Ticks, please check your Grand Children

And dogs. Two of my children have dogs, and both have picked up ticks in the past.

I remember flicking a tick off a little bird that once suddenly landed in the garden, lifeless. The insect itself was still there as they're bloodsuckers. Once rid of the tick, I held on to the bird which gladly flew away. Ticks are like little spiders with fat stomachs if they've been on you long enough and leave tiny bites unless you're allergic then you can get a worse reaction.

Oops - it would be a good idea to get your friend to tell mothers of other children at the party to check them over.
Not to be alarmist, but I've had tick infestations in the past - and our dogs.
They can spread some nasty diseases. If removed quickly they do no harm.

Ticks bites can give you the very serious Lyme disease, if you find any tick bites keep an eye on them and if they start to develop a red ring round them, seek urgent treatment.

I once brought home a puppy and spotted ticks on it, finally removed 99 of them, it was unbelievable. The puppy went back, if they had neglected her to that extent, goodness knows what else she might have.

They are very prevalent here, our pets wear collars from April to October to prevent them attacking. We have a friend who developed Lymes disease following a tick bite and he was ill for some considerable time.
I have to say that seems an awful lot of ticks in one go Oopsadaisy4 horrible things.

I once took 7 off my body at one go after a bath. They were so tiny I thought they were moles.

Fennel she phoned them straight away.

Sodapop I was amazed too, the nurse was very thorough, but to think that one had crawled up inside of her!
Firstly I thought the only came from fields with sheep in them
Secondly I didn’t know they climbed on you until they found somewhere they liked.
Disgusting, I’m sticking to roads and pavements in future, although we have no pavements where I live. Hmmmmm

I carry a tick remover on my keyring, as I am a keen walker. I have only used it twice, once on me and once on my cat. It also came in useful for removing harvest mites which had lined up around the edges of her ears.

Deer also carry them.
Ticks can live up to one year, lurking in the long grass, with no host.
If walking through long grass wear long trousers, shoe and socks.

Our 2 dogs were longhaired border collies and very difficult to check but most days we found one or 2 of the little b-----s.
Even so each off them had a dose of pyroplasmosis - luckily we recognised the symptoms in time, and took them to the vet who treated them with antibiotics.
We lived in an area with many deer. (SW France).
Maybe ticks are more prevalent now in the UK with global warming.

It used to advocated to burn the ticks with a lighted cigarette.

DW picked one up in France, but was not obvious until returning home.
Smothered it in Vaseline, so that could not breathe. Was easy to remove then.
Take care if pulling them off. If the jaws are left in the skin, infection can set in.

My DH a keen walker always wears long sleeves and long trousers when out walking. He carries a tick remover as well. You can't be too careful. I remember reading about Shania Twain who contracted Lyme's disease and was unable to sing for about 2 yrs. Also Matt Dawson rugby player who nearly died with it.

Right, that’s me frightened to go out into the garden tomorrow!

Urmstongran planning is all it takes

Sturdy shoes

Long socks to pull right up tight over your long trousers

Long sleeved top

Maybe gloves? Obviously, as can’t be too careful

Scarf, so important for that neck area, ticks love necks

Hat? Maybe a beekeepers hat with the net?

Then off you go.........

Enjoy your garden, Oh! I hope you weren’t planning on sunbathing?

??

And to save you going out into the garden here are some flowers to look at from indoors ?

I always tuck my trousers in to my socks if I go into the field next to my house. There's two kinds of deer, badges, rabbits, foxes, and probably hares living in what is virtually a nature reserve.

Tick infestations are usually seasonal in the UK between March and June, and again from August to November, but there is still a risk of picking them up all year round.

We work outside as much as the weather permits. I walk through our woods and meadow frequently and we have deer all around us.

Consequently, I get a lot of ticks. Our dog has tick and flee treatment every 4 weeks, I very rarely have to take one of her.

Please ignore 'old tales' about how to remove them e.g nail polish, match, vaseline. The danger is you will leave the head inside.

I use the o'tom tick twister stick and my DH has made a much finer one to get the tiny ones out. Once out, I crush them. DH tends to burn them. I never scratch and itch incase it is a tick.

I wear long socks with my trousers tucked into them and long sleeved tops with tight necks and have still found them on my legs and body.

We both use insect repellent with DEET but it doesn't keep ticks off me.

Good advice Woodmouse.
I'm horrified abou using a cigarette. I used to use fingernails of thumb and middle finger.
Another point about ticks - as far as we saw, they come in 2 types. Small brown and fat grey. I think the grey ones are ticks which are full of blood, the brown, new arrivals.
B----y creatures, what good are they? As bad as mossies.