Deer Ticks

[Gill-T]

Hate to say it but we need to start worrying about deer ticks in Western NY now.  When I was in college I worked a summer job with the health dept. trapping small animals and checking them for deer ticks.  At that time, the only deer ticks around were in relatively closed ecosystems of Erie PA (Presque Isle St. Park) and Point Pelee in Ontario.  My German Shorthair has in two years managed to collect two deer ticks from my buddies house in south wales (near Buffalo) and another while hunting Pheasants last Saturday at Darien Lake State Park.

[BarringtonTrapper]

I have pulled dozens off my pets in the last few weeks as well as 1/2 dz from myself. I work outdoors but haven't been in the woods yet hunting. I saw one crawling on my dogs head and before i could get to it the tick jumped from dogs head and onto my white sock . Trapping starts in the am and im sure I will deal with hundreds before it turns cold.

[Guppy35]

Just in the last couple of weeks, my wife and i found one behind my 9 month old son's ear (luckily it hadn't been attached for very long), my brother found one on his stomach, and my uncle found two on him.  Just the last couple of years i have heard about more people pulling ticks off themselves and their pets than i have ever heard of the rest of my life.  With the seriousness of Lyme disease, we need to figure out something to get them under control.

[Big Water]

I was just at the vets last night with my cat and she told me they stopped making the Lyme Disease vaccination for humans. Ticks are thick right now in central PA.

[Fish Hunter]

My son had one on his stomach after being in a tree stand most of the afternoon this past Monday.

Gotta be careful..........

Shot a big male coyote a couple years back on the southern gun opener, it was INFESTED.

[Paul Czarnecki]

Before everyone panics keep in mind that the Lyme Disease spirochete is only viable in this area during the summer. Once October hits the chances of contracting Lyme go down exponentially. Even if the tick you're bitten by carries it. Also, the big, ugly "dog ticks", red ticks and "wood ticks" or keds are not known to carry or transmit Lyme.

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[momay4000]

Before everyone panics keep in mind that the Lyme Disease spirochete is only viable in this area during the summer. Once October hits the chances of contracting Lyme go down exponentially. Even if the tick you're bitten by carries it. Also, the big, ugly "dog ticks", red ticks and "wood ticks" or keds are not known to carry or transmit Lyme.

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With all due respect this is not 100% true. Lyme disease is most likely to be contracted during the Spring and Summer months as a person is most likely to be bit by a nymph tick (much smaller tick and harder to detect and typically infected with the bad bacteria which causes Lyme. Because they are smaller and harder to detect, they are likely to be latched on longer).

 

In the later summer, fall and winter, you are less likely to be bitten by a small nymph tick based on their life cycle, but you can still be bitten by an adult female deer tick even in the winter if she finds you. Although she is less likely to carry Lyme compared with the nymph stage tick, and you are more likely to see it and pick it off before 36 hours, she can absolutely still transmit Lyme to you. Thus, if bitten by a deer tick even in the winter, please make sure you call your doctor.

 

Also, please keep in mind that you may exhibit "later stage" Lyme symptoms in the fall and winter (such as joint pain arthritis) from a tick bite exposure earlier in the year. If you have severe joint pain and think it's from Lyme, call your doctor. Don't ignore the symptoms just because it's "winter".

 

Chris

Edited October 27, 2014 by momay4000

[stinger]

This stuff can be helpful against deer ticks. Kills as well as repels. Available at WalMart as well.

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001ANQVYU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1  Watch the video on the left of the page.

[Roughrider IV]

Picked up a tick in New Jersey shotgun season in December one year. Sucker latched onto my eyelid while on stand, felt the bite too. Didn't see it till I showered and looked into the mirror, saw it in the outside corner halfway imbedded. Had a doctor remove it.

[Glenn -Brazee]

Found ticks getting out off control last year myself. Few words of advice. First use Sawyers permethin spray on clothing and let dry. Kills ticks not fish. Second,buy Selsun Blue shampoo to shower when returning. Any ticks attached go down the drain. If you see one on your skin, DO NOT PULL, simply put some Selsun Blue on a Q-tip and rub,will let right go instantly. (They don't like the selenium sulfate) Save tick if you have concerns of lyme. Just my experience..

[Guppy35]

With all due respect this is not 100% true. Lyme disease is most likely to be contracted during the Spring and Summer months as a person is most likely to be bit by a nymph tick (much smaller tick and harder to detect and typically infected with the bad bacteria which causes Lyme. Because they are smaller and harder to detect, they are likely to be latched on longer).

 

In the later summer, fall and winter, you are less likely to be bitten by a small nymph tick based on their life cycle, but you can still be bitten by an adult female deer tick even in the winter if she finds you. Although she is less likely to carry Lyme compared with the nymph stage tick, and you are more likely to see it and pick it off before 36 hours, she can absolutely still transmit Lyme to you. Thus, if bitten by a deer tick even in the winter, please make sure you call your doctor.

 

Also, please keep in mind that you may exhibit "later stage" Lyme symptoms in the fall and winter (such as joint pain arthritis) from a tick bite exposure earlier in the year. If you have severe joint pain and think it's from Lyme, call your doctor. Don't ignore the symptoms just because it's "winter".

 

Chris

 

Thanks for the useful information, Chris!  When we found the tick on my 9 month old son, we had a lot of people tell us that there was nothing to worry about because "it looked like it hadn't been attached for very long", and the probability of him contracting Lyme from it even if the tick was a carrier was "very unlikely".  However, when talking about your first child, and under a year old, "very unlikely" doesn't really mean a whole lot to me.  If you have any symptoms as Momay has said, get it checked out by a doctor.

[Sk8man]

Sean - Chris is100 percent correct and being the good parent you are your priority is exactly where it should be - with your child. These ticks are a very real problem. These dumb azz deer bed down in my backyard and despite being hit in the butt several times with my bb gun they come back for more....even to the extent of looking in my windows sometimes in the early morning hours. Our dog has very dark multicolored fur which makes it virtually impossible to spot the ticks on him so I can't even take him out back anymore. I hope all the deer hunters around here are VERY successful this year. About once per week someone nails one on the road here with their car so that is surely some indication of the population density. As much as I hate to say it I'm almost praying for a severe winter with real deep snow

[stinger]

Do yourself a favor and treat your dogs for flea & ticks year- round. I've been using K9 Advantix II (active ingredient 44%- permethin) for the last 4 years on my Wheaten Terrier with good results. Just like  using permethin on your cloths, if a flea or tick isn't repelled they die within a couple hours. Our yard is fenced in and she is in & out all day every day and loves to lay down and nap near shady bushes.

 

Now is the time to read up on ticks & how lime desease is transmitted, not after you find one attached like I did and freak out `till you do a crash course on Deer Ticks. I've had two attachments so for this year (one in my back yard early this summer and one at my hunting club shooting range a month ago)  and cought those little buggers in less than 24 hours thank God. As you'll read up on the ticks you'll see that they don't start drawing blood for 24 to 36 hours after attachment and then even if they have the virus it's not transmitted to the host until they are almost completly engourged.

Edited October 30, 2014 by stinger

[Frogger]

While I was at Bass Pro, the Sawyers was on the shelf, 15.99 so ill be treating my clothes trying it out.  Seems like its good stuff based on reviews.

[Chas0218]

Found ticks getting out off control last year myself. Few words of advice. First use Sawyers permethin spray on clothing and let dry. Kills ticks not fish. Second,buy Selsun Blue shampoo to shower when returning. Any ticks attached go down the drain. If you see one on your skin, DO NOT PULL, simply put some Selsun Blue on a Q-tip and rub,will let right go instantly. (They don't like the selenium sulfate) Save tick if you have concerns of lyme. Just my experience..

They don't test the ticks anymore.  They just automatically give you the antibiotics.

[dawsonscreek]

Hard to believe an organism the size of a crumb can cripple you for life or even worse. I am a magnet for the things, and all other biting bugs. I can be next to my dad in the swamp and be swarmed by mosquitoes or horse flies and he won't even have one near him. Same applies with ticks. 

Edited October 31, 2014 by dawsonscreek

[Chas0218]

Yeah this year I haven't had a tick on me yet and I hunt a heavily populated area. I think with the better than average acorn crop the ticks will leave us alone more.  

 

I saw a study that related the acorn crop to mouse population and if there is a good crop there will be more mice.   Meaning the ticks will stay on them versus finding a new donor.

 

This might have been the article:

http://www.pestworld.org/news-and-views/press-releases/press-releases/acorns,-not-weather,-to-blame-for-more-ticks/

[Jimmyi]

Eat a lot of garlic and bananas.  It keeps em away

[buckboardjr]

I've been hunting everyday this week and as I read this I'm starting to itch all over thinking I got one on me. Will have to do a thorough check when I get home today! Ickky bastards.

[Frogger]

Lol I was just thinking the same thing and I havent even been out in the woods yet.  Chas, somehow that doesnt make me feel any better..... as I sit eating a clove of garlic....... 

[stinger]

Eat a lot of garlic and bananas.  It keeps em away

 

Great cover sent also ... 

[Guppy35]

Funny how when somebody mentions something like a tick or lice, your mind starts playing tricks on you and you start feeling like you've got something on your skin or in your hair

[Pete Collin]

I've had dogs for the last 22 years.  Only in the last 6 years or so have ticks become a major thing around here.  I pick one or 2 off my dog every day, and I only walk him here in town anymore because he's almost 15.  This is the first year I find the small deer ticks on him and it makes me very leery.  I saw a couple crawling on me and caught them before they attached.  But they're so damn little!

[Giz9219]

Shot a doe last weekend down by Keuka lake,she was loaded with ticks,saw at least 25 on her when I was gutting her,my dogs back home Boonville,I am finding one or two every couple of days,just never seen this many ticks!

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