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AncientCraftwork

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Ticks
Apr 14^th, 2020 at 1:55pm

Ticks. How do you deal with ticks?
To me it feels like their populations have greatly expanded. When I was a kid I used to run around nature quite a lot but never got a tick. These days it's hard to walk a 100 meters off trail without some of these bastards climbing up on my pants.

As far as I know I've never been bitten and I intend to keep it that way. I only go out in the fields and forests with wellington boots these days and long pants tucked in socks and everything else tucked in nicely. I never go barefeet or with shorts anymore. I also don't wear camo pants so I can easily spot them if they get on my pants.

As for camping, I will never choose a tarp setup and/or sleep on the ground. It's always gonna be a hammock. I also walk more strategically and try to avoid any long growth. Are there many ticks in your area?

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vetryan15 Slinging.org Moderator Offline Slinging Rocks! Posts: 1913 Northern Maine Gender:	Re: Ticks Reply #1 - Apr 14^th, 2020 at 2:36pm We dont have too many ticks, we are too far north. But a 4 hour drive wil have a ton of ticks. I got 20 acres, and can do whatever i want. We started a flock. Chickens, ducks, turkeys, and Guinea fowl. The guinea fowl are known for eating ticks.. into our 2nd year, we haven't seen any ticks since we moved up from NJ
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Kick past-moderator Offline Posts: 4451 Finland	Re: Ticks Reply #2 - Apr 14^th, 2020 at 3:24pm Here in Finland, the ticks are moving further and further North each year (thanks climate change!) For the most part they're out in the forest. They aren't so much in the parks. There are various sprays and such to keep them off and tick treatments for pets. But yeah I hate them.
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AncientCraftwork

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Re: Ticks
Reply #3 - Apr 14^th, 2020 at 3:46pm

vetryan15 wrote on Apr 14^th, 2020 at 2:36pm:

We dont have too many ticks, we are too far north. But a 4 hour drive wil have a ton of ticks. I got 20 acres, and can do whatever i want. We started a flock. Chickens, ducks, turkeys, and Guinea fowl. The guinea fowl are known for eating ticks.. into our 2nd year, we haven't seen any ticks since we moved up from NJ

Many beaked animals eat ticks, ravens like them too

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joe_meadmaker

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Re: Ticks
Reply #4 - Apr 14^th, 2020 at 7:00pm

I see them here and there. Although it's not usually me that has them. My cat goes outside whenever she wants, so she picks them up. Two years ago it was really bad. It seemed like every time she went out she had one on her. Last year wasn't anywhere near as bad. She had one crawling on her the other day. We'll see how the rest of this year goes.

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Rat Man

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Re: Ticks
Reply #5 - Apr 14^th, 2020 at 7:05pm

As vetryn will verify, the ticks are horrible here in New Jersey. In that we really didn't have a Winter this year the ticks should be worse than ever. How do I deal with it?
The nice little woods near my house is full of deer. Also it's full of Deer Ticks. I've had Lyme Disease, as most of you know. It was an extreme case that took fourteen years to drive into remission. My late wife, daughter, and several of my dogs have had it too. So starting just about now when the ticks are about to come out until November I stay out of our woods.
The dogs get Avdantix (a monthly topical flea and tick killer) from March through November.
That said, we still get some ticks on us. Ticks are a way of life here.
When I was a kid we practically lived in the woods. We got ticks on us all the time. So did my dog, Poochie. We pulled them off and didn't worry about it. It was part of playing in the woods. There was no Lyme Disease back then.

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« Last Edit: Apr 15^th, 2020 at 1:19pm by Rat Man »

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JudoP Funditor Offline Rocks away! Posts: 938 UK	Re: Ticks Reply #6 - Apr 14^th, 2020 at 7:12pm I had a bunch on me when I used to do archery outdoors. Tuck everything in and douse yourself in insect repellent was what I did. Oh, and don't walk through/in ferns. Ticks love ferns.
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slingbadger Interfector Viris Spurii Offline Don't Badger a Badger Posts: 3220 Akron NY Gender:	Re: Ticks Reply #7 - Apr 15^th, 2020 at 6:33am Opossums are tick eating machines. The more you have, the less ticks. Don't bother them. The nature preserve I work at have them. They hang out at the top of tall plants and latch onto targets. Avoid tall grasses.
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Morphy

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Re: Ticks
Reply #8 - Apr 15^th, 2020 at 10:47am

When I lived in Cali I would get ticks crawling on me all the time. Somehow I never had one bite me though my wife did. I’ve always tended towards a lower body temp so who knows maybe I’m less appealing to them than other people. Horrible creatures though. Like mosquitos if they all died off tomorrow the world would be a better place for it.

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Rat Man Slinging.org Administrator Offline Slinging Rocks! Posts: 13682 New Jersey, USA Gender:	Re: Ticks Reply #9 - Apr 15^th, 2020 at 1:32pm It's not really the tick's fault but just one tick can carry a host of diseases. Lyme Disease, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Epstein Barr Syndrome, etc. I read about one single tick that was carrying twenty six diseases. UGH.
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AncientCraftwork

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Re: Ticks
Reply #10 - Apr 16^th, 2020 at 5:16am

Rat Man wrote on Apr 15^th, 2020 at 1:32pm:

It's not really the tick's fault but just one tick can carry a host of diseases. Lyme Disease, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Epstein Barr Syndrome, etc. I read about one single tick that was carrying twenty six diseases. UGH.

The deer ticks are especially prevalent here, sadly it's one of the extra dangerous ones.
Yesterday I was walking on a trail and by scanning the tall grasses you'll see them sitting on the tops, the little bastards

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walter Interfector Viris Spurii Offline Slinging Rocks! Posts: 2453	Re: Ticks Reply #11 - Apr 16^th, 2020 at 9:00am Fire kills them Burn your yard and woodlot every couple three years. It is called a cool burn. Just hot enough to singe the bark on trees. Used to call it a controlled burn. but more than a few got out of control The forest service now calls them "perscribed burns"
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Rat Man Slinging.org Administrator Offline Slinging Rocks! Posts: 13682 New Jersey, USA Gender:	Re: Ticks Reply #12 - Apr 17^th, 2020 at 1:33pm When I was a kid we mostly got the big Wood Ticks on us. Though they were around we almost never saw Deer Ticks. Right around the time people started getting Lyme Disease Lone Star Ticks (see picture) showed up. They are very common here now. I always suspected that there was a connection.
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Rat Man

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Re: Ticks
Reply #13 - Apr 17^th, 2020 at 1:36pm

vetryan15 wrote on Apr 14^th, 2020 at 2:36pm:

We dont have too many ticks, we are too far north. But a 4 hour drive wil have a ton of ticks. I got 20 acres, and can do whatever i want. We started a flock. Chickens, ducks, turkeys, and Guinea fowl. The guinea fowl are known for eating ticks.. into our 2nd year, we haven't seen any ticks since we moved up from NJ

Guinea Fowl will eat a hellacious amount of ticks. Jersey townships back in the Pines were giving them away to people for free for tick control.

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slingbadger Interfector Viris Spurii Offline Don't Badger a Badger Posts: 3220 Akron NY Gender:	Re: Ticks Reply #14 - Apr 18^th, 2020 at 6:35am Right now it turned cold again, so the ticks are dormant, but in the summer i always carry, I kid you not, badgerbalm. It's all natural and it works.
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