View Full Version : How many embedded ticks did you pull off on your thru hike?
Ticks are a fact of life.
Conventional thought seems to be that if you remove a tick that has been embedded just a short time (36 hours has been mentioned) there is very little chance of it passing on Lyme Disease -- even if it was infected.
Even so, nobody wants to find even one. This post ask show many EMBEDDED ticks you pulled off on your thru hike.
(edit: I had hoped to make this a poll but screwed up, oh well)
NOBO '11, none but still got Lyme.
Never saw a tick embedded, never got a rash.
If my memory serves me, I had five embedded during my AT thru-hike (maybe 20 total on my body that I discovered during my thru-hike):
1x in North Carolina
4x in Pennsylvania
Datto
Spirit Walker
11-18-2015, 21:53
I didn't have any embedded when I thruhiked, but that was many years ago. I've had several since then, but never had Lyme. I get tested every couple of years, jic.
and who here knows the difference between an embedded and a non embedded tick?
This is embedded. Apply it to ticks.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4dr4p9G1Qw
Only two ticks ever embedded in all my backpacking. One on a AT thru-hike in NH in 2006 and one on a Batona Tr thru-hike in NJ in 2012.
Ticks are a relatively common occurance on the Knobstone Trail in Indiana. You could hear the sound of them waltzing across the Mylar blanket I was using underneath me when I was nappng under a pine grove on the Knobstone Trail. Made for an interesting rest time watching the ticks heading toward you while you're resting.
The Knobstone Trail kicked my butt. I had no idea it was great preparation for Georgia on the Appalachain Trail.
Datto
NOBO '11, none but still got Lyme.
Never saw a tick embedded, never got a rash.
Change the year from '11 to '10 and my response would be identical. . I wasn't diagnosed until late winter/early spring of the next year ('11). Fortunately I had some knowledge of the disease and symptoms so suggested to my doctor (on the 2nd visit) that he do a test for Lymes. I am glad I did...I was the first case that he and his clinic had ever seen. Without having the knowledge and suggesting the test to him, my case may have been undiagnosed for a long time. Which, I understand, can have dire consequences. All who step foot on the trail, even for a single day, should acquire some knowledge of Lyme's.
garlic08
11-19-2015, 08:10
Zero on my 2008 thru-hike. Zero in my life, actually. Pulled a couple off right away in years past, didn't see a single one on my body on my AT hike.
But that doesn't mean I wasn't bitten. A successful tick just falls off after the meal. A friend contract Lyme Disease on his AT hike and never saw the insect, either. Luckily a friend noticed the rash on his back. He'd just started suffering symptoms and had no idea what was happening.
Traveler
11-19-2015, 09:00
Though not a thru hike, after hiking some 2,000 miles over the past 3 years, I have had only one tick (fall of 2012) that I had to remove with the handy-dandy tick removal tool. It wasn't a deer tick (far too large) and resulted in a minor tender area behind the knee for a few days. Outside of that, I have not gotten a tick bite that I know of in many decades of hiking around the Northeast.
If prevention is of interest, when temperatures get below 55 all day I will stay in long pants. I use convertible pants/short and will take off the leggings when the temperatures go over 60 usually. I do not treat my clothing, but do apply DEET (100%) to legs when there is a chance they will be exposed during the day. I will also apply DEET to my legs if I am bushwhacking in long pants due to the increased potential of insect invasion.
rusty bumper
11-19-2015, 09:38
In 2011, 2 embedded ticks for me. 6 or so flicked off my clothing. No Lyme.
Skinny Rooster
11-19-2015, 09:40
Had no embedded ticks on me. Found a wood tick crawling around on my shirt - no other tick sittings.
steve0423
11-19-2015, 10:30
NOBO 2013 1 embedded just south of Bear Mt NY
But crossing Delaware water gap into NJ I started to find them crawling all over me. I had to stop every few minutes to flick them off. I could actually see them clinging to the tip of a blade of grass with arms outreached waiting for a ride. Gradually thinned out as I went north.
I was talking to a French hiker in VT who was exhibiting Bells-Palsy symptoms (partial facial paralysis), I told him he needed to get to doctor because he might have contacted Lyme Disease. I met him again a few weeks later, he ended up testing positive was on at least two different antibiotics.
Just Bill
11-19-2015, 10:54
Apparently, at least one opportunity to remove an embedded tick was missed.
squeezebox
11-19-2015, 11:14
So what do you think about the the idea of getting tested every so often? just in case.
TexasBob
11-19-2015, 11:20
Check out this picture: http://www.lymedisease.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/lyme_tick_2-nymphal-tick.jpg
80% of Lyme cases are caused by nymphal ticks this size. What are the odds you would ever notice a tick this size on your body? Is it any wonder that some people who get Lyme never notice the tick they got it from?
BirdBrain
11-19-2015, 12:01
I am not sure if this was one of the purposes of this thread, but it appears a few things are being established. Regardless of the breakdown, it seems valid to say that not every thru finds an "attached" (changing the word to limit the debate) tick on their body during their walk. One or several may or may not have been attached at some point. In another thread this statement was made.
"do you see a scenario in which someone carrying that pill doesnt get bitten by a tick on their entire thru hike, or, gets bitten but elects not to take it? i don't."
Laying aside the word "bitten" (the word attached or embedded for a duration was intended), this thread is establishing an answer to the fist clause. Yes. Many don't find ticks on their body on the entire thru. If a person was carrying a pill and never found a tick, I doubt they would ever take said pill. This cannot be said with certainty. However, it seems to be safer assumption than all would take it.
Beyond the first clause, there are reasons to not take a pill that was carried. I would not take a pill for a tick that was not there in the morning if found during my nightly inspections. However, such speculations have not been established by this or any other discussion I have seen. What is being established is the fear of increased antibiotic resistance caused by people carrying pills is an exaggeration. I think all would agree, carrying a pill does nothing. One must consume the pill to have any possible contribution to the problem.
Beyond what is being established, I am of the opinion that those carrying pills (I do not carry the pill and therefore probably should not speculate) are not paranoid irrational people that would not reason out if taken the pill is warranted. I assume it is part of a considered plan.
Sorry. I might be seeing intent of the OP that does not exist. Just thinking this child of a previous thread has its roots in this point.
Back to the regular discussion.
None for me on my pre-climate change hike :) and none on my weekends on the AT in the years since.
Just a few in the years since-- all in MA or RI, but only one that met the CDC criteria for a prophylactic pill (which I accepted).
As for the purpose of this thread, it is mostly to encourage everyone to think about what they would do if they find an engorged or embedded tick. Good information is out there if one wants to look for it. Relying on these threads or the unquestioned advise of a family physician is obviously not good enough, IMO.
I found a tick embedded after I ended an 8 day (104 mile) hike this past summer through NJ. I was able to gently pull it out in the shower. I believe it had been in about 24 hours. That was in July, and I have no symptoms. (no idea what type of tick)
I used permitheon on my clothes, boots, pack, and bottom of my tent. I don't know how much that contributed to my good fortune, but I never saw any kind of tick on myself or my gear. People I hiked with occasionally found ticks on their bodies. One tiny, REALLY tiny-and a few larger ones. I did meet a scary number of people with Lyme on the trail, and several who had to leave for treatment.
I did carry the antibiotics -just in case- and they came in handy when someone with Lyme who was being treated with those same meds dropped hers on the trail somewhere. I gave her mine so she didn't have to interrupt her treatment.
Traveler
11-20-2015, 09:08
I did carry the antibiotics -just in case- and they came in handy when someone with Lyme who was being treated with those same meds dropped hers on the trail somewhere. I gave her mine so she didn't have to interrupt her treatment.
This is something that isn't discussed often in this topic. One of the issues relative to having Rx medications that are provided long before any diagnosis is made are the problems that can occur with drug sharing. Giving Rx medications (or even over the counter meds) to other people may not have the intended result of being a good samaritan and can lead to serious problems for both the person taking the offered drug(s) and the one who provides them. Reactions to drugs vary with people, even with people who claim they have taken the drug before but are unaware of what reaction can occur in combination with other medications they are taking. Its a real crap shoot, unless you are a medical or pharmaceutical professional and are insured for such things.
Though I understand the desire to help, you can be held criminally and/or civilly responsible for a drug reaction that harms someone, even if the person asked you for them. "No good deed ever goes unpunished" is the operative adage in these instances.
Yes- we were aware of that and were very careful to make sure it was exactly the same prescription and dosage. It was exactly. She was a few days away from town and in her second round of treatment. I gave her the 3 final days to complete the round.
As far as criminal activity, there are days on the trail where a cot and 3 square sound pretty good.
Rain Man
11-22-2015, 13:58
I used permitheon on my clothes, boots, pack, and bottom of my tent. I don't know how much that contributed to my good fortune, but I never saw any kind of tick on myself or my gear.
Pretty much same here. I treat my clothing and gear with Permethrin. I've found one embedded tick on me on the AT since beginning section hiking in '03.
However, once I sat down by the Skyline Drive in the SNP and literally saw dozens on the ground heading for me. YIKES!
Spirit Walker
11-22-2015, 23:19
We were in the Shenandoahs in May a couple of years ago and that was what we encountered as well. Between us and the dog, I pulled about 50 ticks a day. It was not fun. The only place I've seen them worse was in Itasca State Park in Minnesota.
English Stu
11-24-2015, 14:01
I am not thru hiker. I got one tick on my trip in 2004. In the twilight setting up camp I felt a bite and swatted it off, later it itched a bit so took a look, with swatting it I had left the ticks head in. I dug it out and dug a bit more the next morning put some antiseptic cream on it. I was determined not to leave anything in so it was painful digging. I was two days from are supply point but experienced no problems. Was a bit nervous if I developed a snuffle for while.