2025: Year of the Tick

[grsthegreat]

Talking about the ticks

I ended up posting this in the wrong open window…..sorry. Was also chatting with my brother.

 

[CalG]

Talking about the ticks

Around here, ticks will kill a moose.
I've seen pics of moose stripped of all hair and replaced by leg to leg wood ticks. Not a pretty image.

 

[Jstpssng]

I ended up posting this in the wrong open window…..sorry. Was also chatting with my brother.

Thread drift is normal. I can fix it though...
It's hard to envision that an animal as big as a moose can be taken down by something as small as a tick yet they are. In October you might think the bushes are covered with mud, but if you look closely you will see it's thousands of tiny ticks. They wait for a moose to walk by, one will jump and hundreds will hold on, like a big rope.
In winter if you look in the moose beds you might see dozens of blood spots and ticks looking like squished grapes. By spring the moose will often have bare spots in their fur from trying to rub ticks off.

Edit; I type too slow. Somebody beat me to the draw.

 

[jyoutz]

Thread drift is normal. I can fix it though...
It's hard to envision that an animal as big as a moose can be taken down by something as small as a tick yet they are. In October you might think the bushes are covered with mud, but if you look closely you will see it's thousands of tiny ticks. They wait for a moose to walk by, one will jump and hundreds will hold on, like a big rope.
In winter if you look in the moose beds you might see dozens of blood spots and ticks looking like squished grapes. By spring the moose will often have bare spots in their fur from trying to rub ticks off.

Edit; I type too slow. Somebody beat me to the draw.

Wow. That’s bad. I guess I was fortunate to visit Maine during spring mud season when it’s probably too cold for ticks.

 

[LittleBittyBigJohn]

I think hunting as a sport seems to have declined a bit. Still a lot, but not fanatical as it once was.
That is allowing deer populations to explode with few predators.
Farming helps control deer a little, and that's on the decline, too.
Throw in population growth in more remote areas as another reason peeps are gettin bit

We are doing our part here in Arkansas.

 

[Blue Mule]

Well funny that I posted this thread... came down really ill last Thursday. Tested positive for Lyme disease this week. Waiting to see what the doc wants to prescribe me. Never in my life have I been as sick as I was Friday through Sunday. I'm feeling better today, but I still want a course of treatment.

Protect yourselves!

 

[kenmbz]

Well funny that I posted this thread... came down really ill last Thursday. Tested positive for Lyme disease this week. Waiting to see what the doc wants to prescribe me. Never in my life have I been as sick as I was Friday through Sunday. I'm feeling better today, but I still want a course of treatment.

Protect yourselves!

Wow, feel better and hope they give you something to knock this out.

I haven't had a tick on me since yesterday , they seem to be climbing up the bushier trees and dropping down.
This one was a female dog tick. But we've seen quite a few of the smaller deer ticks too.
I guess since we have so many deer the last few years.

I have had more ticks on me this year than all the previous years combined and I haven't been out in the woods as much due to the weather.

 

[ArlyA]

Lyme disease bites, really bites and had multiple friends who've got it. This is why we wear treated clothing and will get a vaccination when they come out. Note how I didn't mention natural immunity to Lyme or tics.

 

[shooterdon]

Well funny that I posted this thread... came down really ill last Thursday. Tested positive for Lyme disease this week. Waiting to see what the doc wants to prescribe me. Never in my life have I been as sick as I was Friday through Sunday. I'm feeling better today, but I still want a course of treatment.

Protect yourselves!

I believe I posted earlier in this thread but worth repeating.

Get treated clothes from Insect Shield. I have jeans, shirts, socks and a hat. It is really cheap insurance

I had Lyme disease and it is no joke.

Since I started wearing Insect Shield clothes I have not had a tick in two years.

 

[kenmbz]

I use permethrin Which is why I find them vs. remove them.
But yesterday I was just walking along the driveway, open area, slightly overhung with branches. Did not expect one to drop out of the tall brush. I was feet away from any foliage.
When I go into the woods I wear a treated hat.
Seems I need to walk in the center of the driveway this year

 

[MinnesotaEric]

Permethrin is definitely the best thing I've found. I spray my work pants with a 12% solution. I've read that that mix will prevent ticks from being attracted, and is supposed to be good for 75 washings. I have my doubts about that so I spray them at least every other use.

Sitting on a tailgate taking a break, I've seen ticks walking up my pant legs and then fall off. I liberally coat my pants with this stuff and have been using it for going on for over 10 years now.

Amazon.com: Sawyer Products Premium Permethrin Insect Repellent for Clothing, Gear & Tents

Amazon.com: Sawyer Products Premium Permethrin Insect Repellent for Clothing, Gear & Tents

www.amazon.com

For the edge of yards and around the base of foundations (mostly to kill mosquitos since I do own swampland), I use a Stihl fogger with a Tengard SFR 36.8% Permethrin Insecticide mixed up with water.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003ORU2PO?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_3

 

[Santa Craig Cringle]

I heard Mike mention once on Outdoors with the Morgans Youtube channel that he has often been asked why he wears light colored, khaki style pants to work in (I'm thinking like Dickies brand) - he mentioned that with blue denim you can't see the ticks as readily as on khaki colored pants.

Seems like a good idea. When I move out to our new Merryvale property I think I'm going to change up my wardrobe a bit. Besides that, between the copperheads, timber rattlers, and cottonmouths, probably going to need snake chaps too from what I've heard.

At my previous 20 acre property in Ohio, we had ~60 free range chickens. No tick issues at all. However, they caused some neighbor issues.

 

[kenmbz]

Sitting on a tailgate taking a break, I've seen ticks walking up my pant legs and then fall off. I liberally coat my pants with this stuff and have been using it for going on for over 10 years now.

Amazon.com: Sawyer Products Premium Permethrin Insect Repellent for Clothing, Gear & Tents

Amazon.com: Sawyer Products Premium Permethrin Insect Repellent for Clothing, Gear & Tents

www.amazon.com

For the edge of yards and around the base of foundations (mostly to kill mosquitos since I do own swampland), I use a Stihl fogger with a Tengard SFR 36.8% Permethrin Insecticide mixed up with water.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003ORU2PO?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_3

I have the same yellow bottle and it's what I use on my shoes and pants and hat.

 

[ponytug]

I use permethrin Which is why I find them vs. remove them.
But yesterday I was just walking along the driveway, open area, slightly overhung with branches. Did not expect one to drop out of the tall brush. I was feet away from any foliage.
When I go into the woods I wear a treated hat.
Seems I need to walk in the center of the driveway this year

We have a local plant called "tick weed". There's something about the plant that attracts ticks this time of year, so the plant is just shimmering with ticks on every stem. If you accidentally brush a branch your sleeve or pants leg is suddenly swarming with ticks. I have never seen anything like it, and yes, I stay a good yard away from the plant at all times because it does feel as if ticks jump off of it.

@Santa Craig Cringle don't forget "snake proof" boots in your new wardrobe.

All the best,

Peter

 

[Santa Craig Cringle]

@Santa Craig Cringle don't forget "snake proof" boots in your new wardrobe.

Can they really bite thru a good leather athletic shoe?

 

[ponytug]

Can they really bite thru a good leather athletic shoe?

Based on what I have seen them bite through, yes, I think, no problem. A friend was bitten through a pair of heavy leather pull on boots (3/32" thick +/-, thick, rather like "biker" boots). Most of the venom ended up pooled on his sock, but the skin was scratched, so off to the hospital he went. He was a skilled marksman, was carrying at the time, and shot it dead, so there wasn't any question about the kind of snake.

My personal takeaway was that bulk and distance from the skin is important in addition to boot toughness.

As all of this happened during high temperatures, the other takeaway is that knowing that one is living in snake country, be aware at all times. They can't "see" you well when it is hot nor when they are shedding. Look over logs/obstacles before stepping over, look on rocks, watch for those cottonmouths around water always, and if you smell cucumber, stop.

All the best,

Peter

 

[Jstpssng]

Cucumber? You can tell that I don't live in snake country.

 

[D'oh]

We have a local plant called "tick weed". There's something about the plant that attracts ticks this time of year, so the plant is just shimmering with ticks on every stem. If you accidentally brush a branch your sleeve or pants leg is suddenly swarming with ticks. I have never seen anything like it, and yes, I stay a good yard away from the plant at all times because it does feel as if ticks jump off of it.

@Santa Craig Cringle don't forget "snake proof" boots in your new wardrobe.

All the best,

Peter

Need to Plant that in Clumps, then Spark it up. A little "Controlled Burn" But the "Huggers" would disagree.

 

[ponytug]

Cucumber? You can tell that I don't live in snake country.

Apparently it is specific to cottonmouths.

10 Fascinating Cottonmouth Snake Facts - Fact Animal

Cottonmouth Profile Of all the scary snakes in the hottest parts of North America, the cottonmouth sounds like the most pleasant. But this snake isn’t

factanimal.com

Unfortunately, not a warning smell for the other American vipers...

 

[Jstpssng]

Second stop of the day, in the town where I got the tick which put me on antibiotics 2 months ago.

As I sat here eating lunch and reading this thread I reached up and scratched my neck; pulling a tick off which had just started to attach itself.
I haven't even gotten out of the truck!!!