So during last Saturday’s hike I stopped once to wring the water out of my socks and happened to notice about a half-dozen little brown ticks crawling around on my pant leg. I dusted ’em off and made a mental “check for ticks at home” note.
Being a man of science and all, I did the logical thing when I got home: I checked for ticks on my head, where none had been seen, and didn’t bother checking the leg where many had been seen.
Along comes Wednesday morning and I notice a sore spot and a lump right behind my right knee. Didn’t have to look, just had to call in Melissa, my trail EMT, with the tweezers and antiseptic. We concluded it was a common dog tick — brown with white markings on its back — rather than the more dangerous deer tick, the smaller, blacker beastie that carries lyme disease.
This page has a bunch of tick-related info, including this:
HOW TO REMOVE A TICK
Despite folklore, the proper way to remove a tick is using a tweezers
and gripping the tick as close to the skin as is possible. The use of a
smoldering match or cigarette, nail polish, Vaseline, or kerosene
should be avoided, since they may irritate the tick and cause it to
behave like a syringe, injecting organism-bearing bodily fluids into
the wound.The proper technique for tick removal includes the following steps:
- Use a fine tweezers to grasp the tick as close to the skin surface as possible.
- Pull backwards gently but firmly, using an even, steady pressure. Do not jerk or twist.
- Do not squeeze, crush, or puncture the body of the tick, since its fluids may contain infectious agents.
- After removing the tick, disinfect the skin and hands thoroughly with soap and water.
- If
sections of the mouth parts of the tick remain in the skin, these
should be left alone; they will be expelled on their own. Attempts to
remove these parts the same way one would remove a splinter usually
result in significant tissue damage.
Most tick bites are harmless but that will be no consolation if you’re among the small percentage of bitees who catch a disease from one. Don’t panic if you get bitten, but don’t blow it off either.
You should also do a good tick check before getting into the car- If you have them on your clothes when you get in they can get you later when you’re not expecting them.
Lots of ticks in Coe already.
Is there a way to minimize tick exposure/contact? Or do you pretty much expect to get bitten if you decide to go off trail or even sometimes on the trail?
Supposedly, insect repellent will deter them.
Normally they’ll crawl over your skin for awhile before they actually bite, so you can just brush them off if they aren’t attached.
I pretty much assume I’m going to pick them up if I’m in a tick prone area (pretty much most of the CA coastal ranges, chapparal, and grasslands).
Getting bitten is another matter altogether. As Tom mentioned, ticks will usually crawl around (usually upward) for quite some time before settling down. You just need to get them off of you before they bite.
You definately don’t need to be off-trail to pick them, though you can minimize your exposure by avoiding brushing up against trailside grasses and underbrush.
If your only out for the day, ticks aren’t a big worry. Just shower and change clothes when you get home. You’ll very seldom have one attach itself before it gets washed off.
If your going to be out longer, check your hair and the folds in your body (armpits, groin, behind knees etc.) as they seem to prefer these areas. If you check nightly you’ll greatly decrease your chances of being bitten.