# Ticks Galore



## Hetfieldinn (May 17, 2004)

Man, were the ticks horrendous this past week. I never had a tick on me the last ten years where our group hunts. During the first drive Monday morning, I found numerous ticks crawling on me. When we met up after the first drive, I told everyone to check themselves, and everyone had ticks on them. Each night after hunting, we looked like a bunch of primates monkey grooming each other. A few of us had them burrowed into the skin throughout the week. I found that holding a cigarette, preferably a Winston, very close to the tick would make it back out very quickly. When the temps dropped on Wednesday, they weren't near as bad, but we still found a few.


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## catfish_hunter (May 31, 2005)

Thats kind of weird for them to still be out in such force after the frost and everything isnt it?


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## oucat (Aug 18, 2005)

I posted earlier this fall about ticks. What county are you in? We now have deer ticks in coshocton county, a few frosts will slow them down but does not wipe them out.


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## Bad Bub (Jan 17, 2006)

Most of the guys at work hunt jefferson and harrison counties and for the most part everyone has been having major problems with ticks. I've personally never had an issue this late in the year but we've been flat covered with them. Thanksgivings morning rabbit hunt was the worst. Pulled 6 off of me and my clothes. Everyone in the party had atleast one and got quite a few from the beagle's the next few days.... hopefully the last few nights knocked them back a bit.

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## ezbite (May 25, 2006)

Wear pantyhose and youll never get them on you below the waist again.


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## PapawSmith (Feb 13, 2007)

ezbite said:


> Wear pantyhose and youll never get them on you below the waist again.


Your buddies catch you wearing pantyhose and you'll probably never get anything below the waist again.


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## ezbite (May 25, 2006)

PapawSmith said:


> Your buddies catch you wearing pantyhose and you'll probably never get anything below the waist again.


If you wear the nude color, nobody will ever know


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## Bad Bub (Jan 17, 2006)

ezbite said:


> If you wear the nude color, nobody will ever know


Ha ha!!! I'll take my chances with the ticks! 

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## c. j. stone (Sep 24, 2006)

Used to hunt pheasant with a group in Canton called GRA(Game Reserve Assoc.) They had a farm in Dundee where they stocked them every Sat. One of the group always wore panty hose(said it kept him "warm")! One day he fell thru the ice on a small pond and had to take his clothes off at the club's farm house to dry them! Did he ever get some "looks" when he had his PH hanging by the fireplace...........and was sitting there in his boxers!!!
ps-He had the nicest long blond hair also!


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## MuskieManOhio (Jun 29, 2008)

My cousin shot a deer in west virginia this year and i went to skin it and it actually had ticks embedded under the hide and into the meat we through out the deer what a shame.


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## craig (Feb 9, 2008)

Thats crazy that you still getting ticks, Ive hunted delaware cnty for over for over 27 yrs and really dont recall any or very little durring bow season let alone gun season, last thing I would look 4 was a tick after gun hunting,Have you had ticks on you in this area before durring gun season or was this the first year of it?


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## Fish Scalper (Oct 31, 2009)

Pantyhose have been worn by many a Soldier, Sailor and Marine as they make for the lighest and warmest layers of insulation you can find.


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## Bad Bub (Jan 17, 2006)

craig said:


> Thats crazy that you still getting ticks, Ive hunted delaware cnty for over for over 27 yrs and really dont recall any or very little durring bow season let alone gun season, last thing I would look 4 was a tick after gun hunting,Have you had ticks on you in this area before durring gun season or was this the first year of it?


First for me.....

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## Muskarp (Feb 5, 2007)

Man, I can't believe these deer ticks took off like this. I remember the warning for Coshocton County last fall. I grew up in Jefferson County. We never pulled dog ticks (the only kind I remember growing up) off us this late in the year. I will assume you guys are getting deer ticks on you. I was at Salt fork last month and pulled two deer ticks off me. By the time I drove back to C-bus I already had one tapping my forearm and one walking in my armpit. I didn't even realize SF had them. As I mentioned earlier these things come out all winter long if the sun warms the grass. My dog used to be covered with them after a day of chicken hunting in northern WI. They suck!!! They are much more active than dog ticks. Hard to believe they have completely colonized the eastern part of the state so quickly. How'd they get here? Deer trade?



> COLUMBUS, OH - Black-legged ticks, some infected with Lyme disease, are known to be in the Coshocton county area. A population of these small ticks had not been established before in Ohio, according to The Ohio State University (OSU) tick biologist Dr. Glen Needham.


Quote is from the advisory that the DNR posted last fall.


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## Bad Bub (Jan 17, 2006)

Muskarp said:


> Man, I can't believe these deer ticks took off like this. I remember the warning for Coshocton County last fall. I grew up in Jefferson County. We never pulled dog ticks (the only kind I remember growing up) off us this late in the year. I will assume you guys are getting deer ticks on you. I was at Salt fork last month and pulled two deer ticks off me. By the time I drove back to C-bus I already had one tapping my forearm and one walking in my armpit. I didn't even realize SF had them. As I mentioned earlier these things come out all winter long if the sun warms the grass. My dog used to be covered with them after a day of chicken hunting in northern WI. They suck!!! They are much more active than dog ticks. Hard to believe they have completely colonized the eastern part of the state so quickly. How'd they get here? Deer trade?
> 
> 
> 
> Quote is from the advisory that the DNR posted last fall.


They aren't deer tick's... different breed. But they're real spotty. I have one hunting area that i haven't pulled one from, the place behind my parents is loaded and we're getting them almost every trip out.... it's definitely new to me....

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## Whaler (Nov 16, 2004)

There has been a rash of newer ticks this year called black legged ticks and lonestar ticks. Maybe under armor would keep them out of your crotch. My buddy got one several years ago right up under his scrotum and his wife had to remove it for him so what ever you do if you go into the field don't make your wife mad at you before you go.


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## Whaler (Nov 16, 2004)

Joe Namath used to wear pantyhose for everyone to see ! Lol


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## Hetfieldinn (May 17, 2004)

Whaler said:


> There has been a rash of newer ticks this year called black legged ticks and lonestar ticks. Maybe under armor would keep them out of your crotch.


One guy in our group wore UnderArmor, top and bottom, and never got a tick on him.


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## Bad Bub (Jan 17, 2006)

Hetfieldinn said:


> One guy in our group wore UnderArmor, top and bottom, and never got a tick on him.


I wear UA religiously, still getting them. But i have not been bit. I just keep finding them crawling around on all of my clothes and caught a few climbing up my neck.

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## boss302 (Jun 24, 2005)

look up "under our skin" on Hulu or netflix. I'm not an alarmist, but have a coupple of friends dealing with Lyme (one who is a member here and one who was exposed as a kid and never knew)....The friend from here is doing OK the other is in BAD shape and has passed it to at least some of her children..... These ticks (or at least the bacteria they can transmit) are serious. 

Like I said I'm not alarmist, but I am carefull now


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## COmmodore 64 (Jun 24, 2006)

You can also coat a tick in petroleum jelly. They breathe through their body so the petroleum makes them begin to suffocate and they (purportedly) will back out on their own.

In my annual first aid class, they tell me that the cigarette trick may cause them to burrow further in.


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## Kableguy (Apr 23, 2009)

I'm one of the guys that Boss302 is referring to. I dealt with the symptoms of Lyme Disease for many years, and even though I spent a lot of time with different doctors it was undiagnosed. I finally was tested (positive) about a year ago after a trip to the emergency room at University Hospitals in downtown Cleveland. I have always known about Lyme, but never really thought much about it, but sitting in the ER with my wife she googled my symptoms and it matched with Lyme. We asked one of the senior members of neurology at UH if I should be tested and he scoffed and would not even consider the thought. He actually went out of his way to make us feel stupid for even suggesting the idea. I searched out a Lyme literate doctor who ran a bunch of tests and put me on a treatment program. I have been on high levels of antibiotics for the past twelve months. I can't even describe how much better I feel, how much the quality of my life has improved. I go between being thankful that I feel better now and being mad that no doctors ever were able to figure it out earlier. I am now in the process of wrapping up my treatments, hopefully being totally off medication in the next few months.

Lyme is a wicked disease that can hide in your body and really mess you up. You can get bit by a tick and never even know it. You might not ever get a rash. You might not even get sick until months or years later. Testing can be inaccurate or inconclusive. If you go to the doctor's with Lyme symptoms they will tell you that you have arthritis, or fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, or one of a dozen other commonly used diagnoses. They'll give you all kinds of crazy medicines, none of which will make you better.

My kids were both sick too. Since I tested positive I wanted them tested too. My doctor doesn't see kids. We went to their pediatrician, but she refused to believe that they could have Lyme and would not even consider it. Again, remember that most doctor's don't think Lyme disease is in northeast ohio. Turns out there aren't any doctor's in the area that we could find that treat kids, so we ended up going to a doctor in Connecticut. Kids tested positive. Wife tested positive by a different doctor than I did, so four of us tested positive by three different doctors. All of us on treatment, all of us feeling better than we were. So many questions. I've had many ticks on me in my life, so me having it is no surprise. My wife is even understandable, she has spent a lot of time outdoors. But what about kids? Age 3 and 7? When? How?

Another interesting story. Several months ago I was sitting on my living room floor and felt something crawling on my leg. Looked down and it was a small tick. I hadn't even been outside, must have come in on our dog. I took it into the health department, thinking that maybe they test if it is infected with Lyme. Turns out they don't, but they did send it to the state health department in Columbus to perform an identification on it. Turns out it was a Lone Star tick. When the health department called me they said it was interesting because where I live (Lake County) "there aren't any Lone Star ticks". Oh really? Maybe someone forgot to tell it they don't live here.

Long story short, Lyme sucks, it is underdiagnosed in Ohio, especially northeast ohio, doctor's don't know to look for it, don't know how to diagnose it, and for the most part don't know how to treat it. Long term it will really mess your life up. It really messed up mine for a long time.

And I could go on and on... my dad has been sick (really sick) for a long time. Doctors have never been able to diagnose or help. I talked him into going to my doctor. Tested positive. Started treatment and turned into a different person, for the better. My mom can't believe it. It's an amazing transformation. All with just some simple antibiotics.

If anyone has any questions, feel free to shoot me a message. There's a lot of information that needs to be shared. My doctor treats a lot of hunters and fishermen. Archery hunters get it a lot, early season there are lot's of ticks out, and they like to live in trees (think tree stands) and also steelhead and trout fishermen because in early spring there are a lot of ticks in the tall grass along rivers.

Sorry to keep rambling, but this has been such a big part of my life that I want to pass along the info so that no one else has to go through what we have gone through.


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## bones. (Mar 9, 2005)

Kableguy, are you saying your wife and children contracted Lyme from you or tick bites. I'm just curious how they got it.


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## Kableguy (Apr 23, 2009)

The short answer is that we'll never know. Scientific research is spotty at best, and its hard to trust anecdotal evidence. Some doctors claim it can be transferred person to person. I simply say that I don't know.

One other interesting fact is that small mammals like chipmunks and mice can serve as carriers of lyme. So, how prevalent but underdiagnosed is it? Try this experiment. If you have a pet ask your vet about it and see what they say. Our vet blew my mind about how prevalent it is.


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## Muskarp (Feb 5, 2007)

Kableguy, sorry to hear you had to go through all that. Glad you finally got it figured out. Unfortunately more damage was done as the doctors misdiagnosed you.
Did you ever recontact that doctor that made you feel stupid about it being Lyme disease?


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## Bassnpro1 (Apr 6, 2004)

I went grouse hunting yesterday in Scioto county and like the rest of you, my group pulled over 20 ticks off of us and our clothing(4 of us). These were all blacklegged ticks aka deer ticks. We have hunted these same areas for years and never found even one tick, let alone the twenty we found yesterday. Pretty amazing how many there were. One a better note, I did bag a grouse, which isn't easy anymore in Ohio.


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## Bad Bub (Jan 17, 2006)

There's an article in the current ohio valley outdoor times about the major tick boom. Decent read....

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## ski (May 13, 2004)

I wore under armour last year in Pennsylvania. It dug into my thigh and I had to cut it out with my hunting knife. Ended up getting the erythemia migrans( bullseye rash) and being in one of the leading counties for Lyme disease, off to the ER I went. Doc gave me a single dose of dioxycycline and then when I got back to Ohio my family doc put me on it for two more weeks. 
ski


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## ski (May 13, 2004)

Do not use vaseline or cigarette. Only use a pair of tweezers and pull it out like you are picking a mushroom from the stem. If you irritate them they can inject more bacteria into your skin.
ski


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## Kableguy (Apr 23, 2009)

In response to a few posts:

I didn't go back to all of my past doctors but did talk to some. Most were interested to hear my story, but I'm not sure it changed their thinking or not.

The black legged tick is actually a separate species than the deer tick, but they carry most of the same diseases.

Ski- since you were exposed and had the rash two weeks of doxy may not have been enough to get rid of the bacteria. Research the long term symptoms and if you ever start showing any go to a lyme literate doctor for further treatment. It could come back in the future and really mess with you.


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## Bassnpro1 (Apr 6, 2004)

Kableguy said:


> The black legged tick is actually a separate species than the deer tick, but they carry most of the same diseases.


Everything I have read says the backlegged tick and deer tick are one in the same.

http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/idepc/dtopics/tickborne/ticks.html

http://www.bugs.ufl.edu/creatures/urban/medical/deer_tick.htm

http://insects.about.com/od/ticksmites/p/Iscapularis.htm

There is a western blacklegged tick that is a different species.


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## Kableguy (Apr 23, 2009)

I stand corrected. Thanks for the clarification. I learn something new everyday.

John


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