks and rattlers.

 

[beadhead2]

And you do not bathe on a regular basis either Sandy !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :lol:

 

[sandfly]

every other sat. nite like clockwork....me and the dog wash in pine......then we have a big fish fry....

 

[jpavoncello]

I've had two ticks attach to me in all my years of fishing and hunting. Unfortunately, one was a deer tick and within a couple of days the bullseye showed up on my stomach. A weeks worth of tetracyclene and I never showed any other symptoms.
I check the rarity off to being Italian. Tons of garlic and olive oil, they can't stand the smell of me and the ones that do jump on, slide right off.
John

 

[Wulff-Man]

sandfly wrote:
every other sat. nite like clockwork....me and the dog wash in pine......then we have a big fish fry....

So then you smell smokey and fishy for 2 weeks?

Reminds me of an article I saw in the paper yesterday:
Chemist helps folks whose body odor’s a bit fishy

A Philadelphia chemist helps desperate people who smell like old fish or even marijuana smoke. They have a rare enzyme deficiency.

 

[JackM]

No, boss, no! It's a rare enzyme deficiency... yeah, an enzyme deficiency, that's the ticket...