Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Just pulled a Lone Star Tick off DH. Must have landed on him today while he was out in the yard. Only thing we can figure since it was so windy, it came from a tree in the woodline. It was attached inside his hip bone so it definitely did some crawling to get there. He got info online to hold the tick with blunt nose tweezers close to its head putting enough gentle pressure to pull his skin away from his body. It released, mouth parts and all, in about 3 minutes.
We've only been in NC since last summer but the ticks seem much worse this year. I've heard because of the warmer weather earlier but who knows.
We pulled a tick off my 8 year old last night. Well actually he found it himself during his bath.
I read the same as you for removing ticks but its not that easy once they secure themselves. I read that they crawl onto you and spend a couple of hours crawling around looking for a prime spot. THEN it not only puts its head in but somehow glues itself to you with a substance it secretes. Once that glue is in place, its harder to remove them. I think this is why the alcohol works so well, it must counter the glue allowing the tick to be pulled out (or pull itself out).
The one my son found last night was crawling around still (just an hour or so after coming in from playing outside). The longer the tick is on, the more chance of any issues. SO we've resumed our nightly tick check that we used to do last year but stopped because we never found any ticks. I even give my boys the once over after coming inside, even if they are going back out. And the buzz cuts are next to make it easier to see (thankfully my boys have light hair).
The "hold on to it" method worked very well. It hadn't been attached for long because it wasn't bloated yet so maybe that helped the easy removal? I read not all of them cement their jaws into the skin. Anyway, just an option for those who might not have alcohol (or any other "remedy") readily available. The ticks worry me since both my girls have dark hair...seeing those things in their hair will be very difficult.
Okay, so if I get frontline for my dogs, the ticks don't dig in?? Will they still have them on them??? This is really so foreign, it almost seems sci-fi, to think that every night you have to check all over your body for something that has basically eaten its way into your skin?? Do they go all the way in eventually?? If they do go in, do they just live inside of you??? Sorry if those are stupid questions, but I think of all the threads we have had about snakes, and I would welcome them into my yard compared to ticks. Ugh
Our friend back in Raleigh called my sister over the weekend to say her dog had gotten a tick on it. My sister told her to pour hydrogen peroxide on it. Surprise - the darn thing backed out of the dog and land in our friend's lap. EEEWWWWWW!!! But the hydrogen peroxide worked.
Hi all, I just thought I'd let you know that alcohol and other chemicals are not a good idea to use for tick removal. While it does "seem to work" (kills the tick or the tick unlatches) it actually increases the risk of the spread of tick borne diseases because the tick can actually release it's gut contents when traumatized.
Pulling it out gently with tweezers is the most effective way to remove them without having them inject more of their secretions and gut contents into your body.
And for the poster who asked, not ticks do not crawl all the way inside your body. They embed their beads only and their bodies stick out. If not removed, they will eventually just fall off once they engorge with blood, but it's important to get them off ASAP because of the risk of tick related diseases.
I hope that helps! My brother in law is a vet and I asked him about the alcohol method and why it wasn't a good idea to use it.
We are from Mass and moving to Cary. We have pulle dout more ticks than I'd like to say. We found a FANTASTIC product called TALSTAR. You spread it like fertilizer on the outer area of your yard and the ticks don't come in.
If you get a tick use cooking oil...it allows them to not breath but able to back out. When it seems like they've back out as far as they can. Grab them with the tweezers and pull straight back.
Once out clean area well. Unfortunately, the ticks that carry lime disease are so small you would probably never see them. As gross as they are, the good news is you could see this one, you child should be fine. Keep checking for infection and a doctor could give an antibiotic.
Gardens Alive has natural treatments for pests... http://www.gardensalive.com/product.asp?pn=8795
"Only from Gardens Alive! The garden workers at the Gardens Alive! test farm are sold on this product! Outdoors throughout the gardening year, they were the perfect group to test a repellent for some of the most common annoying -- and hazardous -- biting bugs on the continent. Of course, it had to be strong enough to work well but gentle enough for frequent, even everyday, use. This is it! Mosquitoes, ticks and black flies hate it. So they stay away."
...is effective for 3 hours. In a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine, Sting Free outperformed all other natural formulations tested to protect against mosquito bites-and it was the only product to come close to lasting as long as a DEET product does.
I've not used their products, but would like to try going the natural route.
I've not used their products, but would like to try going the natural route.
I'm not sure if its the same product or not but we purchased something called "mosquito barrier" that is said to eliminate ticks, fleas and mosquitos. You spray it on your property. Let me find hte link;
We haven't used it yet but I bought it on recommendation from several on another NC board who used it successfully (sorry, can't recall the board now).
We are going to spray it soon, so will report back.
Lauren
Well, being from Northern Cali, I can tell you we did have ticks there, and if you do not know it, ticks drop on you from Trees. People keep Guinneia hens here to help rid thier lawns of ticks. That is why you will see them clustered around trees, there after the ticks. If you do get a tick, gently pull it out "in the direction it went in" and save it is a plastic ziploc bag until YOU heal 100%
If the sore becomes worse, take yourself, and the tick to the Doctor. Brush your Kids & pets when the come in from outside as well.
Tick free since 93!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Accurate information
