UKC

...trying to latch on to me.

Been out with a DofE group practicing some Navigation. ended up wading through some shoulder high bracken. Eating my dinner earlier I felt something tickling my skin on my hand and there it was, on my hand, looking for somewhere to sink its mandible into my flesh!

Keep checking yourselves folks, they're out there!

I keep feeling it now tickling me even though I flushed it away!

In reply to higherclimbingwales: I have pulled at least 10 out of myself so far this summer, and there will definately be more to come.

In reply to higherclimbingwales:

So far this summer I've had 0, I've been lucky though.

Climbing at Trowbarrow last week I found 2 on me and another climbing on my crisp packet, none had a chance to get their mandibles into me though.

Mark

In reply to higherclimbingwales:

I take it that you stopped concentrating on the obvious one tickling your hand and had a good check of your arms, armpits, legs & groin whilst having your shower this evening?

You do not feel most of them when they are on you. They often head for warm, moist spots to latch on to.

In reply to higherclimbingwales:
I found a wasp crawling up my leg at home yesterday, while watching TV!

I batted it away and got that tickling feeling too. Kept checking my leg every so often the next hour.

In reply to higherclimbingwales: Got one off the leg before any damage was done ( foolishly wearing shorts. Had crawley bitey feeling on skin for hours...>

In reply to higherclimbingwales: Not the end of the world if you find one already feasting. The nasty stuff happens when they have gorged and are going for 'seconds' so in so far as I know, not being medically qualified as I live in an area where even on protected animals you still have to pull them off from time to time.For humans they say a cigarette is useful!!?

In reply to 60survivor:
Do not burn them off, squeeze the body, use Vaseline etc all these things increase chance of infection as the end result is the tick pushing its body contents in to you.

If you get a tick off in the first 24 - 36 hours carefully with tweezers (with a fine enough head) or a tick remover you should fine.

In reply to 60survivor:

The thing is, stressing the buggers (with a cigarette, or suffocating them with alchohol etc) can cause them to regurgitate which is where the danger lies... best use a proper removing tool

In reply to higherclimbingwales:

Sounds like you're due another dose of Frontline...

Have never had a tick on me - never even seen a real one until I started having to take them off the cat!

The tick cards you can get are hopeless - I use LifeVenture tick tweezers to slowly pull them off.

In reply to higherclimbingwales:

O'Tom tick tools are good - there's one in my work bag (I usually find them on mondays).

http://www.amazon.co.uk/OTOM-TICK-TWISTER-pack-2/dp/B004M5O9TW/ref=sr_1_1?i...

In reply to higherclimbingwales: You should have seen the one I pulled of the dog last week. the little bugger was hidden under his collar and had obviously been having a right old feast. It was at least the size of a petit pois!

I pulled off the dogs head a few years ago in snowdonia. We didn't have the tool with us so I got one of my wife's hairs and tied a knot then looped it over the tick and right next to the dogs skin then pulled it tight and the tick came off, no lasting issue to the dog.

In reply to higherclimbingwales:

Working on farms in Ireland I often got twenty toi thirty ticks on me whilst working in long damp meadows.

My dog got them too.

Removal is easy for humans. Using your finger nail, simply scrap them off. This completely removes the tick. Absolutely no need for tweezers which is likely to squirt their stomach contents into your skin - then a risk of lymes or however you spell it.

Harder to remove from dogs because by the time you find them they've been stuffing themselves and are well hooked in. Thats when you need tick removal tools!!

In reply to VPJB:

ouch, that's a little extreme...

In reply to kinley2:


Most vets will sell them too

In reply to higherclimbingwales:
This summer one of my mates had one latch onto his nipple, whilst the year before he had one on his knackers. Laughed so hard!

In reply to Daysleeper:


>ouch, that's a little extreme...

I agree, probably quite big tweezers though.