Ticks, everywhere

Homesteading & Country Living Forum

Help Support Homesteading & Country Living Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

phideaux

Old fashioned
Neighbor
HCL Supporter
Joined
Nov 24, 2017
Messages
19,538
Location
West Ky
I heard on the news, that Ticks are going bto be really bad this year,

They were right,

I hate them little bloodsuckers and they hate me.
Every time I go outside , I find several on me afterwards.
I believe we have Deer ticks and Dog ticks here.

And, when they bite me , I get a red spot about 1/4", that itches like crazy for 2-3 days,
and if one gets dug in, I swell up and get a red spot aout 1", and takes a week to go away,

I've tried every ointment , but the best seems to be Bactroban,
BACTROBAN cream is an RNA synthetase inhibitor antibacterial indicated for the treatment of secondarily infected traumatic skin lesions (up to 10 cm in length or 100 cm2 in area) due to susceptible isolates of Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pyogenes. (1)

Doc says , you got to apply very thin , to allow air in so that it can work, too heavy is not good.

I forget to spray my blegs with repellent most of the time,
But when I do remember....it really helps to prevent them from covering me.

any ideas here?


Jim
 
If you wear long pants tuck in the pants leg in your socks. And inspect for tics hen you come inside. This helps us a lot. Also we don't use Back Woods Off on our skin but we do lightly spray our shoes and pants legs with it.
Tics can be dangerous so take care.
 
It seems like the more it rains, the worse the ticks, that was how it was back east.
I haven't gotten ticks at all in TX, but the tick maps indicate even the ticks that carry Lyme disease are here.
I read an article that states ticks are blind, yet seem attracted to yellow. Many people's comments on that website say the same.
So, don't wear yellow or white. I thought it'd make it easier to find the ticks if you're wearing yellow, but if you're in a group, the ticks will favor you more, if you're wearing yellow...perhaps. Thus we see how old wives tales get started. And myths.

Get some pet possums. They eat ticks.
Using natural repellent appeals to me so I don't use deet.
It was supposedly popular/effective to use Avon's skin so soft lotion to keep mosquitoes away. I wonder if just getting a layer of any lotion on the skin repels insects because they don't like the flavor or can't get through with their teeth or stingers.
 
Immediately, when I get a tick bite I start taking usnea tincture. It’s excellent for treating lyme and rocky mtn spotted fever. I take it as a preventative in case the tick carried lyme etc. So far I’ve been lucky… no lyme.

Usnea will also speed the healing of a normal tick bite.

This fuzzy green thing is dog fennel. It grows in every pasture in the southeast, very common. It’s also a great tick repellent. This time of year the stems are very flexible. I break off a couple of stalks and tie them around my ankles. They do stain but my work jeans already have stains..

Dog fennel_v1.jpg
 
Immediately, when I get a tick bite I start taking usnea tincture. It’s excellent for treating lyme and rocky mtn spotted fever. I take it as a preventative in case the tick carried lyme etc. So far I’ve been lucky… no lyme.

Usnea will also speed the healing of a normal tick bite.

This fuzzy green thing is dog fennel. It grows in every pasture in the southeast, very common. It’s also a great tick repellent. This time of year the stems are very flexible. I break off a couple of stalks and tie them around my ankles. They do stain but my work jeans already have stains..

View attachment 7376

I'm on the East Coast but I think we have them all over our property. Do they have potent smell?
 
My wife has suffered from chronic lyme disease for over 20 years. It can be an awful affliction depending on the strain and/or coinfections contracted and how quickly you get treated. A 3 week course of doxycycline post tick bite is what I would suggest. It is a myth that you always get the "bullseye rash" if the tick was infected. Sometimes it presents and other times it doesnt. Removing the tick quickly and correctly is key. Burning, pinching, or any trauma to the tick just makes the tick vomit into you and makes it more likely it will infect you. I keep a "tick spoon" in every bag and every pair of pants. As always prevention is best. I use permethrin on all my outdoor gear and outer clothing. You spray everything down and allow to dry overnight. Lasts for 6 washes. Do not put on skin or under clothes. It not only repels but kills them. Dont take lyme lightly. If bit by a tick put it in a ziplock and put it in the freezer so if symptoms present you can send to the lab and find out what strain/coinfections you were infected with. Lyme is extremely expensive to treat, difficult to test for and can be extremely detrimental to your quality of life. Insurance doesnt help and there is a LOT of misinformation out there. My wife and I work with several lyme foundations and every year I go to Ilads (lyme convention for medical professionals). Lyme can present in many ways; Cardiovascular issues, body pain, fatigue, dietary sensitivities, digestion issues and even psychological disorders like anxiety etc. Many people are misdiagnosed by misinformed medical professionals. Atypical ms, lupus,fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, lupus and other autoimmune diseases are common diagnoses that are often lyme instead. If anyone needs any information or has a question you are welcome to PM me and I will send you a packet of information. Lyme is NOT just a northeast disease. It is nationwide, in Europe, Asia, and many other places. There are very few treatment options or medical professionals well versed in lyme disease and insurance will not cover most treatment as the disease is severely misunderstood and controversial. As an outdoorsman I am extremely careful when it comes to ticks.
 
My wife has suffered from chronic lyme disease for over 20 years. It can be an awful affliction depending on the strain and/or coinfections contracted and how quickly you get treated. A 3 week course of doxycycline post tick bite is what I would suggest. It is a myth that you always get the "bullseye rash" if the tick was infected. Sometimes it presents and other times it doesnt. Removing the tick quickly and correctly is key. Burning, pinching, or any trauma to the tick just makes the tick vomit into you and makes it more likely it will infect you. I keep a "tick spoon" in every bag and every pair of pants. As always prevention is best. I use permethrin on all my outdoor gear and outer clothing. You spray everything down and allow to dry overnight. Lasts for 6 washes. Do not put on skin or under clothes. It not only repels but kills the little bastards. Dont take lyme lightly. If bit by a tick put it in a ziplock and put it in the freezer so if symptoms present you can send to the lab and find out what strain/coinfections you were infected with. Lyme is extremely expensive to treat, difficult to test for and can be extremely detrimental to your quality of life. Insurance doesnt help and there is a LOT of misinformation out there. My wife and I work with several lyme foundations and every year I go to Ilads (lyme convention for medical professionals). Lyme can present in many ways; Cardiovascular issues, body pain, fatigue, dietary sensitivities, digestion issues and even psychological disorders like anxiety etc. Many people are misdiagnosed by misinformed medical professionals. Atypical ms, lupus,fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, lupus and other autoimmune diseases are common diagnoses that are often lyme instead. If anyone needs any information or has a question you are welcome to PM me and I will send you a packet of information. Lyme is NOT just a northeast disease. It is nationwide, in Europe, Asia, and many other places. There are very few treatment options or medical professionals well versed in lyme disease and insurance will not cover most treatment as the disease is severely misunderstood and controversial. As an outdoorsman I am extremely careful when it comes to ticks.

It sure is all over I got infected with Lyme here in N.Florida about 15 yr.s ago.
I was very lucky I had an appt with my dr a couple days after i pulled tic from my head and he saw bulls eye and was very concerned. Put me on highest antibiotics known at the time. he aid I was right at the stage of treatment. Said another couple days and it would have been hard ot impossible to threat. I was there for a check up not the bite but ask him to look at it since it kept itching and almost infected. Very lucky.
 
I agree with the humidity and tics. Found a few on me the other day after doing yard work.


They are horrible over here this time of year as well. Hot humid we see more of them.
Our dogs get treated with Frontline and that keeps them off for a few weeks.
I pulled one off of my belly button a few weeks ago and the itchy red spot just went away.
Our biggest dog got tic fever a few weeks after we had picked him up. He was covered in tics when we found him.
The vet called the shot liquid gold because it was so expensive.

Its only in certain areas over here. Out in the eastern new territories there its prevalent but where we are it isnt.
 
We do not have Lyme's disease here in Australia but we do get grass ticks and paralysis ticks which normally are on cattle etc. The paralysis ticks can cause similar conditions in adults and particularly children so both animals, adults should all be checked if going into the bush or near livestock.

We spray our boots and jean bottoms with insecticide before going out bush in summer and a little trick is if you get a tick we use rid roll on insecticide repellant and roll some on the tick and it backs out itself, another old remedy is dobbing kerosene on them which does the same thing as they don't like the smell of either. If all else fails a tick spoon is the answer followed by tweezers (less effective as the tick head can remain in the wound if not done correctly). We also tuck our t-shirts into our jeans and jean bottoms into our socks too, although if the little bugs are determined enough they can still get to your skin to bite you.
 
Last edited:
Out feet camp became infested about three years ago so bad that as soon as you walked into the camp the ground would almost start to move with them. It surprised me when some of the hunters wondered where they came from!!! Well "DUH" you kill four or five deer then hang them in camp the ticks loose their meal they fall off and find a place to wait for the next host.
I resorted to spraying the camp areas with a mixture of malithion and sevin dust, that gotum.
 
We do not have Lyme's disease here in Australia but we do get grass ticks and paralysis ticks which normally are on cattle etc. The paralysis ticks can cause similar conditions in adults and particularly children so both animals, adults should all be checked if going into the bush or near livestock.

We spray our boots and jean bottoms with insecticide before going out bush in summer and a little trick is if you get a tick we use rid roll on insecticide repellant and roll some on the tick and it backs out itself, another old remedy is dobbing kerosene on them which does the same thing as they don't like the smell of either. If all else fails a tick spoon is the answer followed by tweezers (less effective as the tick head can remain in the wound if not done correctly). We also tuck our t-shirts into our jeans and jean bottoms into our socks too, although if the little bugs are determined enough they can still get to your skin to bite you.

Again, lots of misinformation out there. Lots of links that say no lyme in Australia. But there.

http://www.lymedisease.org.au/stats/
 
I heard on the news, that Ticks are going bto be really bad this year,

They were right,

I hate them little bloodsuckers and they hate me.
Every time I go outside , I find several on me afterwards.
I believe we have Deer ticks and Dog ticks here.

And, when they bite me , I get a red spot about 1/4", that itches like crazy for 2-3 days,
and if one gets dug in, I swell up and get a red spot aout 1", and takes a week to go away,

I've tried every ointment , but the best seems to be Bactroban,
BACTROBAN cream is an RNA synthetase inhibitor antibacterial indicated for the treatment of secondarily infected traumatic skin lesions (up to 10 cm in length or 100 cm2 in area) due to susceptible isolates of Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pyogenes. (1)

Doc says , you got to apply very thin , to allow air in so that it can work, too heavy is not good.

I forget to spray my blegs with repellent most of the time,
But when I do remember....it really helps to prevent them from covering me.

any ideas here?


Jim

After a tick, mosquitoe, fire ant, etc., I put Germ-X on it. Reduces swelling and itching dramatically!
 
This evening I found a tick had bit me on top of my head. I used a comb to remove it. I killed it with a knife, put it in a freezer bag, then in the freezer just in case I have to get it tested. It wasn't there when I showered late this afternoon. So I had to pick it up when I went to the chicken pen around 8 pm. I hate the little blood suckers.

I took a heavy dose of usnea tincture and will continue the same for the next two weeks.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top