Bad Tick Season in PA

[splions]

I live in Western R.I. not too far from Lyme, CT (sound familiar?). We have a lot of ticks and our problem is the stone walls that have been built over the centuries here. These field fences now provide habitat for mice which carry the most Lyme bearing ticks. You really have to be diligent in using repellents, hats, etc. when out in the woods.

 

[Delta-T]

I think some of the tick population expansion has to do with the lack of widespread spraying. Back in the day it was common to fly all over everything spraying for ticks, mosquitoes, whatever crawls or flies. Now, with no DDT, they are coming back in force, and bitter about how they've been treated. Also be aware of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (not isolated to the rockies). I got it a few years back after spending a week up near Lake Umbagog in Northern NH/ME backpacking. Horrible, horrible sickness. Spent 3 weeks on Doxy, lost 22lbs. Now my immune system is markedly weaker (now i get reactions from bee stings,when before i did not). Now I'm a big fan of Deet.

I've heard rumor that blood sucking insects tend to seek out people with low iron and low coagulants in their blood (makes some sense). This typically make swomen slightly more appitizing. I imagine taking extra B vitamins, and eating things like garlic would help to make one less appitizing.

 

[PeteD]

if you do get infected, and you get your doc to start you on antibiotics right away (Doxycycline is good), you can pretty much count on nipping it in the bud.

I'll second that! I got tested for lyme's two yrs ago and came up negative thank God. But anyways my doc asked if i did alot of outdoor activities and of course i replied yes since i hunt, fish, 4wheel, ride enduro, work outside etc haha. So she prescribed Doxy to me and said to take it after i pull any ticks out that look to have been embedded for over 12hrs. So far so good!

If you really want to be horrified (at our medical system and the lack of attention Lyme disease is getting from some in the medical community), check out this movie:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxWgS0XLVqw
Or this book:
http://www.cureunknown.com/
Lyme tests are notoriously inaccurate (less than 50%) and interpreted by standards set by the individual laboratory performing the test. Lyme is prevalent in our area and often mis-diagnosed as MS and other neurological disorders.

Pete

 

[LLigetfa]

The wood ticks have just started here. I pulled 4 ticks off the dog in the last 2 days. It's still cold here and I make a fire every evening. Going down to -2C tonight and calling for snow.

 

[pistonslap]

[quote author="trafick" date="1241202229"]The abundance of ticks is caused by either George Bush or Global Warming.

Don't worry, Obama apologized to the ticks, now they'll leave us alone

 

[bsruther]

A few weeks ago we were fishing up at the neighbor's pond with some friends and all four of us had multiple ticks on us. I have to say I'm proud of my wife for not freaking out. She had eight on her and actually picked them off herself.
The next weekend, the wife and I were clearing underbrush up in our woods for two days and didn't get one. The pond is only about 500 feet from where we were clearing brush too.
The only reason I can think of that there'd be so many at the pond is that most of the local wild animals go there for water.

Last summer I was getting ticks on me daily near the house and couldn't figure out where they were coming from. Then one day I went out to the garage and came back in, looked down and there was one on my shirt. I figure they were hitching a ride on the mower, golf cart or vehicle or maybe all three. I fumigated the garage and haven't had any out there since. It's almost time to do it again though.

 

[jcims]

Your neighbors to the west are having a bad tick year too. I'm just west of Columbus and it has been crazy.

I spent the early years of my life up in Mc Kean county, PA. I didn't know what a tick was until I moved out here. That said, my first deer was bagged in PA, and while I never had a tick in my life out there, that poor thing had 4 just on its scalp.