Deer ticks and Lyme disease (Penn: schools, camping, inspection)

[amstel78]

I've been reading up on Lyme disease in PA, and now I'm concerned. According to the CDC, Pennsylvania has the highest confirmed cases of Lyme disease out of all US states. I've got two little ones, and their health is a primary concern of mine.

What are you folks using to generally lower chances of deer ticks on your property? Is there an effective pesticide available that isn't too harmful to children, and that can be applied to your yard? What other methods, apart from general prevention techniques, do you guys use to minimize getting bitten by ticks?

[fisheye]

We have ducks and also many wild turkeys prowl our property. We also have some deer. So far (in the 38 years we have lived at this location) we have not had problems with deer tics or regular tics. We think that the ducks and turkeys eat most anything that crawls. Our ducks even eat gypsy moths and their eggs. However; we have not taught them how to climb our trees to get the moths and egg clusters off the ground. We will have to work on that.

[theatergypsy]

The tick is a very small critter...Looks a lot like a freckle...Once it digs in and buries its head in the skin, it begins to feed on blood and slowly grows to look like a fat gray pea. If you bathe your children every day, you can give a quick inspection while they're in the tub...The kids, not the ticks...Lyme disease is not rampant and is generally treated with antibiotics...Every locale has something to worry about...Be vigilant and you should be fine.

[DE_NePA]

Originally Posted by nepadaisy

If you do get bit, or exhibit symptoms, make sure you know which blood test your doctor should be using and what the optimal medication protocol should be. It's probably not going to be what's offered.


YouTube - ~7~ SEVEN LYME FACTS THAT COULD HAVE SAVED ME!!!

Our 14 year old daughter was (finally) diagnosed March 17. She's been out of schools since Mach 1 with constant headache, sproadic blurred/double vision, balance issues, fatigue, heart palpitations and confusion. Every symptom mentioned in the video. But for the last year and a half, she's had sporadic headaches, and stomach pain which we look back at and wonder if these were precursors. She has never had a tick on her that we are aware of, never had the rash.
We are almost 3 weeks into a 30 day antibiotic regimen, with a second one having been added 5 days ago.
This is a nasty disease.

[Huskyz]

For what it is worth there are services that will spray your property for ticks. The need and results will vary of course. This is one in CT that I am familiar with. They used big, commercial spraying equipment that seemed capable of getting into and under a lot of the scrubby stuff where ticks reside.

Of course they won't come to PA but it may provide you with something to evaluate and look for locally. If someone knows of similar PA services, maybe they can post.

Tick Control

[Annie53]

I have found that you can drastically cut down the amount of ticks in your yard by keeping the grass REALLY short.

I keep my mower on the lowest setting it has. They say this is not good for the grass, but I don't care. My grass seems just fine BTW.

[1AngryTaxPayer]

Originally Posted by Annie53

I have found that you can drastically cut down the amount of ticks in your yard by keeping the grass REALLY short.

I keep my mower on the lowest setting it has. They say this is not good for the grass, but I don't care. My grass seems just fine BTW.

Trouble with short grass is the crab grass will take over. I let my grass get really long so it chokes out the cg.

I hate ticks and it's that time again in the mts. So far I haven't had any stick but a buddy had one on the outside of his cheek!

[Jellybean50]

The deer ticks like high, WEEDY grass. They dont really stay on yard-type grass. They are in woods and/or meadows. They may be all around your yard if you live in that type of area - but more than likely they are not right on the grass.

As people have said - check your kids. If they are scratching the same place a lot - check it very closely - the tick will be very small.

We now use a liquid bug repellant that works for ticks also. I ordered it off of Amazon.com - i dont have the bottle right here to look at to see the brand. We use that becuz we DO walk in our woods, and weeds (we garden), and my sister and i have both had Lyme Disease. A powder you can use around your yard is Sevin Dust.

Yes the treatment was antibiotics - for 4 weeks. Mine nauseated me the whole time, so it was no fun. (I live in rural Southwestern NJ.)

[amstel78]

Thank you all for great feedback. Seems my pest guy who does termite and fire ant protection also sprays the yards for ticks. I'll get more info from him when he comes to service the property next week.

[bloominscranton]

I come from LI where we have a large deer population and a large lyme disease population from said deer pop. My eldest sister has been living with this disease since the late 1970's. Thankfully, she is the only one in my large extended family on the island that has had to deal with it.

While hiking, wear long sleeves of cotton, long pants with white socks )for easy viewing of the lil critters) pulled over and outside the bottom of your pant leg. Hats on for men, women and the kiddies. and always, always, check head, hair, groan, etc. after any exposure to tall grasses. Also please remember to check your pets as well. If a tick is found and removed it at home, bag it and tag it and take to your doctor, if antiboitcs are started within I beleive 3 days no severe long lasting issues have been reported I BELEIVE LONG TERM OUT @ 5 YR AND 10 YR. f/u studies.

Pesticeds (sp?) are also of some benefit, but I personally do not like to use them...Happy hiking, camping, fishing, hunting,...I thing y'all got it!