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Ticks - stay or go?

11K views 38 replies 17 participants last post by  Woohoodude11 
#1 ·
Just curious to get some opinions on this.

If you encounter a tick at one of your ponds/fishing spots, do you stop going there altogether? Or do you continue going to that spot but stay keenly aware that they might be present?

Up to this point I have often completely written off any places where I encounter a tick. I'm wondering if this is a smart move or overkill, especially if it's a place I enjoy going to.
 
#27 ·
Woohoodude11 said:
Phil6 said:
big jay said:
I literally had 16 ticks on me today fishing one of my spots that's the most I've ever had in a outing.
Ok...now that might get me to stop going to a spot :lol:
Note to self, don't ask Jay for any of his spots :lol:

I actually picked up one of those Thermacell devices. $20 on Amazon if you don't mind the Olive color. Works marvelously for the flying shitheads. Now I can stop breathing in that 96% DEET crap and use it to focus on my legs for those grass crabs.
How well does it work? I would imagine its not great it in the wind?
 
#29 ·
Woohoodude11 said:
Phil6 said:
How well does it work? I would imagine its not great it in the wind?
Well, if the wind is whippin the mosquitoes don't really bother you lol. I used it last night with that decent wind and don't have a single bite on me. So far so good.
Yea I was thinking that but a light scent might blow away easier than the skeeters. Might have to pick one up to tr. How often do you replace the carts?
 
#30 ·
Phil6 said:
Yea I was thinking that but a light scent might blow away easier than the skeeters. Might have to pick one up to tr. How often do you replace the carts?
It actually smokes a little and lingers, a little better than just a smell.

You actually hafta replace a butane cartridge after every approx. 12 hours and a repellant "mat" every 4. No batteries, it runs strictly on butane. it gets slightly warmer than warm but far from hot.
 
#31 ·
Woo does that thermacell thing work for ticks too or just skeeters? I flicked three ticks off my legs rather quickly in the 3hrs I was out yesterday.

Not a fan of deet spray. Last yr I sprayed some around my head and neck and it ate threw the finish on the ray bans on my head :shock:
 
#32 ·
mike son said:
Woo does that thermacell thing work for ticks too or just skeeters? I flicked three ticks off my legs rather quickly in the 3hrs I was out yesterday.

Not a fan of deet spray. Last yr I sprayed some around my head and neck and it ate threw the finish on the ray bans on my head :shock:
I can't see it working on ticks. Though I still haven't seen any this year, idk if it's because of that or caking on that 96% DEET stuff or just flat out not coming across them.

I know what you're saying about the DEET. I sprayed some on one of my t-shirts and it ate thru the graphic.
 
#33 ·
mike son said:
Not a fan of deet spray. Last yr I sprayed some around my head and neck and it ate threw the finish on the ray bans on my head :shock:
DEET eats almost anything synthetic. Spray it on nylon, gore-tex, etc, etc & it will dissolve. Long time back I had a 1982 Subaru wagon. It had a neat little cubby in the dash. I'd had a little bottle of Muskol 100% DEET for years (a little went a long way). On a fishing trip to the Porkies Summer '84 I left the Muskol in the cubby. It leaked just a little bit & ate thru the bottom of the cubby. Oops :shock:

Lately I've been using Repel made of eucalyptus & lemon oil. Smells good but you have to put it on frequently. Walgreens used to carry things that supposedly mimicked the sound dragon flies make. The theory is that the noise scares away skeeters. Seemed to work sort of. Haven't seen them in stores lately.

Fact is that if you love the outdoors you have to put up with certain inconveniences. That's life.
 
#35 ·
I know this is an old thread.... but I mentioned earlier how this was "a year of ticks" for me....

Me and two buddies spent labor day weekend on smith mountain lake in Va.

There was a 30ft section of wooded brush that we had to go through to get to our friends dock.

We passed through that section ~4 times during the trip. We amassed ~10 tiny ticks during those passes

We got them all off before they could latch on

1 slipped through the cracks. My buddy found it 4 days later on his shin and plucked it off.

2 weeks later he found a large rash in the shower.

He is now taking medication for his lyme disease.

Dont f*ck around with these guys... hopefully he caught it early enough and wont suffer many long term consequences (i.e. nerve pain and joint swelling)
 
#36 ·
It is a good idea if you are bit and remove the tick yourself to bag and save it as different ticks can carry different diseases. Doctors usually have to report bites and as much information as possible to the CDC. Data helps them identify trends and such.
 
#37 ·
Got bitten in the Blue Ridge a few years back. Went on Doxycycline for a month. Whacked me out. All better now. Only had one on me this year. Weird too - we were driving to a friend's house for a 4th of July party. Sitting in traffic on Dempster & I felt something crawling on my arm. Flicked the MF out the window - hope it got smashed by a car.

An old friend got bitten in the Catskills a year or so ago. Didn't get it taken care of right away & is suffering the consequences.

So Phil is right - don't mess around if you find a tick attached.
 
#38 ·
Rambler said:
Sitting in traffic on Dempster & I felt something crawling on my arm
Was fishing with the same buddy who just got lyme on the DPR, were headed south on Milwuakee and we damn near crashed because we had found one crawling. Pulled over and started checking ourselves in a parking lot. We probably looked like we were on PCP
 
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