[pct-l] Ticks/Tick removal

Sat Mar 6 18:44:14 CST 2010

Hi All,

I take my dog into the local LA area hikes and she comes back with ticks
every time without fail.  I am able to catch most of them but when they do
latch on, they are very easy to remove by the "tease" method mentioned below
if they are still alive.  To do this you need only to gently rotate the body
of the tick in a small circular motion and within a minute or two it should
back out of the skin, head and all.  (If it is already dead it will just
drop off.)

While on the PCT last year, I only found ticks on my backpack at a rest stop
on the trail just past I-15.  I did a thorough check of my hair and clothes
lines after that.

Happy trails,

Laura "Topper"

On Sat, Mar 6, 2010 at 10:50 AM, Edward Anderson <mendoridered at yahoo.com>wrote:

> 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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