We’ve experienced exponential tick population growth in the past few years. I attribute it to a corresponding increase in the deer population. Our winters have been on the mild side lately and that might attribute to a higher survival rate during that period.

I saw an ad recently that advertised that you could take your dog to a vet and get it a shot that would prevent ticks and fleas for a whole year. Is it safe and is there a similar medication for people?

It's been in the news that ticks are on the, well, uptick to be punny about it. CDC and hospital reports are saying that people coming in for tick bites are higher this year too. Warmer winters and just kind of warmer in general is helping them along. Some species are expanding range too- for example, lone star tick has shown up in the deep southwest corner of Michign instead of just staying to the deep south.

At this time, there isn't a preventative for humans. The stuff used for our pets can be toxic to us. Demand is low at this time, so it isn't worth it for drug companies to develop something. There was a lyme disease vaccine for a while, but it got pulled.

The shot will not keep the fleas & ticks OFF of the dog/cat. It will only kill the fleas & ticks pretty much AFTER they bite the animal.

Alphagal syndrome is a terrible thing to contract from a tick bite. Many say it's much worse than the Rocky Mtn Spotted fever. One of the gardeners (local to my area in Oklahoma) I follow on Instagram has contracted Alphagal, and it's affected her dramatically. @reddirtramblings Dee Nash

There are chemicals that you can treat your clothing with that will deter ticks.

You can even send your clothing off to have it professionally treated. One of the gardeners I follow on Instagram has contracted Alphagal, and it's affected her dramatically.

Permethrin is highly recommended. But it's NOT for application directly to your skin.

Here's a link to Consumer Reports Permethrin Info

As much as I hate applying chemicals to our yard, I have it sprayed twice a year for ticks. We have deer that move through our yard nightly. They even bed down in the back area! We love seeing them and catching them on the cameras. We just don't want to take a chance us or the grandkids contracting Alphagal or anything else from a tick bite.

**EDIT** I meant to include Lyme Disease in the afflictions.

Sorry to hear it. Same tick issue in my heavy-deer area from the complaints I have been hearing. I thought the cold winter would have reduced the tick population this year.

Our tick problem used to be much worse. I am having the property sprayed for ticks twice a year. We fenced in our backyard when we installed our pool which has kept the deer out. We have been diligent about keeping the mouse and chipmunk population in check. No pets right now.

This really scares me because I thought the three weeks we had in the winter, where it never reached 32 degrees, would hurt the tick population (and also the lantern fly). But this isn't the case. Since it's been cooler, I haven't gotten the shorts out yet, but will next week when it's 93(and we just had a frost a few days ago). Hiking the AT every day makes me vulnerable, but even in my jungle backyard, there's a risk. I've been aware of Lyme disease forever because I think PA ranks the highest, or way up there. But I had never heard of alphagal. Good grief!

I've only had one tick bite so far this year but that's one too many in my book. I'm pretty sure Missouri, where I am, has the most Alpha-gal cases. We know a couple people that have it and know of others as well. It's not something that just makes you sick for a week or two. I think it's permanent for most people and can be very severe.

Four years ago, my yard had a tick explosion. I found a tick or two on me every time I went outside all spring and summer. I quit counting after 50, mostly not attached because I checked myself often. The homes on our road all sit on 10 acre strips and the strip between our house and the next neighbor had been recently sold. It doesn't have a house on it. It's just a hayfield but it skipped a couple years being cut and was already getting brushy. If I was near that area, I could count on finding a tick.

Deet deters them but I'm convinced that they still crawl on me anyway and just keep crawling until they find a spot that doesn't have Deet and then attach, usually on my head where they're hardest to find. I also suspected that my dog was bringing them in the house. He was treated so they didn't attach. I think they just dropped off in the house and then found me. So make sure your pets aren't running through weeds and brushy areas.

I think Alpha-gal is flying under the radar because for some reason, it's not a reportable condition. I don't think the CDC has a clue how fast it's spreading and how common it's getting. They better wake up because there are already a lot of people that can't have beef, pork or dairy, and can't even be near it. For some, that means if one person in the family has Alpha-gal, you can't cook it in your house at all and you can't go to restaurants where it's being cooked. They can't sit on leather furniture and even have to be careful which sugar, bottled water and shampoo they use. Someone posted that they had a reaction driving down the road past a Burger King.

The very scary thing about alpha gal transmission is that I don’t belive it requires as much time for transmission as lyme and other tick borne illnesses. my husband has it and its caused much difficulty.

Even though I eat vegetarian, the need to eliminate dairy would be very hard so I’m trying to dodge ticks. Spring is always the worst I think.

Tick season, even up here, started earlier and more heavily - a friend of mine found the first tick on her in March. She seems to be a magnet for ticks, the way I am for black flies and mosquitoes. Even though I have a property covered in trees, long grasses, and wildlife pathways, I have never gotten a tick bite. She goes out to deadhead some flowers and comes in with a tick. She recently found one between her toes.

Thank you Markay! Great info.

Informative post, Markay -- thank you!

So it's not just here, then.

I have had two ticks in the last couple of weeks…and I have had Lyme 5 times ( southeastern Massachusetts). Several years ago i participated in a Lyme vaccine study, but my location was shut down, and I never heard about it again.

AI:

" Yes, that claim is scientifically inaccurate and dangerous misinformation. Triple antibiotic ointment (such as Neosporin) does absolutely nothing to prevent systemic tick-borne illnesses like Lyme disease or Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF) "

I have been seeing more and more every year. This year is the worst yet (Ohio)

We've noticed more here in central Indiana this spring. In fact, my husband found an engorged one stuck on him after working outside. Fortunately, he didn't get Lyme and he sent the tick somewhere and it tested negative. We live in the woods. We didn't see any at all last year. I think everything fluctuates from year to year, so hopefully this means their numbers will go down next year...........hopefully. And also.....I think climate change is affecting everything! :(

This is interesting and unsettling.

We live in a clearing in the woods in southern New England. Lots of deer, coyote, mice, and deer ticks. I have many saved deer ticks in little jars — I was going to do a project or give them to a lab to play with. Or make a ”Tick Font.”

A good many of the Ixodes ticks around us are positive for Lyme disease. I’ve gotten tick bites and embedded ticks many times. One thing that has help reduce the bites is wearing long trousers and tucking the pantlegs into our socks. We spray the pantlegs, socks and shoes with permethrin (Sawyer’s). Light colored clothing lets us spot ticks on us. We have Tweezerman splinter removing tweezers in house and car. But as an experiment, I even used dental floss to see if it worked at removing a tick. It did! (Articles in magazines aimed at sportsmen point out that fishermen can remove embedded ticks with fishline.)

The bites itch like crazy for a long while, but I find that oral Benadryl helps.

And, yes, to the person saying that cold winters don’t thwart deer ticks. Dry weather has an impact and sometimes we have taken a robust leaf blower to piles of leaves or woodland/wood-yard interfaces to help move the leaf detritus around, aerate it a bit to help it dry out or dislodge ticks. I’ve spotted ”questing” ticks on raspberry canes more than 3 ft. above ground level! I’ve seen them on my garage door. I hate those things more than mosquitoes, no-see-ems and yellow jackets. I have tested positive titre for Lyme (antibodies demonstrated I’d been bitten by an infected tick), but because I was treated with doxycycline, I did not develop Lyme disease.

The Alpha-gal syndrome sounds worrisome. Did someone say it never goes away?

We buy permethrin concentrate and make up our own clothing spray and perimeter spray (via one of those 1 or 2 gallon pump sprayers). We spay in late spring before any flowers are up and bees around. Permethrin is TOXIC to BEES. I’ve witnessed commercial spray workers spray during early summer sunny days, seemingly willy nilly and clueless about bees being killed by the chemical.

This is interesting — Alpha-gal

https://www.med.unc.edu/medicine/news/chairs-corner/podcast/alpha-gal/

" Permethrin is TOXIC to BEES. "

Also toxic to fish, and cats are extremely sensitive to it; I've treated far too many permethrin toxicities due to accidental exposure.

" Permethrin is TOXIC to BEES. "

And Humming Birds! It's frequently used by mosquito control companies.

There is a YT video about making your own ”Tick Tubes” at

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPoL7jYFxus

I make the cardboard tubes stronger by inserting one tube into another (in er tube gets crushed/folded a bit. I also dip the cardboard TP roller tubes into some melted wax then the dry, harden. This will help them last longer.

Then I will take some puffy polyfill, soak it in the right concentration of permethrin (or soak with Sawyer’s) then let dry. Inset the DIY tube into crevasses in dry laid stone walls, amid, stacked firewood and so on.

Hopefully mice will take the soft treated cotton or poly fill for nesting material. I’ve had mice chew on line (rope) on my boats. Darn.

Researchers have done studies on things like, the greater the acorn supply, the greater number of squirrel and mice offspring. Makes sense. That probably can be reflected in the number of ticks (perhaps with a bit of delay).

The increase in ticks has truly squashed my desire to be in nature and in the woods. It makes me want to stick to the concrete jungle, though I know they can even be found here too. What a bummer. Nature used to relax me but does not anymore. I know too many people whose lives have been upended by Lymes and I've had too much illness in my life already.

My yard is an overgrown jungle now because of the rain, which hardly ever happens in quantity anymore. I was knee deep pulling weeds and other unwanted sprouting things, and just did a thorough tick check. Unfortunately, I have dark long pants on, which are to protect me from poison ivy if it appears, and it's hard to see crawling ticks. Now I'm off for my daily hike on the AT, but I always stay on the path and try not to brush against bushes. I think my backyard is the more dangerous place. You're absolutely right. Ticks, mosquitoes, and poison ivy really have begun to ruin summer here.

I found a Spotted Lone Star Tick on me 2 days ago, it couldn't have been on me for more than 24 hours. Our Doc prescribed for me a doxicillion Rx last summer when a deer tick was on me and he added extra refills for 3 double doses just in case I found another attached tick over time. I took that extra dose Rx when I removed the Spotted Lone Stars tick but apparently that won't be of any help if that Alfa-gal issue kicks in later on, no cure for that one. I should know in a few weeks if I get sick after eating a steak. VgQn has always said that we should eat more fish and chicken, nyuk.

btw, I spray my socks and shoes before gardening but I probably picked up this bugger when kneeing to do some weeding, need to spray my knees too, ugh.

I have been following this thread with soooo much dismay. It seems if I follow the guidelines to make my yard less tick friendly, I am undoing the 30 years of work I have done to make my yard wildlife friendly. :(

Like Lily my yard is suddenly overgrown due to lots of recent rain - and a broken lawnmower! But my yard has always been on the wild side, and oddly, in 30 years of gardening I only had a tick on me once, and it was not attached.

I do however, ALWAYS - even in 90 degrees - wear muck boots, socks, long pants, long sleeves, gloves and a hat, and now I wrap my wrists with ace bandages after having a horrible autoimmune reaction to poison ivy. I always get it on the spot on my wrist where my gloves go down and my sleeve goes up, but this time it was awful, so I wrap up so I don't have to go through that again.

But this thread has scared me. I was sitting smack in the middle of my leaf mulch the other day doing some weeding, and all I could think of was ticks. Also, someone mentioned up-thread that the ticks climb the grass and wait with their legs outstretched for someone to come by. Ugh. Despite the rather silly image of ticks waving back and forth like they are at a concert (someone give them little lighters lol!) it's also a terrifying image that is now constantly with me as I walk through my yard.

So sad that my granddaughters can't run through the yard, roll down the hill, sit in the grass, or jump in the leaves like I did and like my kids did.

:(

Dee

Dee, I feel for you and understand your trepidation. But know that you can still have fun and enjoy your yard and gardens. Just check yourself and others for tick when you are through outdoors. If you can tale some preventative meausures, that is extra good — DEET repellent (it has a safe history), maybe tuck pantlegs into socks.

Just be aware and try to follow guidelines and you can safely ply or work outside. The precautions will become second nature. Get informed, get tweezers and repellent, e aware and have a blast.

I’ve found that mid summer, perhaps because of dry hot weather, I seldom see any ticks..

" The increase in ticks has truly squashed my desire to be in nature and in the woods. "

I know the feeling......I was reading a comment on another social media site I belong to that talked about going out in the woods to help with anxiety and burnout, but when I think of a walk in the woods I think of ticks, black flies, and mosquitoes.

Dee,..I get the poison ivy anxiety. I was born and raised an hour from where I live now, and went to summer camp near Gettysburg every summer. We spent the week outdoors in the deep woods, cleared out just enough for cabins. Never did I have a tick bite or poison ivy. But about 20 years ago, I suddenly became very allergic to poison ivy. I had a case so bad I thought I might have to be hospitalized. Instead, my doc put me on prednisone. So why is everything amplified now? I could have rolled in poison ivy when I was young and never had a reaction. And why are ticks everywhere when they weren't years ago?

" I could have rolled in poison ivy when I was young and never had a reaction. "

Allergies come and go at any time in our lives, for no known reason.

" And why are ticks everywhere when they weren't years ago? "

That's documented due to climate change, which results in new and expanding areas for the animals that are tick hosts, as well as increased survival for ticks.

I had to look this up in an article from 2020, about the expanding regions for ticks and the public health problems that brings. Stephanie Nolen is a favourite writer of mine, and this was the end of her article:

" Since my day in the woods with Clow, the Canadian forest trails I have walked since I was a child feel different. In the woods these days, I get the occasional cold prickle on the back of my neck. It’s not the sense that bears or wolves might be watching me. It’s not the fear of getting lost in the cold. It is the knowledge that there are thousands upon thousands of tiny hunters who can sense my breath and who are waiting, poised at the end of a long blade of grass, their front legs outstretched, for me to come close. " https://thewalrus.ca/invasion-of-the-ticks/

So guess what. As I was watching TV, I thought I felt something around my neck. I have a few moles, and for a second, I thought that was what I touched. Nope, it was a tick, and he had a buddy. I had done a thorough tick check and even changed shirts when I came home from the trail. I guess they were on my pants, which are dark, and it took them that long to reach my neck. This is not going to be a good summer.

Lily, I know that feeling. We must pay attention to any sensations of tickling crawlies in tick season.

I used to check myself and my small white dog. Dog was allowed on bed. Hours later, my peripheral vision would register a dark dot —- yep, a tick on the white sheet a foot or so away.

”Just when you think it’s safe to…”

I bought this that was recommended last year. Husband found a microscopic one two days ago.

TickCheck Premium Tick Remover Kit

Nice to have a little vinyl pouch to keep everything together.

As I’m sure all of you know, be sure to grab the embedded tick forward of the body or thorax, otherwise you risk squishing the tick’s gut and forcing bacteria into the patient.

Try to dispose of the tick, not let it go free. I put my ticks in a little stopped bottle (with ethanol), but a woodstove or fireplace works. You can smoosh it dead with a stone, but I’d advise against using fingers. I watch a recent YT video where an outdoorsman did this. That will contaminate you fingers with the microscopic bacteria you want to avoid.

Wash your hands and the tweezers or tools well and dry them. At least alcohol.

Does anyone have a clue about the value of ticks? Yellowjackets are at least polinators. Mosquitoes and black flies might contribute to feeding warblers, toads and frogs. But deer ticks and lonestar ticks? (I think it’s a myth that chickens and peacocks eat thousands of them.) Ditto with fleas — what good are they?

They are not good at all except for creating anxiety. This may sound cruel, but I burn them. I never touch them and drop them on my soapstone counter and light a match. I'm also the person who goes out of their way to rescue spiders. Ticks, houseflies, and mosquitoes are the only living things I kill.

Lily, add pantry moths ;)

You know it really works with getting the flies and pantry moths? One of those battery operated tennis racket shaped swatters. Sometimes a vacuum cleaner wand.

https://www.pulsetv.com/buy-one-get-one-freebr-bug-zapper-tennis-racquet?number=4942Z&stp=1&msclkid=27fb3f0412051e7abbf05513077bb60d

Here’s an article about the various ticks, FYI.

https://web.uri.edu/tickencounter/resources/top-ten-things-everyone-should-know-about-ticks-these-days/

It would be wonderful if the invasive green crab would devour deer ticks instead of young clams and lobster.

Article about Alpha-gal syndrome

https://www.med.unc.edu/medicine/news/chairs-corner/podcast/alpha-gal/

My favorite tick removing tweezers:

We have about 4 pairs.

Tweezerman make the best tweezers! I favour Tick Keys for removal:

I often like to experiment. I had a live, very engorged deer tick (from the back of my knee). I wanted to see how mobile she was, could she crawl quickly and turn over while very engorged.

I got some lined notebook paper, a ruler, pen and video camera nd set the fattened tick down on a table. I positioned the tick upside down. I wondered how it could right itself.

No problem! And it didn’t take long or require a call to the Rescue Squad.

Take a second before continuing and see if you can guess how it turned itself over. Stop here is you want to take time to guess.

The tick looked like the super plump one below:

See the tick to the upper right? See those dimples? The tick can somehow change the location and size of these vacuole like things. I could watch it do this. Doing this could change the center of gravity such that, doggone, if the tick didn’t just cause itself to turn over.

I was going to post my video on YouTube but saw that someone else had already done so. I cannot locate it now. I might still have mine on tape or a hard drive.

Further experimenting demonstrated that deer ticks do not light bright light — the tick crawled away from the light.

Tick links:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQpOxlGCMYg

^^ that was an interesting video about how they find hosts.

Lucky me, I got Lyme. No surprise since it's been reported that the local Tick number survey indicates a larger population than usual. I had Lyme about 10 years ago too, this time I found the tick earlier, felt the familiar symptoms, and avoided a longer term of discomfort. No surprise since I spend several hours outside every day......except on daze like today when it's now 100F on my shaded porch. I had to pick things extra early this morning to avoid the sun, the antibiotic can cause sun burning issues. Stay safe out there...

vgkg, I’m sorry to hear this. I’ve tested positive for exposure to the Lyme disease spirochete, but I did not develop Lyme disease (probably because I took the prophylactic dose of doxycycline.

Is this what you mean? That you were positive for being exposed to the spirochete, or that you actually went o to develop Lyme disease?

How can you adequately protect yourself when it’s so incredibly hot and humid?

I wish you well!

Oh man, that sucks vgkg. Do you think you caught it early enough to avoid any long-term symptoms?

Thanks for your kind thoughts above but I'm doing fine here. Just wanted to warn others to be careful out there. To answer your questions, yes I caught it very early since I found the tick on me and went to the doc within 2 weeks. I wasn't tested for Lyme but since my symptoms were on the mark for Lyme the doc prescribed the usual doxycycline antibiotic. I was hoping that I removed the tick in time but within 2 weeks I felt those familiar symptoms of 10 yeas ago so I set up an appt to nip it in the bud. Symptoms probably vary from person to person but mine included the following :

Fatigue

Dull headache

Brain fog

Stiff neck

Joint pains in fingers

After feeling those effects I wasn't going to wait to feel the final one from 10 years ago which was night sweats while asleep. Back then I'd wake up and my tee shirt would be soaked. Anyways, that's enough about me, on day 3 of the Rx I'm feeling much better already and plan to mow the grass at dusk today to avoid the sun and most of the heat. Luckily, we got a nice inch of rain last night for the garden and cooler temps around 90F today. Oh, I do use a deet spray my shoes and socks but I'll start spraying my legs since I do a lot of kneeling in the garden. Take care out there.

That was smart to get to the doctor sooner rather than later. Glad to hear you're feeling better.