Ticks

[johnnytheboy]

Just a general observation, 20 years ago I fished Loch Arkaig for a week camping at the loch side and didnt have one tick on me, last year I went up and fished for a day and walking about the area we camped 20 years ago I had easy 400 ticks on my clothing. Some we scrapped off and put on the Rovince top I had and they did get disoriented and jump off. That was a bonus, but I was convinced I’d be covered in them! Luckily I never got one in me!

The things is, why none 20 years ago and numbers like a horror movie last year! What’s the change in 20 years? It just can’t be milder weather!

 

[.25-06]

They where there 20 years ago, how you avoided them I'm unsure. Seething mass of thousands of little pencil sized dots near impossible to see individually, crawling over everything.

 

[Jon P]

Just a general observation, 20 years ago I fished Loch Arkaig for a week camping at the loch side and didnt have one tick on me, last year I went up and fished for a day and walking about the area we camped 20 years ago I had easy 400 ticks on my clothing. Some we scrapped off and put on the Rovince top I had and they did get disoriented and jump off. That was a bonus, but I was convinced I’d be covered in them! Luckily I never got one in me!

The things is, why none 20 years ago and numbers like a horror movie last year! What’s the change in 20 years? It just can’t be milder weather!

If there was sheep in area 20 yrs ago. They would have been being dipped annually, this would reduce the amount of ticks.

Winters are getting warmer so ticks are active longer so probably breeding more too.

 

[Fiadh]

I've removed two from my legs in the past week despite taking precautions against them.

 

[wytonpjs]

They are prolific breeders too! When removed, I pop the ticks into a small tissue sample pot and after removing the one last on Saturday, I was staggered to see the pot filled with hundreds of little spherical balls. Eeeek! Time for a new pot.....

 

[HonestJohn]

Climate change and sheep are the two main factors

Once TBE and Lymes starts to spread rapidly on the back of this increase in ticks, the countryside will become a very unpleasant place to be I fear. There are now large parts of ground I stalk, good stalking areas, but I will not go there unless it’s in winter

 

[opticron1]

Just back from the far Northern wastelands (for fishing), lots of ticks around in the damper bits of the countryside, but seemed fewer on the drier ground - the heatwave seems to have kept the numbers down a little. Just looking forward to the day when we have effective and easily managed treatment and maybe a vaccine (obviously not for the anti-vaxxers) that the BDS were discussing.

 

[Jon P]

Just back from the far Northern wastelands (for fishing), lots of ticks around in the damper bits of the countryside, but seemed fewer on the drier ground - the heatwave seems to have kept the numbers down a little. Just looking forward to the day when we have effective and easily managed treatment and maybe a vaccine (obviously not for the anti-vaxxers) that the BDS were discussing.

There you go