Ticks!!!

[Paul the Explorer]

from snake thread....

I think you definitely have ticks in the right place on your list, since I believe they present a much, much greater risk than snakes, bears and probably every other living creature in the woods. Having said that, you can drastically reduce the risk of tick-borne disease w/ the normal precautions, but that's another thread.



I dont know if topic has been discussed lately, but I would be interested in hearing what others know and do to avoid ticks and related problems.

[TFR]

from snake thread....

I dont know if topic has been discussed lately, but I would be interested in hearing what others know and do to avoid ticks and related problems.

Some recommendations I've heard:

Tuck your pants in your socks, or wear gators.

Wear bug repellant.

Check early and check often! :D

Only fail-safe solution: Stay indoors! :eek:

[MattC]

There have been several past tick threads over at Views From the Top, but I don't think there has yet been one here. Tom mentions some typical, good advice. Here's a useful link:
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/lyme/ld_prevent.htm

I don't believe Lyme Disease is as common in New Hampshire as it is where I live, but you should still be careful. You can probably get info on the prevalence of LD where you live either from that CDC site or from your state health department. I live in one of the top ten counties in NY State. During the warmer months (April-October) I check myself at least once or twice every 24 hours, whether I've been hiking or not. I feel like I'm more likely to pick one up in my yard or on the nearby Rail Trail (both of which are in a river valley) than I am up in the mountains.

As with many things, I have found that the more I've learned about LD, the less I worry. I avoid hiking through grassy areas. I tuck in the socks sometimes. I check myself casually throughout the day and do the complete check later. I usually do a check and shower as soon as I get home from a hike or other outdoor activity.

Tick-checking can just become second nature, like cleaning your teeth to avoid tooth decay. Maybe you don't clean 'em thoroughly after lunch, but you just use a toothpick, brush quickly, etc. But you probably want to floss and brush real well at least once a day before you go to bed. That's how I feel about checking for ticks. No big deal, just something that I need to do that takes a few minutes a day. I know I can never be 100% sure of not getting LD, but I can do my best to minimize the chances.

Places that are particularly infested may require extra caution. For instance, Long Island has some really heavily tick-infested areas. A friend of mine who lives down there told me when he hikes locally he has his pant leg over the sock liner, and then the outer sock around the pant leg. He has found ticks inside the socks. He sometimes changes as soon as he gets back to the car, bags the hiking clothes, and washes them immediately upon getting home.

If I was hiking in New Jersey, western Conn., Harriman State Park, Long Island, Dutchess County, places like that, I'd be extra cautious. On the Shawangunk Ridge and other areas nearby where I live, I'm still fairly cautious. Up in the Catskills, and especially up in the Adirondacks, I feel less concerned, but I still check.

Matt

[MattC]

Qam1, thanks for that link-I've seen that same type of info in other formats.
The idea about the colder ADK climate makes sense. There is also a theory that LD is more prevalent in the lower New York, New Jersey, Connecticut area because there is so much patchwork between development and little areas of woodland. Therefore, there is more surface area where humans and animal tick carriers interface. All over the mid Hudson Valley one sees lots of little wooded margins to parks, yards, lots, etc. Conversely, in the ADKs, the much larger swaths of wooded lands give critters room to roam, decreasing their density, and thus decreasing the density of tick populations in people's yards, etc. Just a theory, but I believe it's been studied a bit. In any case, the health dept. numbers are reassuring for ADK outdoor enthusiasts. Just one more reason the ADKs are so relaxing...

Matt

P.S. Just thought of one more possible explanation for the relative lack of ticks in the ADKs. Maybe black flies eat ticks! :eek:

[Eric]

I've never pulled any off my dog from the High Peaks but have many times from the Saratoga National Battlefield and from Crane Pond in ADK's. My dog has tested positive for the antibody of lyme. Ugly little critters. Surprised to see Saratoga Co with high # on the list. Would have guessed more north if were asked.

[Shewolf]

My place currently backs up to woods near Saratoga, and I've rarely pulled ticks off myself or my dog. However, we spend quite a bit of time in the North Country, and I know I pulled quite a few off of him last summer. We lived in Southeast PA prior to moving up here in August 2004, and he's been receiving the Lyme vaccine for the past four/five years as well getting Frontline plus applied on him. I count him quite lucky never to have gotten the disease considering he's spent tons of time in the woods/fields at my folks in Southcentral PA for most of his life.

[lumberzac]

My place currently backs up to woods near Saratoga, and I've rarely pulled ticks off myself or my dog.

I also live near Saratoga. Last week I had to pull a tick off one of my dogs. This is the first time either of my dogs have had a tick. It looks like this might be a bad tick year. Both dogs were vaccinated for lyme this winter and after pulling off the tick both got some Frontline put on their backs.

It's my understanding that the harsher weather up north keeps the tick populations relatively low. I've only seen one deer tick while hiking in the High Peaks and that was on a hot July day. The only other tick I've ever seen in that area is the occasional wood tick and not all that often.

[ProbKid]

I had to get used to ticks after moving from NY to SE PA last year. This time of the year they are everywhere. I walk the Delaware canal path nearly everyday with my dogs, and everyday I flick several ticks from each dog into the water.

At first it gave me the major heebie-jeebies ... now I think nothing of it when I find them even on myself. I'm still struggling to understand how those things are "one of God's creatures."

Best tick remover I have found, available at REI: Tick-B-Gone (http://www.rei.com/online/store/ProductDisplay?storeId=8000&catalogId=40000008000&productId=729&parent_category_rn=4500561&vcat=REI_SEARCH)

[Paul the Explorer]

I read those stats from links by Mattc and gam1...but still dont know...does the infected tick only need to bite you once??...or for a longer period of time...guess I will stay in Mts !!.

..btw, at an AMC leadership course this past w/e, the EMT instructor had an interesting tick remover...it was like a 1/2 tsp measuring spoon with a tiny Vee slit...got it from a vet...looked like something every dog owner would want

[Dick]

Lots of ticks here in the NY Capital District. We see them all the time. Our cat brings them in almost daily, even with medicine treatment, and we pull them off of her when she comes in. Likely we missed one or two, which is how I probably came down with Lyme's Disease a couple of years ago, as did my son. Bull's eye rash was a definite clue, along with sudden flu-like symptoms which disappeared quickly, and tests were first negative, then positive. Treatment was simple - 3 weeks of antibiotics. A colleague of mine wasn't so lucky, and has chronic Lyme's disease. However, there are a lot of varieties of ticks out there. Not all of the ones that carry Lyme's disease are infected. Lot's of good web sites out there, but Here (http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/9339/31360.html) is a quick and dirty fact sheet.

Dick

[Iceman]

I read somewhere a long time ago that it was not that easy to contract Lyme disease. I think it was around the time that they took the vaccine off the market for people. It’s still available for dogs. The reason they took it off the market is because they claimed that it was not that effective. They said in order to get the disease you had to be bitten by a deer tick that had fed on a deer that had the disease. At the time they estimated that only 30% of deer ticks were carriers of the disease. I’m sure that figure has gone up by now. Don’t get me wrong, this does not help my paranoia any. It’s like the not all snakes are venomous argument. Snakes still freak me out but at least they have visual and audible clues to determine if they are dangerous. There is no way to tell if a deer tick is a carrier of Lyme disease until after you are bitten. Even then, I’ve read that the bull’s-eye does not always show up. If it does, that’s a definite indicator.

[Neil]

From:
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol8no2/01-0198-G1.htm

Most persons bitten by nymphal I. scapularis do not become infected with B. burgdorferi and do not become ill with Lyme disease. Although 25% to 30% of nymphal I. scapularis in the northeastern United States are infected with B. burgdorferi sensu stricto, only approximately 1% to 2% of persons with recognized bites by nymphal I. scapularis become infected. One reason for this low rate of infection is that most ticks are detected and removed before they transmit infectious spirochetes. Virtually no transmission occurs during the first day of nymphal feeding, inefficient transmission takes place during the second day of tick feeding, and transmission is extremely efficient during the third day of nymphal feeding (28,29).

[MarkL]

Last year I hiked a 41 mile stretch of the AT in Conn, the home state of LD. I didn't check myself for ticks AT ALL; not during, not after. That's how sure I was of my preventitatuhtive measure: Hike in Winter! :smile:
I read a bit about the deer ticks, and it sounds like they're inactive when it's below 35F. Be careful with that figure though. Weather forecasts give temperatures in the shade. If the sun is shining on bare ground, or dark tree trunks, it could warm it up enough to wake those li'l darlin's.