10 Common Myths about Ticks

[Crusak]

I've been subscribed to your blog's email notifications for a while, Tom. Nice read!

It's great to get up-to-date on the topic. I've never had a tick on me before that I was aware of. Guess I've been lucky. I always wear long pants when hiking, though, so maybe that's helped a little bit. But it sounds like clothing alone isn't any guarantee that you won't get bitten.

I need to get one of those tick removal tools & add it to my first aid kit ASAP.

But for now I'm gonna go back and read this article again.

[Splintercat]

Jim, I think the key is not flailing around a lot (creating vibrations for ticks to detect) and breathing heavily (they also sense carbon dioxide)... so, given my huffing and puffing up your typical trail, I can see why I'm like a giant tick billboard..!

Sean, your list reminded me of my one and only outlier from the Gorge: found one crawling on my sleeve at Bridge Creek Falls, along the Wilson River. He was asking directions to the Columbia Gorge, and I pointed him in the direction of the Pacific, instead... via a flick into the creek...

Tom

[Waffle Stomper]

I'm just "tick"led that you wrote this and shared it. Add Lyle Cherry Orchard to your list.

I wish you had a link to share on Facebook. Mind if I do?

[mayhem]

I thought rolling in poison oak, eating garlic, cayenne pepper, & bringing pet Guinea fowl on hikes was the best Tick defense...wow I have a lot to learn


Bammmm! Thanks Splinter

[CampinCarl]

Very informative article, Tom!

I grew up in Minnesota near the bullseye of orange and red on the CAPC Forecast map. We lived on a 200 acre farm and had farm dogs and were constantly pulling ticks off of them (and ourselves). About 99% of them were "wood" ticks but the occasional "deer" tick definitely had us on high alert. I guess my parents didn't know and/or didn't use the once per month treatments on our dogs. I think they had a lot of other farm stuff on their minds at the time. But, we always did have a set of tweezers handy for us!

[Splintercat]

Erghhhhh..... well, that post gave me the creepy-crawlies, Carl!

I wish you had a link to share on Facebook. Mind if I do?

Not at all! Thanks, Waffle.

Tom

[Eric Peterson]

Wood ticks are the brown ones right? Hope I didn't have a deer tick last month, ugh...

[hlee]

Bought one of the tick removal tools that you suggested for my trip out to the eastern gorge yesterday. Didn't have to use it thankfully, and hopefully never do! But it's there just in case.

[gaby]

Tom thx so much!!! Very informative! Im learning since I will spend summer time in Portland

[bobcat]

Archer Mountain is the westernmost point I've picked up a tick. I'm sure I've had at least 20 over the years, mostly from places like Swale Canyon and the Devils Hole.

A friend of ours got Lyme disease, apparently, she believes, in her well-to-do Lake Oswego neighborhood. A neighbor brought home his elk in the back of a pickup, her dog investigated the elk, then there was some arachnid transfer from elk to dog to human. Since she rarely went hiking, that's how she thinks she got it. The bulls-eye was a warning and she went through months of treatment. Apparently, she's now O.K.