To cancel holiday due to ticks

[worrier7]

Myself, DH and our two young sons are going on holiday this month. We'll be staying in the UK, in a very rural, self-catering cottage. We're hoping to enjoy some country walks and also spend time at the local beach.

However, I recently read an article about Lyme Disease and how it's caught from ticks living in long grass. I'm now terrified that one or more of us could get a tick on our skin and catch Lyme Disease, which sounds terrible.

I'm wondering whether to cancel the holiday altogether and book somewhere in a town instead. We were really looking forward to our countryside holiday but I'm now hugely anxious about the ticks - especially as my sons are very active and will no doubt want to play in the long grass. What would you do?

[Picklypickles]

Just make sure your legs and feet are covered up, stay out of long grasses and ferns! I've lived in the countryside for more than 30 years and never had a tick before, my daughter has had 2 of them though (she does spend a lot of time rolling about in the grass) but my stepdad got them out reasonably easily with ordinary tweezers.

[VestaTilley]

What? Are you crazy? Total overreaction.

Even in the event you get bitten by a tick (unlikely unless you’re wading through ferns in shorts) the tick probably won’t have the disease. IF you get bitten and you’re worried then call 111- but it’s still hugely unlikely.

Of all the reasons to cancel a holiday this is the maddest I’ve ever read.

Wear long sleeved tops and trousers if needs be, and stick to paths. You shouldn’t walk through fields or farmland or woods except on public rights of way anyway, and they’re usually kept clear.

Get a grip.

[Astella22]

I think you should cancel, it doesn’t sound like a holiday in the countryside would suit u.

[JimLaheysWhiskeyBottle]

We used to live in Sweden where ticks are very common. We all got vaccinated against TBD (tick borne diseases). There are many campaigns during the summer warning against the dangers of tick bites there. The vaccination is in 2 doses, then you have a booster every couple of years. We got ours in the "tick van" outside IKEA. My mum visited us regularly and was able to pay for her vaccination at the GP in the UK, but this was pre covid.
We lived in Sweden for 3 years, none of ever got a tick bite despite camping most summers, being outside and kids being in forest barnehage.
We're back in Norway now and I've removed 3 from my daughter already this week.

[GnomeHat]

Have you never actually been in the countryside before?

[ralphi]

As other posters have said, wear long trousers, and buy an anti tick spray (for humans). I have used this on holidays elsewhere, and they seem to work well.

[Benjispruce5]

I walk my dog ina wild area daily. Am aware of ticks but never seen one on me or the dog. I think they have to be on you a while to transmit Lyme and not all ticks carry the disease. Are you normally this anxious?

[longtompot]

Get one of these, 2 sizes in the pack, and go on your hols. Don't let the fear of ticks stop you www.amazon.co.uk/OTom-02-3785-Otom-Tick-Twister/dp/B0089BOK12?tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21

[HideousKinky]

I was brought up in the countryside and spent every summer of my childhood playing in long grass. I never got ticks

[Anoisagusaris]

Seriously??? You do know that many many people live in the countryside and cope just fine with the issue of ticks?

[Zhampagne]

This is a really disruptive level of anxiety, OP, even if it feels normal for you, and you do not have to live with it. There is help available.

[SpottyZebra492]

Go on holiday. Ticks are carried on Deer, I live in the middle of one of the biggest cities in the country and have had deer in my garden on several occasions. You could get a tick from anywhere. Just check yourselves after each walk and have a tool on hand to removed them just in case.

[HeronLanyon]

Came across a couple yesterday who were in the middle of a long very remote cross country walk in shorts ! Both complained about nettles. Ffs. Just wear trousers when romping through long wild bits and/or check for bites. Good advice above. Currently I’m finding horse fly bites and sea fleas a problem and am keeping eye out for adders (in adder area). don’t cancel.

[BeenAsFarAsMercyAndGrand]

Are you going to avoid the countryside for the rest of your life?

Check for ticks daily, wear repellent and/or long sleeves/trousers, buy a tick removal tool. It's OTT to cancel a holiday.

[MissChanandlerBong22]

@JimLaheysWhiskeyBottle

I had no idea you could get vaccinated against Lyme Disease!

[AmaryllisNightAndDay]

However, I recently read an article about Lyme Disease and how it's caught from ticks living in long grass. I'm now terrified that one or more of us could get a tick on our skin and catch Lyme Disease, which sounds terrible

Take sensible precuations. In the UK we are used to assuming safety but other countries are used to taking precautions against undesirable wildlife of all sizes :-) I remember getting told off for walking in long grass in southern France, they have scorpions! (Not super-dangerous ones but can get a nasty sting)

Wear long trousers when you're going for walks in long grass etc and take a mat to sit on. Keep an eye out for ticks and tickbites, take a tick remover just in case. And you'll be fine!

[TicketedBoo]

Just need to dispel the myth that a tick needs to be on you for a couple of days to transmit Lyme.

My darling tick was only on me an hour max - and I know this because it must've been INSIDE my riding glove in my grooming box and I was only riding for up to an hour that day.

I too believed it had to be engorged, so I scraped it off on a rock and continued with my day.

Bullseye rash came up about 5/6 weeks later - and my case is now used in medical school to help with training.

So:

1. Tick does not need to be on you days.
2. Bullseye rash (if it comes) might not appear for a month or two
3. ABX will treat it - but they'll knock you for six - I ached deep into my joints for weeks
4. Matt Dawson (English rugby player) caught it in Hyde park

[Madcats]

Nip into a camping shop/Mountain Warehouse etc. and get some child-friendly tick and mossie spray (or in roll on form, like a deodorant). Then nip round to the vets and buy a tick remover (they might even hand them out for free). Ticks stay attached, so they are easy enough to spot when getting ready for bed.

I suspect the property owner is just trying to cover their backs. l

[BertieBob]

I was bitten by a tick whilst staying at Disneyland Paris. We walked back to the hotel following the river a few times, I assume that was when I was bitten. I got treated as soon as my I noticed the bite.
You can be bitten in a whole range of places, I certainly could not predict mine. Don't put off your holiday as a precaution.

[surreymum89]

The only time I have had a tick is when I was clearing out the attic at my family home in a town , nowhere near grass and I spent my childhood at my grandparents in the countryside on dog walks through long grass with no sign of a tick. Be prepared of course and check but that's as far as I would think about it.

[sonjadog]

I have lived in the countryside for the last 17 years and have never got a single tick bite, despite there being plenty around. My dog gets them regularly throughout the summer months. I don't have a tick remover either. They are easy to remove with your fingers. Get a firm grip where it is entering the skin with your finger nails, twist and the tick will come out.

[grasstreeleaf]

I've had a suspected tick bite. What I did was ring the doctors who prescribed me antibiotics. What you do is take precautions such as covering up, checking for them and wearing insect repellent. And if the worst happens get appropriate advice.

Life is full of risks, if you look for them but you still have to live.

[Looubylou]

Will your children never experience the countryside then? My dog picked up ticks walking on the moors - so yes they are there, and I would advise dog owners to ensure their dogs are always up to date with tick treatment BUT this is a small risk which you are getting out of proportion. Go on holiday, check the children daily for ticks at bath time, I bet a year's wages you never find one. I walked my dog in long grass, moorland, through sheep fields and woodland, for many years and no humans in our family were affected. If you have a habit of developing health anxiety or blowing risks out of proportion, I would speak to your GP, there are several ways to support you in dealing with this.

[NeverDropYourMooncup]

If you're this bothered by ticks, I'm guessing you don't live anywhere near South London.

It was only in the last few years that I realised what the tiny red things were that were always on the cats' faces in summer and would sometimes appear on my shins and produce a circular rash like an archery target for several weeks when I was a kid. That's from the 70s and 80s with no access to long grass beyond a couple of tufts of Couch Grass and the nearest we got to deer was turning left just before The Red Deer on the way to Granddad's house.

[IDontLikeZombies]

I've had a billion tick bites over the course of my life and it's been no problem. Just check at the end of the day and take them out with a tick remover. Don't worry, just enjoy your holiday.