View Full Version : Tick check
AtWokman
03-10-2016, 16:48
Does anyone carry a little mirror for checking for ticks in those hard to see spots?
Or is that over kill...
squeezebox
03-10-2016, 17:56
Tick Check! sounds like a good trail name for somebody.
A mirror would also have other uses.
Another Kevin
03-10-2016, 19:17
Does anyone carry a little mirror for checking for ticks in those hard to see spots?
Or is that over kill...
I use the sighting mirror of my compass.
You still have to have someone else check the back of your neck.
Are deer ticks so small that you can't feel them with your fingers? I'm not positive I've ever seen one. More familiar with the basic dog/wood tick.
If you carry a digital camera or a cell phone, you can snap a photo, and zoom in.
rocketsocks
03-11-2016, 00:34
If you carry a digital camera or a cell phone, you can snap a photo, and zoom in.
that right there is reason enough to bring a smart phone.
Sarcasm the elf
03-11-2016, 00:50
I use the sighting mirror of my compass.
You still have to have someone else check the back of your neck.
This is why I only borrowed your base plate compass :eek:
Sarcasm the elf
03-11-2016, 00:59
Are deer ticks so small that you can't feel them with your fingers? I'm not positive I've ever seen one. More familiar with the basic dog/wood tick.
Since you ask, here are the two I pulled off my dog while I was reading this thread.34041
turtle fast
03-11-2016, 03:41
Unfortunately the buggers are fairly small. I've used the cell phone camera trick several times. Just remember to delete the photos of possibly the nether regions!!! It quite be embarrassing for it to be accidently sent to coworkers, grandma, clergy, your boss, etc.
MuddyWaters
03-11-2016, 05:21
Tick nymphs can be quite smallLike a spec of dirt, sometimes almost colorless.
34045
Tick nymphs can be quite smallLike a spec of dirt, sometimes almost colorless.
34045
Wow. That is super tiny. I have seen the two biggest ones, and possible the third one that I thought was just a baby, but I know I have never seen that smallest little speck of one. How in the world would you see that in your hair or on your socks mixed up with all the trail dust and dirt? Scary that that little bugger can cause you so much harm and blends in so well.
TexasBob
03-11-2016, 12:22
Wow. That is super tiny. I have seen the two biggest ones, and possible the third one that I thought was just a baby, but I know I have never seen that smallest little speck of one. How in the world would you see that in your hair or on your socks mixed up with all the trail dust and dirt? Scary that that little bugger can cause you so much harm and blends in so well.
That's why most people who get Lyme never see the tick that gave it to them. You should also be looking for a rash like this which is caused by the Lyme bacteria spreading out from the site of the tick bite.
34049
Sarcasm the elf
03-11-2016, 12:48
That's why most people who get Lyme never see the tick that gave it to them. You should also be looking for a rash like this which is caused by the Lyme bacteria spreading out from the site of the tick bite.
34049
I will add that if you ever have flu like symptoms accompanied by joint aches (particularly when it isn't flu season) these are common symptoms of lyme disease. If this happens, get to a doctor and get a Lyme test. I've had an active case more than once and a bullseye rash was not present either time.
TexasBob
03-11-2016, 14:40
I will add that if you ever have flu like symptoms accompanied by joint aches (particularly when it isn't flu season) these are common symptoms of lyme disease. If this happens, get to a doctor and get a Lyme test. I've had an active case more than once and a bullseye rash was not present either time.
Good point.
Harrison Bergeron
03-11-2016, 15:49
Does anyone carry a little mirror for checking for ticks in those hard to see spots?
Or is that over kill...
Of course! Daily tick checks are mandatory. Anyone who doesn't do it has just never known anyone with Lyme. My nephew will have Lymes for his entire lifetime because it went diagnosed for 6 months. It ended his college football career and turned a natural athlete into a near invalid -- for life.
A plastic emergency spotting mirror from REI weighs about half an ounce. You can afford to carry half an ounce to defend yourself against the most dangerous wild animal on the AT.
Maine has a HUGE tick issue in the last seven years or more. I mean huge. Yet the critters are extremely tiny. My brother (a Maine outdoorsman theorizes they came up with the turkeys. I dont get the connection though.) As a female it is very tempting to cut my hair uber short. I mean...its like looking for crabs. NOT THAT I have had..never mind...LOL
Maine has a HUGE tick issue in the last seven years or more. I mean huge. Yet the critters are extremely tiny. My brother (a Maine outdoorsman theorizes they came up with the turkeys. I dont get the connection though.) As a female it is very tempting to cut my hair uber short. I mean...its like looking for crabs. NOT THAT I have had..never mind...LOL
My brother has the same theory. We never saw ticks growing up until we got turkeys to stick around.
Permethrin in is a great weapon in the battle against ticks.
Rocket Jones
03-11-2016, 21:23
If you suspect Lyme and the test comes back negative, insist on a second test. There are also two kinds of tests, one takes longer but is slightly more reliable. I knew I had Lyme and talked the doc into prescribing the antibiotics, then the results came back negative. I kept taking the meds and they did a second test which came back positive. I know exactly which tick did me in (botched removal by my son) and I never got the bullseye rash. I caught it very early and it still kicked my butt for a couple of months, including "lyme arthritis" in my shoulder. Hand, wrist, fingers and elbow all fine, but moving my shoulder was agony.
Sarcasm the elf
03-11-2016, 21:27
Maine has a HUGE tick issue in the last seven years or more. I mean huge. Yet the critters are extremely tiny. My brother (a Maine outdoorsman theorizes they came up with the turkeys. I dont get the connection though.) As a female it is very tempting to cut my hair uber short. I mean...its like looking for crabs. NOT THAT I have had..never mind...LOL
There is also evidence of a direct correlation between the density of deer ticks in an area and the presence of certain invasive plants, particularly Japanese Barberry. The though is that Barberry provides an ideal habitat for both ticks and for mice which are one of their main carriers. On a fun sidenote, Lyme Connecticut, the town for which the disease was named has a huge Barberry problem.