View Full Version : Are you a 'tic magnet'?
Last weekend in the woods my youngest seemed to act as a tic magnet picking up no less than 5 tics in two days, I had one and the other four in our party none at all!
She was wearing long trousers too...... and went nowhere her older sister didn't :confused:
So do you attract tics more than others? - are they attracted to some people more than others?
calibanzwei
07-06-2010, 13:20
Only been afflicted once. Slept somewhere I shouldn't. Stopped counting after 2 dozen.
JonathanD
07-06-2010, 13:21
Can't say I've ever had a problem with them. I have known people who have been with me pick up a few though. Midges seem to like me, but a very light misting of Lifesystems repellant keeps them off.
Bushwhacker
07-06-2010, 13:27
I pulled one off my belly yesterday after a scoping mission across the fields, only the second one of the year (so far) so not doing to badly considering the potential for contact.
PatrickM
07-06-2010, 14:36
Twenty odd years ago I was sucked upon by mosquito's in Turkey, six months after that I returned to the UK with ulcers from the infected bites which resulted in two biopsy's - to cut a long story short since then everything that bites, stings, sucks etc are drawn to me. A few weeks ago I counted 29 ticks from a trip in Argyle and 2 weeks ago a whopping 57 from Glen Nant, I now get tested for Lyme's every year.
Without a doubt I am a magnet.
launditch1
07-06-2010, 14:46
I can honestly say ive never been affected.(touch wood)
Now horsefly's, thats a different matter!
Had a couple this year and expecting a few more next week round Loch Shiel and Moidart
eucalyptus oil works for me
Bushwhacker
07-06-2010, 14:55
I don't think anyone is immune to them, if you're in an area where they are, they will find you. Everyone gives off heat and co2.
Twenty odd years ago I was sucked upon by mosquito's in Turkey, six months after that I returned to the UK with ulcers from the infected bites which resulted in two biopsy's - to cut a long story short since then everything that bites, stings, sucks etc are drawn to me. A few weeks ago I counted 29 ticks from a trip in Argyle and 2 weeks ago a whopping 57 from Glen Nant, I now get tested for Lyme's every year.
Without a doubt I am a magnet.
:yikes:
She is only 9 and thankfully is not bothered about them at all.... we only had tears last evening when the tic-o-tool would not grab it as it was so small and I got the tweezers out - not that it hurt at all in the end it was just a combination of overtired and fear of the unknown :nono: - she'll be ok next time though :stretcher:
gregorach
07-06-2010, 16:19
Last weekend in the woods my youngest seemed to act as a tic magnet picking up no less than 5 tics in two days, I had one and the other four in our party none at all!
She was wearing long trousers too...... and went nowhere her older sister didn't :confused:
What sort of boots were they wearing? I have a theory that nubuck, suede or fabric boots make you more likely to pick them up than smooth leather, as they find it easier to get a grip on...
nope never had one.
Just found a flea though - must of come from the mouse I've just caught by hand.
andybysea
07-06-2010, 16:45
I dont go to Tick infected ground(long grass/bracken etc) without permethrin on my trousers these days as i seem to get them alot, before 4 yrs ago id camped everywhere and never had one, now seems all the time, as for some people attracting them more, from a programme i saw about them its just your luck passing a area where one's lying in wait they hold onto bracken or grass etc at the top,with there bottom legs and whirl the top four round in a arc,these legs have little hooks on them so when you pass, the hairs on legs or material from trousers/socks etc gets gripped by one of these hooks and they are on, they also always walk up the way, thats why if you get one on your boot/sock it will head for say your ankle,on trousers will head for waist area basically a warm good exposed area where it can get to a blood supply,they do wait to sense movement,heat and co2, the ones that go for humans are the nymph and the adult, the larva stage are to small and cant get through human skin they tend to feed on mice/birds etc.
I read a paper on the internet once about US forces testing results from a garlic diet, the results were very interesting but it was of course catch 22, you lose all your friends but the ticks leave you alone too.
What sort of boots were they wearing? I have a theory that nubuck, suede or fabric boots make you more likely to pick them up than smooth leather, as they find it easier to get a grip on...
could be - was fabric 'pumps' and fabric walking boots...
I eat loads of garlic, often raw, but the ticks still bite.
I've haven't had any on me for a long time now but my son has had a few on him while camping with the Explorer Scouts.
I'm wondering if you wear compression underwear, like the stuff Under Armour, Nike, 5.11, etc make if that would give you protection. Most of the times I got a tick on me in the past it was under my clothing, mostly on my thighs. So if you wore skin tight under garments they might not be able to get inside them. This kind of undergarment is suitable to wear in hot weather, in fact that's what it's designed for.
I have bought a few pieces of this type of clothing (for its muscle compression and sweat wicking properties) but seeing that I'm not getting bitten at the moment anyway I haven't been able to test my theory.
I dont go to Tick infected ground(long grass/bracken etc) without permethrin on my trousers these days as i seem to get them alot,
Hi Andy, if it's working for you, which Permethrin do you use as Google and E-Bay seem to bring up brands like "Lifesystem" which give instructions only for use on mosquito nets. Or is this to cover themselves and you just use it on trousers and socks gaiters etc. ?
cheers Danny
andybysea
07-06-2010, 22:32
Danny i use this one---
http://www.nomadtravel.co.uk/catalog/browse/avoiding-bites/bugproof-clothing-treatment ,,,they now do a 6 week protection one which ive used recently.
johnnytheboy
09-06-2010, 22:02
Thats a good idea, I get murdered with ticks!!!!!
I am not a tick magnet but one of my dogs is. My springer gets loads but my mongrel who has a short smooth coat doesnt.
My Scouts had them last year at camp in July but I put that down to them lying and crawling bracken which the Leaders didnt.
silvergirl
14-06-2010, 12:18
My daughter tends to pick up a few when we are out.
But we are now fastidious about checking whenever we've walked through long grass/bracken.
My son doesn't seem to get so many actually biting him, but we did have a bit of a scare in Norway a few years ago when a tick bite started swelling and he had a high temp.
My partner however is a real tick magnet. He always comes back from trips covered in them.
Camping beside Loch Sioniscaig he had 47 in one leg in one afternoon. Gave up counting after that.
In spite of being a midge and mosquito magnet myself, ticks don't seem to bother me too much and of all the trips I've been on the numbers of ticks I had attached is probably still in single figures.
We all have pretty much the same diet and wear similar materials, so I don't know what the critical factor is.
My other half is very hairy, which may be his excuse, but that doesn't apply to my daughter.
davyowens
21-06-2010, 19:40
These tick thingies deserve a lot more respect than most people realise....I got mauled my them on a multi day sea kayak trip down loch long last season & a couple of the bite sites rashed out...I was told that it looked very characteristic of an 'EM' Rash, Borreliosis, {Lymes}...which although not often spoken about to the public, is considered to be endemic in much of Scotland. Anyway, the Doc did not go as far as to diagnose this - but she did give me 21 days worth of Doxycycline, the standard treatment for localised borreliosos. Anyway I dont want to bore everyone with my now extensive knowledge of ticks & borreliosis...suffice to say the more you learn...the scarier it gets....but I would'nt want my kids exposed to them.
There are many people severly disabled & disfigured in the UK as a direct consequence of a single bite!!!
Check out -
http://www.bada-uk.org/
Worth a look
http://i996.photobucket.com/albums/af89/davyowens/ticks%20%20crawlies/Picture008.jpg
Thanks for posting the top pic Davy, I have two of them "holes" on my left leg - had them for about two years now and they don't heal properly. If they do it's only for a week or so and then they break open again.
Time for another visit to the Doc methinks.
I picked up my first tick yesterday walking in the woods in shorts!
A quick twist with the O'Tom detached it and I wacked it hard - it won't be biting anyone else!
My dog picks them up regularly - they make their way to just above his eyes which is a help as he is otherwise extremely hairy.
Mossies on the other hand - they love me. My wife says she doesn't worry about being bitten as long as I'm around 'cos they love me so much.
Bush_Man
25-06-2010, 23:10
Every time I get out to the woods (most of the times near my house) I find myself getting very frequently one or two.
Altough most of the times I get rid of them before they bite me I've had to cut a bit of skin in my belly once because the only part of the tick I could see was two legs. Other time that I felt being bitten I just went home and put ethyl alcohol and it worked really well. Think they don't like get drunk! :lmao:
I agree with everything DavyOwens has said above.
The vast majority of people know nothing about ticks and the associated dangers, and it never ceases to amaze me just how many "outdoorsy" types seem oblivious to them. And it isn't just people who go out into the country who are at risk as I read recently that tick counts in London's parks yielded quite alarming numbers. Livestock are treated for parasitic infestations, wild deer are not, and there is a definite, credible link between the numbers of ticks and deer populations, and the numbers of red deer on most Scottish estates is mind-boggling!
They say that tick numbers are increasing due to seasonal/climate change, which you may or may not believe to be true.... As you were!
The one thing I am aware of though, is that I have picked up ticks on numerous occasions in the last few years, whereas I can't say I remember more than one or two nymph stages prior to that, despite having stravaiged the Scottish hills for decades, camping, crashing through bracken or undergrowth, reclining in the most inadvisable places or leaving the tent in the buff to answer natures call during the night. In fact, bearing in mind the ambush tactics of ticks, positioning themselves on the end of a leaf or grass stalk, hooks at the ready, such natural urges probably constitute the time when you're most at risk, day or night.
What has changed over the past few years are my habits. The first thing I used to do when getting out of the car was to put my gaiters on and, being a Scottish hill-man, it was always spray with Jungle Formula, trousers in socks, shirt in trousers and long sleeves in defence of midges, ticks and the dreaded Cleg (although I have had a cleg bite straight through a shirt). I no longer set off on the epic journeys I used to take into the mountains of my youth, heading out for weeks on end and covering a ridiculous number of miles in a day but tend more to camp based activities and day forays into the hills. I also use bothies as a base more these days as opposed to having utilised them if they happened to be en-route at the end of the day, or as a refuge. These changes in my use of the country account for the change in my habits, but I also believe they explain the increased number of tick bites I've received in the last few years.
After a trip to the far west last weekend, I returned to find a tick behind my knee and another in my groin. I had something of a scare last year with a red blotch developing on my calf, followed by painful inflammation and swelling, so back to old habits for me from now on, out come the gaiters, trousers in socks, shirt in trousers!
I was of the assumption that the hard winter we've experienced would have taken its toll on the tick population, but after meeting a group of women kayaking from Loch Hourn to Lochailort, one of whom said she'd had 29 ticks so far, I'm no longer sure. Incidentally, the women were all wearing sandals!
Some thoughts;
Ticks show up on light coloured trousers, but not on dark!
Modern synthetic fabrics designed to be quick-drying tend not to allow ticks a hold and they can be brushed off easily!
I believe there is a lot in what Gregorach is saying, although nubuck hadn't occurred to me.
Don't wear sandals!
Try to be aware if your arms contact long grass, bracken, etc, and check immediately.
Check yourself over nightly when out in the field, and thoroughly when you get home.
And from... http://www.lymediseaseaction.org.uk/ticks.htm
"Three of the diseases that can be caught from a tick bite in Britain are, Lyme borreliosis, Babesiosis and Ehrlichiosis. Globally, the list of diseases is much longer."
Although rare, a quick scan of the consequences of the above diseases makes perfectly clear why children must be protected against exposure.
And finally, the biggest tick I ever saw was in Bavaria, when I became aware of a thing 1/2 cm wide with a red stripe on its back crawling up the leg of my trousers. Ticks, in some areas of Europe, are reputed to carry Meningitis and Parvo Virus, among other goodies!
Another thought, Bush-man, the latest advice is that any distress caused to a tick whilst embedded will cause it to evacuate the contents of its stomach back into YOUR bloodstream, thus also any infection or virus it may be carrying. That includes burning, the use of alcohol, vaseline, salt, or applying any other substance to make the thing let go. The recommended method of removal is with a proprietory brand tick-puller.
"Don't distress the tick" sounds a bit too PC for my liking though, so just keep that delight for later!
I agree with everything DavyOwens has said above.
The vast majority of people know nothing about ticks and the associated dangers, and it never ceases to amaze me just how many "outdoorsy" types seem oblivious to them. And it isn't just people who go out into the country who are at risk as I read recently that tick counts in London's parks yielded quite alarming numbers. Livestock are treated for parasitic infestations, wild deer are not, and there is a definite, credible link between the numbers of ticks and deer populations, and the numbers of red deer on most Scottish estates is mind-boggling!
They say that tick numbers are increasing due to seasonal/climate change, which you may or may not believe to be true.... As you were!
The one thing I am aware of though, is that I have picked up ticks on numerous occasions in the last few years, whereas I can't say I remember more than one or two nymph stages prior to that, despite having stravaiged the Scottish hills for decades, camping, crashing through bracken or undergrowth, reclining in the most inadvisable places or leaving the tent in the buff to answer natures call during the night. In fact, bearing in mind the ambush tactics of ticks, positioning themselves on the end of a leaf or grass stalk, hooks at the ready, such natural urges probably constitute the time when you're most at risk, day or night.
What has changed over the past few years are my habits. The first thing I used to do when getting out of the car was to put my gaiters on and, being a Scottish hill-man, it was always spray with Jungle Formula, trousers in socks, shirt in trousers and long sleeves in defence of midges, ticks and the dreaded Cleg (although I have had a cleg bite straight through a shirt). I no longer set off on the epic journeys I used to take into the mountains of my youth, heading out for weeks on end and covering a ridiculous number of miles in a day but tend more to camp based activities and day forays into the hills. I also use bothies as a base more these days as opposed to having utilised them if they happened to be en-route at the end of the day, or as a refuge. These changes in my use of the country account for the change in my habits, but I also believe they explain the increased number of tick bites I've received in the last few years.
After a trip to the far west last weekend, I returned to find a tick behind my knee and another in my groin. I had something of a scare last year with a red blotch developing on my calf, followed by painful inflammation and swelling, so back to old habits for me from now on, out come the gaiters, trousers in socks, shirt in trousers!
I was of the assumption that the hard winter we've experienced would have taken its toll on the tick population, but after meeting a group of women kayaking from Loch Hourn to Lochailort, one of whom said she'd had 29 ticks so far, I'm no longer sure. Incidentally, the women were all wearing sandals!
Some thoughts;
Ticks show up on light coloured trousers, but not on dark!
Modern synthetic fabrics designed to be quick-drying tend not to allow ticks a hold and they can be brushed off easily!
I believe there is a lot in what Gregorach is saying, although nubuck hadn't occurred to me.
Don't wear sandals!
Try to be aware if your arms contact long grass, bracken, etc, and check immediately.
Check yourself over nightly when out in the field, and thoroughly when you get home.
And from... http://www.lymediseaseaction.org.uk/ticks.htm
"Three of the diseases that can be caught from a tick bite in Britain are, Lyme borreliosis, Babesiosis and Ehrlichiosis. Globally, the list of diseases is much longer."
Although rare, a quick scan of the consequences of the above diseases makes perfectly clear why children must be protected against exposure.
And finally, the biggest tick I ever saw was in Bavaria, when I became aware of a thing 1/2 cm wide with a red stripe on its back crawling up the leg of my trousers. Ticks, in some areas of Europe, are reputed to carry Meningitis and Parvo Virus, among other goodies!
Another thought, Bush-man, the latest advice is that any distress caused to a tick whilst embedded will cause it to evacuate the contents of its stomach back into YOUR bloodstream, thus also any infection or virus it may be carrying. That includes burning, the use of alcohol, vaseline, salt, or applying any other substance to make the thing let go. The recommended method of removal is with a proprietory brand tick-puller.
"Don't distress the tick" sounds a bit too PC for my liking though, so just keep that delight for later!
Excellent post, Pango.
Bush_Man
26-06-2010, 17:45
Didn't knew that Pango...
Thank you for the tip.
Is it possible to get a Lymes disease jab from the doc yet, if numbers are on the increase then surely it would make sense to have something available.
Old Hickory
26-06-2010, 17:47
Dang ticks are terrible here in Iowa! spring through atumn is a time to be careful. I think everyone here is a tick magnet. Early squirrel season and early Spring mushroom season are the worst times for getting ticks all over you.
We have a lot of wild game here and most of the game carries ticks, too.
Do your local ticks also carry the dreaded deseases, like many of ours do?
Lyme Disease is the disease they carry that we worry about most here in the Britain, a disease which is named after the town of Lyme in Connecticut USA, although they do carry other diseases too.
My doc in Hunterdon County, NJ (an area with one of the highest counts of Lyme disease in the US) wouldn't give the Lyme disease vaccination saying it was more dangerous than the disease.
This is a joke I found 31 today and now I'm scared to keep going out in the woods. Help
I don't take a lot of precautions, but I've only ever had one tick so maybe they don't like my flavour. Mosquitoes make a real mess of me though.
Anyone else, what should I do they love me
silvergirl
30-06-2010, 09:59
Ticks are nasty and carry horibble desieses. But, we can't stop going into the woods and hills because of them.
And I won't stop taking my kids. I've got ticks in my garden (I live in the woods) and I can't stop them playing there either.
The most important thing is to check regularly.
Ticks are particularly dangerous when they have had a good feed and regurgitate some of their stomach contents back into you just before they let go. As it takes them quite a while to build up a full stomach, removale within twenty four hours dramatically reduces you chances of catching any nasties. Unless of course you do distress them so that they try to detatch before you get there.
My kids are well trained in tick patrols (what we call checking for ticks) and are checked and check each other after walks, during trips and before baths etc.
Long socks and trousers tucked in helps. As do light coloured clothes.
In areas that aren't heavily infested, I will walk in shorts and sandals but brush of regluraly as it takes a while for ticks to decide the best place to bite. Wouldn't work so well if I had hairy legs though :rolleyes:
i've never had a tick yet [touch MDF!].
midges used to bother me when i was a kid, but seem to do so less, now that i'm an old codger. i suspect this might be due to the fact that i'm addicted to hot food and tend to smother everything i eat in extra hot chilli sauce. methinks the wee nasties find my blood a bit too spicy for their liking! ;-)
last year when me and the missus were camping out in some sand dunes in donegal, we were beseiged by hordes of midges, until we broke out the bottle of absinthe we had brought along for the journey. within minutes our 80% proof aniseed flavoured breath had cleared the air of flying insects, to a radius of about ten yards around us.
so, if you're ever out in the wilds and come across some blundering fool, stinking of booze and chilli - remember i'm only trying to avoid catching lyme's disease.
Anyone else, what should I do they love me
Like Silvergirl said, try wearing long sleeves and trousers and try to check regularly. You can buy permethrin in a spray from Nomad (http://www.nomadtravel.co.uk/catalog/browse/avoiding-bites/bugproof-clothing-treatment) which works well
Interesting thread this, very informative too.
I've only had one tick and that was while in my garden in the UK. Didn't know what it was and must have scratched it off. Got infected and resulted in a hole in my left calf for about 2 weeks, finally healed without so much as a scar. Since coming to France though we're finding ticks on the dog regularly but us humans have been luckier, although last night I had to remove one from Alison's bum. She woke me up at 2am when she found it there. We bought this dinky little tool that looks like a claw hammer that you slide between the tick's jaws and your skin and an anticlockwise twist and the thing lets go. Great little tool it is too.
Just found it online. No affilation etc TICK REMOVAL TOOL (http://www.decoying.co.uk/?page=show-item&item=646) bit pricey but it never runs out and stays within use by date forever.
Alison's had about 4 ticks in 6 years, I've had just the one.
As for fleas though. In my former marraige our cats brought them home and they set up house in our place. Me and the youngest daughter were eaten alive by them but the ex wife and the eldest daughter hardly got any nips. So there is some credence to the theory that some people are more susceptible to bites than others. As this thread clearly shows. Maybe I have chocloate chip flavoured blood to a flea, but to a tick I taste of Brussel sprouts?
Thanks for the info sharing.
Forewarned is forearmed
davyowens
17-07-2010, 01:33
Just back from a weeks wild camping in the wild northwest of Scotland - out on the Coigach peninsula by loch Osgaig - just {outside} the Inverpollaidh estate boundary ...by outside, I mean there was a 8 foot deerfence & cattlegrids between our camp, & the vast deer-rich estate lands between Ullapool, Elphin & Lochinver. The land we camped on was classic tick heaven - {but minus the deer}, with lots of bracken, long grass, waist high ferns, & boggy heather covered moorland....
Although very wary at first, we quickly realised that that land appeared to be totally "tick free"...so much so that despite my usual strict anti tick "obsession", after several walks across the open moor myself, I was happy to allow my six year old daughter to run around freely.
This ties in with the following quote by 'pango': "Livestock are treated for parasitic infestations, wild deer are not, and there is a definite, credible link between the numbers of ticks and deer populations, and the numbers of red deer on most Scottish estates is mind-boggling!"
Is it a case of no livestock - no ticks?....Looks like it. I'm not suggesting deer are the only wild carriers of ticks, but they are probobly the most numerous in Scotland.
One thing I do know is that tick numbers have gone up alarmingly in the last decade - we're told due to so called 'global warming' - I don't fully buy the 'global warming package' as its sold to us by the 'politized scientists'....the global warming cycle has been shown by proper scientists to be linked to the presessional wobble of the earth over {tens of millenia} in a continous cycles from hot age to ice age & back again - 5000 years from now they'll be telling us about global cooling...so whats really changed in the {mere insigificant 20 years} that I've been walking & climbing in Scotlands wild places...have deer numbers gone up & deer habitat got closer to cities...who knows?... Maybee it's some good old fashioned moorland burning thats needed.
Yep, been on treatment for a tick bit from salsbury plain, and one from Canada which gave me lymes disease.
I got bit for the first time last weekend after 3 nights out by Loch Long, I found about 7 on me and I'm still finding them now on the dog, so far he's had 16, that's despite the fact he is regularly treated with Frontline at this time of year. He's due at the vets soon so I'm going to have to ask for some advice from her, has anyone on here got any ideas for dogs? I have used Advantix on him in the past and may ask for that off her again.
naefearjustbeer
17-07-2010, 18:15
The garlic theory doesnt work for me I have been bitten by ticks, and midges love me even though I reek of garlic. On average I eat a bulb of garlic every week sometimes more. Last time I got ticks was walking with my bairn round about the paths near Aviemore/ Loch Morlich. She also got ticks but the ones on her crawled under her nappy and died, I presume they didnt like the urine. However what surprised me was the fact that my wee one never walked on anything other hard packed stone path. For the off path bits she was on my shoulders to reduce the risk of her picking up ticks. So either the tick transferred from me to her or she picked it up on a path!
Hi Norton, I don't know about the UK but I've heard that ticks can carry Parvovirus in some areas of Europe. It might be a good idea to take a run around with the vacuum cleaner. When I get home the first thing I do is to strip off and get into the shower. My clothes go straight into the washing machine and I never go into the bedroom wearing clothes I've been camping in.
Naefearjustbeer, ticks position themselves on the ends of grass stems and such like with their hook-like feet outstretched to catch any passing animals, so it isn't just a case of being wary when walking in long grass but also brushing past a grass stem overhanging a path.
As far as I'm aware, there have been no recorded cases of Lymes disease having been picked up from larval or nymph stages. Think positive!
Yeah it is trange how some folks are 'tick magnets'. I'll pick a dozen or so after the best part of 7 months in the woods every year, but my partner Ben will sometimes pick up 30 odd in day!? Given that he is so prone to them, he has put together all the best advice he can find, and put it up on a PDF here - http://www.woodsmoke.uk.com/documents/files/tick_awareness.pdf
Always good to raise awareness of ticks and adopt good drills, the consequences can be so serious...
drewdunnrespect
18-07-2010, 23:15
never been bitton yet
Lupin Rider
12-09-2010, 12:07
got bitten on a course 3 weeks ago, had flu type symptoms since and the last few days added achy knees. doc now prescribing two weeks of Doxycycline.
Trackerman
12-09-2010, 13:29
I´m a tic magnet. I´ve had many, can´t count them. Last one was siiting on my balls and the previous one was ALSO sitting on my balls! I was given penicillin just in case borellia. But I move a lot through dense vegetation and high grass. It has become more common that people get meningitis from tics here.
Perhapse underware mught help you Trakerman:D
I think i must the polar opposit to what ever the ticks are , even had one leave me to bite Wifey! she was not ammused.
Been wild camping for over 15 years and never bitten by one but I do camp in a tick free zone I think. Moqueeeetoes on the other hand love me!
Boots sell a nice repellant called jungle something or other that I recently tried and it works great. Problem is its £6 per bottle and you could easily use a full bottle on one camp trip (small bottles)
This year i`ve only had 1 tick (touch wood), most ive had at one time was like 5 when i was like 14. When was at Ardentinny outdoor centre on a school trip. They ended up being on my private place :( wasnt fun taking them out.