# Tic Toc Ticks



## mywaynow (May 15, 2011)

Every day the Tics are more active and prevalant.  What do you do to keep them off you while in the woods?

Last time out, I wore light colored pants and bright green shirt, both sprayed with bug spray.  Still found 3 of the buggers climbing on me later that day.


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## flhpi (May 15, 2011)

A trick we did in the Army was to save the matches from our MRE packs.  When the bugs and ticks came after us we would cut the heads of the matches and swallow them down with water.  We sweat the sulfur out and the bugs stayed away.

I still do this trick.  I may or may not have bug spray with me so when I am in a store that offers free matches at the checkout counter a grab a booklet.  I carry them in my car and truck so I can always keep the critters off me.


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## loon (May 15, 2011)

flhpi said:
			
		

> A trick we did in the Army was to save the matches from our MRE packs.  When the bugs and ticks came after us we would cut the heads of the matches and swallow them down with water.  We sweat the sulfur out and the bugs stayed away.
> 
> I still do this trick.  I may or may not have bug spray with me so when I am in a store that offers free matches at the checkout counter a grab a booklet.  I carry them in my car and truck so I can always keep the critters off me.



thats a cool bit of info  ;-)   does it work with skeeters and blackflies??

loon


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## snowleopard (May 15, 2011)

That's a new one on me.  What about just taking dietary sulpher supplements?  (MSM-methyl sulfonyl methane)


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## flhpi (May 15, 2011)

I was stationed at Ft. Bragg N.C.  It works on black flies and skeeters.  They will fly up to you but wont land then fly away.

We used what was readily available, matches were supplied to the troops. Sulfur pills were not.


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## loon (May 15, 2011)

will try this out for sure    thanks...loon


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## snowleopard (May 15, 2011)

flhpi said:
			
		

> We used what was readily available, matches were supplied to the troops. Sulfur pills were not.



I get that.    I applaud improvisation such as this--and will bear it in mind if circumstances require.  

 I didn't mean to imply that you should have been taking sulphur supplements you didn't have--but now that you have that option, you (or others) may wish to consider supplements.  Two reasons for my suggestion: one is that there may be a few other things in match-heads that might not be so terrific to be swallowing, and the other is that sulphur is supposed to be one of the most abundant minerals in the body--but for most of us is not, because the soils where they grow and foods we eat are depleted of this mineral.   MSM is also good for aging, achey joints, which seem to be mentioned on a regular basis on this forum.   Can't think why . . .


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## loon (May 15, 2011)

the amount of junk i've ingested in the last 46 years leopard, a few matches aint gonna be a big deal at all  ;-P 

loon


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## fireview2788 (May 15, 2011)

Funny you would post this, I pulled my first tick off me today at work.  I've deer hunted for 26 years and never had one on me but this little bugger climbed on today while in the backyard looking at the garden.  I HATE ticks.


fv


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## flhpi (May 15, 2011)

I have often wondered what kind of crap is in the match heads.  Supplements are a good idea.  I should give up cigars, beer and match heads. Just kidding, I wont give up cigars.


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## Backwoods Savage (May 16, 2011)

Fortunately we do not have that problem here but the skeeters make up for it. They will be hatching very soon. 

I wonder if the ThermaCell would also work against ticks? For certain I would try it. They sure are a life saver when you have to work in skeeter infested areas.


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## Wood Duck (May 16, 2011)

I don't do anything to keep them off. I just take a shower and check for ticks when I get home. Most of the time they seem to require several hours before they actually bite me, so if I check after being in the wood I find them crawling and easy to remove. The ones that have bittien me I pull of with a tick twister.


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## KodiakII (May 16, 2011)

I would be afraid that if I swallowed to many match heads that my JT might self ignite while having coitus.  Think I will try the supplement instead...or eat a bunch of wild leeks.


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## snowleopard (May 16, 2011)

flhpi said:
			
		

> I have often wondered what kind of crap is in the match heads.  Supplements are a good idea.  I should give up cigars, beer and match heads. Just kidding, I wont give up cigars.



There's a story told of Samuel Clemmens (Mark Twain) as follows: 

Mark Twain had an acquaintance, a saintly woman, probably a Sunday School teacher, who was deathly ill. It seemed that nothing could save her. The doctors had given up. But Mark Twain knew just what she needed. Standing over her bed, he shared his good news and, as you can imagine, she was greatly relieved. Twain confessed to having had a similar problem and told her he beat it by giving up some of his bad habitsâ€¦ Pretty soon, he said, the starved illness left his body for more fertile ground.
â€œBut I donâ€™t have any bad habits,â€ the woman proclaimed.
â€œNone?â€ Twain asked.
â€œNone,â€ she assured him. â€œI donâ€™t run around with men, smoke, drink, gamble, dip snuff, curse or bite my nails. Iâ€™ve been a good woman, almost without fault,â€ she insisted.
A frown came over Twainâ€™s face and he bowed his head in resignation, saying â€œIâ€™m afraid the doctors are right, thereâ€™s no hope.Youâ€™re a sinking ship with no ballast to throw overboard.â€


Hang on to the cigars--you never know when you'll need to heave some ballast!


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## trailmaker (May 16, 2011)

Ticks are out in force here.  I hate them,  they are tiny little juggernauts that won't stop until they find a nice place to burrow in.  I'm thinking I might have some belt loops sewn into my pants just below the knees so I can wear tick dog collars on each leg.  There are certain spots on my property where I just can't go right now because of the ticks.


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## Intheswamp (May 16, 2011)

Funny, but we don't have ticks, skeeters, or deer flies down here.   %-P    

Ed


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## snowleopard (May 16, 2011)

Same here.  No snakes.  No ticks.  No termites.  (I mean, really, termites?)  No alligators.  No ticks.   Most of the stuff that can nastify ya are in-your-face big: grizzlies, moose, mosquitoes.  Trailmaker, remind me to put you on my ignore list.  THAT PICTURE IS GROSS!


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## snowleopard (May 16, 2011)

loon said:
			
		

> the amount of junk i've ingested in the last 46 years leopard, a few matches aint gonna be a big deal at all  ;-P
> 
> loon



Could it be that some of the junk you've ingested in the last 46 years might have led you to the chewing-off-matchheads stage of your life?  

Just askin' . . .


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## Intheswamp (May 16, 2011)

snowleopard said:
			
		

> Same here.  No snakes.  No ticks.  No termites.  (I mean, really, termites?)  No alligators.  No ticks.   Most of the stuff that can nastify ya are in-your-face big: grizzlies, moose, mosquitoes.  Trailmaker, remind me to put you on my ignore list.  THAT PICTURE IS GROSS!


Nope, no alligators, snakes, spiders, poison ivy, chiggers, IRS agents,...


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## weatherguy (May 16, 2011)

They're bad here in the northeast, my co worker got lyme disease twice, his territory was Connecticut, which may have something to do with it.


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## loon (May 16, 2011)

snowleopard said:
			
		

> loon said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



just might be.. but the scissors will be coming out for this.

loon


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## remkel (May 16, 2011)

trailmaker said:
			
		

> Ticks are out in force here.  I hate them,  they are tiny little juggernauts that won't stop until they find a nice place to burrow in.  I'm thinking I might have some belt loops sewn into my pants just below the knees so I can wear tick dog collars on each leg.  There are certain spots on my property where I just can't go right now because of the ticks.



Well at least those appear to be the larger ticks, not the deer ticks we are concerned about up here. Those buggers are small, and can burrow in without you even realizing it until you start to see the old bullseye forming- then it is Lyme Disease treatment time.


When I was younger we used to run through the fields all the time and if we got a tick on us it was not big deal- just take it off or if it burrowed pick it off or burn it off etc....now it is a paranoia with all this disease.


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## fireview2788 (May 16, 2011)

We killed a deer this fall that had several ticks the size of that big bugger.  It was the first deer in ten years we saw ticks that big so we knew he was an old deer (not to mention he weighed at least 250lbs).  Lyme disease hasn't been found here yet, although it has been found in NW Ohio, near Akron/Canton.  my tick was a dog tick too so I'm not worried about it.

fv


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## firefighterjake (May 16, 2011)

KodiakII said:
			
		

> I would be afraid that if I swallowed to many match heads that my JT might self ignite while having coitus.  Think I will try the supplement instead...or eat a bunch of wild leeks.


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## Woody Stover (May 16, 2011)

Remkel said:
			
		

> Well at least those appear to be the larger ticks, not the deer ticks we are concerned about up here. Those buggers are small, and can burrow in without you even realizing it until you start to see the old bullseye forming- then it is Lyme Disease treatment time.
> 
> When I was younger we used to run through the fields all the time and if we got a tick on us it was not big deal- just take it off or if it burrowed pick it off or burn it off etc....now it is a paranoia with all this disease.


Yep, deer ticks are tiny, especially in the nymphal stage. Wife and I were outside painting part of the house. There must have been a new hatch in the ground cover next to the house; We each had well over 100 nymphal ticks that we had to pick off us with tweezers. Tiny, tiny...barely visible with the naked eye.

I'm a little freaked right now. I usually catch any deer ticks on the first day, but a couple weeks ago I found one that I think may have been on me a couple of days. Now for the last few days I've felt a bit out of sorts. Easily fatigued, weird low-grade intermittent headache. If this persists over the next couple of days, it's Lyme test time for me...


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## woodsmaster (May 16, 2011)

We also have ticks extreamly thick this year. I've found them on the kids, myself and are indoor dog. Worst I've ever seen them. And thats in my yard not the woods.


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## PapaDave (May 16, 2011)

Was in the woods yesterday for about an hour bucking up a couple fallen maple. Went in the house afterward and had a cool drink, then went to change my pants, and found one on my shin. Nasty little buggers.
First one I've ever seen or had on me, that I know of.


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## mecreature (May 16, 2011)

I think I had Lyme disease last year in early June.

Went to a Souther Indiana lake and those small ticks were everywhere. My son and I found dozens on us and tons of bites.

About 3 weeks later I got very bad head aches and high fever with no other symptoms. 
After about 2 weeks I took an antibiotic I had saved from a previous visit to the doc (after stepping on a rusty nail) and it slowly went away. 

Never figured it out for sure but the symptoms matched and the timing left me wondering.

I would eat 20 packs of matches if it worked... LOL it was terrible.


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## fireview2788 (May 16, 2011)

Did you have a "bullseye" around the spot where the tick was?  If not then it wasn't Lyme disease.  Also, once you get it you always have it.  Pres. Bush has Lyme Disease and was treated throughout his presidency.


fv


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## midwestcoast (May 16, 2011)

fireview2788 said:
			
		

> Did you have a "bullseye" around the spot where the tick was?  If not then it wasn't Lyme disease.  Also, once you get it you always have it.  Pres. Bush has Lyme Disease and was treated throughout his presidency.fv



Not so fast, the Bullseye definitely does not form in all cases. A good indicator that you do have it, but not good indicator that you don't.  If you catch it early you can get rid of it with antibiotics only. Even after a month or more most cases clear-up well when treated though the symptoms by then are pretty bad. Leave it for months or a year + and you are not gonna be in good shape at all, but treatment can still turn this around, just more slowly. 
Here's a good summary of the stages & symptoms of Lyme disease from backpacker magazine.  http://www.backpacker.com/june_2006_skills_lyme_disease_symptoms/skills/10608


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## Thistle (May 17, 2011)

Only seen 2 on me in the past month so far.Been in the woods 4 times for 4-5 hrs each time.I shower,shampoo & comb my hair etc immediately after coming inside.I'm concerned but keep watch for any of them.When I see one I remove it & cut it in half on a board with pocketknife.


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## fireview2788 (May 17, 2011)

Well, I sit corrected.  I will admit that I haven't looked it up recently (years more likely) so they may have found the right ways to treat it.  Thanks for the info!

fv


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## mbcijim (May 17, 2011)

I've had a 100+ ticks on me, and literally 1,000's on my dog's.  I lived next to some farm fields that were pretty badly invested.  Some weeks I would pull off 100 over the course of the week if I was letting the dog(s) roam and/or it was high season.  

Just some facts based on a LOT of experience:
In Northeast Pa, the peak season is usually November and March.  Not nearly as many in the summer as late fall and early spring.
90% of the time you will feel them walking on you before they bite you.
There was a myth that you had to burn the things off.  Just grab as close as you can to the skin and pull. Use your fingers, not tweezers.  Tweezers can cut them in half, which is bad.  If they are very early on you (or your pet), sometimes I'd let them get bigger for 12 hours so I could pull them off if they were too small.  I cut too many in half with tweezers rushing to get them off.  They won't hurt you.  Let them get big enough so you can just pull.
Per my vet it takes 2-3 days of the tick being on you before you will get Lyme disease.
I never seemed to have much luck with any control product for pets, i.e. Frontline. 
I haven't had one get too full size on me for 20 years (since I was a kid).  You'll figure out they are there and you will get them off before it is capable that you get Lyme disease.  
The myth is much, much worse than the reality.  Ticks should be respected, but in my experience, relatively harmless.  One dog did get Lyme disease but he was treated and cured relatively quickly.


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## mywaynow (May 17, 2011)

The information I have is that it takes  24 hours for a infected tic to spread the Lymes.  They must feed and then they regergitate the blood which is when the disease is passed.  I would not leave a tick on for any time, since you can't be sure when the bit you.  The primary, and I believe the only tick that carries and transmit Lymes is the Deer tick.  It is the size of a pen point.  You need to check in soft skin, hidden areas of your body for them;  arm pits, belly buttons, behind ears etc.  That disease is not harmless.  It is subtle and often misdiagnosed early.  It can kill you through kidney failure and also cause legal blindness.  If you think you have it, you need to go to your doctor and make sure you have a prescipription for Docecyclin (spelling?) before you leave.  Don't leave without getting that.  If you don't test positive for Lymes, it does not mean you are free of it.  The testing alone is very imperfect.


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## CountryBoy19 (May 17, 2011)

I can't believe nobody has recommended permethrin yet.

Get some permethrin, apply it to your pants and go about your daily life. End of discussion.

Permethrin is what the military treats their clothing with. It lasts up to 6 weeks on clothing (even if you wash it) and ticks will drop dead after crawling mere inches on it. OMG, it must be really toxic if ticks will drop dead after crawling mere inches on it right? No, it's completely harmless to humans.

Permethrin

[/thread]


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## mecreature (May 17, 2011)

midwestcoast said:
			
		

> fireview2788 said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I had no bullseye that I could see. The body aches and the stiff neck all the way down my back with the most God awful head aches. 
Like I said I never figured it out for sure but I did my research. Tons of bacteria/viral symptoms but no respiratory problems.

The antibiotic I took was a big dose for 14 days. They gave it to me to KO blood poisoning from stepping on a big rusty nail that hit the bone hard.

But what do I know.


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## backpack09 (May 17, 2011)

My vet says: permethrin is very bad for cats.


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## NCPABill (May 18, 2011)

Just got back from the doc's last night - tick embedded with bullseye forming - no big deal if caught early, just take the medicine.  First one ever on me, couple on the dogs in the past.  Never noticed it showering the night before, but it was burrowed in at the morning shower.


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## CountryBoy19 (May 18, 2011)

Backpack09 said:
			
		

> My vet says: permethrin is very bad for cats.


So don't spray it on your cat then...

In all honestly, lyme diseases is very bad for you as well. Just take the proper precautions and minimize your cat's exposure to it and you should be just fine.


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## wannabegreener (May 19, 2011)

This is a little off the subject, but has anyone ever put 'tick tubes' around their yard.  I know it won't help if you are in the woods, but wonder if anyone had ever tried it.  I'm not sure what kind of results you would be able to notice, but???

Basically these tick tubes are toilet paper roles stuffed with cotton balls loaded with permethrin.  I guess mice are more of a carrier for ticks than deer.  The mice find the cotton balls and bring it back to the nest. When the mice bed in the cotton balls, the ticks die.  Not supposed to harm the mice - which I couldn't care less about.


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## Intheswamp (May 19, 2011)

wannabegreener said:
			
		

> This is a little off the subject, but has anyone ever put 'tick tubes' around their yard.  I know it won't help if you are in the woods, but wonder if anyone had ever tried it.  I'm not sure what kind of results you would be able to notice, but???
> 
> Basically these tick tubes are toilet paper roles stuffed with cotton balls loaded with permethrin.  I guess mice are more of a carrier for ticks than deer.  The mice find the cotton balls and bring it back to the nest. When the mice bed in the cotton balls, the ticks die.  Not supposed to harm the mice - which I couldn't care less about.


With mice I've always heard that hantavirus is the disease to be wary of.  Interesting note is that on CDC's Hantavirus page the mice they picture for our area are mice I really haven't seen but the ones stated as being in our area look like the ones that we have...our government at work.  :-/ 

Ed


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## firefighterjake (May 19, 2011)

The mouse I worry about most is Mickey . . . have you seen the size of this mouse . . . and he now has a partner . . . we'll be over run in giant mice in no time.


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## PapaDave (May 22, 2011)

Found another on my back yesterday after being in the yard. I was moving and burning a bunch of blow downs. 
I think I'll be getting some permethrin soon. I've heard they can be kept at bay with Deet as well. 
These are the size of the end of a pencil eraser.


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## Intheswamp (May 22, 2011)

firefighterjake said:
			
		

> The mouse I worry about most is Mickey . . . have you seen the size of this mouse . . . and he now has a partner . . . we'll be over run in giant mice in no time.



Yelp, I understand that they're migrating north from South America...


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## Kenster (May 22, 2011)

Backpack09 said:
			
		

> My vet says: permethrin is very bad for cats.



Great! Can I order it by the case?


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## Kenster (May 22, 2011)

I keep a bag of sulpher dust and fill an old sock about halfway up and knot it.  I whack my feet and ankles/britches legs and give them a good dusting and that seems to help.  This works great for areas with chiggers, too.  

You can do the same with Sevin dust.  I give my beagles a dusting before we go into the woods.   They also wear a  flea collar.   I give them a good inspection when we get back and have not seen a tick on them in a few years.


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