Ticks

They contacted me initially, then ghosted me. I should reach out again.

Cassinonorth said:
If anyone is local to Hoboken, the vaccine study is still looking for participants. Unfortunately just a bit too far for me to commit to.

www.pfizerclinicaltrials.com

Pfizer Clinical Trials | Official Participant Site

Join us in the pursuit to change patients’ lives. Each and every person in a clinical trial plays a powerful role.
www.pfizerclinicaltrials.com www.pfizerclinicaltrials.com
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Some might think there is a tick "season" but that is wrong. I knew ticks can be active any time of the year but am naturally a little less vigilant in the winter months. Rode Allaire Jan 5th (temp in mid-50s) and picked up one of the tiny versions (nymph?) that I didn't catch. Found it embedded pretty good on the 7th and had to dig it out. Made quite a hole.

A week ago I got a long lasting low grade illness (covid negative) that lasted all week. Just bad enuf so I couldn't ride. I'm thinking could this be Lyme? It's been more than a week since the tick bite. Maybe just a cold? Bite spot seemed itchier than usual while it was healing, but no rash or halo. Last night the bite area was very itchy and there was the halo rash. Rash started to fade immediately and was gone this morning. Went the the Dr today to get my doxy prescription

It was a surprise to me what a slow burn this was for symptoms to appear. Sick 10 days after bite and halo rash for a only a very short time 17 days after bite. I know you can have Lyme and never see a rash, so I'm lucky this rash showed and prompted me to get to the Dr. If a tick really gets me in the future (attached more than 8 hours), I'm just gonna get the doxy without waiting. BTW, Dr said I'm the third tick bite she's seen this month. :(

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SAM said:
Some might think there is a tick "season" but that is wrong. I knew ticks can be active any time of the year but am naturally a little less vigilant in the winter months. Rode Allaire Jan 5th (temp in mid-50s) and picked up one of the tiny versions (nymph?) that I didn't catch. Found it embedded pretty good on the 7th and had to dig it out. Made quite a hole.

A week ago I got a long lasting low grade illness (covid negative) that lasted all week. Just bad enuf so I couldn't ride. I'm thinking could this be Lyme? It's been more than a week since the tick bite. Maybe just a cold? Bite spot seemed itchier than usual while it was healing, but no rash or halo. Last night the bite area was very itchy and there was the halo rash. Rash started to fade immediately and was gone this morning. Went the the Dr today to get my doxy prescription

It was a surprise to me what a slow burn this was for symptoms to appear. Sick 10 days after bite and halo rash for a only a very short time 17 days after bite. I know you can have Lyme and never see a rash, so I'm lucky this rash showed and prompted me to get to the Dr. If a tick really gets me in the future (attached more than 8 hours), I'm just gonna get the doxy without waiting. BTW, Dr said I'm the third tick bite she's seen this month. :(

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Damn- that is just shit luck!

Feel for you. Being sick in general blows.
 
SAM said:
Some might think there is a tick "season" but that is wrong. I knew ticks can be active any time of the year but am naturally a little less vigilant in the winter months. Rode Allaire Jan 5th (temp in mid-50s) and picked up one of the tiny versions (nymph?) that I didn't catch. Found it embedded pretty good on the 7th and had to dig it out. Made quite a hole.

A week ago I got a long lasting low grade illness (covid negative) that lasted all week. Just bad enuf so I couldn't ride. I'm thinking could this be Lyme? It's been more than a week since the tick bite. Maybe just a cold? Bite spot seemed itchier than usual while it was healing, but no rash or halo. Last night the bite area was very itchy and there was the halo rash. Rash started to fade immediately and was gone this morning. Went the the Dr today to get my doxy prescription

It was a surprise to me what a slow burn this was for symptoms to appear. Sick 10 days after bite and halo rash for a only a very short time 17 days after bite. I know you can have Lyme and never see a rash, so I'm lucky this rash showed and prompted me to get to the Dr. If a tick really gets me in the future (attached more than 8 hours), I'm just gonna get the doxy without waiting. BTW, Dr said I'm the third tick bite she's seen this month. :(

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That sucks. Hope you heal quickly.

I pulled a tick off my son's neck on Friday. Just another consequence of warmer overall temperatures.
 
I took my dog down to preserve in Sayreville twice this week, both times I came back with a tick crawling on me. Ticks are going to rampant this summer thanks to the mild temps this winter.
 
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I probably stated this earlier, but if there isn't snow cover or temps below 20ish degrees, ticks are out on those branches looking for your blood. If there is snow cover or temps below that range, they are "hibernating" under the leaf cover. They do not die (unless there is a prolonged cold snap of below freezing temps) because they contain some type of chemical makeup that resembles antifreeze.

The ONLY things you can do are spray your clothes with permethrin and preferably wear pants coated as well, bike during or immediately after rainy days like today, or do early morning 4-8am rides when dew is still abundant.

I see people letting their dogs roam freely in the woods, or even on trails and I do not understand how those owners deal with the ticks. Where I am in the DWGNRA, from my observations, there are roughly two ticks per square yard of ground. That's insane. I'd say that rail trails and paved paths are the only relatively safe areas even though you still have to check afterwards because there is a good chance of finding a rogue tick. I just took a walk around the well traveled White Lake trail in Blairstown at night while making sure my dog was on dirt with ground up leaves and brushing up against any weed or twig. Still found three on him for that 1hr fast walk. And that means he is grounded for the season until we get snow.

More needs to be done. We need some major wildfires (which have been studied and are known to drastically reduce tick populations over the long term) and I really hope that someone will come up with a spray that can kill these ****** that can be applied just like the gypsy moth air attacks.
 
I was dealing with a lot of ticks in my back yard a few years back. Reading up on landscaping (short version, long version) helped to gain a lot of understanding in how ticks behave. It also led me to make a lot of changes in my yard.

That research is a bit older at this point, I'm sure the understanding has evolved more. However, I still find this info to be useful.
 
rlb said:
I was dealing with a lot of ticks in my back yard a few years back. Reading up on landscaping (short version, long version) helped to gain a lot of understanding in how ticks behave. It also led me to make a lot of changes in my yard.

That research is a bit older at this point, I'm sure the understanding has evolved more. However, I still find this info to be useful.
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Spreading diatomaceous earth on your lawn also helps. Basically rips their guts to shreds. However it must be reapplied after every rain and even dew decreases the effectiveness. Can be purchased at pet food stores or tractor supply. And it is non harmful to humans and pets.
 
Relatively new here, but not to the outdoors. Permethrin is an exceptional barrier for putting on your clothes, but there is one warning you all should know.

Permethrin is extremely toxic to your pet cats.

If you don't have cats or are not around them, then no worries. And yes, technically when it is dry it is safe for cats, however I would not risk it.

This is going to be a bad year (I feel like this is said every year now) and just wanted to say, use Permethrin as much as you can on your clothing but please be cautious about your cats.
 
mtn said:
Spreading diatomaceous earth on your lawn also helps. Basically rips their guts to shreds. However it must be reapplied after every rain and even dew decreases the effectiveness. Can be purchased at pet food stores or tractor supply. And it is non harmful to humans and pets.
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The theory is that since its so hygroscopic, it sticks to insects and kills them through dehydration. On your lawn, this is going to absorb any moisture very quickly, so you'd have to put a shit-ton down to give it an hours worth of effectiveness and ensure it comes into contact with any ticks. Inside your house however its maybe a different story, but you'll have to deal with the dust. I think that keeping your lawn mowed and yard tidy is probably the more efficacious solution.
 
Captain Brainstorm said:
I think that keeping your lawn mowed and yard tidy is probably the more efficacious solution.
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Yeah that's pretty much what I was getting at w/ the links I posted.

Before (actually, this was with some prior cleanup already) and after pics of my yard
 

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I've been riding in the woods for 30 years and have been bitten maybe twice and have gotten rid of only a few crawlers. My recommendation for avoiding them is this: don't stop. If you do need to stop, do so in a clearing or rocky area. Tall grass/brush is their favorite environment. If you need to crash, don't land in the weeds.
 
Captain Brainstorm said:
The theory is that since its so hygroscopic, it sticks to insects and kills them through dehydration. On your lawn, this is going to absorb any moisture very quickly, so you'd have to put a shit-ton down to give it an hours worth of effectiveness and ensure it comes into contact with any ticks. Inside your house however its maybe a different story, but you'll have to deal with the dust. I think that keeping your lawn mowed and yard tidy is probably the more efficacious solution.
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The DT works for me. I just toss a bunch of it in the lawn spreader and do some laps around the lawn. If I don’t, usually a tick or two get on my dog or I. And it’s very very well kept up on, though pesticides are not used. 50lb bag lasts a while.
 
Piston Honda said:
What's the logic behind this?
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Not entirely sure, but I have come to believe that they tend to dislike moisture, or find that there are not as many hosts out at that time.

Paticklab on IG or other social media is a good follow for tips and tricks and other info. Great resource there.
 
Several times I've scared up deer on tight single track and had them run along in front of me until they find their spot to get off the trail. It is pretty clear that deer and presumably other critters use the trails. That may be why there are so many ticks along and next to the trails. Not stopping might help but can you avoid brushing against low overgrowth and branches that ticks like to climb and attach to a critter when it passes? I try to not touch the growth on the sides of trails but with tight single track it's nearly impossible.

Really, there is no substitute for a thorough tick check after every ride. Every time. The one time I got lazy, I paid for it.

I check after I've been in the garden as well, until I can spray the area with zeta-cypermethrin, which works well. For the dogs, I use Simparico Trio. If ticks bite, they die and fall off before disease (such as Lyme and others) is transmitted, according to studies. It's very expensive but safe and I haven't found any ticks on the dogs since I started using it. Couldn't keep up with the ticks they'd pick up just on leashed walks prior to that.
 
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