[pct-l] Ticks/Tick removal

Sat Mar 6 12:50:06 CST 2010

Hello Steeleye, 
Here is a place on myself where I often have found TICKS. If you have passed under vegetation/branches they will drop onto your head - once they are in your hair they will decend to the area of your hairline, often just above it. If you feel carefully with your fingertips they are easy to find. 
Here is the best way to remove ticks that have become imbedded:   In 2008, south of Mt San Jaciento, one of my hiker-friends, Ginny, discovered that she had a tick that was imbedded. I had along one of those tick removal kits with magnifying glass and tweezers and offered to pull it out. Then another hiker (I think it was Radar - but I'm not sure.) said "don't pull it. I will show you a better way that won't risk leaving the head behind". He said you have to "tease it out, take your time - have patience". I was somewhat skeptical but he seemed very confident. He gently teased it and then would wait several seconds and repeat. Again and again and again and again,etc, etc, etc.. It took about five minutes - then I was amazed to see the TICK BACK OUT. That approach is very important for everyone to know about.
MendoRider

----- Original Message ----
From: CHUCK CHELIN <steeleye at wildblue.net>
To: Mary Kwart <mkwart at gci.net>
Cc: pct-l at backcountry.net
Sent: Sat, March 6, 2010 8:01:16 AM
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Ticks

Good morning, Fireweed,

I agree entirely with you on the need for tick vigilance.  Most of the
problems seem to be in California, and after several hikes through there
I’ve only seen a few.  In spite of (fairly) regular inspections the first
“wandering freckle” I found was a few miles short of Cajon Pass, and there
were only a very few after that.

I specifically avoid contacting vegetation along the trail – or at least as
well as I can – but another thing that seems to help me is that I hike in
shorts with bare legs so I can much more easily see them in contrast to my
skin.  If they crawl down to my shoes/socks/gaiters I can be easily seen at
routine sock-changing times.  They seem less likely to crawl up to my loose
shorts, but I inspect there as well as I can.  Once you find one burrowing
in the crack of your butt you pretty quickly find out who your friends are.

Unfortunately, not finding any makes me a bit lazy with inspections, but
once I find the first one I become convinced that every little twitch or
tickle is another.

Steel-Eye

Hiking the Pct since before it was the PCT – 1965

http://www.trailjournals.com/steel-eye

http://www.trailjournals.com/SteelEye09

On Fri, Mar 5, 2010 at 6:33 PM, Mary Kwart <mkwart at gci.net> wrote:

> In the 1990's I got Lyme disease from an embedded deer tick because I had a
> dog who got many ticks. I lived in the Central California foothills. I had
> removed the tick, but killed it by wrenching the head off of it when
> removing it. What the doctor told me to do in the future was to pull the
> tick out (trying to keep the head intact and so keep it alive) and put it on
> a cotton ball and keep it in a ziploc. In this way the tick can be sent to
> the lab for definitive testing for the presence of Lyme disease. I got the
> red "bullseye" type ring around the bite right after the bite and a month
> later had flu like symptoms--which are indicators of Lyme disease infected
> ticks. A subsequent doctor follow up and tests showed that I had Lyme
> disease. I had to take antibiotics for a month--which made me extremely
> sensitive to sunlight during that time, so extremely cramped my outdoor
> activities.
>
> As far as I know, the antibiotics got rid of the Lyme disease. It is no
> laughing matter. A guy on the National Forest I worked on got it and did not
> pay attention to the symptoms and eventually had to quit his job from Lyme
> disease complications (arthritis, etc.)
>
> Bottom line--don't let the ticks get embedded. Do a thorough body check for
> ticks after going through potentially infested areas.
>
> --Fireweed
>
> ---- Original Message -----
> >From  Eugene <atetuna at hotmail.com>
> Date    Fri, 5 Mar 2010 14:21:15 -0800
> To      <groundpounderbill22 at verizon.net>, <pct-l at mailman.backcountry.net>
> Subject        Re: [pct-l] TICKS
>
>
> Last week I saw ticks around the Lake Morena area and met a guy that lived
> there that had a few recent bites.
>
> > From: groundpounderbill22 at verizon.net
> > To: pct-l at mailman.backcountry.net
> > Date: Wed, 3 Mar 2010 14:41:13 -0800
> > Subject: [pct-l] TICKS
> >
> > "How's Your Trail?" Just wanted to let everyone know that the Ticks are
> out
> > in Force. I was hiking Monday up at Santa Rosa Plateau above Murrieta,
> got
> > one of them little Suckers in my stomach, yes Suckers LOL . I got it out
> but
> > now it is sore and red and not Fun. Everyone take care and see you at the
> KO
> > . Whenever they open the site to register??? LOL Remember "Be Prepared"
> > Ground Pounder Bill "Semper Fi"
> >
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