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.
Contracted Lyme once. Deal with ticks on me, my dog, and my wife many times a season despite taking all the precautions. We live in the woods. One thing I do, I keep the dead ticks in an old prescription bottle with alcohol in case one of us gets sick so they can be tested. I had Lyme for 9 months before I knew what was wrong and got treatment and got over it.
There is a clever device called a tick twister that works quickly and removes the whole tick without needles, heat or slippery stuff. Have used it several times when bitten by the little beasties
Living in tick country in Wisconsin, I’ve had many ticks on me and some embedded. Lyme Disease 3 times. We do use permethrin treated clothing when we are in the woods for an extended time, always strip and shower after being ouside, and do nightly tick checks. That seems to really help. Clothing from outdoors goes directly in the washing machine to be laundered–don’t need to have a tick crawling from clothes onto me the next day. Likewise, no going to bed until a shower or tick check. I think ticks have crawled off my hubby to feast on me.
The summer of 1988 we took our Scout troop to Quivera Scout Ranch in Sedan,Kansas for the first week of the camping season. We had to wade through numerous trips from the parking lot to our campsite. That night in the shower I had to remove 94 ticks from all over my body. We had the boys check each other carefully. Beyond that it was a good week!
94!!! AAAAAARGH!!! Not sure I could, EVER, mentally recover from that!
Last May, my husband found 3 ticks embedded in his skin after spending time under a large tree in southern MO. They were under his clothing, having dropped out of the tree onto him. So far, no ill effects.
Used to get them all the time as a kid. We were always running through the woods and fields and my mom would check us a couple times a week. If she found one she would strike a match and blow it out. Then she would immediately touch the match to the tick and it would release from us.
More times than I can count.
Growing up we only had common dog ticks around my SE Minnesota home. Around 20 years ago the Deer Tick made it here and now are just thick in the woods. I’m talking about having dozens crawling on your clothes in a short time in thick woods. If you have dogs on walks, check them as thoroughly as yourself when returning from time in the field. These little nasties will easily migrate from the dog to you.
It’s key to find and remove them quickly. While it may take 24hrs or more for a Deer Tick to transmit the Lymes Bacterium, other diseases can be transmitted much more quickly by various ticks.
I’ve had a few and removed them with the tick spoon I use on my pups. But once the head did not come out and I had to go to doctor and have them dig it out. A round of antibees then all was well.
Yes, numerous times over the last 60 years, possibly longer.
Our daughter was bitten by a deer tick, they are so small it’s hard to see them until their bite starts to redden. Now she has so many allergies it’s unbelievable. If you’re bitten by a tick don’t try to pull it off if it’s buried it’s head in your skin, you’ll likely leave the head inside your skin where infection sets in. A tick breathes through the rear of the body, apply a thick coat of nail polish or some other fluid that will coat the rear and solidify sealing its breathing tube, it will back out making easy removal. It may take several minutes but it will back out.
“Like many arthropods, ticks breathe air through tiny openings along their body called “spiracles.” Ticks are famous for surviving periods underwater because they have a reduced need for oxygen compared to other creatures. A tick breathes between one and 15 times an hour.
…ticks are amazing creatures who can survive being submerged in water for up to two or three days…
Suffocating a tick is not very effective, Dr. Kardos says. Covering a tick with petroleum jelly or nail polish may even cause the tick to become slippery and more difficult to grasp. And don’t try to burn a tick off…”
I have never been bitten, but my husband has-multiple times, and which he always ignored until he got Lyme disease. Turned out he was allergic to Doxycycline and developed Stevens Johnson Syndrome. Yikes! What a nightmare.
Texas! Visiting my son…didn’t take long! They are used to them there and got it out right away!
More times than I can count.
Ticks are a fact of life for anyone venturing off the beaten path. As a avid outdoorsman I have had more tick bites than I can remember. Prompt removal, and proper cleaning/disinfecting will prevent most infections. Always assume ALL ticks to be carriers, and closely monitor all bites. Most tick borne diseases are treatable if detected early. I have been treated for Lyme’s successfully twice, with no long term effects. No bug is going to stop me from enjoying the outdoors.
Growing up in Florida we spent a lot of time in the woods exploring, hiking and camping with friends and we had dogs. Ticks were something we were constantly checking ourselves for. Not saying we had them on a weekly basis but always cautious.
Bitten many times and removed dozens of chiggers and ticks. I contracted Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever when I was 12.
More than I can count. If you hunt, fish and camp it’s all part of the experience. Hate them like mosquitoes and black flies.
Ticks have migrated into the far north of the continental U.S. Fortunately, most ticks, if properly removed and the site disinfected, have no lasting medical issues. But personally I would not take the chance as a growing number of ticks are carriers for nasty stuff. So, take proper precautions!
Ticks predominately are in taller damp grass. So if in tick territory, stay on hard packed trails as much as possible. Avoid shorts, wear socks and tuck your pants into your socks. Carefully inspect clothing before coming inside – strip immediately and put the clothing outside. Have someone carefully examine your nude body with a strong light – if inspecting, get close and personal, especially looking inside skin folds.
After redressing, carefully examine your outdoor clothing outside and inside.
Somehow ticks love my ears. I always check there first. I remember being very young when a tick lodged fast in my ear. My grandfather stuck a needle in it and heated the needle with a match until the tick backed out. Not a good time.
Not me, but my wife had one on her back. Slowly pulled it off. The tick It was not on there very long when I removed it. I called our family doctor and she told us to come in so she could inspect the bite. She looked for any tell tale evidence of the mouth parts still in the skin. She also said to monitor the area for a rash.