welcome to tick season 2019

General discussions on hiking in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest
User avatar
Chip Down
Posts: 3037
Joined: November 8th, 2014, 8:41 pm

welcome to tick season 2019

Post by Chip Down » March 17th, 2019, 1:19 pm

I started in frost yesterday on my way up to the snow zone, but I guess I picked some up in the warm afternoon at Lyle Cherry Orchard. On the drive home, pulled over twice to flick the nasty beasts off. :o
Time to look for my permethrin.

User avatar
retired jerry
Posts: 14399
Joined: May 28th, 2008, 10:03 pm

Re: welcome to tick season 2019

Post by retired jerry » March 17th, 2019, 3:26 pm

Tick on my back:
20190311_175205.jpg
20190311_175205.jpg (17.83 KiB) Viewed 3875 times
Rogue River. A couple weeks ago. I thought it was still winter and I didn't need to worry about ticks. Yeah, time to treat with permethrin.

User avatar
Chip Down
Posts: 3037
Joined: November 8th, 2014, 8:41 pm

Re: welcome to tick season 2019

Post by Chip Down » March 17th, 2019, 5:29 pm

We can always count on Jerry to post a pic of his latest harvest :lol:

I'm fortunate that all my ticks have been in places I can reach. I cringe at the thought of one in "the mirror zone".

User avatar
retired jerry
Posts: 14399
Joined: May 28th, 2008, 10:03 pm

Re: welcome to tick season 2019

Post by retired jerry » March 17th, 2019, 7:35 pm

I could not see it except using camera

It was too far embedded that the tick twister couldn't get under the tick. I tried maybe 100 times.

I then got radical and scraped it off with fingernail. With the body scraped off, I could than get the tick twister under the legs that were still remaining, and they came off.

Then time for adult beverage. Beer too heavy :)

User avatar
Bosterson
Posts: 2317
Joined: May 18th, 2009, 3:17 pm
Location: Portland

Re: welcome to tick season 2019

Post by Bosterson » March 17th, 2019, 10:16 pm

retired jerry wrote:
March 17th, 2019, 7:35 pm
the tick twister
You have one of those little plastic twister tools? I got one after getting two bites last year but (thankfully) haven't had to use it yet. How do you find it works? The advertising plug was very convincing. :)
#pnw #bestlife #bitingflies #favoriteyellowcap #neverdispleased

User avatar
retired jerry
Posts: 14399
Joined: May 28th, 2008, 10:03 pm

Re: welcome to tick season 2019

Post by retired jerry » March 18th, 2019, 4:58 am

I have heard other people recommend it

It works okay, as good as anything else

The problem is when the pesky little things fully embed, it's hard to get the twister between the tick body and my body

On the twister, the bottom is curved towards the middle and the two edges are sharply beveled towards each other so the slot goes to almost zero width which makes it work a little better

I don't really use the twisting action so much. If you can get the slot edges between the tick body and my body then I'm almost there.

User avatar
Chip Down
Posts: 3037
Joined: November 8th, 2014, 8:41 pm

Re: welcome to tick season 2019

Post by Chip Down » March 18th, 2019, 7:37 pm

retired jerry wrote:
March 18th, 2019, 4:58 am
... the slot goes to almost zero width which makes it work a little better
Yeah, tick removers are worthless if the slot never pinches down tight. The tick just twists sideways and slides through. Duh. The manufacturers know this, but they deliberately foist garbage on us, with the eager participation of sleazy retailers. (the above pertains to all products: junk boots, junk tents, junk GPS, junk sunglasses, junk headlamps, on and on)

User avatar
Water
Posts: 1355
Joined: May 28th, 2008, 10:03 pm

Re: welcome to tick season 2019

Post by Water » March 18th, 2019, 8:01 pm

to remove ticks first i smear petroleum jelly on them. then a little peanut butter. I've also heard bleach works so at times I've sprayed that in addition to the above. Finally a quick splash of gasoline I'm told is something they really really hate, so then I put a freshly it match head right to it, they totally back out!!! There's also a swedish device that creates a vacuum that one can put over it and more or less vacuum them off! I'd have to google the official name of it.. it was actually featured in Austin Powers

more seriously.. after 2 tick bites, one on the side of my torso and one on my shin, taking like 16-18 months to 'subside' and basically be 'gone', in the last week~ they have kicked back up with intense itching and acting like they were right after i got the bite, we're now 24 months after bite.. crazy. I assume this has to do something with my immune system at this point.. because they were dormant for about 6 months with no itching. crazy shit, not about to chase my tail and empty my wallet with doctors trying to figure it out while they scratch their head and tell me nothing. I think they're granuloma.. a relatively rare response to tickbites which i seem to have developed in spades. f$%@^ing monsters..
Feel Free to Feel Free

User avatar
bobcat
Posts: 2764
Joined: August 1st, 2011, 7:51 am
Location: SW Portland

Re: welcome to tick season 2019

Post by bobcat » March 19th, 2019, 7:11 am

One of my companions got a tick on Coronary Ridge (Kings Mt.) on Sunday. They've been lurking under the snow.
Water wrote:
March 18th, 2019, 8:01 pm
then I put a freshly it match head right to it, they totally back out!!!
I tried the lit match solution with leeches. Did more harm to myself than the worm. Since leeches don't carry disease, I resigned myself to the idea that a good old fashioned medieval blood letting was healthier for both human and parasite and let them feed to their hearts' content (Yes, they actually have two hearts).

Webfoot
Posts: 1759
Joined: November 25th, 2015, 11:06 am
Location: Troutdale

Re: welcome to tick season 2019

Post by Webfoot » February 26th, 2020, 5:57 pm

Bad news, I found a tick crawling on me while hiking in the Memaloose Hills area today. So much for early season nonchalance.

Post Reply