Just a quick one…
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came back from mid Wales with a passenger. I discovered the day after returning from our bunkhouse trip that I was a bit itchy on my stomach. After looking closely at my belly, I discovered that the mole I hadnt noticed for the previous 43 years was actually a tick. I removed my passenger quickly enough but now the bite site is inflamed and itchy and I fear a visit to the doctors in in order. Not sure I should ring the undertakers just yet but it is a tad nasty… urgh…
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I dont seem to have a lot of luck with insects 😦
Saddlebags and Backpacks - a brewer's outdoor adventures 
Not much fun ticks. Fortunately I have only had one, on my stomach I guess nearly 40 years ago camping in Scotland. My dad burnt it out with a cigarette ! Not a method they recommend these days, still it worked and I lived : )
Mark
Lol, I guess it would be a method frowned upon these days! I just pulled it out but the damn thing is infected so a dose of antibiotics for me!
I thought no infection could pass to you under 24h. That could be a myth. Straight to the GP and get tested. Any symptoms of lyme’s disease you need treatment straight away. Not worth the risk Dave.
Oh I agree Martin. I react badly to all bites and stings as I tend to swell up and have histamine reactions. I think this is the normal insect bite reaction but I am not going to take a chance with it…!
ooch! I shall pack the tweezers
I used my nails which are not long but long enough to lever the fella out whole.
Still tweezers are a good bit of kit to pack anyway as I am forever picking up splinters and thorns!
It’s a good thing you noticed. Sometimes a tick bite can go unnoticed, then untreated until the real problems begin (like Lyme disease).
The doctor will prescribe you with some antibiotics which will take care of that at least.
Ticks really are nasty little buggers!
Christian,
the funny thing was that I saw a tick crawling through the grass and pointed it out to all the group, many of whom had never seen or heard of ticks.
He must have doubled back and snuck under my jumper when i wasnt looking!
Ouch! Ticks are so much talked about that I’d visit the doctor just in case…
I will do Maria. I just wish deet worked on ticks as it seemed to have no effect!
I don’t think nails are a good idea. If a bit of the mouth was left in your skin that could account for the swelling. I don’t think it necessarily means Lyme. You’ve got to watch out for the bull ring mark. If it’s just itching I wouldn’t worry to much. But a wee check up can’t hurt. Anyway, they all say either use tweezers or the little lasso.
no parts of the mouth left as far as I can see and I think you are right about the swelling. Its probably just a histamine reaction as I do react badly to any insect bites unfortunately 😦
I always carry the very useful tweezers, but they’re not very good for ticks: a pair of little plastic tick-twisters (one small, one large) work extremely well and weight is virtually zero.
For interest, how big was the tick (the visible part before you extracted it)?. I’ve only ever had one and it was very small, the size of a pin-head and easily missed.
tiny and I guess he hadnt long latched on as he wasnt appearing gorged with blood.
couple of mm
Just getting round to getting some outdoor therapy by reading blogs and spotted this straight away – I got covered in ticks recently. I spotted them crawling over me and after much monkey-like activity I seemed to have removed them all before they attached … but I found another one on my tent when I unrolled it to pitch it the next day. Always worth doing a daily check if you are in tick territory. There are some excellent information sites out there like BADA-UK.org, which are well worth checking out.
@GeoffC – ticks feed in all 3 stages of their life cycle: larvae, nymphs and adults. The larvae are tiny, the nymphs slightly larger and the adults quite noticeable … especially after a feed!
thanks for the info Simon.
Where were you walking/camping btw when you had the tick attack? I’ll put it on my list of places to avoid! 🙂
It was along Loch Lomond, about an hour south of Rowchoish bothy. In all honesty it was a bit of a lack of thought on my part – I could see animal trails running through the grass and bracken that led towards the stream I camped near to … and animal trails mean places were ticks drop off and wait for the next victim.
The reason I was covered in so many ticks was that they were larvae. The adult female drops off after a blood feed and lays several thousand eggs. When the eggs hatch the larvae start to climb the nearest stalks of grass to wait for victim numero uno. Obviously, with lots being in close proximity, the victims picks up a lot of them at one time.
Ahhhh, makes sense. Luckily for me I am not likely to be up in Scotland anytime soon. If you were covered then i am sure I would be a dry husk in seconds flat!
Insects love my blood. 2 years ago I had 500+ mossie bites that got infected and I was in a bit of a mess for a few weeks. Not nice and yet they didnt attack the others in my party half as badly!