ticks

[happyhorse]

I've just booked Wellington Country Park for the summer and was told to be prepared for ticks and other woodland insects.

What do I need to take/do/look out for? I don't have a clue.

TIA.

Hi! For ticks you should do an all over body check every day (before showering or whatever - get partner to check you and adults check any kids) including around your ears/neck etc. You will see a little black insect firmly stuck on, if you are bitten. There is a way to remove ticks without breaking the head off. I've never done it though, so check it out online maybe? Anyway, what you are really trying to avoid with ticks is Lyme's disease. This is transmitted by infected ticks and they need to be on you for about 12 hrs in order to transmit it (so a daily check should, with any luck, be enough to avoid). If you should miss one and be unlucky enough to catch Lyme's disease, there is a very distinctive rash that emerges afterwards- like a series of red rings emanating out form the bite (which may be just a little bump) - a bit like a bullseye. No other symptoms. It needs to be treated with a long course of strong antibiotics. If left untreated you are looking at serious joint and eventually long-term mobility problems. If treated, no problems at all. I've had it and had it treated on time thank God. Incredibly, the first doctor I saw diagnosed an allergic reaction to an insect bite and gave me some antihistamine cream. The second, who was a dermatologist, diagnosed it in about 10 seconds. Anyway, hence the long-winded warning! Hope you have lots of fun.

Deet insect repellant and a tick removing tool. Your best plan is to learn all about avoiding ticks and how to check for them - including your dog of you are taking one. Google is your friend for this.
Not wanting to alarm you but check to see if it is a Lyme disease area and if so read up on the symptoms.

Thanks for that. I had no idea they could transmit something so serious. I'll read up and buy a removing tool before we go.

I'm just going with DS so I'll be in all kinds of contortions for checking myself

It's just some areas of the country that have Lymes infected ticks, and not all ticks in those areas carry Lymes, but it is a potentially serious illness so it's well worth your while to become knowledgeable about it all. If you are in a Lymes infected area and get a tick bite see a GP soon after (within a week or so) as you'll be prescribed a course of anti-biotics as a preventative measure. I had this happen after I got a tick bite in western Scotland in a Lymes area.

But don't let it spoil your fun - the chances of catching Lymes is very minimal.

...and don't forget to check DS as well, of course!

Once your DC get to a certain age - 7 or 8 - they can do the checks on each other each morning. Where we live (central Europe) it's recommended not to wear short trousers when moving through undergrowth and in woodland. I once also bizarrely had a tick stuck under my arm, so it's worth checking unusual places. DH has had one on his leg.

Unfortunately I have a ridiculous amount of experience in removing ticks because they love our rabbits' noses - I have to remove about one a week in summer (not dangerous to rabbits but they grow enormous). I've also taken a few out of children's necks over the years! You can get these devices that look a bit like credit cards with one edge taken out, and THEY'RE USELESS. As recommended by our doctor, the best things are the tweezers produced for getting ticks out of dogs and cats. The important thing is not to break the tick's head off while still buried in the skin, so you have to grab hold of its neck with the tweezers and pull straight out - the whole insect will come out, probably still flailing around.

We're not even in a region with Lyme's (if we were I'd be a lot more uptight), but you still have to take the damn things out. Best of luck with it.

We have these tick removers. Got them for our dog, but have used them on myself before. You just pop them over the tick an twist (must twist anti-clockwise) and out pops the tick.

If you're in a tight spot, it's worth remembering that ticks will detach themselves when they're full, and that it might be better to wait than to pull the body off and leave the head inside.