View Full Version : Tick picking
saimyoji
01-05-2005, 22:42
Just curious, for solo hiker who happen to share shelters...Is there any kind of tick examination protocol/etiqutte when sharing a shelter? Is it innapropriate to ask another hiker, who you may not know, to help you check for ticks? Some of us have more surface area and have 'hard to see' places. What is the best way to ask, and/or convince a fellow hiker to assist you with this? Do solo hikers all carry mirrors to see 'around the corners?'
I'd rather be a little embarassed than pick up Lyme disease.:o
i hate ticks,the seed ticks are the woarst:sun neo
hikerjohnd
01-05-2005, 23:26
I'm interested to hear the answers to this one - I was too shy to even ask...
orangebug
01-06-2005, 06:56
Everyone discusses tick checks, and there are jokes about "redneck foreplay." The truth is that no one does tick checks, especially due to the size of ticks and difficulty in finding them.
A better choice appears to be a sponge bath about every other day. Lyme Disease is from the little bitty deer tick. Fully engorged, it is about the size of the "M" on a dime. If it is dislodged within 48 hours of attachment, it appears unlikely to transmit the Lyme spirochete. Your simply scrub yourself with a wet bandana, vigorously. After 48 hours, the tick's head is dug in and pretty impossible to remove.
The Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever tick is much larger, the dog tick. To me, this is a much more frightening disease. You are more likely to see or feel this tick, and should be willing to have assistance to remove a large tick. RMSF has an unfortunate tendency to be fatal pretty quickly.
Those of us who have had tick diseases (including myself) have no problem asking someone to do a quick scan of the places we can't see. During my last hike (in the Rockies), my hiking partner found 8 ticks, 7 on himself and one on me. One tick had bitten him, and he (unwisely) pinched it off of himself and discarded it. It wasn't until he got home that the symptoms began...
Ticks carry diseases that can kill (RMSF, Q fever, Erlichiosis, Babesiosis, etc), so squeamishness is out of place when it comes checking a friend. Pinching the tick off of yourself can inject the infected contents of the tick into your bloodstream. Differential diagnosis is difficult with tick diseases, so it makes sense to put any tick that has bitten you into a vial and carry it along.
Lyme disease is the tip of the iceberg with tick diseases. And remember, Rocky mtn spotted fever, among others, also occurs in the eastern U.S.. A large percentage of ticks do carry pathogens.
I am planning a thru hike in 2006....:banana i will be a RN at that time and would be happy to help any hiker check for ticks..Its all one body to me..lol..See you all up on the trail.
saimyoji
01-24-2005, 02:23
keeping the thread alive: How do you shaggy, bearded Hippies deal with ticks?
I cooked over wood fires and regularly singed my beard, parboiling any ticks below, or at least making them easier to see.
keeping the thread alive: How do you shaggy, bearded Hippies deal with ticks?
Dunno the answer to that; but, would guess that they share...<g>....
Local day hikes in No. VA & I have picked up as many as 20 ticks in one day. Ticks can smell/sense blood near the skin surface and are usally found wherever you have tight elastic; e.g., underwear and tops of sox.
DEET has been around for 50 - 60 years and NO one has had ill effects from the stuff. I "spalsh" some 100% DEET on my hands (like after shave) and rub my hands over the tops of shoes/sox/pants, brush my hands thru my hair, etc. ALWAYS WASH YOUR HANDS AFTER "TREATMENT" (use alcohol or LOTS of water)...!!!
Avoid eyes, mouth, eating, etc. until you wash your hands. THIS WORKS in cutting down oin the number of ticks per hike.
If you need to remove a tick that has dug in, remember that they breath thru their butts. So, a little dab of vaseline/lotion/grease clogs their ability to breath and they will "squirm". Watch closely for movement and tweezer them out as soon as they let go and move.
As someone else noted, it's the teeny SOB that carries lyme disease. They are so tiny that it's really difficult to even see them. As usual, "PREVENTION" is the best policy....
Happy Trails,
J.D.
flyfisher
01-25-2005, 16:03
Just curious, for solo hiker who happen to share shelters...Is there any kind of tick examination protocol/etiqutte when sharing a shelter? Is it innapropriate to ask another hiker, who you may not know, to help you check for ticks? Some of us have more surface area and have 'hard to see' places. What is the best way to ask, and/or convince a fellow hiker to assist you with this? Do solo hikers all carry mirrors to see 'around the corners?'
I'd rather be a little embarassed than pick up Lyme disease.:o
Just as aside, I have walked about 600 miles of the AT in March, April, May, June, July, August, September, November and December. If I remember rightly, I have found just one tick crawling up my leg (May, just north of Hot Springs) in all those weeks of hiking. BTW, I seldom use insect repellent, except that I soaked a number of my hiking garmets in Permethrin. It works pretty well to discourage ticks.
Just as aside, I have walked about 600 miles of the AT in March, April, May, June, July, August, September, November and December. If I remember rightly, I have found just one tick crawling up my leg (May, just north of Hot Springs) in all those weeks of hiking. BTW, I seldom use insect repellent, except that I soaked a number of my hiking garmets in Permethrin. It works pretty well to discourage ticks.
Yes, permethrin is VERY effective. It's what they use to treat the "Buzz Off" clothing that's being advertised now. *NASTY* stuff, ya' know....?
Happy Trails,
J.D.
I read somewhere that alcohol is very affective in removing embedded ticks. I can tell you from personal experence that it doesn't work! I had two attached ticks in Virginia that dug in deeper and even had smiles on their faces after I drank a 6-pack of beer!!
Some deer ticks (they cause Lyme Disease) are smaller than a poppy seed. I had one little bastard embedded in my thigh the day I went through High Point State Park in NJ. I though it was a tiny mole at first. I have never seen a tick so darn small.
In other words, check yourself VERY carefully.
Freighttrain
01-25-2005, 17:40
keeping the thread alive: How do you shaggy, bearded Hippies deal with ticks?
we pick em and flick em too, same as anyone else.
myself, i mostly feel them crawling up my leg and can get to them before they dig in