Ticks & Lyme

[stubear]

I dont know whats happened this year but the ticks just seem to be absolutely off the charts! I came home a few weeks ago and I must have had 30 odd of the bleeding things on me, little swine.

I managed to get a handle on them by getting some Rovince socks and spraying my gaiters and trousers down with permethrin spray. I was out on Sunday and didnt see any on me when I got home so hopefully this will keep them at bay.

All the deer I've shot recently have had a good number of ticks on them as well, so they are clearly about in sizable numbers and its well worth checking yourself when you get home to make sure you dont have any unexpected visitors.

Timely reminder of how devastating Lyme can be;

Mother, 43, is left paralysed, after being bitten in her GARDEN by a tick | Daily Mail Online

Stay safe out there folks!

 

[Essex stalker]

Remember to check your dogs as well, mine has had a number this year

 

[FISH BOY]

I dont know whats happened this year but the ticks just seem to be absolutely off the charts! I came home a few weeks ago and I must have had 30 odd of the bleeding things on me, little swine.

I managed to get a handle on them by getting some Rovince socks and spraying my gaiters and trousers down with permethrin spray. I was out on Sunday and didnt see any on me when I got home so hopefully this will keep them at bay.

All the deer I've shot recently have had a good number of ticks on them as well, so they are clearly about in sizable numbers and its well worth checking yourself when you get home to make sure you dont have any unexpected visitors.

Timely reminder of how devastating Lyme can be;

Mother, 43, is left paralysed, after being bitten in her GARDEN by a tick | Daily Mail Online

Stay safe out there folks!

Totally agree - went on an evening stalk the other week. Got back at 11pm and didn't bother check.

Shower the next morning before work found two dangerously close to my nads!!!

One thing to also highlight is that Permethin has a 6 week working life. I must admit I just thought it was 6 washes, so when I went out I thought I was protected.

Still amazes me the dog walkers in shorts and T shirts wandering around.

 

[stubear]

Totally agree - went on an evening stalk the other week. Got back at 11pm and didn't bother check.

Shower the next morning before work found two dangerously close to my nads!!!

One thing to also highlight is that Permethin has a 6 week working life. I must admit I just thought it was 6 washes, so when I went out I thought I was protected.

Still amazes me the dog walkers in shorts and T shirts wandering around.

The instructions on the bottle were re-treat every two weeks (but not more often than that) and make sure you have put the item through the wash at least once before re-treating.

I agree with you about the dog walkers. The only thing I can think of is that they generally stick to cleared paths and tracks so avoid the ticks, whereas stalkers are off through the thick stuff at times and thats where we get them.

 

[FISH BOY]

Permethrin Insect Repellent Treatment for Clothing Gear and Tents | Sawyer Products

Must admit I rarely wash my outer gear but will be topping up regularly now...

 

[The Singing Stalker]

I'm convinced it is down to the mild and damp winter not killing the little sods off. Luckily most of my ground is pretty clean but I am wearing the rovince more often...... Just in case.

 

[Cottis]

Permethrin Insect Repellent Treatment for Clothing Gear and Tents | Sawyer Products

Must admit I rarely wash my outer gear but will be topping up regularly now...

Same. I use that stuff on my trousers and shirts which very rarely get washed because I am a scruffy git and also because I didn't want to wash the protection away. Sounds like I need to give em another dousing. I find myself using half a bottle on a pair of trousers and a shirt ha ha. Liberal soaking is the way forward

 

[jubnut]

I'm convinced it is down to the mild and damp winter not killing the little sods off. Luckily most of my ground is pretty clean but I am wearing the rovince more often...... Just in case.

Nah.

Ticks survive at temperatures way below even our hardest winters, the whole Idea of them being killed off by a hard winter is a bit of a wives tale.

 

[Basil H]

The Sawyer website is very convincing. Is there a U.K. outlet ?

 

[FISH BOY]

The Sawyer website is very convincing. Is there a U.K. outlet ?

The bay of E - think its about £16 a bottle but lasts generally 5 generous soakings of a jacket and trousers.

 

[NoIDeer]

The Sawyer website is very convincing. Is there a U.K. outlet ?

I got some off ebay recently.

Life Systems do a permethrin spray, EX4, I think.

 

[sikamalc]

Having had Lyme disease, trust me you don't want to get it either, its very sensible to be fully aware of this disease throughout the whole year. However at this time of year with the warm and wet conditions it is Tick time.

1. Most ticks do not carry the virus, you are unfortunate if you get bitten by one that does, so don't panic if you get one on you.
2. I find that spraying deet on gaiters and lower parts of the trousers helps keep them off.
3. I think most ticks latch onto you whilst gralloching the deer or in the larder.
4. If you do find a tick on you do not cover it in Vaseline, or alcohol as this makes them regurgitate their stomach contents back into your system. (Years back we all did this but this is not recommended)
5. Use a proper tick puller to take them off, make sure you get the head out.
6. Keep and eye on the area the tick was on. If a large red ring starts to progress from the bite area, and you start to feel ill go straight to your GP for a blood test.
7. A bite sometimes does not produce the bullseye bite area, and if you start to feel ill, flu like symptoms, nauseus, blurred vision, go to the doctors straight away and get a blood test.

Lyme disease if left can do irreversible damage, it can also be hard to detect sometimes. So be safe get it checked out.

 

[sikamalc]

CAN I PLEASE REDIRECT ANYONE WHO HAS CONCERNS TO THE OFF TOPIC SECTION ON THIS SITE. AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE MORENA HAS PUT A FULL EXPLANATION WITH PHOTOS OF THE DISEASE AND WHAT TO LOOK FOR.

As deer stalkers we are more likely to come into contact with Lyme disease than most people. So please be aware of this and make sure you check out any bites from ticks and if concerned go to your GP.

 

[FISH BOY]

Having had Lyme disease, trust me you don't want to get it either, its very sensible to be fully aware of this disease throughout the whole year. However at this time of year with the warm and wet conditions it is Tick time.

1. Most ticks do not carry the virus, you are unfortunate if you get bitten by one that does, so don't panic if you get one on you.
2. I find that spraying deet on gaiters and lower parts of the trousers helps keep them off.
3. I think most ticks latch onto you whilst gralloching the deer or in the larder.
4. If you do find a tick on you do not cover it in Vaseline, or alcohol as this makes them regurgitate their stomach contents back into your system. (Years back we all did this but this is not recommended)
5. Use a proper tick puller to take them off, make sure you get the head out.
6. Keep and eye on the area the tick was on. If a large red ring starts to progress from the bite area, and you start to feel ill go straight to your GP for a blood test.
7. A bite sometimes does not produce the bullseye bite area, and if you start to feel ill, flu like symptoms, nauseus, blurred vision, go to the doctors straight away and get a blood test.

Lyme disease if left can do irreversible damage, it can also be hard to detect sometimes. So be safe get it checked out.

Thanks Malc - very sensible advice.

Having a family 4x4 and having found ticks alive in the drip tray of a chiller a week later, my biggest concern is one of my children getting tagged in the car.

 

[Heym SR20]

I will second Sikaalc's advice.

Also had Lymes and its a *******. 8 years later, every few week's I get the cold shakes, absolutely exhausted, brain fog and joint aches. Usually after working hard, travelling lots etc. I am self employed so I can put the wheels up. I do not have the stamina, fitness or strength that I used to have.

Lymes is a ticking time bomb for the healthcare services and there needs to be serious research into it.

And to the OP - everything I have shot this year has been heavily laden with ticks - and this is on ground where we never have seen ticks in the past.

I can't help feeling that lack of requirement to dip cattle and sheep is not helping either. The old sheep dip used to kill everything it touched, and sheep to rather act as mops to pick up everything.

 

[Sylvanius]

Heym SR20 makes some good points - I have a friend who about 10+ years on from a bout of Lymes suffers fatigue and other symptoms - its a real nasty. Recent work has shown that many people "cured" with antibiotics have in fact been found to still be hosting the disease years later. Prevention in this case is most certainly better than a cure if at all possible.

I have also wondered whether the sheep dipping situation now has made things worse - in the past the thousands upon thousands of sheep hosts were cleared of ticks every year, so that's many millions of ticks which never got to breed. Mind you, when I was a kid, and we dipped sheep, we also got covered in the stuff (which was organophosphates back then!!) and you know, I cannot remember ever getting a tick as a country kid. Not that I recommend it as a method! The sheep dogs used to also get put through the dipper

I've said it before elsewhere, but as someone who works in deer woods all day every day, ticks were an occupational hazard until i bought high leg boots and started tucking my trousers into them - quite amazingly, I stopped getting them overnight and in the years since have only had a couple which I believe got onto me higher up. It was certainly an eye opener to realise that every one I'd ever had must have been getting in via my trouser legs and climbing up, thankfully avoiding the wedding tackle!
So yes you can buy £85+ trousers or douse your clothing in insecticide, but simply tucking my trousers into my boots has worked for me- and I'm in woods all my working day, every single day. I suspect it might not be quite as effective for shorter boots, but I don't know.

 

[25 Sharps]

Thanks Malc - very sensible advice.

Having a family 4x4 and having found ticks alive in the drip tray of a chiller a week later, my biggest concern is one of my children getting tagged in the car.

This is my worry too, have never found a tick on myself but found one on my 5 year old's back 6 weeks ago, horrible. Either came back on me or the dog but I felt terribly guilty, bite stayed pronounced for a while but gone now with no symptoms fortunately.

 

[finnbear270]

I now realise that I lost an old jack russel dog to Lyme, He had a tick on his ear flap that I removed, it was fully engorged at the time, the dog went down hill big time, I could kick myself for the way he went.

 

[sikamalc]

It has made my joints worse, especially me knees and to a lesser extent my shoulder. Came home this weekend after a stalking session exhausted, legs aching badly, so maybe a little relapse again. Better today after some pain killers and a hot bath...............it aint no fun getting old

 

[ashray]

good evening all,totally devastating illness,this week my hips and shoulder are really playing up ,pains in the stomach and knackered! gp says records say i got bitten by ticks on 15 recorded instances in the last 30years but blood test say not lime! so no treatment given.i am sure it is as i hurt in all my joints and struggle to get about some times .i am 60 years old but some days feel 80. keep your eyes open and get a good gp.