Training in western PA and the ticks are out in full force. Plucked a bunch off the dogs, and off of me.
Be sure to be looking out. I hate these things.
Be sure to be looking out. I hate these things.
Ticks
Seaforth
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When was the last time you went out and had ten snakes in your clothes and stuck to your dogs?
And 20 in the wash?? And in the dryer.
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Here in Florida we have them year round and I was just thinking Sunday night how I haven't had a tick on ether of my dogs in over a month this morning I found 3 on my one dog and 1 on my other.
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As someone who has dealt with ticks and Lyme disease a long, long time, I recommend you use either dog tick collars or the bug repellent bands, and put/tape them around your ankles when in tick areas.
It is a good thing to have a barrier around your ankles. (You can also try a shoe lace soaked with oil and some pepper. I just heard about this.) Another attack against the ticks for humans is having just one set of shoes/boots whatever for tick-infested areas and training, and one set of pants that you can spray with some sort of DEET spray. Then, after returning from tick infested areas, you should take these shoes/boots off and spray them inside and out. Then take the clothes you wore, turn them inside out, and either spray them, or immediately put them into a 10 percent bleach solution.
As far as dogs: I have a Lyme vaccine done when the dog is mature (generally after one year of age). That is the only routine Lyme vaccine I do for the entire life of the dog but I ask the vet to do a Lyme titer every third year when I get the dog's rabies vaccine.
I believe there is some sort of immunity built up in the dam's system that is passed to pups.
None of the products I have tried prevent my curlies from getting ticks. NONE!
To remove ticks from humans: soak a cotton ball with dish detergent or liquid soap and put it over the tick. Oil also works. Same thing for dogs.
This is one of the worst years for ticks I have ever seen. Remember: some of the critters we think are just a nuisance can help keep tick populations down. Tick populations in my neck of the woods rise with adequate winter snow and spring rains. But tick populations may also be rising because their natural predators are being destroyed.
You've all heard cockroaches will probably be the last surviving Earth species. I think ticks or fleas will give them a run for that distinction. Remember to give space to the critters who are natural pesticides for ticks and all the other creepy crawlers we hate.
Some one or some thing created this earth with all these fantastic checks and balances. Do we have enough sense to keep that working design?
It is a good thing to have a barrier around your ankles. (You can also try a shoe lace soaked with oil and some pepper. I just heard about this.) Another attack against the ticks for humans is having just one set of shoes/boots whatever for tick-infested areas and training, and one set of pants that you can spray with some sort of DEET spray. Then, after returning from tick infested areas, you should take these shoes/boots off and spray them inside and out. Then take the clothes you wore, turn them inside out, and either spray them, or immediately put them into a 10 percent bleach solution.
As far as dogs: I have a Lyme vaccine done when the dog is mature (generally after one year of age). That is the only routine Lyme vaccine I do for the entire life of the dog but I ask the vet to do a Lyme titer every third year when I get the dog's rabies vaccine.
I believe there is some sort of immunity built up in the dam's system that is passed to pups.
None of the products I have tried prevent my curlies from getting ticks. NONE!
To remove ticks from humans: soak a cotton ball with dish detergent or liquid soap and put it over the tick. Oil also works. Same thing for dogs.
This is one of the worst years for ticks I have ever seen. Remember: some of the critters we think are just a nuisance can help keep tick populations down. Tick populations in my neck of the woods rise with adequate winter snow and spring rains. But tick populations may also be rising because their natural predators are being destroyed.
You've all heard cockroaches will probably be the last surviving Earth species. I think ticks or fleas will give them a run for that distinction. Remember to give space to the critters who are natural pesticides for ticks and all the other creepy crawlers we hate.
Some one or some thing created this earth with all these fantastic checks and balances. Do we have enough sense to keep that working design?
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I agree the ticks are horrible this spring. In Maine, the some of the ticks are tiny right now, and hard to see. I've had four on me, and taken at least twenty off the goldens. The Frontlineplus does seem to be working, and I have been going over each of the dogs with a slicker brush and a small mag light every night to make sure. We struggled with Anaplasmosis/Lyme last year, so we're considering adding preventic collars. The dogs swim every day though, and the collars dont work when wet. Sigh.
Prime Time Four's a Full House 'Jessie' MH and Wyco's Lena Linda con Besos MH
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"Remember: some of the critters we think are just a nuisance can help keep tick populations down........But tick populations may also be rising because their natural predators are being destroyed."
I am curious to know what some of the tick predators are? I hadn't thought about it, but something must dine on them.
I am curious to know what some of the tick predators are? I hadn't thought about it, but something must dine on them.
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Ticks do have predators and pathogens:
See http://arjournals.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev.ento.44.1.159
Habitat alteration is playing a role in increased tick densities and increased Lyme disease prevalence in parts of the eastern U.S. as forest is carved up into smaller patches when areas are developed for things like housing tracts:
See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/01/030130081414.htm
We have met the enemy and he is us. ---Pogo
See http://arjournals.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev.ento.44.1.159
Habitat alteration is playing a role in increased tick densities and increased Lyme disease prevalence in parts of the eastern U.S. as forest is carved up into smaller patches when areas are developed for things like housing tracts:
See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/01/030130081414.htm
We have met the enemy and he is us. ---Pogo
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Health Advisory:Tick-borne Disease news release
Approximately one-third of blacklegged ticks (also called deer ticks) tested during recent years in Minnesota were positive for disease-causing organisms, say state health officials. Blacklegged ticks carry Lyme disease, human anaplasmosis (HA), and babesiosis, three illnesses which can lead to serious complications.
Between 2005 and 2008, staff members at the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) collected blacklegged ticks from regions of Minnesota where Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases are commonly reported. The MDH Public Health Laboratory tested these ticks for the presence of disease-causing organisms. “While levels of infection in blacklegged ticks can vary by time or place, these levels were consistently high,” said Melissa Kemperman, an epidemiologist specializing in tick-transmitted diseases at MDH. “Overall, about one out of every three adult blacklegged ticks was positive for the bacteria that cause Lyme disease. In many parts of Minnesota, this means that there is a good chance that any blacklegged tick you encounter is carrying the Lyme disease bacteria.”
Nymphs, the immature stage of tick, were also tested. Just over 10 percent of nymphal blacklegged ticks were positive for the Lyme disease bacteria. Although fewer nymphs than adults were positive for the Lyme disease bacteria, their small size makes them more dangerous. “Nymphs are tiny—about the size of a poppy seed,” Kemperman said. “Because of this, they are very difficult to notice, and many people don’t notice that an attached nymph is feeding on them.”
Lyme disease is not the only disease that can follow bites from infected ticks. Overall, nearly 10 percent of adult blacklegged ticks and about 5 percent of nymphs were positive for the organisms that cause HA or babesiosis.
Bites from blacklegged ticks have led to record numbers of tick-borne disease cases in Minnesota in recent years. Since 2004, an average of about 1,000 cases of Lyme disease has been reported to MDH each year, twice the average annual numbers from 1999 to 2003. Numbers of HA and babesiosis cases are smaller but also have risen dramatically, to about 300 HA and 25 babesiosis cases in each of the last two years.
Blacklegged ticks are most common in hardwood forests of east-central, north-central, and southeastern Minnesota. Over the past few years, they have appeared to expand their range into forested parts of west-central, northwest, and northeast Minnesota. The ticks also are common in wooded areas of Wisconsin and northeastern states. The ticks are typically active from April through October, but mid-May through mid-July represents the period of greatest activity for the nymph stage of the tick and therefore the highest risk time for disease transmission to people.
“People who live in or visit wooded or brushy areas need to take precautions against tick bites,” warns Ruth Lynfield, Minnesota’s State Epidemiologist. “The rising number of disease cases suggests that Minnesota forests may contain greater numbers of infected ticks than in the past. It also suggests that too few Minnesotans are taking simple precautions to protect themselves.”
Precautions are most important during the late spring, early summer, and fall, when blacklegged ticks are active. When spending time in wooded or brushy areas, it is crucial to use tick repellents containing DEET or permethrin. Repellents containing up to 30 percent DEET can be used on the skin or clothing. Permethrin-based products, which are only applied to clothing, are highly effective and can last through several washings. Since ticks climb up from the ground, focus repellent use below the knees.
Also, wear long pants and light-colored clothing and walk in the center of trails.
After returning from the woods, check your body carefully for ticks and promptly remove any that are found. Blacklegged ticks are smaller and darker in color than the common wood ticks that people also may encounter this time of year. They also lack the wood tick’s characteristic white markings, and the back end of the female blacklegged tick is reddish-orange in appearance.
Signs and symptoms of Lyme disease can include an expanding rash, fever, headache, chills, muscle pain, joint pain, and fatigue. The rash, one of the earliest symptoms, typically appears between 3 and 30 days after an infectious tick bite. Not everyone with Lyme disease develops the rash. Untreated Lyme disease can develop into joint swelling, nervous system problems, or heart problems.
Symptoms of HA and babesiosis include a high fever, chills, headache, and muscle aches. These symptoms appear approximately one to three weeks after the tick bite for HA and one to six weeks or more after the tick bite for babesiosis. Although people of all ages can get HA and babesiosis, they are most severe in people who are elderly or immune compromised.
Blacklegged ticks need to be attached for 24 to 48 hours to transmit Lyme disease bacteria and 12 to 24 hours to transmit HA bacteria. People who develop signs or symptoms of a tick-related illness after spending time in blacklegged tick habitat should see a physician right away, even if they don’t remember getting a tick bite. Lyme disease, HA, and babesiosis are treatable. Early diagnosis and treatment are important in preventing severe illness. Some people develop two or more of these diseases from the same tick bite.
Approximately one-third of blacklegged ticks (also called deer ticks) tested during recent years in Minnesota were positive for disease-causing organisms, say state health officials. Blacklegged ticks carry Lyme disease, human anaplasmosis (HA), and babesiosis, three illnesses which can lead to serious complications.
Between 2005 and 2008, staff members at the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) collected blacklegged ticks from regions of Minnesota where Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases are commonly reported. The MDH Public Health Laboratory tested these ticks for the presence of disease-causing organisms. “While levels of infection in blacklegged ticks can vary by time or place, these levels were consistently high,” said Melissa Kemperman, an epidemiologist specializing in tick-transmitted diseases at MDH. “Overall, about one out of every three adult blacklegged ticks was positive for the bacteria that cause Lyme disease. In many parts of Minnesota, this means that there is a good chance that any blacklegged tick you encounter is carrying the Lyme disease bacteria.”
Nymphs, the immature stage of tick, were also tested. Just over 10 percent of nymphal blacklegged ticks were positive for the Lyme disease bacteria. Although fewer nymphs than adults were positive for the Lyme disease bacteria, their small size makes them more dangerous. “Nymphs are tiny—about the size of a poppy seed,” Kemperman said. “Because of this, they are very difficult to notice, and many people don’t notice that an attached nymph is feeding on them.”
Lyme disease is not the only disease that can follow bites from infected ticks. Overall, nearly 10 percent of adult blacklegged ticks and about 5 percent of nymphs were positive for the organisms that cause HA or babesiosis.
Bites from blacklegged ticks have led to record numbers of tick-borne disease cases in Minnesota in recent years. Since 2004, an average of about 1,000 cases of Lyme disease has been reported to MDH each year, twice the average annual numbers from 1999 to 2003. Numbers of HA and babesiosis cases are smaller but also have risen dramatically, to about 300 HA and 25 babesiosis cases in each of the last two years.
Blacklegged ticks are most common in hardwood forests of east-central, north-central, and southeastern Minnesota. Over the past few years, they have appeared to expand their range into forested parts of west-central, northwest, and northeast Minnesota. The ticks also are common in wooded areas of Wisconsin and northeastern states. The ticks are typically active from April through October, but mid-May through mid-July represents the period of greatest activity for the nymph stage of the tick and therefore the highest risk time for disease transmission to people.
“People who live in or visit wooded or brushy areas need to take precautions against tick bites,” warns Ruth Lynfield, Minnesota’s State Epidemiologist. “The rising number of disease cases suggests that Minnesota forests may contain greater numbers of infected ticks than in the past. It also suggests that too few Minnesotans are taking simple precautions to protect themselves.”
Precautions are most important during the late spring, early summer, and fall, when blacklegged ticks are active. When spending time in wooded or brushy areas, it is crucial to use tick repellents containing DEET or permethrin. Repellents containing up to 30 percent DEET can be used on the skin or clothing. Permethrin-based products, which are only applied to clothing, are highly effective and can last through several washings. Since ticks climb up from the ground, focus repellent use below the knees.
Also, wear long pants and light-colored clothing and walk in the center of trails.
After returning from the woods, check your body carefully for ticks and promptly remove any that are found. Blacklegged ticks are smaller and darker in color than the common wood ticks that people also may encounter this time of year. They also lack the wood tick’s characteristic white markings, and the back end of the female blacklegged tick is reddish-orange in appearance.
Signs and symptoms of Lyme disease can include an expanding rash, fever, headache, chills, muscle pain, joint pain, and fatigue. The rash, one of the earliest symptoms, typically appears between 3 and 30 days after an infectious tick bite. Not everyone with Lyme disease develops the rash. Untreated Lyme disease can develop into joint swelling, nervous system problems, or heart problems.
Symptoms of HA and babesiosis include a high fever, chills, headache, and muscle aches. These symptoms appear approximately one to three weeks after the tick bite for HA and one to six weeks or more after the tick bite for babesiosis. Although people of all ages can get HA and babesiosis, they are most severe in people who are elderly or immune compromised.
Blacklegged ticks need to be attached for 24 to 48 hours to transmit Lyme disease bacteria and 12 to 24 hours to transmit HA bacteria. People who develop signs or symptoms of a tick-related illness after spending time in blacklegged tick habitat should see a physician right away, even if they don’t remember getting a tick bite. Lyme disease, HA, and babesiosis are treatable. Early diagnosis and treatment are important in preventing severe illness. Some people develop two or more of these diseases from the same tick bite.
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Some creepy crawlers that eat ticks are spiders. Yep, some spiders are dangerous to man but most are not. I HATE spiders but have learned not to automatically smush them or wipe out their webs in my yard or garage. Most spiders do more good than harm to us and ours.
Chicken-like birds, including--well-chickens, but also turkeys, pheasants eat a lot of ticks. So do most wild birds. Some of us like the look of a wide open expanse of green lawn but planting a few shrubs and trees won't hurt to provide habitat for tick eating birds. Sure, mowing around 'em makes more work but keeping up a habitat to help birds can help keep the ticks down.
In 1985, when two of my dogs were diagnosed with some sort of cancer that was "sure to kill them" within a few months (same diagnosis from my local, very well-respected vet and U. of Minn. vets), I was lucky enough to have a friend who was a research assistant at the U. of Wis. dairy lab. I was frantic because my two curlies, both about 15 months old, were diagnosed as having some type of unknown cancer that was killing them. They also had intermittent high fevers, swollen lymph nodes, limping on one leg, then another, losing weight, yada, yada, yada.
I was frantic and I described the symptoms to my friend. She in turn described them to a researcher at the U. of Wis. researching Lyme disease in dairy cows. (Remember, this was 1985.) My friend headed up to my house with blood collection kits and tick collection kits. I had five curly coated retrievers at the time. All of them tested positive for Lyme disease, but 3 of them, including the litter sister of one of the affected dogs, had no symptoms.
We collected, at random, more than 60 ticks from my backyard and ALL OF THEM carried Lyme disease. ALL OF THEM. We put all the dogs on antibiotics and the two with symptoms lived to be 13 and 15 respectively.
Where did we get the Lyme disease bearing ticks? The first pup affected I had imported from England in the same year, 1984, that the second pup was born at my house in a litter I bred. We had taken these pups hunting in South Dakota that year but the only other state they were in was Wisconsin.
So, the Lyme disease bearing ticks were probably from right in Wisconsin. Those ticks collected in my yard were used as part of a breeding colony of ticks. Don't know what happened to them, don't know if they were good hunting or show quality
Wish I had never seen hide nor little, mealy-mouthed, creepy, crawly hair of them.
UGGHHHHH!
Chicken-like birds, including--well-chickens, but also turkeys, pheasants eat a lot of ticks. So do most wild birds. Some of us like the look of a wide open expanse of green lawn but planting a few shrubs and trees won't hurt to provide habitat for tick eating birds. Sure, mowing around 'em makes more work but keeping up a habitat to help birds can help keep the ticks down.
In 1985, when two of my dogs were diagnosed with some sort of cancer that was "sure to kill them" within a few months (same diagnosis from my local, very well-respected vet and U. of Minn. vets), I was lucky enough to have a friend who was a research assistant at the U. of Wis. dairy lab. I was frantic because my two curlies, both about 15 months old, were diagnosed as having some type of unknown cancer that was killing them. They also had intermittent high fevers, swollen lymph nodes, limping on one leg, then another, losing weight, yada, yada, yada.
I was frantic and I described the symptoms to my friend. She in turn described them to a researcher at the U. of Wis. researching Lyme disease in dairy cows. (Remember, this was 1985.) My friend headed up to my house with blood collection kits and tick collection kits. I had five curly coated retrievers at the time. All of them tested positive for Lyme disease, but 3 of them, including the litter sister of one of the affected dogs, had no symptoms.
We collected, at random, more than 60 ticks from my backyard and ALL OF THEM carried Lyme disease. ALL OF THEM. We put all the dogs on antibiotics and the two with symptoms lived to be 13 and 15 respectively.
Where did we get the Lyme disease bearing ticks? The first pup affected I had imported from England in the same year, 1984, that the second pup was born at my house in a litter I bred. We had taken these pups hunting in South Dakota that year but the only other state they were in was Wisconsin.
So, the Lyme disease bearing ticks were probably from right in Wisconsin. Those ticks collected in my yard were used as part of a breeding colony of ticks. Don't know what happened to them, don't know if they were good hunting or show quality
Wish I had never seen hide nor little, mealy-mouthed, creepy, crawly hair of them.UGGHHHHH!
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Jeff's post made me think. When the vet removed the one tick my pup had, they asked me if I wanted to get it tested. I said sure, until they said it was $75. It would get sent out to some agency. I would think they'd want to do it regardless to get that information. Silly me.
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Are real shoes and long pants the only way? When I mosey down, end of June I was kind of hoping to lounge in short pants and crocs But I can modify that plan as I am known to be a Tic Magnet.
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You could try to slather on the high deet bug spray. Make sure you get the most powerful stuff you can find. Usually NOT "OFF" but the oily, military issue type stuff.
It will melt plastic so make sure your hands are clean before handling your equipment.
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