I hate ticks

General discussions on hiking in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest
chrisca
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Re: I hate ticks

Post by chrisca » March 18th, 2018, 10:34 am

A little tip. One day, I was in tick country, fully dressed in long pants and shirt sleeves with gaiters. Later I found a tick in of all places, my belly button. Theory: It crawled in through the pants fly while taking a leak. So, now I spray the fly with repellent as well when hiking. It's always a good idea to spray all entry points around pants cuffs, sleeves, and neck with repellent but I never gave the fly a thought. The waistband is another good precaution. If your shirt is the button-down style, spray the entire button placket too, and wear a pullover shirt underneath.

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retired jerry
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Re: I hate ticks

Post by retired jerry » March 18th, 2018, 11:21 am

maybe ticks crawl between gaiters and pants, then between pants and socks, then up legs.

or up outside of pants, between pants and shirt, then up my belly

I think if I spray outside of boots, gaiters, and pants the ticks will stay off. Maybe outside of shirt if walking through heavier brush.

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texasbb
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Location: Tri-Cities, WA

Re: I hate ticks

Post by texasbb » March 18th, 2018, 1:22 pm

Ticks don't need you to open your fly (or any other part of your clothes). They can get anywhere they want, which is why I treat all my clothes with Permethrin before hiking in tick town.

BTW, I've had many of the criminals in my belly button over the years. They seem to like it there.

aircooled
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Re: I hate ticks

Post by aircooled » March 21st, 2018, 11:44 am

The incidence of Lymes is low in the PNW, and I was surprised to read that the species of tick that carries it lives west of the Cascades. Ticks east of the Cascades can carry Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever but it's extremely rare.

Having said that, I had one dig in so deep a few years ago I had to go to Kaiser to cut it out. Nasty business!

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Water
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Re: I hate ticks

Post by Water » March 21st, 2018, 3:24 pm

i've apparently become allergic to tick saliva over the years it would seem. Sorry if I'm repeating myself on this thread, maybe I'm confusing with tick discussion on facebook.

Needless to say I got two tick bites in March or 2017. One on my shin and one on my hip. The one on my shin is almost healed. The one on my hip healed about 2 months ago.. There is def a scar but any itching sensation was gone.

I just hiked the Weldon Wagon Trail last weekend and the ticks were horrific. I killed many many of them, but ended up with one biting me on the back. Wasn't on me for more than an hour, maybe 2 at most. But now I've got a big red welt on my back. No bullseye but definitely red, itchy, and inflamed.

I read one study that suggested if you're having an immune response (itching, swelling) that is an indicator you might have developed an allergy to the tick saliva, which is a good thing, because normally there are immuno-suppresant effects of it, which allow it to feed without you feeling pain/agitation. This has the possibility of blocking Lyme disease, which might I say, the research about the spirochete that cause it is fascinating and way way over my head how it interacts with the immune system, hides from it, etc.

Additionally I've read a tick must be attached for up to 24-36hr+ to get the contents from the lower gut to go into whatever creature it is biting. That's not a ton of comfort exactly cause there doesn't seem to be any hard or fast rules about lyme.. it's a nebulous topic unlike malaria or a mosquito bite or whatnot.

anyways I've definitely had some anxiety reading up on Lyme disease again and wondering how much I am at risk (or my dog for that matter who got a few bites despite spending over 2hr grooming him during, after, and after at home and continually finding tickets, despite meds he's on to prevent bites. poor guy.

But really my take away it it seems the likelihood is insanely low. The nymph lifecycle seems to be where it carries it and transmits, more than adult.

Hopefully this spot doesn't last on my back for 11 months..
Feel Free to Feel Free

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retired jerry
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Re: I hate ticks

Post by retired jerry » March 21st, 2018, 5:23 pm

"Sorry if I'm repeating myself on this thread"

Old age is a bitch. I only hope people don't mind me repeating the same stories. They must be good if repeat... :)

I got one on my belly about a year ago, the scar is fading but still noticeable. Tick bites seems to take forever to heal.

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Kerraeb
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Location: SW Portland

Re: I hate ticks

Post by Kerraeb » April 6th, 2018, 5:57 pm

UGHH!

I literally returned from the doctor a couple of hours ago after a Lyme test.

March 17 hike Augsburger Mtn w my dog.
March 22 pulled a tick from my dog. Specialist said it looked like the tick had been on him for about 3 days. (He's had the vaccine.)

Last week I started feeling more tired than usual. Slow and weak on a hike, and generally wiped out most days without reason. I've woken up several times in the last week because I was roasting. Monday I had this weird rash all over my face. Fatigue continues. I could barely do 15 min on my exercise bike yesterday.

I never found evidence of an actual bite, but if one was on the dog there could have easily been one somewhere on me. :(

Doc thinks it isn't likely, but checking anyway. Something is definitely off though.

I'll find out Tuesday.
Some days are diamonds, some days are stones.

Webfoot
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Re: I hate ticks

Post by Webfoot » April 6th, 2018, 6:19 pm

How unpleasant. :(

Beware that there are many other tick-borne diseases, so don't stop looking for a diagnosis if you test negative for Lyme.

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Don Nelsen
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Re: I hate ticks

Post by Don Nelsen » April 6th, 2018, 6:43 pm

retired jerry wrote: ... Tick bites seems to take forever to heal.
I was wondering about that - I got a bite a week ago on Dog Mt. and it still's not healed. I guess from your experience I need to be patient - usually, I heal very quickly and if it was anything else, it would be gone by now.

dn
"Everything works in the planning stage" - Kelly

"If you don't do it this year, you will be one year older when you do" - Warren Miller

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retired jerry
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Re: I hate ticks

Post by retired jerry » April 6th, 2018, 6:52 pm

"Last week I started feeling more tired than usual. Slow and weak on a hike, and generally wiped out most days without reason. I've woken up several times in the last week because I was roasting. Monday I had this weird rash all over my face. Fatigue continues. I could barely do 15 min on my exercise bike yesterday."

What I hate about that is the symptoms are sort of vague. Hard to determine if it's that far out of the ordinary.

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