Ticks explode

[bobpbx]

Since nothing is foolproof and some will bond to you; if I find an embedded one I use a Q-tip moistened with permethrin. Instant death and it falls off. .

I'd like some more detailed information on that procedure. Have you ever looked at a tic under a microscope? The have reverse angled barbs like a harpoon on their hypostome, the part inserted into our skin. That is why they have to be pulled out with an implement. I can't see them just falling off when they die.

 

[Boyd]

I was out somewhere the next day, and felt a pinprick sensation under my clothes. Don't ignore that!

So true. Be suspicious of anything on your body that itches and check it out. Seems like the irritation from a tick bite is part of your body's defense mechanism - it alerts you that something is wrong and you instinctively scratch at it.

 

[manumuskin]

I have never had a tick in my scalp.Me and my wife were discussing that just yesterday.Is there not enough blood in the scalp to attract them? The hair can't be a deterrent since they chew the hell out of my dog. Perhaps they can tell from a distance there is nothing interesting in my head anyway?

 

[Boyd]

The first tick I ever got was on my scalp. I was about 10 or 11 years old, going to day camp along the Missouri River near St. Louis. My hair was very short and my mother noticed it, then got my father to remove it. She was freaking out, didn't seem like a big deal to me.

 

[manumuskin]

you must have more interesting stuff in your head then me They only like me from the neck down...maybe bad breath?

 

[Sue Gremlin]

Bobpbx, I agree about the vigilance. We are definitely vigilant, but my concern is that one deer tick that I don't see on my clothes that falls off into my car, and ultimately gets onto one of the kids.

Al, the resistance was one of my concerns.

Sue, great info. I've heard conflicting things about whether deer ticks are born with Lyme. Also, I use permethrin, we have short hair in the summer (myself and the boys get a buzz cut, my wife of course leaves hers long). I use the lint roller trick, and we do full tick checks and wash clothes as soon as we get home. Are there any other tips? I refuse to let these bastards scare us out of the woods, but I am concerned that we are rolling the dice just by being out so much. Your thoughts?

I think vigilance is the most important thing here, and it sounds like you have it covered. Any ticks you find should be removed immediately. Resistance to pyrethroids (including permethrin) has been documented in tick species associated with cattle since it's a really commonly used insecticide for livestock. That doesn't mean it's ineffective, so definitely keep using it!

There is quite a bit of confusion about whether Lyme disease is transmitted from female ticks to her eggs, and what I have learned is that it does not happen, that every tick must become infected independently. This publication (a little light summer reading) may shed some light on why confusion exists. Basically, diagnostic tests pick up an organism that is enough like Lyme Disease to give a positive test for it.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877959X12000672

 

[Sue Gremlin]

My 2 1/2 cents.

Since nothing is foolproof and some will bond to you; if I find an embedded one I use a Q-tip moistened with permethrin. Instant death and it falls off. I prefer not using tweezers as it can force the fluids into you. Works especially well on the dog and in hair. The lint roller will remove the unattached ones; once they grab hold, they really hold on. From the research I've read you have 24hrs to remove any attached tick before the chance of Lyme's kicks in. I had the bullseye a couple of years back, doc put me on the antibiotic regimen for a month and no ill effects to date. The test to determine the disease are hit and miss at best. I know of one person that spends a lot of time afield and he sprayed the fabric in his truck with permethrin, won't work on vinyl though. Probably the most effective deterrent is permethrin all clothing you wear afield and tuck pants into socks. Shorts are a no-no.

The sooner you remove the tick, the better. I strongly advise against waiting for the tick to detach. Swabbing it with permethrin basically causes every nerve to fire, so your chances of getting it to secrete more saliva into the bite are also there. Grab it with tweezers or your fingers as close to the skin as you can and pull it straight up. No fuss, no muss. The rule is to get it out of your skin as soon as you can. Same goes for the dog!

 

[imkms]

Recently someone sent me this natural flea/tick repellant recipe. I haven't tried it but it does sound interesting.
Add 1 cup of water to a spray bottle followed by 2 cups of distilled white vinegar. Ticks hate the smell and taste of vinegar and will be easily repelled by this ingredient alone. Then add two spoonfuls of vegetable or almond oil which both contain sulfur which is another tick repellent.
To make a repellant that will also deter fleas mix in a few spoonfuls of lemon juice citrus oil or peppermint oil any of which will repel ticks and fleas while also creating a nice smell. Spray your dog every few hours.

Like I said I have not tried it and your dog may smell like a hoagie and attract flies, but if it does repel fleas and ticks it would be great.

 

[MikeBickerson]

I haven't noticed them any worse than usual, only had three on me so far this year, although one did bite (stupid thing was in the middle of my back after I was out in Shamong). Grrr....

 

[Boyd]

BTW, the title of this thread is true… literally. Ticks explode.

Recently a tick was crawling up the leg of a table on the porch. I shot him with one of those "aim flame" charcoal lighters. ***POP*** ...just like a kernel of popcorn!

 

[manumuskin]

Ants explode as well under a well placed magnifying glass. I haven't done that since I was a kid.I guess i started the war between me and ants and the ones up here telephoned the ones in Florida that LIT me up several years later

 

[46er]

We used what we called 'punks', not the 2 legged thing, but some smelly stuff on a stick that once lit burned slowly like a miniature cattail.

 

[ecampbell]

I haven't seen punks in years.

 

[46er]

They are called citronella incense sticks nowadays, but they'll always be punks to me

If kids did what we did now, they would be put under guarded psychiatric care.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/500-Citrone...162?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20d91ac6c2

 

[ecampbell]

I don't think we had citronella back in the 50's when I played with them. They were just some brown stuff on a stick that just glowed with a nice sent. Fun to swing around and write a message.

 

[rc911]

I found a great resource to purchase "punks". I bought a case of a couple thousand of them a few years ago and still have plenty left. The web site is wellingtonfragrance.com. On the left side of the screen click on the incense banner and once on the incense page, the unscented incense sticks will be displayed on the right side of the screen. They have the 10" punks that we all grew up with and also 19" punks. I've timed their burn rates several times. The 10" punks burn for about 40 minutes and the 19" punks burn for 2 hours. I prefer the 19" ones as they are much thicker and have a richer burn. On rare occasion, there will be a residual perfume aroma on one of the sticks, I guess something left in a machine in the manufacture process but even those rare sticks have lost any perfume contamination after sitting in the basement for these past few years. Enjoy piercing holes in the maple and oak leaves but leave the ants alone.

 

[NJChileHead]

I thought that punks were dried cat tails? At least when I was a kid we used to burn dried cat tails and we called them punks. They really did keep the mosquitoes away.

 

[rc911]

We called cattails punks also but the punks that we bought at the candy store (man now I really feel old!) were basically an incense stick with no fragrance on them so by themselves, they had a nice woody sort of burning smell, much different than cattails but just as pleasant when you're a kid.

 

[RednekF350]

We called cattails punks also but the punks that we bought at the candy store (man now I really feel old!) were basically an incense stick with no fragrance on them so by themselves, they had a nice woody sort of burning smell, much different than cattails but just as pleasant when you're a kid.

I bought the stick punks too from Campbell's General Store in Gibbsboro when I was a kid.
We also dried our own picked from various local swamps.