Ticks are NO fun! If you, or someone you know, has been bitten by one, you certainly know this to be true.
As RVers, it’s important you know where ticks are most commonly found and how you can avoid being bit by one. Since they’re so prevalent, we’ve written quite a few articles about them so you know the dangers and how to avoid them. Find those articles here.
Have you ever been bitten by a tick that you had to remove from your body? What was that experience like and where were you? Tell us in the comments after you vote.
I owned a 15 acre parcel of land we lived on in N. AL for 23 yrs, about 2/3 was woods and I’ve gotten ticks many times wailing in the woods or the pasture. Always used nail polish painted on their behind to remove them. Ticks breathe through their behind as their head is buried in you skin, a little dab of nail polish on the back side and a couple minutes later it backs out making it easy to test its swimming capabilities by dropping in in the toilet, they don’t swim either.
Many many tick adventures. For some reason the worst ones have been in my ears. Worst memory was my grandpa sticking a needle in the tick that was firmly in bedded inside my ear, lighting a match to the needle until the tick backed out. Try to keep a seven year old quiet while heating up a needle in her ear.
Yes, but not the one that gave me Lyme disease. Never saw that one or the bite.
Growing up on a farm, I remember dealing with ticks on multiple occasions. I also may be one of not too many who received the Lyme tick vaccine. It wasn’t on the market very long due to lack of demand but I understand it’s back to address renewed interest.
Ticks are a fact of life in the South. You do not want to get bitten (fed upon) by the tiny Lone Star tick. It’s fluid swapping with your blood will completely change your allergies. Spouse was bitten by one. Can no longer eat any product from a mammal. Can you imagine a diet composed completely of poultry and seafood?Really, no bacon.
Now go to a restaurant and tell them your food cannot even touch the mammal products, including the same stove as mammal products are cooked on.
I don’t ever remember getting bitten by a tick. I did just remove one from my hand a couple of days ago, saw it crawling and it made the most satisfying sound as I crushed it.
Ticks in the South are a fact of life. After walks in the woods we check each other for ticks. Nasty things can happen if they are not removed promptly, Lyme Disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (which can result in heart damage) at the top of the list.
Living on 50 acres in rural Missouri, we have had many encounters with ticks. I have found what works best for me is to cover the tick with a drop of Super Glue and wait for it to dry. It kills the tick, stops the itch, and within a day or so the whole things is removable, usually leaving no mark and no residual itch.
Disgusting creatures! Our chickens keep them under control on our property, but there are lots in the fields & forests around us. One got embedded between my shoulder blades, completely unreachable. Had to visit urgent care to get that one extracted.
Ticks not only carry Lyme Disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, but a really nasty disease called Ehrlichiosis. It is an uncommon disease and symptoms include fever, chills, muscle aches, headache, and upset stomach. The fever (in my case) resulted in a febrile seizure, and an overnight stay in Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville. It can cause renal and respiratory failure.
I can’t count the number of times I’ve had “attached” ticks in my lifetime. Being an avid outdoorsman I am exposed a lot. All but one that attached were caught quickly and easily removed, but one deer tick buried in my back and had to be “surgically” removed. Fortunately, it was not carrying Lymes.
Years ago, in SE MN, all we had were American Dog ticks. Generally being much larger it was easy to detect them. Then the Black Legged (Deer Tick) showed up a couple of decades ago. They have become so thick in places near me that a springtime walk in the woods can have one literally brushing them off clothes. Mandatory “strip search” after any time in the woods here!
Dogs need to be on a tick preventer and also thoroughly checked after walks in the woods or fields. Lymes vaccinations are important. In late March this year my wife and I removed nearly 50 crawling deer ticks off our three dogs after I had gone through a particularly brushy area on a walk.
Nasty little things. Always picking ticks from spring to winter. From a kid fishing to hunting to yard work. It’s a game of vigilance. It’s like fighting mosquitos. Worked with a gentleman that had Lyme disease that he caught while in boy Scouts in Connecticut. The medical issue he has had from food reactions to affecting the body and functions off. Not nice stuff.
I’m reading about all the remedies for getting the ticks out & found it very interesting using nail polish & super glue. I’ve not personally gotten a tick bite but as a kid one of my friends did. The way his dad removed it was really cool, as he took one of those 5 cent coke bottles & lit a match & dropped it in & quickly put the bottle hole over the tic & wow it sucked the little critter out, it was amazing to see that as a kid, not to mention the 5 cent cokes!
Snoopy
Nail polish is for chiggers not ticks.
Yes, numerous times since I was 7 or 8 years of age (presently age 65).
First time I visited my son in Texas! Ouch! Was visiting my new grandson in the hospital and the nurses told me (when I showed them the “bites”) to put nail polish on them, did an it worked fine. Learned quick to avoid walking through the tall grass as much as possible from then on!
If it was just bites and nail polish did the trick, that was chiggers not ticks. Ticks have to be removed. You have to kill chiggers. From Texas, lived on ten acres once with a pond had to spray yourself anytime you wanted to fish. Chiggers
Twice. In the 1950s my mom used the old blown out match trick & killed the tick embedded at my hairline on my neck. Doctor had to remove it. 1987 one was in my arm pit looking enough to get really big & give me Lyme disease. I hate ticks.
Just last week I had a tick attach to my back. Was able to get it removed and no lasting problems
Countless times. Was raised in the country and spent my childhood playing in the woods. It was just part of life back then.
It seems about once every decade one gets me. I just pull them out and fortunately have never suffered any ill effects.
Several DECADES ago, I lived on Long Island, NY. Lime’s Disease had been recognized then as being a tick borne disease. After working (or was it hiking?) outside, I noticed a tick had attached itself to me. I called my MD who told me to come right in. He removed the tick and had it tested. I lucked out and was not infected but, I know others who were not so lucky. Long term, untreated Lime’s Disease can cause all sorts of problems.
Yes more as a child than as an adult. I’m 65 we lived in the country and pretty much ran wild. Lol Got into a lot of things we shouldn’t have!
yes but decades ago when i was but a wee lad.
I remember my dad using a cigarette on one as a little boy back in the 50s. I have encountered a bunch of them back in the 80s in Western Missouri. We literally had to “bug bomb” our trailer when we got home. I know a guy who claims we didn’t have as many when people were burning leaves and such. I wonder if that’s true.
where we live there aren’t any ticks
We live in a wooded area in North Florida. In the spring and sometimes early fall, we have plenty of deer ticks. Just walking around our yard you will find a least one or two that have hitched a ride. They like to hide where clothing is tight on the skin. Such as a belt line, etc. If they have been on you for a day or two they are more difficult to remove. I try and inspect myself when I get in the house. Sometimes your spouse needs to help.
Many times, living in farm and woods country in Tennessee. I’ve just been treated for Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and alpha-gal after a bite from a Lone Star tick. Luckily I was diagnosed and treated promptly and have had no ill effects.
Many times. Grew up on farm in So Dakota. Lots of picnics and fishing.
As a kid when playing in the woods as I grew up in Tulsa (all those areas are now apartments, businesses and shopping malls).
Check out legit websites such as WebMD, Mayo Clinic or CDC among others for best tick removal technique. You will need a sharp pointed tip tweezers and a good eye and some alcohol (not for drinking).. Once removed the tick can be sent for testing.
Do not use the hot match technique as it tends to cause the tick to regurgitate into your blood stream and thereby transfer bacteria/virus/disease.