I'd recommend those tick remover tools. We've got one - primarily for our cats and dogs - but also suitable for humans. Vaseline, alcohol etc all work, but they cause the tick to eject its stomach contents into you before it releases its grip.
My 7 year old sone had one behind his ear when we went to Dalby Forest near Pickering last year. I gently and slowly removed it with my tweezers and went to see my GP when we got back just to make sure i had got it all out as my technique quite often leaves the head behind!!!! Luckily i got it but the link to the 'how to remove..' site is great. We just had to look out for any redness for a month afterwards which could signify Lymes Disease but he was fine!
Not worried about it, if he or we get another one, we'll just do the same again!
Myself and the tick are nemeses of old and I absolutely despise the horrid, nasty and repulsive beasties but I would never let it put me off camping anywhere. Most of my camping has been in Scotland and North Yorkshire which are both notorious for ticks in places and though the dog and people who've camped with us have had the odd one, I've never had a tick bite. Ticks don't live in well mown areas so campsites shouldn't be a problem providing they're well maintained and when we've encountered ticks we've either been wild camping or we've picked them up whilst out and about. Tuck your trews into your socks when in long grass and if you have a dog, Frontline it thoroughly before you go as it kills ticks as well as fleas unlike most pet stuff. I asked the vet if (theoretically) it would work on humans but he wouldn't give me a straight answer
I would definitely recommend a tick twister or something like it for removing ticks properly (and quickly too) it's not just Lyme's Disease you have to worry about, there's lots of other nasty stuff in ticks. I have worked with animals so have seen and done quite a few tick removals and the aim was always get'em out quick and clean - infections from the head being left in or when it had been removed by suffocation can be very unpleasant and not immediately apparent.
I am overly paranoid about ticks so please don't let me put you off! I have to say they've never ruined a holiday for us but I think that's because we know how to deal with them quickly and safely on the odd occasion we've encountered one.
I sympathise with the Googling - why can't you read about ticks without seeing close-up pictures of them?!
My dog picks up ticks quite regularly being out and about in the countryside so a quick check of her coat after walks is essential even though she is Frontlined..While out and about apart from a few bramble patches and bushes where my dog goes I go...and I to my knowledge have never had a tick on me...So was quite surprised a few years ago to start reading both here and elsewhere that they can attach themselves to a human host For me..they seem to be more prevalent in areas where sheep roam..Moorlands..upland hills etc in scrubby longish grass and not so much in cultivated walled or fenced well ordered fields..Worst place I(or the dog) encountered them was wild camping by Loch Garry(Scotland) where both sheep and deer roamed at will..and I confess since that incident..I'm (not exactly paranoid)but very careful to check the dog as I can imagine the discomfort these wee beasties can cause...
Jelboy.
------------- Campers of the storm,Into this world are born
i couldn't help but answer this ( and my husband will prob kill me! lol), but 12 years ago when we first got together we went camping to roundhill new forest.
After waking up from an afternoon sleep ( like u do when ure young!) my husband scarily discovered a tic in a region that is probably the worst u can think of for a man!!
As u can imagine immense panick set in, the vodka didn't work!, the tweezers wouldn't grip! so it was a dash to Lymington A+E, where a rather embaressed doc took it out, won't scare u with the gore but it envolved a sharp needle and a crying man. Apparently u have to be careful not to leave the head in! He then had a course of anti-biotics.
Look i don't want to scare anyone (oops, have i?) but Lymes disease can be serious, and one thing i've learnt now back to camping as a family is, tent with sewn in groundsheet!, tic remover comes with us, and if u go for a sleep in the day always do the fly sheet up!
lisamarkg......that is so not funny! just when im starting to feel confident you go and pull that chestnut! im off to buy the tightest pair of old school speedo swimming pants i can find! horrible....just horrible,my eyes are watering as i sit here with my legs crossed.....
I found one attached to the back of my leg about 3 days after being in a sheep and deer area , went to minor injuries and they removed it but had to cut a patch of skin out and stitch up after as the mouth stayed in . also was given a weeks antiboitics just in case .
Dont go walking through sheepfields in jeans and open toed sandals is my advice and stay out of the long grass and also thouroughly check yourself afterwards if you do as mine was on the back of my knee for 3 days and i didnt notice till it got accidentally hit and it stang , was pea sized grey lump by then too .
aaargh you're all making me cringe/itch - and it's not just the tick stories, I can't believe how unpleasant the removal has been for lots of you! Needles and stitches?! There is absolutely no need for it to be anywhere near that gory or painful! Also I've never seen infection after proper removal and I've seen and done a few!
It's tricky doing it with tweezers even if you know what you're doing but the tick twisters work brilliantly, the tick comes out quickly and painlessly and completely unharmed - it does mean you have to be ready to finish the job though. I take great pleasure in that bit - the last one I dealt with went on the fire muhahaha!
If you only have tweezers then make sure you grip the head part not the body, it will be fiddly as most of the head will be under the skin. Then you need to twist it (pretend you're unscrewing it) and you will feel it release usually within 3 revolutions. Remember the aim is to unlock the tick's jaws so you can get it out whole but not to upset the tick so it burrows deeper or regurgitates so never just pull one out.
Or you can hire my services as a tick ninja for the price of my pitch I'll chuck the sacrificial hound in for free - might have to charge extra depending on tick location though!
Sheep ticks are opportunistic little blighters and will feed on pretty much anything so even if there's lots of deer around it's likely to be mostly sheep ticks they're carrying. The sheep tick population has been steadily rising in recent years largely due to sheep-dipping stopping and the increase in deer. I've read about sheep being deliberately treated and sent into tick hotspots on Dartmoor as an attempt to make a dent in numbers so it may be that ticks will become a more common problem in the future.
But that's not the worst bit - stop reading now if you feel I've already given you too much information. Hmm maybe I should have put that further up...
They don't just hang on to grass and wait for you to walk by . . . . they climb up things and drop onto you too!
jelboy53 - Do you use the spot ons? I use the Frontline spray as it's more economical than the spot on for my lot but you have to buy it from the vet's - it's a stronger formula than anything you can buy in a shop. It definitely kills ticks if they bite but doesn't repel them and is only effective for a month from application - works for fleas lots longer. You have to absolutely douse your animals in it so doesn't go quite as far if your animals are big/have thick coats. You can use it for removing ticks too - spray and wait. I just can't do it, I'm not very good at waiting when it comes to ticks!
Ha Ha - been learning a lot about ticks and Lyme's in the past year as my wife was thought to have been suffering from the disease. Last January she developed saucer big, very deep, open sores on her thigh that made the nurse go "oooh, uuuuum, that's nasty". Now, 12 months later, the same thing began to display, so we went to GP and she had 6 weeks of Anti Bs and blood screening. Turns out, no Lyme's and no idea what it could have been - but Anti Bs have helped. What's worth this reply? Well, we keep our horses on the edge of the New Forest where deer and antilope play, okay - just deer. We do find ticks on the horses, even my cat, but haven't actualy found any on us. We walk through long grass all year, in Summer I wear shorts and sandals while 'her outdoors' wears shorts and hiking boots - no problem so far after 10 years in this location. So, don't panic, ticks not that bad and looking for them can provide hours of intimate fun - if you can stay awake after a day in the open, that is.
Now the Blandford Fly is another beastie entirely. Used to live in Blandford and hated the things. But B'ford is bad luck for me. Been back twice in past three years to my regret. First time, parking ticket on my bike which was parked between two cars who didn't get a ticket. Then last time I was testing a new Gold Wing Honda for the paper and parked to take a pic. Only had one set of keys so I laid them on my jacket which was hanging out of the top box - that way the box couldn't shut. Or so I thought. As I was setting up the shot a helpful chap folded the jacket into the box and shut it. Four hours later the AA gave up trying to break into the box, or bridge the electics, and driled the lock out. As I was telling the Honda dealer, who didn't have a spare key, the very nice man was turning the lock into so much swarf - what a nightmare of a day. Keys now stay in my pocket - but oddly, I didn't see any flys that day.
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: Will Camping In The New Forest Kill us?
Apparently u have to be careful not to leave the head in! He then had a course of anti-biotics.
- and it's not just the tick stories, I can't believe how unpleasant the removal has been for lots of you! Needles and stitches?! There is absolutely no need for it to be anywhere near that gory or painful! Also I've never seen infection after proper removal and I've seen and done a few!
