Ticks ticks ticks

[barbender]

 We just went for a walk out in the woods looking for morels. I found around 15 deer ticks, both nymph and adult, and 4 or 5 wood ticks.

[woodroe]

Its definitely tough out there especially if you have
pets to walk . The dog has five points of ground contact including the nose
wheras we only have two so they can pick up 2-3 times as many ticks..
The vet said its no longer a seasonal issue like it once was and I've found that
they may be active in below freezing temps too.
So unless there is snow cover they are probably around , We've seen more than a hundred
already this year, both deer and wood varieties, lots of the deer ticks earlier. .
Had one climbing up my pemethrin treated pant leg a few days ago.
Unfortunately there is no one size fits all solution. Putting chemicals in or on your dog
to what avail is what's available.

[woodroe]

The little vampires might be finally letting up a little .
They don't like hot and dry so this heat wave is knocking them back a little.
Nynphs mostly now. Tiny specks the size of a sharp pencil tip.
Wouldn't believe its anything till you pick it off and see it moving. 

[thecfarm]

I think I had one crawling across my forehead a couple nights ago when I was in bed. I grabbed it and headed for the toilet and gave it the flush treatment. 

[WhitePineJunky]

for the people who have Lyme disease here, did you have reoccurrence of Lyme after it was "cured" ?

Seems the medical community "officially" considers Lyme cured after a few weeks of doxy

Doesn't seem to be the case for illness not caught really early.
Evident with the new symptoms I'm feeling again(past week) after 3 months post treatment, felt zero pain, best I felt in years

Hearing lots of stories of "going out of remission" due to something weakening the immune system, the bacteria can grow again

One could argue I'm just feeling the after effect permanent damage of Lyme, well, I doubt it,in the last 3 months I've played a lot of catch-up on work and much physical exercise, no problems, last 1-2 weeks haven't done much as it's extremely hot, all the sudden waking up with pains again.

Have a little doxy left over, on day 2 and I do believe symptoms are getting better but will know after I wake up tomorrow as it's always worst in the morning

[woodroe]

Haven't had Lyme disease but a DR I know did say getting treated early 
was important to fast recovery. 
How long do you suspect you had it before getting treated WPJ ?

[WhitePineJunky]

I suspect I had it about 5 years, after the antibiotics all the lower back pain, hip pain and random other pains stopped.


The hip pain is lessening as of this morning I do believe I'm having a "flare up" and it's right after a stressful event, perhaps weakened my immune system.

[John Mc]

Have a little doxy left over, on day 2 and I do believe symptoms are getting better but will know after I wake up tomorrow as it's always worst in the morning

If you "had a little doxy left over" from your original treatment, then that could be part of the problem. You need to take the FULL course of the prescribed medication. Stopping because your symptoms aren't bothering you anymore can cause a resurgence. Even worse, by following only a partial course of medication, you could be contributing to the development of a doxy resistant strain.

[WhitePineJunky]

Have a little doxy left over, on day 2 and I do believe symptoms are getting better but will know after I wake up tomorrow as it's always worst in the morning

If you "had a little doxy left over" from your original treatment, then that could be part of the problem. You need to take the FULL course of the prescribed medication. Stopping because your symptoms aren't bothering you anymore can cause a resurgence. Even worse, by following only a partial course of medication, you could be contributing to the development of a doxy resistant strain.

I understand that. I made it almost the whole 4 weeks but couldn't do the last 4 or 5 days because of severe stomach pain it was causing . My doctor said it should of still been sufficient, as usually only prescribed 2 weeks worth

If you explore the web related Lyme stories there is a lot of people who had been on doxy for months and still end up having Lyme flare ups, these are people who didn't get the illness early enough, I've seen up to 12months which blows my mind I couldn't handle that medication that long it's tough on your gut.
Apparantly Lyme bacteria is very good at hiding and "digging in" to all of your body your bones organs etc, I see this term "biofilm" thrown around a lot and apparantly the bacteria can hide dormant there until the doxy is clear of your system or whenever your next immune weakening will be, for whatever reason I guess doxy can not get to these biofilms easily?
Maybe one of the docs here on the forum can lay it out better

[WhitePineJunky]

I finished the last few days I had of doxy and the pains are gone

[customsawyer]

for the people who have Lyme disease here, did you have reoccurrence of Lyme after it was "cured" ?

I've had it since '88. I won't claim to had any re occurrence but I have had "flare ups" of some of the symptoms. Everything from the joint pain, migratory rash, hives, and brain fog, just to name a few. The worst for me is the arthritis that comes with it, as that just keeps hanging around. Mine is worst in the ankles, knees, hips, and back. I'm sure some of that is due to everything I have put my body through that has weakened those joints, and given uncle Arthur a place to land.  

[WhitePineJunky]

My reasoning for thinking I had a flare up rather than reoccurrence of previous permanent damage is because when this pain come on I had been un active for about 1-2 weeks by then and had dealt with some stress, I believe that weakened my immune response and let the Lyme come from dormancy, if it had come on during the prior 3 months to that when I was working long physical days one could logically conclude it may be from the permanent damage, but never happened like that. I'm not trying to say this is how it really is (no expert)but it's best I can make from my experience with it 

[NewYankeeSawmill]

Ugh!
Blackberry picking this morning.
Pulled 6 ticks off me in the car, wifey found 2 more, and another one was discovered in the shower.
I heard strong doses of garlic supplement keeps them from biting (and good for your heart!)

[WhitePineJunky]

Got another engorged tick really impeccable timing of this thread popping up I was about to search for it

Nymph got me not sure if dog or deer tick, hard to tell when engorged , went to pharmacy and got 2 doses of doxy 

[WhitePineJunky]

Ugh!
Blackberry picking this morning.
Pulled 6 ticks off me in the car, wifey found 2 more, and another one was discovered in the shower.
I heard strong doses of garlic supplement keeps them from biting (and good for your heart!)

Garlic is definitely beneficial to one's health id crush up a couple cloves mix it into tuna sandwiches the worst breath but feel great

[SwampDonkey]

Used to be an elderly lady up the road that loved garlic. One Sunday at her church she sat next to a friend of hers. All the sudden in a deep voice was heard, 'Gert, you've been in the garlic again'. She lived to be over a 100.

I know what it smells like in wet rain gear with three guys riding in a chopper.

[SwampDonkey]

Tick Key, for removing ticks on pets and humans

Lee Valley Tools sells them.

[WhitePineJunky]

Don't some pharmacies gives them out now as well? I picked up a few free ones from my dogs vet they also hand them out 

[maple flats]

For about 8-10 years I had tics on me multiple times, several were imbedded when found. trip to the Dr and a course of Doxicyclene. Then I tried a product called YAYA tick ban about 5-6 years ago. It's a blend of natural repellants that ticks don't seem to like. In the 5-6 years since I tried the Tic Ban I've never found a tic on me. I started by ordering a little spray bottle (4oz) of it, once I found that worked so well I ordered in in a 16 oz spray bottle, pretty pricey at $27.99. On my last order I got it in  concentrate. That was then added to the empty 16oz aluminum spray bottle, topped off with clear water and I think it was $19.00 (as of July 2024) When I use it, I spray my pant legs from waist down, both sides of each leg as I get out of my truck, I then repeat every 4-5 hrs. This product has worked 100% since I first tried it. It does seperate so shake the bottle before spraying for each spray.
Since discovering this YAYA tic ban I've recommended it to  all my friends. 
I also use a mosquito spray they make, It's fairly effective but not total control.

[barbender]

I went out in the woods a week ago and walked the back of our property. I found 9 deer ticks on me when I came in, and then #10 stuck in my belly button later that night. That was a fun one to dig out😬

[Nebraska]

Wow I figured your ticks were done for , for the season by now. 

[SwampDonkey]

So far so good here, have never seen one, except large moose ticks in March in old fur laying on the snow. We have hardly any deer, I've seen 7 different does all year, no bucks, no fawns.

[barbender]

It has been a very mild fall up here. The deer ticks are the most active in early May, and then again in the fall in our area. A "regular" year would have frozen ground and maybe some snow by now.