Ixodes warning

[cathead]

It's wood tick season again and it appears there will be lots of ticks in the woods this year at least in Minnesota, likely elsewhere too.
A friend and I took a short walk in the woods and I had several Dermacentor"dog" ticks found on me and my friend had an Ixodes scapularis
crawling on him which is responsible for Lyme disease and several other scourges as well.


The left photo is the common dog tick and the photo on the right is an Ixodes scapularis tick. It's important to be able to recognize the difference between
them! Another thing to note is that the nymph stages may be VERY small and virtually undetectable so check yourself well.

These are the most common ticks at least in the upper midwest. I am in Minnesota.

 

[mmcmdl]

Only one thing I HATE worse than ticks ......................................black flies . My property in the Adirondacks is loaded with both .

 

[FOMOGO]

Pulled one off of myself last week. Not horrible around here, but definitely tis the season. Mike

 

[Winegrower]

Supposed to go to Minnesota in August for a family reunion, but it’s not even my family. Is fear of ticks an adequate excuse?

 

[markba633csi]

For me it would be lol

 

[savarin]

Think I will stick with our spiders.
and snakes
and sharks
and scorpions
and drop bears
and box jelly fish
and stone fish
and blue ring octopus
and crocs (not the shoes)
and sand flies, I hate sand flies.

 

[woodchucker]

Think I will stick with our spiders.
and snakes
and sharks
and scorpions
and drop bears
and box jelly fish
and stone fish
and blue ring octopus
and crocs (not the shoes)
and sand flies, I hate sand flies.

Charles, you guys have quite a collection of things that can paralyze , and kill you. I am amazed at how beautiful Australia can be, and deadly even in the home. I have watched many videos of paralysis ticks on dogs eventually killing them, and spiders and snakes in homes that can do the same to a human.. No thanks.. more power to you.

 

[savarin]

We love to spruke them up but no denying some really are deadly but feed your dogs the tick treats and they are not a problem.
My biggest hate is sand flies, you dont feel them bite you but some time later when the itching starts its horrendous and for me it lasts 4 or more days. My treatment is to scratch till they bleed (actually You cant stop) then pour alcohol on them. The intense pain from that is better than the itch.
Mind you when a large huntsman runs across the floor your heart does miss a beat or two.

 

[benmychree]

About the worst thing we can claim here are black widow spiders and rattlesnakes; we have it quite easy!

 

[RJSakowski]

I had a deer tick embedded a week ago. I managed to get it all out which is usually not the case. I took two 100 mg doxycycline capsule's ans a preventative against Lyme disease.

Usually, an embedded deer tick bite takes four to six months to heal for me. Several friends and neighbors have contracted Lyme disease with severe consequences. Once it reaches an advanced stage, it is nearly impossible to cure and can lead to permanent disability or even death so it is to be avoided at all costs. Nasty!