Fucking ticks

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I'm very tick conscious. I'm careful about where I walk, and about what I wear. I wear long shirts and trousers, long socks, and if the trousers are loose, bicycle clips. I only go for short walks anyway. And I still find ticks on me. I worry about there being some I don't notice or can't reach (I don't have a partner). I don't feel able to sit on the grass to have a picnic or read a book. It's miserable, when being in the countryside is such a big part of life in Scotland.The deer we have here make the ticks much more likely to carry infections - especially the horrendous Weil's disease. How do the rest of you deal with this?

Pick them off when we see them, and do a general tick check at the end of the day. Yes that will be harder if you live alone. Maybe have a soak in the bath in the evening?

But don't over-worry. It must happen ALL the time that people miss ticks and they stay on for a while. But they will fall off themselves. Most people don't get Weils disease (thankfully).

But also I totally understand if you've been tipped over the edge this weekend. I have an epic haul of 4 off one child, 8 off the other and 2 off DH. 0 on me - I think...

I've read up on it, and apparently in bad areas the infection rate is about 20%. And each female tick produces around 5,000 babies. Horrible.

I don't think you can drown them either? Apparently they survive going though the washing machine even, unless you use a high temperature.

Ticks on people? Is that a common thing? I don’t think any of us have ever had one on us but they do get onto the dog once every few months.

We have a tick remover tool for the dog and then burn the tick with a match to kill it.

They do survive water, the little shits.

@HasaDigaEebowai it's common in Scotland, if you're walking through long grass or anywhere that deer have been (and there's deer everywhere!). I've known my kids to get them in the local park (though this weekend's haul was from playing / walking out in the woods).

Oh goodness that sounds horrible. We do get them here (midlands) but as I said, only really on the dog and that’s because he sleeps for hours on the grass under a tree. Maybe we’ve just been lucky though.

We get them here in Surrey. Our cats bring them in - we're right by woods, and they get literally a couple a day. It's horrible, and then we get them on us because the cats rub all over us. It's awful and relentless. And they're gross!

Yes they put me off hill walking and walking through tall grass! I've been in areas without deer and still found them on me. One I spotted on my hand at the start of a walk and hadn't even been amongst much high grass or around any trees and another I found on my NIPPLE when in the shower the evening after a hill walk 😭

When I find them on the animals (very very very rare for me to find them on the human family) they get treated to a trip down the toilet. I'm not sure what the correct way of disposing of them is.

I find a couple a day on the animals, but only a couple a year on humans. Weird. I think we must smell funny 😆

Yes ticks do get on to people. I worry about Lyme disease, I didn’t realise they also carry Weil’s. I know someone with Lyme disease and it has been really dreadful. The nymph tick is most likely to transmit Lyme and they are the size of this full stop.
So extremely hard to spot.

Are you west coast? You could move east. Far far fewer ticks although still have them

Lemongrass essential oil spray helps. Don’t sit on heather

Sorry, I meant Lyme disease.

My son has/had Lyme disease and bartonella from ticks.

Those of you who are tick aware are very sensible.

BTW wrapping a tick in sellotape is a great method of trapping and killing a tick. You can also watch them suffocate to death!

I dont think I’ve ever even SEEN a tick and we’re a pretty outdoorsy family, although no pets. This thread is a bit of a revelation...I’m off to google (and no doubt start panicking!)

Do you mean Lyme disease OP? Weils disease is transmitted through exposure to (primarily) rodent urine, not ticks.

@GrandPrismatic

Ticks carrying Lyme disease are quite prevalent, particularly in the Highlands.

My son caught it on scout camp, returning with eight attached ticks. Out of the 35 leaders and scouts attending camp, 14 got a typical bullseye rash and were treated with antibiotics.

Antibiotics will only work if they are given soon after exposure. The bullseye rash is not always present so other symptoms can be flu-like. It's definitely worth googling.

@aurea I’ll definitely be more vigilant!

I hear you OP. Lots of ticks where we are (Scandinavia) and a tick check is a daily routine this time of year when in the countryside. You can get a vaccination here - don’t know if that’s a possibility where you are? Although unfortunately it’s for TBE only and not Lyme disease (as far as I’m aware. Happy to stand corrected!)

Are ticks around more than they werea few years ago?

When I was a child in the 70s/80s I don't remember ever finding a tick, warnings about ticks, having to check yourself after a walk.

I'm not any more active now than I was as a child/teen - less so, probably - and both DH and I have had one within the last year.

Nasty little fuckers. I don't remember them as a child but there are a LOT more deer around now, unsustainable populations so they're commonly found in gardens and parks in rural areas where they never were in the past.

Constant tick checking here for humans and animals.

I found one on me a couple of years ago and it was engorged to the size of a piece of sweetcorn. It was AWFUL. God knows how I missed it. In blind panic I ripped it off and of course left half of it in my arm. I had to get it removed at the minor injuries. Apart from inviting all the junior nurses in to gawp, they were fab. I even got a call a few weeks later checking I didn't have any symptoms of Lymes. But yes, ticks are absolutely appalling.