Stay Out of the Woods in June!

Black_Fly · Jun 24, 2024

Last week, after days of crappy weather induced cabin fever for me and my dog, we went for a walk. Upon returning home, I found more ticks on my body than ever before. I stopped counting in the 30s as I was getting a little freaked out. They were EVERYWHERE. They were also still clinging in mass to my clothing. Now I itch, am monitoring for bullseyes or weird looking red spots. The most annoying bite is in my navel. In June, I’m sticking to the river from now on. I bet the canoe was invented in June.

clemency · Jun 24, 2024

I have stumbled through what I can only describe as a nest of ticks. Hundreds it seemed like. Tiny ones. Ick.

memaquay · Jun 24, 2024

Still relatively tick free in Greenstone! An abundance of of black flies, mosquitos, horse flies and tent caterpillars, but no ticks.

Boatman53 · Jun 24, 2024

When we adopted our current dog we took him on one of our daily walks, three miles round trip to the end of the peninsula including an off leash romp in the field at the end. When we got home it was time for a tick check for all of us, we pulled 52 ticks off his little 21 pound body. None were attached yet but holy cow. We found some on ourselves too but just the typical we expected. Turns out the edge of the road tall grasses were where they were hanging out. On later walks with out him I saw many on the tips of the grass, all I saw died.
Jim

Steve in Idaho · Jun 24, 2024

I've collected more ticks than usual this year, but nothing like that! Ick!

ppine · Jun 24, 2024

It can be overwhelming. Last year in June on the Klamath River in norther CA we found lots of them. I took 48 off my dog.

Marten · Jun 24, 2024

My personal best was 165 picked off my body and clothes after working on a grassy trail in northern MN. After that I started treating my cabin attire with Permethrin so that record will stand. A needle nose pliers assured no double counting.

Bob B. · Jun 24, 2024

I second that Martin. I have been working in the timber at my house from early am to supper - day after day. We have had biblical rain ... I grade my driveway with my tractor at least 1 time a week - often more. The mosquitos and ticks are at an all time high. I have been living in my tripping clothes and a head net. Tripping clothes treated with Permethrin. It has made a tremendous difference and I can still work in the timber. I just came in from working for breakfast - grade driveway for myself and neighbor, walk Jake, pick a quart of berries for desert tonight with wife. After some eggs, have to go out and clear trails of fallen timber - ground is too soft from all the rain. Permethrin has made these activities bearable ... and so far no ticks

Penns Woods · Jun 24, 2024

Over the weekend I had a adventure with some kind of bug, not sure if it was tick or spider. I ended up in the ER Sunday morning with fever, and extreme pain. Docs did blood work looking for 25-30 different items, results shown my body was fighting off infection but good news no Lime Disease. They started an IV with antibiotics and pain reliever, which really helped. So, today I feel better, most of the body aches or gone but the back of my leg is still pretty gross.

Day 1 after bite

Day 3 after bite

Boatman53 · Jun 24, 2024

Yikes!
Jim

Roybrew · Jun 25, 2024

Is it a simple blood test for Lyme disease? I've never seen many deer ticks here in TN till the past few years. Dog ticks have always been plentiful. I hate them all.

Boatman53 · Jun 25, 2024

Yes it’s a simple blood test and here in Maine they test for many different tick diseases at the same time. I came down anaplasmosis three years ago. Same antibiotic treatment.
Jim

Penns Woods · Jun 25, 2024

I wanted to give a little update on my bite situation. Today I had a follow up appointment with my family doctor. He's an old country doctor that probably has seen hundreds of bites. After a very thorough examination He assured me it was not a tick bite. He believes it is a spider bite. Based on my good reaction to the IV, and oral antibiotics, I feel very confident we're on the right track. So for now I guess it's take my meds and keep an eye on things. Any new developments I'll be sure to post.
Thanks for all your input, it has been helpful.

yknpdlr · Jun 25, 2024

I had some kind of bite on my under arm where I could not see it a few weeks ago. Fearing a tick bite, I visited my family doc and he gave me a complete blood work up. It hurt for a couple of weeks and left an entrance wound that has not yet healed. Negative for Lyme, probably a spider. He's a great doc who also races in the Adk 90 miler and paddles a lot. As a matter of fact he came to my camp this evening after work and we paddled for training our first 5 miles together on my lake, and then I showed him my Yukon race photo video slide show.

Penns Woods · Jun 26, 2024

Roybrew said:
Is it a simple blood test for Lyme disease? I've never seen many deer ticks here in TN till the past few years. Dog ticks have always been plentiful. I hate them all.

This reminds me of my college days at LMU in Harrogate Tenn. I had been spring turkey hunting and after hunting back at the dorm while taking a shower I found 7 ticks on me., 5 were impeded. I used Right Guard spray deodorant on them. One good spray and they backed right off. Back then the big threat was the ticks with Rocky Mountain Spotted Feaver. Nothing every developed out of all that, but it sure taught me a lesson.

Roybrew · Jun 26, 2024

It would be nice if there was a little stick a person could pee on, and if it changed color then see your doctor.

Blukanu · Jun 26, 2024

Mentioned this before in the tick thread. Did a 4-day trip two weeks ago. The whole time my buddy was picking ticks off himself. I didn’t have a single one the entire trip.

The difference: I soaked my clothes in Permethrin before the trip.

Stay Out of the Woods in June!

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