Took the first walking tick off the dog yesterday. We will use a Seresto collar again. We tried one last year & it was very effective for the entire tick season.
Quote: Originally posted by Fiona W on 28/3/2022
Took the first walking tick off the dog yesterday. We will use a Seresto collar again. We tried one last year & it was very effective for the entire tick season.
What do you use for the dog?
------------- 'A sure cure for sea-sickness is to sit under a tree'
Been using the collars for years, and they do seem to work well, only ever found one dead/dopey unattached tick on the dog in those years. Friends have used all sorts of things including the 'non-drug' methods like garlic which they all swear by but then complain about having to de-tick their dogs - in my mind that means the 'remedies' are not working!
We do venture off into tick country quite a lot, so something effective is required.
FYI Ticks can carry Lyme Disease which affects both humans and dogs and is quite serious, so nasty little blighters that infect you with their bite. https://www.lymediseaseaction.org.uk/about-ticks/
Quote: Originally posted by Fiona W on 28/3/2022
Took the first walking tick off the dog yesterday. We will use a Seresto collar again. We tried one last year & it was very effective for the entire tick season.
What do you use for the dog?
I read it as taking the walking STICK off the dog. Im thinking... this is a first ....a dog with a walking stick!
I carry a cheap plastic tick removal kit in my hike pack first aid kit. Am not sure if there are ticks in Kent but I sometimes go to Dorset. I don't really want to walk around with long trousers tucked into my socks in the summer.
As a walks leader and first aider it's best to be prepared.
Quote: Originally posted by Bramston on 28/3/2022
I carry a cheap plastic tick removal kit in my hike pack first aid kit. Am not sure if there are ticks in Kent but I sometimes go to Dorset. I don't really want to walk around with long trousers tucked into my socks in the summer.
As a walks leader and first aider it's best to be prepared.
O’tom tick remover was in my PPI when I was working. You do need a tick buddy to check your back at night though.
Try a spray-on insect repellent on your lower legs & socks - we were told to do this on a study trip in Slovenia, where the ticks carry encephalitis. Seemed to work.
I won’t use the serestro collars after seeing the horrendous chemical burn my friends collie suffered from when she used one. I appreciate many people use them with no ill effects but I won’t take the chance. I use my own spray made with essential oils and it seems to work pretty well. I do also carry a small pack containing a tic twister and some other various small items for dealing with the little blighters should the dogs or I pick any up
------------- Good cakes aren't cheap. Cheap cakes aren't good
Quote: Originally posted by Fiona W on 28/3/2022
Took the first walking tick off the dog yesterday. We will use a Seresto collar again. We tried one last year & it was very effective for the entire tick season.
What do you use for the dog?
well....
mate of mine walks his dog through the fields every day and has just returned after a month off work.
they suspect it was a tick that got him on the back of his calf.
his leg swelled up fit to burst, went some spectacular colours of green and yellow and the discharge absolutely stank....
Quote: Originally posted by Bramston on 28/3/2022
I carry a cheap plastic tick removal kit in my hike pack first aid kit. Am not sure if there are ticks in Kent but I sometimes go to Dorset. I don't really want to walk around with long trousers tucked into my socks in the summer.
As a walks leader and first aider it's best to be prepared.
O’tom tick remover was in my PPI when I was working. You do need a tick buddy to check your back at night though.
Try a spray-on insect repellent on your lower legs & socks - we were told to do this on a study trip in Slovenia, where the ticks carry encephalitis. Seemed to work.
We would never ever use anything like a O’tom tick remover to remove a tick in case the head is left behind. This then cause an infection and severe sickness. We put Vaseline around and over the tick and drops off naturally.
Many years ago, but not in the UK, I had tick bite fever and it took me a very long time to get over it. Lost several kgs in a week.
Quote: Originally posted by Bramston on 28/3/2022
I carry a cheap plastic tick removal kit in my hike pack first aid kit. Am not sure if there are ticks in Kent but I sometimes go to Dorset. I don't really want to walk around with long trousers tucked into my socks in the summer.
As a walks leader and first aider it's best to be prepared.
O’tom tick remover was in my PPI when I was working. You do need a tick buddy to check your back at night though.
Try a spray-on insect repellent on your lower legs & socks - we were told to do this on a study trip in Slovenia, where the ticks carry encephalitis. Seemed to work.
We would never ever use anything like a O’tom tick remover to remove a tick in case the head is left behind. This then cause an infection and severe sickness. We put Vaseline around and over the tick and drops off naturally.
Many years ago, but not in the UK, I had tick bite fever and it took me a very long time to get over it. Lost several kgs in a week.
All creditable authorities on Ticks say NOT to put any substance on Ticks as it stresses them and increases risk of them regurgitating infected stomach contents into your system, the MOST PREFERRED method is a Tick removal tool, obviously properly used, which minimises risk of the head being left embedded.
Quote: Originally posted by Bramston on 28/3/2022
I carry a cheap plastic tick removal kit in my hike pack first aid kit. Am not sure if there are ticks in Kent but I sometimes go to Dorset. I don't really want to walk around with long trousers tucked into my socks in the summer.
As a walks leader and first aider it's best to be prepared.
O’tom tick remover was in my PPI when I was working. You do need a tick buddy to check your back at night though.
Try a spray-on insect repellent on your lower legs & socks - we were told to do this on a study trip in Slovenia, where the ticks carry encephalitis. Seemed to work.
We would never ever use anything like a O’tom tick remover to remove a tick in case the head is left behind. This then cause an infection and severe sickness. We put Vaseline around and over the tick and drops off naturally.
Many years ago, but not in the UK, I had tick bite fever and it took me a very long time to get over it. Lost several kgs in a week.
The tick twisters like otom are no use for nymphs but putting anything on the tick is not advised. It can make them regurgitate infected blood into you. The nymphs can be as small as a poppy or cumin seed and these are the ones that seem to be most abundant.
Best practice is either a tick card and gently prise it out or a tick lasso. Prevention is better than cure so when I'm up the hills, I do not wear shorts and keep my arms up in high bracken. Gaiters also help. Once the tent is up, I have a good check of the sleeping bag and tent inner and then self check myself in all the soft places (ahem). I'm usually solo so use my phone to check my back etc.
In over 40 years of being out in hills and forests in deer and sheep country, I have never been bitten but have removed ticks from others and dogs. That includes Lithuania where they have tick born encephalitis. Not nice.
Smidge do a tick watch. It should be starting up again on their website. Spraying Smidge on your socks and trousers or getting sawyer permithrin is also effective.
Oh, and if leaving shoes or boots in the vestibule, best to cover them and give a good shake in the morning....
------------- Hypercamp Alaska
Vango Force 10 mk3
Vango F10 Helium 1
Coleman Cobra Pro 3
Coleman Cobra 2
Naturehike Star River 2
Eureka! Solitaire
Dutch army goretex bivvy bag
My employer provided the O’tom tick hook as our Personal Protective Equipment (along with the wet weather gear & boots with Vibram soles etc), so I know it’s correct. It went onto the official risk assessment form. We were also well briefed on looking out for the red ring of Lyme Disease at a tick bite, though the GPs often were not. A colleague had to go private to get the necessary course of antibiotics because his GP refused to prescribe it.
It’s easy to accidentally knock off a small tick & leave the head in - OH did that. The tick hook (or tweezers) had nothing to grip. The practice nurse told him to go to A&E where they stuck on something like duck tape & he had to leave it on a week; the tick head came out stuck on the tape.
Quote: Originally posted by iank01 on 02/4/2022
We would never ever use anything like a O’tom tick remover to remove a tick in case the head is left behind. This then cause an infection and severe sickness. We put Vaseline around and over the tick and drops off naturally.
Many years ago, but not in the UK, I had tick bite fever and it took me a very long time to get over it. Lost several kgs in a week.
All creditable authorities on Ticks say NOT to put any substance on Ticks as it stresses them and increases risk of them regurgitating infected stomach contents into your system, the MOST PREFERRED method is a Tick removal tool, obviously properly used, which minimises risk of the head being left embedded.