The annual warning about ticks, having just taken one off the rescue dog we got in December. It shows the tablets that she came with don’t always work - there are previous threads about what people use on their dogs, so I’m not repeating those.
The difference this year to past years is that Tick Borne Encephalitis has reached UK - Yorkshire, I think. I’ve been aware of TBE in Slovenia, where I reacted badly to a tick.
So if you get bitten by a tick now, you’ll need to watch out for a headache some time later (for TBE) and the red ring (for Lyme Disease). Your vet will have an O’Tom hook to remove it, or get them online or from any good outdoors shop.
Meanwhile, enjoy your camping!
I had a career and hobbies, which I still have, that put me in Tick hell on Dartmoor, where we live. But when doing certain duties, which included rural covert surveillance, I have had friends and former work colleagues who would report over a dozen Ticks, and I would have none. In my life, which has been very rural, I have taken three Ticks of myself.
I put it down to pure blood, alcohol and Garlic!
But seriously, if you don’t want Ticks you have to use 50% DEET, or Permetherin. Simple as that. I use Trek 50, which I have used in some really Mozi infested areas around the world, and do not get bitten, even in Africa and the NT of Australia. You can use Permetherin on clothing, or even buy Tick repellent clothing such as Rovince.
For my dog, I now use Seresto, he never get Ticks now, and he is a working ESS, so he is always putting his nose where it is not wanted!
Think it was generally quite a mild winter, which often heralds a summer of high Tick numbers, probably too early and still too chilly for accurate reports yet!
Horrid little pests
I too use Seresto collar on my dog, and it seems to work well. I avoid Deet products as it can cause serious damage to plastics, and I've some very expensive photo gear!
Our previous cocker was a tick magnet & the Seresto collar was the only deterrent that worked, although previous years’ threads have been critical of it. The new cocker will be getting one next month after the tablet has worn off.
I don’t like spraying myself or my garden plants with insecticide (I used to keep honeybees), so I always cover up & check for ticks later, as my work risk assessment also required.
We can spot the tourists on the Arran ferry, wearing shorts with their hiking boots: I always make a point of politely advising them to have their tick buddy check them over that evening, because Arran has Lyme Disease. A work colleague had a course of antibiotics after getting the red ring following a site visit. The arachnophobe at work almost fainted when he was told the tick in his arm also had 8 legs.
But as I said at the start, don’t let the critters stop you enjoying the camping: just be ready to deal with them on yourself or your dog (or cat - she got that gift from the dog).
I have a tick removal kit that I got at Aldi a couple of years ago. I refuse to use the serestro collars after one of my collies got a bad chemical burn from them. I use a homemade spray as a flea/tick preventative mainly as we do a lot of dog agility in farmer’s fields and walk in rural heavily wooded areas. So far in 8 years we have only had 3 ticks so I don’t know if the spray works or if my dogs are naturally immune but I’ll keep using it
------------- Good cakes aren't cheap. Cheap cakes aren't good
Quote: Originally posted by Bramston on 23/4/2023
I keep a tick removal kit in the first aid kit in the hood of my day trip rucksack. Not used it yet but it's there when I need it.
Over the years of having working Spaniels, I would have removed hundreds of Ticks from my dogs with the brilliant Otom remover, but with Tick borne diseases on the increase, I now use a collar on my dog. I have heard horrible stories of dogs dying of Lime, it is not uncommon here in Devon, I know of at lease six people who have been treated for it.
My dog never seems to get them and neither do I. Then again I don't wear shorts up the hill, always wear gaiters and always check after a walk. I usually spray smidge at cuffs. I have brushed them off a few times and have had a few hairy camps in deer country where I have had to make sure they don't get in the tent.
There is a human vaccine for TBE. I used it when I lived in Lithuania. You need to take the doses over a few months and renew every three years. If I recall it was every 3 months for each dose. It has about an 80 -90%% success rate but is no use after a bite.
The good news is that GPs are getting more aware of tick borne Lyme disease. If you are bitten, it is a good idea to put the dead tick in a jiffy bag for testing. There are a few urban myths out there. They don't wait in trees to drop on you. They will be in long grass and heather. A hot match or Vaseline are not methods to remove. You want to avoid anything that will force the tick to vomit blood into the host. I carry a tick card and a lasso. As I've never had to remove a tick, I dont know which is best. My mother used to use a tick twister on the dogs. A lasso or card is best for the tiny ones.
They seem to be more prevalent than they used to be. More deer and less sheep? I do know the sheep used to be like tick magnets and also grouse as well. Ticks are horrible things that don't seem to have a useful niche in the eco system.
More deer probably, I don't know about Ireland, but the naturalist Oliver Rackham wrote a good many years ago that they should be culled for their own good as there are far too many. Witness the unlikely event of hundreds of them running across a road in Norfolk.
Too many in Wicklow anyway. Ticks are rife there.
I was on Rannoch estate last year and didn't come across any ticks. They don't have sheep on the hills and deer are managed. There are free roaming cattle though I never came across them
Just doing some gardening in my own garden I picked one up last week. (We have fallow and muntjac deer visit regularly from the woods behind us)
I woke up thinking I had had a very irritating thorn between two of my fingers. Still half asleep I yanked it out with tweezers and became fully awake with a burst of adrenaline realising it was a tick!
I suspect I`ve left a bit of the blasted thing in my skin as there is lots of localised irritation. I would have taken more care about the removal had I realised what it was!
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: Ticks 2023
via mobile 23/4/2023 at 8:43am
