Ticks

[trailmercury]

But yeast infections aren't caused by bacteria. Not trying to imply that.

[Berserker]

False.

There are infections that are diagnosed and treated as a one time dose. Chlamydia is one of them... Vaginal yeast infection is another... There are others. Gonorrhea is treated with a single intramuscular injection.

Hmmmm...interesting. Thanks for educating me on that. I don't have any knowledge on STDs and stuff of that nature so I didn't know about those.

[TexasBob]

Few people will miss a bloated tick on them at night if they check.

Its the tiny nymphs you can barely see that are the bigger issue. At least imo. The ones you dont know bit you.

This is true. You are probably not going to see the tick that gives you Lyme disease because it is usually transmitted by the nymphal stage. The picture below shows an adult and a nymph.

adult-and-nymph-deer-ticks.jpg

The statements you are "fairly sure" to be untrue: .............. 2.)Deer are the main host for deer ticks. ...........
2.)I have found black-legged ticks on raccoons, groundhogs, chickens, cats, and me. I don't doubt they are found on mice. Perhaps deer are not the primary host, but there must be some reason they are called "deer ticks". If I am wrong on that I accept the correction. It is a trivial point.......

Not so trivial. The white-footed mouse is the reservoir (principle source) of the Lyme disease bacteria which infects the larval and nymphal ticks when they feed on the mice. So if the ticks didn't feed on the mice they won't be carrying Lyme. Adult ticks feed on larger animals like deer hence the name.
Read about their life cycle here:
http://labs.russell.wisc.edu/wiscons...is-life-cycle/

[Slumgum]

This is true. You are probably not going to see the tick that gives you Lyme disease because it is usually transmitted by the nymphal stage. The picture below shows an adult and a nymph.

Thanks for those links, Bob. They contain valuable information, especially those photos. However, I disagree that you are probably not going to see the tick that gives you Lyme disease. Any stage of this tick that attaches to me causes intense itching after a short time. Perhaps it does not affect other people the same way, and if so, then you are correct. But any time I get an itchy place on my body I look for a tiny speck in the center. It is almost unbelievable that anything so tiny could transmit a disease as horrendous as Lyme. I can understand that on the trail there might be a lot of "noise" regarding itchiness: chiggers, mosquitoes, black flies, poison ivy. However, much of the info posted on this thread fosters a degree of hysteria that I believe is out of line.
Yes, it is a horrible disease. Yes, there is conflicting information out there (and I guess I am guilty to some extent). Yes, the medical community is not even in agreement on treatment (that is why they call it the "practice" of medicine). Yes, there is no perfect course to prevention. But with diligence and a knowledge of how to limit exposure to this disease I believe we can have a reasonable expectation of returning from the trail without Lyme disease.

[TexasBob]

Thanks for those links, Bob. They contain valuable information, especially those photos. However, I disagree that you are probably not going to see the tick that gives you Lyme disease. Any stage of this tick that attaches to me causes intense itching after a short time. Perhaps it does not affect other people the same way, and if so, then you are correct. But any time I get an itchy place on my body I look for a tiny speck in the center. It is almost unbelievable that anything so tiny could transmit a disease as horrendous as Lyme. I can understand that on the trail there might be a lot of "noise" regarding itchiness: chiggers, mosquitoes, black flies, poison ivy. However, much of the info posted on this thread fosters a degree of hysteria that I believe is out of line.
Yes, it is a horrible disease. Yes, there is conflicting information out there (and I guess I am guilty to some extent). Yes, the medical community is not even in agreement on treatment (that is why they call it the "practice" of medicine). Yes, there is no perfect course to prevention. But with diligence and a knowledge of how to limit exposure to this disease I believe we can have a reasonable expectation of returning from the trail without Lyme disease.

You are lucky that ticks make you itch and alert you to a problem. They never make me itch. I wonder if more people are like you or are they like me itch-wise when it comes to ticks.

[mclaught]

Ticks make me itch also. I guess I never understood how people could let a tick sit there for days at a time. They feel like a mosquito bite to me, I scratch it, feel the bump of the tick and pull it off. I had no idea that they didn't make everybody itch. This has been a good thread.

[rickb]

Another point on which we probably all agree is that if you do find an embedded tick, it’s best to remove it without delay — and in such a way you don’t leave mouth parts behind or squeeze some of the tick’s stomach contents back into your body.

Am I the only one here who has pulled one off and left a small part of it behind - and then dug a small crater to get those parts out? Not good.

After getting one in a most sensitive area earlier this week, I cannot speak highly enough about the TickTwister — even though I (or to be more accurate, my wife) only used this one time.

I am sure ther are other good ways to remove a tick, but I can say with certainty that the tweezers on a Micra is not one of them.

[Berserker]

I'm another one of those that has a reaction to a tick bite. As a matter of fact, I have been bitten by ticks (usually Lone Star ticks) and had the bite last for months before it fully heals. So I have also always wondered about those that have no reaction. I'm guessing that some of us must be having an allergic reaction to something in the tick saliva.

[Sarcasm the elf]

I'm another one of those that has a reaction to a tick bite. As a matter of fact, I have been bitten by ticks (usually Lone Star ticks) and had the bite last for months before it fully heals. So I have also always wondered about those that have no reaction. I'm guessing that some of us must be having an allergic reaction to something in the tick saliva.

I’m in the same boat. Don’t know much about the cause, but I assumed it was an acquired reaction, because I never used to react to tick bites when I was younger.

[Sarcasm the elf]

Another point on which we probably all agree is that if you do find an embedded tick, it’s best to remove it without delay — and in such a way you don’t leave mouth parts behind or squeeze some of the tick’s stomach contents back into your body.

Am I the only one here who has pulled one off and left a small part of it behind - and then dug a small crater to get those parts out? Not good.

After getting one in a most sensitive area earlier this week, I cannot speak highly enough about the TickTwister — even though I (or to be more accurate, my wife) only used this one time.

I am sure ther are other good ways to remove a tick, but I can say with certainty that the tweezers on a Micra is not one of them.

I’ve removed hundreds of ticks (Primarily off of my dogs and horses) using an O’Tom tick twister and think it’s the best removal device I’ve found.