I live about right in the center of PA . we were very dry this past summer . I don't think Sally my dog , or I, had one tick all summer . from like beginning of May to end of September nothing . we are spending a lot more time in the woods now though . the end of September we got a couple days of rain , that gave me 4" in my rain gauge . since that rain the ticks have been terrible . me and Sally are out for a walk every day . for a while it seemed the ticks were spotty , now they are every where we go . a few days ago I pick about 30 off of Sally , she looked like she had freckles .that's probably the worst day we've had yet . it's crazy how bad they are . I have Sally on " nex gard plus " it's a monthly edible for ticks , it's not a repellant , the tick has to bite her . I also spray " lucky Jack " or "happy Jack " on a rag and wipe her down at the truck before we walk . I'll wipe my pant legs and coat sleeves with her tick rag too . I admit , I have sawyers brand permethrin spray for my clothes , but I'm not good at keeping up with it . are the ticks this bad for you guys ?
Ticks
- Thread starter jimbires
- Start date
3 Meter Para Bellum
Handloader
- Apr 17, 2020
- 472
- 745
I've gotten a couple this year, but I'm not out in the woods all the time. Never experienced anything like the numbers your describing!
RL338
Handloader
- Mar 23, 2017
- 4,631
- 8,085
We had ticks bad earlier this summer with a lot of rain. August it dried up and so did the ticks.
- Nov 4, 2004
- 27,135
- 13,651
A good freeze will put an end to those parasites.
JD338
JD338
Firebird24
Beginner
- Sep 3, 2024
- 172
- 587
Always in the spring but a warm, wet fall will bring them out again
8mm Enthusiast
Beginner
- Jul 6, 2025
- 89
- 106
In early August, ticks were abundant here, and I often found several attached to me after returning from the woods. By September, as the weather cooled slightly, their numbers decreased, but they remained present, clinging to plant matter. I use Sawyer Picaridin lotion when I'm out in the field, and it works exceptionally well. Not only for ticks but also for other insects and mosquitoes.
- Thread starter
- #7
I usually comb Sally when we get home . this usually shows up any ticks I missed before getting in the truck to come home from our walk . after I comb Sally I go on my rear deck , and take off my outer clothes and let them hang on outdoor chairs for the rest of the day . end of the day I give them a shake and bring them in . I give myself a quick look before I come in the house . as soon as I come in I look in the mirror and get any ticks I see . I put these ticks in a small jar . I half filled this jar with rubbing alcohol . while we're in the house , any ticks that show up on Sally go in the jar too . after I pick a few off of me I get the creepy crawlies , and have to get a shower , to get that feeling to stop . here's a pic of my jar . I don't think I've ever seen ticks this bad .
Charlie-NY
Handloader
- Mar 11, 2005
- 1,551
- 1,192
We have tons of dog ticks, deer ticks and lone star ticks here on Long Island. When I was bowhunting, I would use Sawyers on a camo jumpsuit. When I got out of the woods, I'd put the suit in a plastic bag. The bag would be put in the freezer when I got home, hopefully killing any unseen ticks.
One day when I was doing a little pre-season scouting, I walked on trails avoiding contact with vegetation. That evening, I found MANY tiny, nymph stage lone star ticks under my sock. Those things are so small you need a magnifying glass to see them. I managed to get 2 of them into a small plastic zip bag and brought them to my doctor. He said he literally couldn't see anything in the bag but sent it to the lab. Lab report confirmed what I told him. That was the day that I hung up my bow and stopped hunting on Long Island. Ticks can carry some real nasty diseases, and I'd rather not tempt fate. We have even had cases here where people have gotten that disease that makes you allergic to red meat.
Ticks can be serious business.
One day when I was doing a little pre-season scouting, I walked on trails avoiding contact with vegetation. That evening, I found MANY tiny, nymph stage lone star ticks under my sock. Those things are so small you need a magnifying glass to see them. I managed to get 2 of them into a small plastic zip bag and brought them to my doctor. He said he literally couldn't see anything in the bag but sent it to the lab. Lab report confirmed what I told him. That was the day that I hung up my bow and stopped hunting on Long Island. Ticks can carry some real nasty diseases, and I'd rather not tempt fate. We have even had cases here where people have gotten that disease that makes you allergic to red meat.
Ticks can be serious business.
salmonchaser
Ammo Smith
- Dec 13, 2013
- 5,954
- 8,313
Yes they are serious business. I still have to monitor all my organ functions with blood tests every year. Liver and kidney are still off a little bit but my new docs are not worried about the numbers as long as they don’t change. Also go to Boise for a high resolution ultrasound so the docs can look at the damage. The cysts that formed have not grown. All from a tic bite in South Africa two 3 years ago.
DrMike
Ballistician
- Nov 8, 2006
- 38,195
- 8,300
Two daughters struggled with Lyme disease for several decades. Ultimately, this was a contributing factor to the death of my eldest daughter. My other daughter who is a surgeon still deals with the rickettsial infection.
salmonchaser
Ammo Smith
- Dec 13, 2013
- 5,954
- 8,313
Ricketsia was my diagnosis, didn’t get that until after I fired the first three doctors I saw.
Wolfshead
Handloader
- Feb 5, 2022
- 338
- 902
I use picaridin on my skin and spray my clothes down with permethrin, all Sawyer’s products.
They work for mosquitoes too.
Spray down everything shirts, pants, socks, gloves, hats, etc…. May be a good idea to wear gaiters and spray them down too.
With the permethrin six is the magic number. Six washes, or six weeks which ever comes first.
They work for mosquitoes too.
Spray down everything shirts, pants, socks, gloves, hats, etc…. May be a good idea to wear gaiters and spray them down too.
With the permethrin six is the magic number. Six washes, or six weeks which ever comes first.
- Thread starter
- #13
ticks are bad news, no doubt about that .
over the years , I bought a few different tools to remove an embedded tick . sometimes they worked and other times they didn't . it depended on the size of the tick . the best way to remove one , that I've found so far , is use liquid soap . put a nice dab of liquid soap on your finger , or the tick , and rub in a circular motion . the tick backs out . sometimes they back out fairly quick , other times it takes a while . the ones that are being stubborn , I do the circular for a while , then I flick the tick back and forth , then back to circular motion . so far , this has worked every time for me .
not too long ago , I read , or saw on the news , they have a human vaccine that needs a little more testing . they thought it might be available in about a year .
Sally is vaccinated against tick diseases .
over the years , I bought a few different tools to remove an embedded tick . sometimes they worked and other times they didn't . it depended on the size of the tick . the best way to remove one , that I've found so far , is use liquid soap . put a nice dab of liquid soap on your finger , or the tick , and rub in a circular motion . the tick backs out . sometimes they back out fairly quick , other times it takes a while . the ones that are being stubborn , I do the circular for a while , then I flick the tick back and forth , then back to circular motion . so far , this has worked every time for me .
not too long ago , I read , or saw on the news , they have a human vaccine that needs a little more testing . they thought it might be available in about a year .
Sally is vaccinated against tick diseases .
- Thread starter
- #15
DrMike
Ballistician
- Nov 8, 2006
- 38,195
- 8,300
We see "ghost moose" every year in the late winter and spring. The poor beasts are infested with ticks; they have rubbed off all the fur and are dying of hyperthermia. Some seasons can be really hard on moose. In some instances, the COs can do nothing but shoot them to put them out of their misery. Some of the moose that bed down in our yard show signs of ticks, but not so severe as to kill them. You can see this youngun' has a few patches he has rubbed pretty severely. He survived, but he did have an itch and he was almost assuredly aenemic.
- Thread starter
- #17
bringing this one back up . I've seen these tubes placed around the game lands I'm often on . they seem like they are placed heavily where they are . I've looked at them , but never seen anything wrote on them . I just figured the game commission was doing some kind of study . the other day , on my walk , I got to looking at them in around the one area I was trapping last season . I found one with writing on it . these things are a Thermocell Tick control unit . It appears Penn State university is doing research . I just thought it was kind of interesting . this particular area is a series of fields with narrow woods between the fields . I don't remember of us ever getting a tick while we were in here trapping , and walking . I'm going to guess there are probably between 40 and 60 of these tubes placed on the ground , through a couple of the tree strips . I don't disturb things , only look at them .
- Thread starter
- #18
a few post back #7 , was my jar from last year
this is my collection so far this year . I keep a jar outside on the porch , and one inside . I started putting them in a jar , after I realized how many we are bringing home . I don't want to flick these out in my yard , and have them breeding here at home .
this is my collection so far this year . I keep a jar outside on the porch , and one inside . I started putting them in a jar , after I realized how many we are bringing home . I don't want to flick these out in my yard , and have them breeding here at home .
RememberBaker
Beginner
- Dec 2, 2012
- 154
- 100
I think the tubes have cotton or something similar that has been treated with permethrin, the mice take the cotton and use it in their nests and it kills any ticks on the mice. Maybe they are trying different insecticides or nesting materials to see what is most effective? It would be interesting to know what they are looking at.
Ticks always are the worst here very early in spring and very late in fall. I’ve had days late in the fall where I’ve picked 50+ ticks off my clothing. In the middle of the summer I go in the same woods with shorts on picking mushrooms and see a tick only rarely.
Ticks always are the worst here very early in spring and very late in fall. I’ve had days late in the fall where I’ve picked 50+ ticks off my clothing. In the middle of the summer I go in the same woods with shorts on picking mushrooms and see a tick only rarely.
3 Meter Para Bellum
Handloader
- Apr 17, 2020
- 472
- 745
Just had a tick crawling up my side as I came to sit down at my computer, hah.
My mom read somewhere recently that supposedly the U.S. admitted that lyme disease was invented as a bio weapon. I haven't looked into it but I have heard people saying that they believed this to be the case for years. My mom has a friend who's husband was in the military and aquired lyme. They seemed to believe that they had gotten hints that the bio-weapon theory was true. If this was the case, it would be weird to think that the worst problem with ticks for people, the fear of aquiring lyme, didn't used to be a problem.
I don't have lyme, but I have a virus that exhibits highly similar symptoms, and sometimes I wonder if they could be related in some way. There is no good way to get rid of these diseases that I am aware of, so anything that can help preventing them is interesting to me. It sucks to have an expected life sentence of just feeling out of sorts all the time.
My mom read somewhere recently that supposedly the U.S. admitted that lyme disease was invented as a bio weapon. I haven't looked into it but I have heard people saying that they believed this to be the case for years. My mom has a friend who's husband was in the military and aquired lyme. They seemed to believe that they had gotten hints that the bio-weapon theory was true. If this was the case, it would be weird to think that the worst problem with ticks for people, the fear of aquiring lyme, didn't used to be a problem.
I don't have lyme, but I have a virus that exhibits highly similar symptoms, and sometimes I wonder if they could be related in some way. There is no good way to get rid of these diseases that I am aware of, so anything that can help preventing them is interesting to me. It sucks to have an expected life sentence of just feeling out of sorts all the time.
