Ticks?

[Tricia]

I moved up here in 1995 and spent many hours out in the woods in college (forestry major). Mosquitos and black flies were the two pests we had to deal with. Two years ago, we couldn't go out for even a small hike without coming across ticks. Last year was the same way. We'd take precautions and still come home with at least one of us with a tick or two. One time we just took a few steps on a trail and already had one on us.

This year, we haven't come across any yet. Has anyone else seem them?

[dcclark]

Oh man, I hate ticks! A lot!! The last few years, I've had quite a few tick problems, including one memorable trip to Vista Falls (which is located in the Keweenaw space-time vortex, right next to Crestview and the Gratiot River Upper Falls) after which I spent nearly 30 minutes removing all ticks from myself, and still didn't get them all.

This year has been better than the last few. So far, I've only found very few ticks. Even this weekend, after going thoroughly off-trail in the cliffs (and after a few days of rain, when it was nice and warm), I didn't find any ticks at all.

I would not mind one bit if the tick population was dying down this year!

[Tricia]

Your response is comforting! I was really, really hoping the cool weather killed them off. Or maybe their population is in a cycle and we hit the high point the last few years and now it is going to die down.

I don't even want to ask how many ticks you ended up with at Vista Falls *shiver*

[Bill In Indiana]

Was in the manistique area over the weekend and the ticks were pretty thick....anyplace with trees and we had plenty.

That takes me to a question some of us were discussing over the weekend. What is up with ticks? I'm 47 and never saw them till the last ten years or so. My Dad used to hunt camp and fish the UP 50 years ago or so and never saw a tick. Anyone know why they are so common now?

[Tricia]

Our son got his first one yesterday

No idea why they are so common now. I thought I read once that there are a lot concentrated on the West side of the state - like they are moving their way East.

[Corvus]

I think tick population varies a lot with the location and season. Around Minneapolis, the average peak seems to be the last couple weeks of May and maybe a week into June. They will be around all summer, but it is those 2-3 weeks that they just seem to rain out of the trees, and you can’t walk in the woods without coming home and finding several ticks on you. But some years such as this one, the explosion of ticks in late May does not seem to happen, so I think they have their banner years and lean years

The main thing is to check for them and get them off as soon as possible. I have found that even if they are attached, they come off easily and don’t leave their heads as people often caution about. If they are attached for a day or so, I find that, after removal, the site gets itchy and somewhat irritated for several days, but then it heals OK. I do not know of any significant disease that they can transmit, but they apparently do transfer something that causes irritation in the bite. Possibly that could be serious for some peope depending on the reation. I am referring only to wood ticks.

I have probably picked up at least a few thousand wood ticks in my life, but I have never even seen a deer tick. Those are the ones you really have to worry about because of Lyme Disease. I have known people who claim to run into deer ticks all the time, so I don’t know why I never see them. However, I always wonder if people who claim to see a lot of deer ticks are confusing them with wood ticks. I have noticed that every time TV does a little public information piece on deer ticks and Lyme disease, they show wood ticks, so apparently they don’t know the difference.

[Tricia]

I made the mistake of looking up a picture of a wood tick (to see which type we often see) and made the mistake of looking at this picture. Eek!!

http://2aday.files.wordpress.com/2007/03/wood-tick.JPG

[dcclark]

Aaaaaargh, my eyes!!

So after saying that we hadn't had a tick problem yet, somehow in the last two days, we've found a tick each day in the house! What's even weirder is that, with the bad weather, I didn't even get out in the woods this weekend.

Luckily, they've all been the big (no-Lyme) kinds.

[Corvus]

I made the mistake of looking up a picture of a wood tick (to see which type we often see) and made the mistake of looking at this picture. Eek!!

http://2aday.files.wordpress.com/2007/03/wood-tick.JPG

Wow, that must be a real closeup of the mouth. It looks like they are all business.

[Quarterbackgr]

I got one from in the woods in Covington this weekend..... I think that's where i got it