Tips to keep off ticks

[Velociraptor99]

Hello all, it’s been a long time since I’ve last posted. A lot has changed, and I’ve been getting the fossil hunting bug again. (No pun-intended) 

 

You know what bug I do not want to catch? Ticks. I’ve already seen 3 this year, thankfully none on myself since I’ve been avoiding brush and tall grass. Yet the fear of catching a tick-born-disease is keeping me from fossil hunting. 
 

I am going on a fossil hunt out to a spot in western Pennsylvania this Saturday with my fossil club that I haven’t been to since 2016. I’m excited but also nervous about ticks. In the past there wasn’t a ton of brush there, since it’s a dam spillway in a park. But I went during the fall then, and as I remember ticks weren’t nearly as much of an issue then as they are today. Do any of you have any tips to keep ticks off of me this trip? I’ve read about DEET and permethrin sprays, and I am still unsure. I have two cats, so I am also worried about the toxicity of permethrin and other anti-tick substances. I will probably be wearing jeans and long sleeves to protect myself. 
 

Any help would be appreciated.

[taj]

Well that is a t(r)icky question . Based on my experience ( and I've lived in one of the most infected area in Europe my whole youth , catching probably 10s of ticks every summer , most often tearing them out with my nails and finally not catching any related disease , confirmed by test , contrary to a lot of family ), I would recommend

 

-jeans and long sleeves 

- avoid any brushes or long grass

- change clothes and shoes  as soon as you get back to your car . keep them in a closed bag 

- once home or at the hotel , have a long shower and inspect yourself closely ( it usually takes 24 h for the infection to spread form the tick to you). Remove any tick and continue watching for 24 hours ....

 

Hope for the best !

[Fossildude19]

Duct tape your pants legs to your boots/shoes. That will keep them out of your pants legs.

Long pants, boots, gloves, and long sleeve shirt. You should be good.

 

If you wish to use permethrin or deet, wait until you get to the site to apply it. Then have a change of clothes ready in the car for when you are finished.

Change ASAP, and keep the treated clothes separate in a trash bag, then wash as soon as you get home.

[pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon]

Same answer here.

• Wear clothing with long sleeves (pants and shirt).
• Taping the seams closed is not a bad idea.
• Remove and inspect your clothing as soon as possible. Wash what can be washed immediately.
• Inspect yourself, especially in parts of your body that form natural crevices, the more so if they're hairy, such as between toes and fingers, in the arm pits, insides of elbows and knees, behind your ears, in your hair, private parts.
• Take a shower at your earliest opportunity.
• Keep inspecting yourself for a few days after.

I too have lived in the area @taj describes, and have attracted a tick, which was stuck to me for approximately 4 days. When that happens, depending on the culture of your area, doctor's may take a blood-test, simply wait for symptoms to show up, or immediately prescribe you antibiotics. The latter is what I got, even without testing, and is quite horrible - it's not only fatiguing, but also destroyed a good part of my intestinal flora.

As you yourself mentioned, there are tick repellent sprays, which I'd certainly recommend using all over your body and clothes, except for your face. If you immediately wash everything afterwards anyway, there shouldn't be a risk to your cats. At least, I've never been afraid of that, mostly because I did treat mine against ticks as well as flees...

[Troodon]

Nothing that has not been previously said:

CDC:

https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/avoid/on_people.html#:~:text=Many people get ticks in,permethrin-treated clothing and gear.

 

https://www.cdc.gov/ncezid/dvbd/media/stopticks.html#:~:text=Use EPA-registered repellents to,by a fever or rash.

[Rock-Guy-17]

For work I am often in overgrown brush that has a high concentration of ticks. I would agree with everything that has been said so far.

 

I swear by light colored pants when I am in tick infested areas, especially lightweight pants. I stopped wearing jeans last year during summer work. The light/khaki color makes ticks easier to spot when they are on you. Best of luck.

[grandpa]

I find a fresh hog waller to roll around in and cover myself with the mud - and such.  I find that the ticks, and all other living things - including esp. my fellow hunters - avoid me. 

[Ludwigia]

I would just like to add if not already stated, that if one of these monstrosities just happens to be stuck on you, it's best to go to a doctor or nurse to get it removed, since they have the proper equipment for that and you're sure to have the whole thing evacuated without leaving the head and barb stuck under your skin. I've also had more than enough experience with these things.

 

@Velociraptor99 It's been a whole week since you've asked for advice, you've now had plenty of it, but we haven't heard back from you yet. It would be nice to hear if you are satisfied with our answers.

[BirdsAreDinosaurs]

Great advice has been given already. Of course it is up to you, but I would suggest not to use any chemicals, be it repellants or pesticides. One way or another, they will end up in the environment where they are often toxic to many other animals. The other non-chemical measures are usually effective.

 

It is important to check your body for ticks everyday. Lyme disease usually does not get transmitted if you remove the tick within 24 hours.

[Harry Pristis]

12 hours ago, Ludwigia said:

it's best to go to a doctor or nurse to get it removed, since they have the proper equipment for that and you're sure to have the whole thing evacuated without leaving the head and barb stuck under your skin

I haven't had to deal with an imbedded tick for a long time.  I seem to remember that painting the tick with clear nail polish caused it to withdraw.  Same with holding a lit cigarette near the tick body.  These "cures" are from a time before ticks were recognized as a serious disease vector.  This is a bit of history, not a recommendation.

[Ludwigia]

Speaking of a bit of history, my doctor of the previous generation liked to use his credit card to remove the ticks with just a well-placed flip of the wrist.

[grandpa]

1 minute ago, Harry Pristis said:

holding a lit cigarette near the tick body.

Along that vein, for those non-smokers back-when, it was recommended to light a kitchen match, blow it out and hold the match head to the tick's body.  I can attest to both this method and the nail polish method being effective in removing the tick; but all of that was prior to Lymes disease being prevalent and the necessity for quick removal being essential.

[grandpa]

2 minutes ago, Ludwigia said:

use his credit card to remove the ticks

His credit card or your credit card?

[Ludwigia]

1 minute ago, grandpa said:

His credit card or your credit card?

Good point. His of course I just had to present my health card afterwards to his assistant.

[grandpa]

1 minute ago, Ludwigia said:

I just had to present my health card afterwards to his assistant

Ah the beauty of socialized medicine.  I speak from quite personal experience. 

 

Perhaps sometime I can regale you with the story of how I happened to have a major (usually fatal type) heart attack in Rottenburg ODT, Germany in 2001 while on business, and was, against odds, saved by Germany's high quality socialized medicine, including outstanding post-care.  Had it happened in the US, I'd have been dead before we cleared the legal hurdles of paperwork to get admitted and treated in one of our local hospitals. 

 

Gotta love that German medical system. 

 

Oops, this may get striked for being too political in nature for TFF. 

But, I'm feeling my age, and if I don't say it now, I may not have many more chances to express myself. 

So - - - there it is! 

Let TFF well-qualified moderators determine whether this is too controversial to allow.  I trust their judgement completely.  Just look at the product, the quality of TFF, as proof.

[Ludwigia]

44 minutes ago, grandpa said:

Gotta love that German medical system. 

You said it!

[grandpa]

Yes I did, didn't I.  And I have a lot of great details about the excellent life-saving care I received to back it up (not to mention the loving, warm-hearted treatment I received from the profession staff).  Perhaps, fates aligned, we can find ourselves together in a German pub someday where I can share my wonderful experiences in Germany in the face of a life-threatening event.

 

But, back to the subject.  After all this has little  to do with "Tips to Keep Off Ticks" other than the fact that ticks evacuate dead bodies because blood flow ceases when the heart ceases to pump. 

 

OK, so back on topic:  To avoid ticks stop pumping blood.  {Needless to say:  NOT RECOMMENDED}

[RuMert]

This bothers me too. I heard 24+ hrs was needed to get infected with Lyme disease and juvenile ticks didn't transfer it at all. If that's true, all you have to do is carefully examine your body after the hunt and safely remove any ticks you find. In this regard any non-enlarged ticks are safe as they didn't have 24 hrs to suck blood. Not sure about males though as their enlargement is limited, but in this case they probably can't transfer the disease. We are more concerned with tick-borne encephalitis, but at least you can get vaccinated against it.

One additional tip is having a separate set of white clothes for passing through high grass, as it usually takes short time. On the spot of hunting there's usually no conditions for ticks to be present (quarries, seashore, etc). Another idea is not to use existing paths in high grass or what looks like them as it's along them that ticks are concentrated.

[Collector9658]

I do all the tricks above mentioned. Another useful trick I've found is wearing long socks and also wrapping your socks with some tape. Towards the end of wrapping, wrap some of the tape sticky side up. It can help catch ticks that may slip through any openings by your feet.

Edited June 4, 2023 by Collector9658

[connorp]

There are very cheap tick removers you can get online. Basically a small plastic spoon with a notch on the end. They work very well at getting the whole tick out intact, which is what you want to avoid disease.

[pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon]

1 hour ago, connorp said:

There are very cheap tick removers you can get online. Basically a small plastic spoon with a notch on the end. They work very well at getting the whole tick out intact, which is what you want to avoid disease.

 

Yeah, I use those for the cat as well, so pet stores may have those as well. There are also more elaborate ones, where you press the button at one end of a pen, and this will make a pair of claspers come out and extend. When you let go of the button, they retract in a twisting motion, removing the tick in the process...

[Bobby Rico]

I have Swiss army penknife with tick removal tool, tweezers and a

blade . Useful  after walking the dog in the woods. 

[Denis Arcand]

On 5/23/2023 at 9:48 AM, Velociraptor99 said:

Yet the fear of catching a tick-born-disease is keeping me from fossil hunting. 

 

 

Not all ticks are vectors for Lyme disease, and even if an infected tick bites us, it does not guarantee that we will contract the disease. Our immune system plays a crucial role in defending against various pathogens, including the bacteria that cause Lyme disease.

 

The risk of contracting Lyme disease after being bitten by an infected tick can vary depending on several factors, including geographic location, tick species, and duration of tick attachment. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the risk of getting Lyme disease after a tick bite is estimated to be around 1-3% if the tick is attached for less than 24-48 hours.

 

It's important to understand that not all ticks carry the Lyme disease-causing bacteria, and even if you are bitten by an infected tick, it does not guarantee that you will contract the disease. For instance, in the United States, the black-legged tick (Ixodes scapularis) and the western black-legged tick (Ixodes pacificus) are the primary carriers of Lyme disease. Research has shown that the infection rate of these ticks with Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacterium responsible for Lyme disease, can vary from 1% to over 30% across different regions.

Considering the variability in tick populations and infection rates, it's essential to be cautious. If you live in an area with a high incidence of Lyme disease or have been bitten by a tick and are concerned, it is advisable to consult a healthcare professional. They can provide appropriate guidance, perform diagnostic tests if necessary, and ensure early detection and treatment if Lyme disease is suspected.

Here are some reasons why we should not be overly scared of Lyme disease:

 

Low probability: The risk of contracting Lyme disease from a tick bite is relatively low in many areas. Even in regions where Lyme disease is more prevalent, the actual percentage of infected ticks may vary, and most tick bites do not result in the transmission of the disease.

 

Preventive measures: By taking appropriate preventive measures such as wearing protective clothing, using insect repellent, and conducting thorough tick checks after spending time outdoors, we can significantly reduce the risk of tick bites and subsequent Lyme disease transmission.

 

Prompt removal of ticks: Removing ticks promptly and correctly can further decrease the likelihood of infection. The longer a tick remains attached, the greater the risk of transmission, so regular tick checks and proper removal techniques are essential.

 

Effectiveness of treatment: Lyme disease is generally treatable with antibiotics, especially when diagnosed early. Most individuals who receive timely treatment for Lyme disease recover completely without long-term complications.

 

Immune system protection: Our immune system plays a vital role in fighting off infections, including Lyme disease. While not foolproof, a healthy immune system can help defend against the bacteria and mitigate the impact of the disease.

 

It's important to strike a balance between being cautious about Lyme disease and avoiding unnecessary fear or anxiety. By adopting preventive measures, staying informed about the risks in your area, and seeking medical attention if symptoms arise, you can manage the potential risks associated with tick bites and Lyme disease effectively.

 

Remember, Lyme disease can be a debilitating illness, so it is important to prioritize preventive measures and seek medical attention when needed.

[Jaybot]

As Denis noted above, the probability of contracting Lyme disease is incredibly low, especially if you get the tick out with its head, as suggested by connorp.  We use one of those cheapo depot tools, and they work great. 

Now, as far as repellant goes...

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND That you do not use a chemical repellant.  These can have side effects to your health.  We used to live in Oklahoma, and the ticks there are as thick as it gets- 5 ticks crawling on you was normal.  Thankfully, we tried some essential oil called 'rose geranium'.  You may not believe it, but once we started using it, we rarely got a tick on us.  Basically the smell of it causes ticks to retract their front legs, which they use to catch and grab on.  Best stuff, works great, is natural and won't give you cancer in 50 years, and actually smells not bad too.

 

Please give this a try before you use chemical solutions.

 

Have a blessed weekend everybody!

[MuckyBottles]

As someone who has contracted lyme disease. The best preventative method is to wear womens pantihouse under your pants.