Deer Tick Alert!

[richg]

Gang,

Here's a heads up, Northwest NJ. I've been doing some scrounging lately, and Tuesday night my wife finds a deer tick dug in on my back. I thought it was a zit, but it was clearly a deer tick when she pulled it out. Deer ticks are the variety that cause Lyme disease. I sent the little bassturd off to a lab to be tested, and if it comes back positive, Doxycycline for me.

Be careful out there and check yourself...if left untreated, Lyme disease can be nasty.

 

[jhoff310]

Thanks for bringing up an issue I'm sure most of us overlook. I know I am one of those that tend to overlook this issue. I would rather be safe than sorry, I hope your results come back negative

Jeff

 

[muncybob]

We have problems with ticks on our dogs every year even though they are treated monthly. Checking ourselves is a regular event as we spend a lot of time outdoors. I understand that the sooner you treat for Lyme the better as if you wait too long the treatment is higher and more frequent dosages.
Just thinking about this makes me itch!

 

[Dieselhead]

found one on my dog in ct after she came in 2 days ago. Was on top of her fur and for whatever reason i saw the small speck and checked it and sure enough it was one.

 

[Cascade Failure]

found one on my dog in ct after she came in 2 days ago. Was on top of her fur and for whatever reason i saw the small speck and checked it and sure enough it was one.

Yup, CT tick season is here. Took a few off of my four legged helper and one from myself today.

Dealt with Lyme last year. Flu with a bull's eye. Got it?...get yourselves to the doc, folks. Not fun.

 

[firefighterjake]

Never used to have an issue with ticks here in Maine . . . until last year . . . not sure if they just made the migration up north or if it was due to the unusually mild and short winter we had last year . . . thankfully this winter has been much longer . . .

 

[wood spliter]

Was the tick on for more than 24hrs? I thought I read they have to be on that long for you to contract Lyme's. I've been bitten 6 times 2 of which were dog ticks. Hope yours comes back negative.

 

[mesuno]

I'm not sure that duration matters much - more important is that your remove them properly. If you do it the wrong way they regurgitate their stomach contents into your bloodstream, and you can remove the body but leave the head still in your skin where it can fester

How to remove ticks

 

[jharkin]

Interesting this came up.. we pulled a tick off my leg this morning. I thought it was too early but I must have picked it up in the yard while raking yesterday. It was a decent sized tick though - bigger than 1/16" and not yet engorged. Most likely just a wood tick but of course I will be watching for a rash and fever for the next month.

Ive had two friends get lime, one had it twice. Ninether one ever found the tick bite... they are that small. SO if you can easily see the tick I'd guess there is a chance its a harmless woodtick.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Never used to have an issue with ticks here in Maine . . . until last year . . . not sure if they just made the migration up north or if it was due to the unusually mild and short winter we had last year . . . thankfully this winter has been much longer . . .

Jake, I don't think the warm or cool has anything to do with the ticks. For example, we just don't see them here where we live but if we go to the upper peninsula, they are thick up there, at least in part of the UP. And it is a much colder climate above the bridge.

 

[midwestcoast]

Thanks for the heads-up. Seems each spring they appear sooner than I expect them and we have plenty of the little baztads around here.
On tick removal, I have seen more suggested methods & tools than I can remember, but from actually trying different methods on people & calm dogs my favorite goes like this: Grasp the critter as close to the head as possible with tweezers, a tick remover, long fingernails... whatever will grasp only the head portion. Then pull slowly until the skin around the head is being pulled out and stay like that. The little guy is holding on with its jaws and soon enough either gets tired or tries to reposition & releases its grasp. Never have had the jaws or head come off that way & the stomache doesn't get squished at all. Just takes a little patience.
Mandatory tick-checks now in effect after hikes & outdoor work 'till November.

 

[weatherguy]

My brother in law woke up one morning and my sister noticed a bulls eye rash on his back, anti biotics for him. I treat my dogs and the lawn periodically and have been lucky so far. A friend of mine in CT got it twice, of course they orginated in Ct so maybe theres more there.

 

[REM505]

Remember that not all cases have the bull's eye rash! I've probably had it before it had a name. Might account for my cantankerous nature.

 

[richg]

Gents,

I got the lab results back:

"The tick submitted in this case was the black-legged tick, Ixodes scapularis, also known as the deer tick. These ticks have been shown to be associated with Lyme Disease. Direct DNA analysis of this tick for the Borrelia spirochete did not show any evidence of this organism."

Phew!

 

[loon]

thats good news richg..

pulled this deer tick off Murphy in late November last year and we had stopped their flea/tick treatment earlier as i thought it was too cold for the ugly little critters??

i have yet to have one get on me and there have been a few cases of lyme reported on humans in the last couple years around here..

loon

 

[Battenkiller]

Remember that not all cases have the bull's eye rash! I've probably had it before it had a name. Might account for my cantankerous nature.

I had one two years ago on my thigh. It was surrounded by a big red area, but the clinic doc who removed it said it wasn't a bulls-eye, just local bruising. It was pretty engorged, don't know how I missed it. Maybe I should bathe more often. Anyway, I never got real sick, but I've felt like shite for the last two years. Blood test was negative, but I never got antibiotics and I've heard false negatives are common.

So being an ornery a-hole is one of the symptoms? I'll bet I have it after all.

 

[billb3]

they'll move around on a decent warm day in the middle of Winter, too.
dog gets tested for Lyme every Spring along with the other shots and blood sample and new tags.
deer ticks can be teeny tiny.

 

[midwestcoast]

Remember that not all cases have the bull's eye rash! I've probably had it before it had a name. Might account for my cantankerous nature.

I had one two years ago on my thigh. It was surrounded by a big red area, but the clinic doc who removed it said it wasn't a bulls-eye, just local bruising. It was pretty engorged, don't know how I missed it. Maybe I should bathe more often. Anyway, I never got real sick, but I've felt like shite for the last two years. Blood test was negative, but I never got antibiotics and I've heard false negatives are common.

So being an ornery a-hole is one of the symptoms? I'll bet I have it after all.

Sure sounds worth another test/second opinion.