Ticks are back!

[Flatlander_SG]

I thought I would let everyone know, the ticks are back. Last week's warm weather must have brought them out. Anyway, I found one on my upper back this morning...I think it had been there for a while based on its size. My husband removed it, said it was large, brown, and oval. Really, really grossed me out! I have been itching ever since. I wish they made Frontline for people.

I hike Mt. Wachusett pretty much every day, but was on the Across VT Trail behind the Blue Mountain School in Wells River, VT...over the weekend...so who knows where I got it.

Unless I see a red circle around it, I plan to have blood work done in 3 weeks to check for Lyme disease....if I see a circle, of course, I will head directly to the clinic for meds.

Is the moral of this story, watch your back?

Ginny

 

[dr_wu002]

Hope you don't get Lyme!!

There is a similar thread floating around about ticks & lyme: http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?t=11838

-Dr. Wu

 

[Flatlander_SG]

Me too....I have another mark on the other side of my back where it looks like it might have taken a nibble....so gross!

 

[woodstrider]

Ticks are out 12 months of the year, but there are times of the year when they are most active.

 

[kerry13]

Unless I see a red circle around it, I plan to have blood work done in 3 weeks to check for Lyme disease....if I see a circle, of course, I will head directly to the clinic for meds.
Ginny

Why would you want to wait 3 weeks. Not everyone gets the red circle bullseye. Most doctors will put you on antibiotics, usually a week, as a preventative measure. Unless you are allergic to antibiotics I would go on them now.

 

[marty]

I am pretty sure that only the small, dark deer ticks transmit Lyme Disease. The ones referenced in this thread were probably the larger wood or dog tick, which are not Lyme transmitters. I seem to recall that they had on rare occasions transmitted Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, so blood work may a reasonable response.

All three members of our family discovered deer ticks attached to us at one time or another. Since they had been there a few days, we were put on some serious antibiotics for three weeks. None of us suffered ill effects. A deer tick discovered within a day or so is no problem, as it has not had time to attach itself adequately.

Both types of ticks are very abundant in northeastern Massachusetts.

 

[Ridgewalker]

Both types of ticks are very abundant in northeastern Massachusetts.

Ticks are also found in great numbers in Cape Cod

 

[Flatlander_SG]

Kerry 13.............

I just came off of two months of antibiotics post dental surgery so I hesitate to go on another round just yet if I don't need to. When I got ticked last year I went to the local ER. They gave me the option of starting antibiotics immediately or having a blood test for it three weeks later and then starting the antibotics if needed. They said I wouldn't show any symptoms for a few months if I did contract Lyme disease so waiting a few weeks shouldn't make much of a difference.

Thanks for your thoughts on this.

Ginny

 

[Periwinkle]

Thanks for the warning. I was just thinking about that the other day when I noticed trees starting to bud while bushwhacking out in the woods here in central NH.

It's been a great winter without the little suckers. I haven't missed them one bit after spending last winter with live ones on Nantucket year round (one of my dogs got a tick borne disease in December last year). I guess it will soon be time to put Frontline on the dogs and start doing the full body human inspections again around here.

And so much for all the great off-trail times for a while...

 

[summit1]

I went for a walk in the woods Saturday AM in NE CT in 18 degree temperatures and when I got back I had an adult deer tick on me just crawling around. My dog also had one on her. I guess they are still active when it is freezing out.

 

[Flatlander_SG]

Summit1...tick season sure seems early to me. In fact, right after I took the tick off me, my golden retriever, Summit, got Frontline applied to her neck. I am not taking any chances with her. It looks like there might be more than one Summit hiking dog out there! My dog's formal AKC name is actually Summit VI.......

Ginny

 

[Stan]

proliferation of deer = proliferation of deer ticks = proliferation of lyme disease

Some suggest reintroducing wolves to control deer overpopulation but the places that are most overpopulated just won't get along with wolves. I suggest more venison (sorry Jade) ... it's a lot leaner and healthier than fatted up beef, or should I say, beefed up fat.

Good wishes to Ginny and thanks for the reminder.

 

[DougPaul]

proliferation of deer = proliferation of deer ticks = proliferation of lyme disease

The ticks also live on other mammals, mice for instance.

Doug

 

[bobmak]

This morning before work I took my pups out for a run at Weir Hill in North Andover, Ma. We hiked over the tops of the two drumlins and then walked along the shore of the lake for a bit; total time for the walk was about 45 - 60 minutes. Upon returning to the car I found two ticks crawling up my hand. After I got home I removed no less than 16-20 ticks from the fur of Rosie; she spent more time running through the woods than Chica, who was mostly on the trail. I removed 3 or 4 ticks from Chica. I am sure there are more on them since both dogs are black making it hard to see the ticks. I then carefully checked myself during my shower and seemed to be OK. While driving to work I felt something on my forehead and looked at myself in the rear view mirror... there was a deer tick walking across my forehead. Yes, they certainly are back... It seems like this mild winter has been very kind to ticks.

 

[marty]

Bobmak - thanks for the update. I have never run into ticks at Weir Hill, so that's a great warning to be extra watchful when I go there.

I found a deer tick on my stomach Sunday after a hike Prospect Hill in Rowley, MA, but removed it before it had attached itself.

Marty

 

[Flatlander_SG]

.....itching and scratching

Bobmak,

I have been itching and scratching ever since I read your post....ticks are so nasty!

That deer tick probably just waited in the car for you to return anticipating a great feast upon your arrival...how gross is that?

I hate the little buggers!

Ginny

 

[Waumbek]

No ticks out & about that I've seen in the North Country yet but it won't be long. I don't rush out and get antibiotics every time I get a tick bite. That would be several times a year. Itchiness can be a histamine reaction not lyme disease. And it can go on for as long as a week or more depending upon your sensitivity. Check with your doc.

 

[jrichard]

ticks

I've become quite annoyed with ticks. From the seventies to 2000, I don't recall ticks being much a problem, except in spring fields with tall grass.

In spring of past five years though, I'm picking them off people (including myself), dogs, cats, and kids by the dozens. Argh.

I'd like to blame global warming, but I don't know for sure. I've heard that recent bumper crops of acorns have been feeding the mice, which in turn help the ticks multiply by providing them with a means of transport.

The good news is that I've only see four attached ticks while hiking in the Whites. And none on the Cohos trail (despite all the tall grass, moose, and deer along the snowmobile trails).

 

[una_dogger]

May be why so many ticks

Hey There;
I used to work for a non prof called the Institute of Ecosystem Studies; and there is a scientist there who studies the ecology of Lyme Disease.
He's shown that in years when Oaks are stressed they give off more acorns, which in turn feed more deer and mice, which in turn mean more deer ticks and ticks distributed over a broader range.
He's also shown in another study the impact of habitat fragmentation on deer tick populations, and this works by altering the diversity of the reservoir hosts for the ticks -- he found decreases in mammals that ticks would also normally live on that don't also harbor the bacteria that causes Lyme, in other words, so many mice and so few racoons, possums squeezed into smaller and smaller habitats, equals a greater proportion of the deer ticks infected with Lyme.
Here's a link to alot of info on why there are so many ticks and Lyme here in the NE, surprisingly, it all goes back to the Gypsy Moth invasions of the 80's that had such a huge impact on our Oaks.
http://www.ecostudies.org/IES_lyme_disease.html

Sabrina

 

[bobmak]

That deer tick probably just waited in the car for you to return anticipating a great feast upon your arrival...how gross is that?

Actually, I think it was in my hair all along and I missed it in the shower. It was tiny, maybe 1/2 to 1/3 the size of the head of a paper match. Since that day last week I keep feeling small things walking on me... just my imagination... I hope!