Ticks & Chiggers--a study

[bobpbx]

I've been getting seriously chigged for the past few days, and I'm not going through any underbrush or tall weeds, just wandering around on my little trails. Have been resisting, but going out to spray a set of clothes/shoes with permethrin now.

These tiny little monsters are all over the place, hard to see them. Usually, it seems like they just have a quick bite to eat, then move to a new spot for another snack and I never find them. But I've had a few actually attach themselves now, they just look like little dots on my skin. But they hang on very tightly and I need to use some sharp-pointed tweezers to extract. Ugh.

Boyd, I remember a time I went on a botany trip. On the way out to the site on a path, nobody was afflicted by ticks. On the way back 90 minutes later, many were. They were likely drawn to the path we went in on by sensing our carbon dioxide. So they know where humans walk. When you walk your trails, look at the small plants that come up, especially grass and sedge blades. You'll notice them at the tips. I see them like that a lot. a little 1/8" bump.

 

[stiltzkin]

Taking the bite out of Lyme disease

In two new studies led by bacteriologist Brandon L. Jutras, Northwestern scientists have identified an antibiotic that cures Lyme disease at a fraction of the dosage of the current “gold standard” treatment and discovered what may cause a treated infection to mimic chronic illness in patients.

news.northwestern.edu

Some interesting developments.

 

[Teegate]

Taking the bite out of Lyme disease

In two new studies led by bacteriologist Brandon L. Jutras, Northwestern scientists have identified an antibiotic that cures Lyme disease at a fraction of the dosage of the current “gold standard” treatment and discovered what may cause a treated infection to mimic chronic illness in patients.

news.northwestern.edu

Some interesting developments.

Good news. Now we have to make sure the drug piperacillin is readily available.

 

[Boyd]

I've seen a few full size (adult?) ticks on my clothes, hands and arms. But they're easily spotted and brushed off. No bites from them yet, with normal precautions of tucking pants into socks, etc. But those little tiny ones are something else, I guess they can walk right through the weave of my socks to bite my ankles and then nibble their way up my legs. I really don't remember these being so bad in the past, but usually I start the permethrin regime much earlier. Wanted to see if it was really necessary this year... and now I know.

Speaking of bugs (not to get too far off topic...) the hornets are really awful this spring. Have been swarming so fiercly on my porch that I get nervous going in and out the door. Every year, I manage to get bitten once or more by those devils!

 

[Teegate]

We found a can in the shed and sprayed it on last weekend. They still get in my car and the house. Not as worried about the car this time of year because a few hours in my driveway with the windows up and I find them dead.

 

[RednekF350]

Good news. Now we have to make sure the drug piperacillin is readily available.

I am sure Pfizer is salivating over marketing this one. Tickdemic-2025 is upon us, we just didn't know it.

 

[Boyd]

Two years ago, I stepped out my front door and - wham - before I realized what happened, a hornet dive-bombed me and bit me on top of the head! Last year, I went into my little shed and one came down and bit me on the face - was lucky to be wearing glasses or it might have been my eye! Found the nest and sprayed it. Not learning my lesson, on a cool, sunny morning in this March opened up the same shed and a few came out at me. This was the worst, was wearing a heavy Carhart sweatshirt over a tee shirt, but one went down my neck, inside my tee shirt and was biting me repeatedly while I frantically was ripping off my clothes to swat it!

 

[RednekF350]

Two years ago, I stepped out my front door and - wham - before I realized what happened, a hornet dive-bombed me and bit me on top of the head! Last year, I went into my little shed and one came down and bit me on the face - was lucky to be wearing glasses or it might have been my eye! Found the nest and sprayed it. Not learning my lesson, on a cool, sunny morning in this March opened up the same shed and a few came out at me. This was the worst, was wearing a heavy Carhart sweatshirt over a tee shirt, but one went down my neck, inside my tee shirt and was biting me repeatedly while I frantically was ripping off my clothes to swat it!

What kind of hornets? It's odd that they are active each year in the same shed. The giant paper ball-building bald faced hornets die off at the end of each season and the queen hides in a tight crevice somewhere. In the spring, she poops out a few workers and they get to work making paper.

 

[Boyd]

No idea what kind of hornets, I wasn't even sure whether they were bees, wasps or hornets but they look like the pictures of hornets I've seen. They were only a problem in that shed for two years. Have been dreading going back in there, but opened it up yesterday and didn't see any. Guess I nailed their nest with the bug spray after the last incident. It's close quarters in there, and I just blasted the spray up above the door, where the nest had been before, without even looking. Seems to have worked.

But the porch has gotten progressively worse over the past 5 years or so. Spent awhile yesterday and just couldn't find the nest. So, I started spraying them in-flight with Raid flying insect spray, which claims to kill wasps and hornets. That's not easy, they move fast and the breeze blows the spray around. Initially it appeared to have no effect, but I think it killed them slowly. There were a lot less yesterday afternoon, so it seems to be working.

 

[RednekF350]

No idea what kind of hornets, I wasn't even sure whether they were bees, wasps or hornets but they look like the pictures of hornets I've seen. They were only a problem in that shed for two years. Have been dreading going back in there, but opened it up yesterday and didn't see any. Guess I nailed their nest with the bug spray after the last incident. It's close quarters in there, and I just blasted the spray up above the door, where the nest had been before, without even looking. Seems to have worked.

But the porch has gotten progressively worse over the past 5 years or so. Spent awhile yesterday and just couldn't find the nest. So, I started spraying them in-flight with Raid flying insect spray, which claims to kill wasps and hornets. That's not easy, they move fast and the breeze blows the spray around. Initially it appeared to have no effect, but I think it killed them slowly. There were a lot less yesterday afternoon, so it seems to be working.

Possibly the European Hornet. But they follow the same lifecycle as the bald-faced. Nests are not reused year to year. And you would certainly notice their nests.

European hornet - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[enormiss]

Noticed these going in and out when I got home yesterday. Wanted to spray last night but forgot. Had a huge nest in a small tree in the front yard that I didn't notice until the winter when all the leaves dropped. No activity and empty when I cut it down on a very cold day. Maybe same queen starting over, until I invade tonight.

 

[RednekF350]

Very industrious. The insect world is fascinating to me. The built-in behaviors and instincts that are programmed into a brain the size of a few grains of sand are nothing short of amazing.

 

[slingblade]

Regarding the soon to arrive gnats and deer flies. Have used the old-sticky-blue-solo-cup-on-top-of-the-cap-trick (as Maxwell Smart might say) with effective results. Then saw this clip-on-dragonfly for sale on the social feeds today. Looks slightly less ridiculous. Might give it a try.

Dragonfly Clip Bug Repe Llent - 3D Dragonfly Garden Decor Deer and Horse Fly Deterrent for Indoor/Outdoor Garden - 3 PCS

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www.pickelect.com

 

[Teegate]

It actually looks like a great idea except if you want to walk through the woods.

 

[bobpbx]

I did that about 8 years ago. The photos are on here somewhere. I wrapped my hat with a blue exercise band and put tanglefoot on it. Worked.

 

[Teegate]

Between yesterday and today we had 25 small ticks dug into our body. Today, I sat outside for 20 minutes and picked 50 of them off my clothes and cut them with my knife while waiting for Jessica to finish her shower. They came from one section of woods that we were in yesterday and today and maybe have to go to tomorrow. It is just insane how many were on us. We quickly threw our clothes in the dryer for 20 minutes and then washed them in hot water and dried them for 50 minutes. We just re-sprayed them with permethrin. I left my car closed up the rest of the day in the driveway and found multiple ticks on the seats that were dead. Tomorrow I will have to look over everything that I bring into the house when we get home.

 

[Boyd]

The bugs were terrible yesterday at my place! I am out for 4 or 5 hours every day and it was noticeably worse than I've seen for quite awhile. The ticks were bad this spring, but recently they seemed to mostly go away. Yesterday they were back though. Didn't get any bites, but was constanty picking them off my clothes.

But it wasn't just the ticks, there were flies and mosquitoes too. The flies have not been bad at all here until yesterday and I had hardly seen any mosquitoes. Guess the hot weather woke them up? Going to do a fresh permethrin spray of a set of clothes this morning,

 

[Teegate]

The pine flies and the battery in my GPS failing forced us to stop early yesterday. It was a rough day.

 

[Teegate]

So we went out again this morning to do a few things we were not able to do the last two days, and this time we had our clothes sprayed with permethrin. We got out of the car and the pine flies were serious so we also sprayed ourselves with "Off.” In seconds the pine flies left us so we headed into the tick filled pine/oak woods. When we returned to the car we did not see any ticks and after arriving home we have not viewed one as well. Compared to yesterday, it was a dream this morning.

 

[Boyd]

Just got back from a short walk with my freshly-treated clothes. Didn't see any ticks. The flies are certainly still there and a few mosquitoes, but they didn't seem as bad as yesterday. It was just a short walk though, will go out for a longer one later today.