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I have a hillside with some brush, trees, English Ivy and Virginia creeper (and some Cat's Briar) I was going to go out there and trim the weeds and brush....but now I'm thinking I might just call my landscaping guy and let him do it.
I've never had an issue, but every time I see comments like these.....I start wondering if I really want to take any chances.
Are ticks usually in suburban areas?......I live in Maryland near DC.
I believe I read that Central Pennsylvania is now the part of the US with the most Lyme Disease cases per year. If it's there, I'd have to believe it would be down in Maryland too.
Its very rare to be infected by Naegleria, the amount of cases has been so few, even with how much more widespread it has become, it has been moving further and further north in recent years and it will continue to extend its reach through climate change, more warmer bodies of water means more potential living space.
Nose clips are a good way to help prevent a possible infection because while it is rare, when an infection of parasitic meningitis occurs, it is almost always fatal, only 1-2 people have ever survived an infection I believe.
Another thing is to not kick up the sediment at the bottom of a lake or river, that is where the amoeba resides and why so often the victims end up being young boys that were playing around, having a grand old time in the water and then came down with an infection.
I thought they were only dangerous in very still water. They can be in rivers too?
Just the ocean and swimming pools for me if that's the case . . .
My daughter got sick from a tick bite. It wasn't Lyme or RMSF, but it was a rickettsial illness caused by a tick. Her symptoms were muscle aches, chills and spots on the palms of her hands, similar to the photo on the first page of this thread. We were really lucky it wasn't worse. Her pediatrician is really smart and guessed from the rash that it might be something related to a tick bite, and he sent her for blood tests. Two weeks of tetracycline cleared it up.
Our pediatrician said the best way to prevent it is to treat household pets for ticks. I was using a spot treatment on my dogs but my neighbors had 5 dogs who were not being treated (you could look through the fence and see the ticks hanging off them) and our houses are close together. I dusted the perimeter of the yard with diatomaceous earth and also told my neighbor that my kid had gotten sick from a tick bite (didn't mention it was probably because he wasn't caring for his pets well enough), and that it could have been really serious if it wasn't treated as quickly as it was. The neighbor had two small kids and his roommates had three small kids, so they treated all their dogs and their yard, and we quit finding ticks in the yard after that.
One thing that I've heard is that the tick has to be attached for at least 12 hours to transmit disease, so you can reduce your risk by checking for ticks anytime you've been outdoors in an area where ticks are common.
I have a hillside with some brush, trees, English Ivy and Virginia creeper (and some Cat's Briar) I was going to go out there and trim the weeds and brush....but now I'm thinking I might just call my landscaping guy and let him do it.
I've never had an issue, but every time I see comments like these.....I start wondering if I really want to take any chances.
Are ticks usually in suburban areas?......I live in Maryland near DC.
There are ticks in suburban areas. Tuck your pants into socks and tuck in your shirt. Pretreat your clothing with permethrin. I started doing that years ago. If you're outside for a long time, roll a sticky lint pick-up over your clothing. When you go in, roll up those cloths and put them in a bag. If there's a tick in there, the permethrin will kill it. Take a shower and do a tick check. I haven't had a problem in decades.
One thing that I've heard is that the tick has to be attached for at least 12 hours to transmit disease, so you can reduce your risk by checking for ticks anytime you've been outdoors in an area where ticks are common.
Unfortunately, we recently learned that tick-borne diseases aren't the only thing to worry about. My husband got a tick on his leg while mowing the lawn and we didn't worry or think much about it because we removed it within a couple of hours. A week or so later, he ended up in the ER twice and needed IV antibiotics. He had developed a staph infection at the site of the tick bite.
Just thinking how humid it's been this summer in So Cal compared to relative we should look more closely than normal. I used to MB or hike with white socks just so I can check easily
My son has removed a bunch of ticks this summer from working outside. One of his best friends also had an outdoor summer job and got RMSP. Fortunately, his dad is a doctor and recognized the symptoms immediately.
Seriously, watch yourself people, especially those on the coast/east coast/mid west. Besides all the other diseases ticks spread like this woman got, an extreme case, Lyme disease alone is huge:
My sister got bit by a tick about 20 years ago when she was on vacation on the New England coast. It was misdiagnosed left and right and developed into chronic Lyme. Antibiotics keep flareups somewhat at bay but to this day, she still has a host of serious health issues that no antibiotic, even intravenous, or anything else she has tried up/down/sideways after all these years can get rid of that what is now entrenched in her body. One of the other things the tick passed on to her was something that can damage one's heart. And I know many other people who have been through some serious health issues being bit by a tick in various parts of the country, mostly on the east coast. More than a few of them didn't know they got bit, no bulls-eye rash, etc. And got bit in their own backyard with no high weeds, weren't hiking, etc.
We live in the suburbs near Phoenix. Nice to live here in the low desert, one of the few parts of the country where we don't have to deal with ticks/what they can spread. As someone else said, it's amazing how people get scared of scorpions and snakes which btw aren't always easy to find in our parts as many believe. Yet most people don't even give a thought to ticks and what they can pass on to people. At least I know where I stand with a scorpion or a snake. And people can avoid them for the most part and they are not aggressive and want to leave people alone. Not so easy with ticks given how wide spread they are in many parts of the country. And their need to feed on anything with blood in them when ever they get the opportunity.
Like West Nile Virus from mosquitoes wasn't enough!
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