My wife, who is a nurse, just reported a person coming into the ER last night with a bullseye rash from a tick bite.
It is so cold in NY & one would think it is not possible to get one at this time. It is in the 30's & we even had some snow flurries yesterday. During the night it hits the 20's. Yet still there are ticks and we need to be reminded of this.
I have already reported before that my neighbors dog was left outside for 10 minutes & came back with 12 deer ticks in mid November.
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
ALWAYS possible. Have you ever seen that video of moose in Canada dying from tick infestation? In the dead of winter.
When you bring the tree into the warm house, they wake up and start traveling around looking for a blood meal--meaning people!
A lady that used to post on LymeNet years ago, bettyG, got lyme that exact way.
Posted by map1131 (Member # 2022) on :
I just removed another nymph tick from my face, actually on skin right outside the left corner of my lips last Friday.
It wasn't until that spot had swelled, became irritated and had a rash.....that I realized what it was.
I just thought the grandbaby had maybe scratched me. I had noted the spot and didn't pay any attention to it.
In KY, we've had a cold spell but of late the weather has been seasonal. I had gone out that Wed and put bird seed in my feeders. The only explanation I have or can think of. It could have come from anywhere.
My husband just can't understand why they go after me. Yes, I had tingling and numbness on left side of lips off and on. Then I had something happen with my left breast on Christmas Day that I've never experienced in 15 yrs.
I came out of the shower crying to my husband. Swelling and blister on the nipple and I didn't realize it until the shower water hit me and I felt this awful pain.
When I got out and dried off and looked down and inspected my breast in the mirror.....I just fell apart.
I'm using tea tree on it and it has calmed it down. I also hit myself with 30 minutes of rife Christmas Day. I've not had anymore tingling on my lip or numbness since.
I had put my essential oil mix of tick repellent away in the closet when the colder weather set in. Why? I know better. I usually spray my shoes, ankles before I go into my very small grass area to my feeders.
What was I thinking? Now it's a more frequent rife protocol. The unknown bacteria(s), protozoa, parasites, etc to think about and fight.
I didn't let it ruin my day. After my cry, I put a smile on my face and went to see some family. Didn't mention any of it to family that day or even since.
There was a study done that proved that some of us attract ticks... PERIOD.. and always will.
Hope you can arrest this very quickly!
Posted by TF (Member # 14183) on :
I took my lyme doctors's advice and got rid of all of our bird feeders in our yard. And, we really enjoyed birdwatching.
You don't want anything in the yard that attracts wildlife.
And, I also am a tick magnet.
The famous pediatric lyme specialist, Dr. J, says that some of us produce pheromones that attract ticks. These people, from childhood, will be tick magnets due to their pheromones.
So, since that is me (I attract ticks and mosquitoes also), I have had to give up various activities that put me at risk of getting bitten by a tick.
My lyme doc said no more walking in woods, no walking in the grass along side a road, no more picking berries in the wild. He even told me to sell our house and move to a less tick-prone area. We haven't done that.
But, we treat our yard with tick killer at least 3 times during the year. And, I have totally stopped gardening. I learned the hard way--getting ticks on me and even bites.
So, I now consider it a small price to pay to remain lyme-free.
Posted by Tincup (Member # 5829) on :
The ticks cant move around if it is freezing outside,they are cold blooded.
However there are a lot of warm blooded creatures out there covered in ticks,keeping the ticks warm.
Nice cozy rabbit,fox,bird,deer,mouse,bat,squirrel, arm pit or groin.
I skinned a squirrel yesterday but found no ticks on it.We still don't have black legged ticks here.
I got Lyme in KY.
MADDOG
Posted by Lymedin2010 (Member # 34322) on :
Wow, 100,000 ticks on a moose...unreal!
It really stinks when just a few seconds walk on the grass can send your life into a spiral. It is a shame that we have to make these sacrifices & not be able to live life.
We stopped going on the grass & still my daughter, niece, sister, & neighbor across got bit again this summer. This is from being on the pavers & possibly from the trampoline, which was one of the last few places I allowed my children.
Had to sadly take that away too. This land has become useless now.
Here is a tick/winter story that I dug up, it looks like they contain some sort of blood antifreeze:
Maddog, I just read a medical abstract that stated black legged ticks were found in several counties in OH. So Ohio is under attack.
I will find the story and post it here for you to read.
We have had very mild weather the last 10 days, including thunderstorm, tornado warnings. Ticks crawl into bark or shelter for cold. Come back out to feed when the weather is agreeable.
We live in a patio/condo home community surrounded by blacktop with little area called a yard?? We have deer all over our community.
Where they roam from we don't know. We just have seen them walk down the street, like they own the neighborhood. They feed in our community common area which is a pretty good size grazing area for them.
I'm a tick magnet and have been for 28 yrs. I found a dog tick on me one morning standing at mirror putting deodorant on.
It was in my arm pit. At that time we lived near a park and had walked thru the park and down into our home just 2 days before.
I freaked out and drove 25 minutes to my mothers house for her to dig that son of a gun out. Several days later I had flu like illness, fever etc and went to Immediate Care Center, didn't have primary doc at that time.
Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever was all over the news in KY at that time. They did RMSF test and it came back negative. The doc put me on abx as precaution.
Don't remember abx or dose. But then I went about life until July '99 when life as I knew it went ballistic.
But I do remember some issues during all those years that just might have been the beginning. Turned hypothyroid, sinus infections, dizzy spells, infertile?????
TF, I will consider your advice from LLMD on bird feeding. We always keep the landscaping, yard especially around the feeder treated with Sevin.
Again I've failed to tell my husband in the last 2 mths to go treat the yard/landscaping where feeders are? My mistake. We treat monthly during spring, summer and fall. Winter during a warm spell.
I'm sending him out today with my big bag of DE and treating the area. My last trip to Walmart they had already stored away the Sevin until spring.
I know exactly where you were ticked Maddog. Many in our Lyme support group have been ticked there to, including children. Sad sad sad.
I saw a documentary that showed ticks crawling across the snow and ice in Alaska. They are around all year round. Hardy little beasts!
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
quote:Originally posted by TF:
So, I now consider it a small price to pay to remain lyme-free.
- It's worth it to me too!!
Posted by desertwind (Member # 25256) on :
Found six crawling on my dog post hike. There is no safe season. One warmish day in NJ is all it takes.
Posted by steve1906 (Member # 16206) on :
Ticks are year round....hot/cold/ice/rain/even four feet of snow, etc....They live and bit year round!
Posted by seibertneurolyme (Member # 6416) on :
I remember someone posting once about finding ticks in unopened bags of bird seed so that is something to consider also.
And someone told me once that in New York some parks had signs saying "If it is above 32 degrees the ticks are active."
Bea Seibert
Posted by Lymedin2010 (Member # 34322) on :
This is a good reason to float rivers. Ticks can't swim and minnows would make a meal out of them real quick.
Floating is a way to get out there see the sights and not get bit.
Every state has some slow easy rivers to sit back and just float down.
But don't run the Kayak under bushes along the shore!!!!!!!!!!!
When i first moved in here were i live now,there were Rabbits everywere.
Put out a cabage plant and it would be gone the next morning.
I shot 53 rabbits the first summer. They were covered in ticks. The edges of their ears were just leg to leg ticks. All sizes tiny ones huge ones.They had fleas jumping off of them.
Some rabbits had scratched huge amounts of fur off. They were naked rabbits covered in ticks.
The next summer i shot 39,then 19, each year less.
The ticks and most rabbits dissapeared.
But we did get lots of coyotes they sing each evening,mabe they fixed the problem not me.
At first i thought they were just brown dog ticks but know i wonder looking back i just don't know.
MADDOG
Posted by map1131 (Member # 2022) on :
But I've got to get to the river bank and that's where I'm going to get in trouble.
The summer I got into a bed of nymphs in our lake yard we had Momma Rabbit and all her babies under our shed.
Tulmeria(SP) bacteria known in rabbits and ticks, has always made me wonder if those ticks had been feeding on those wild rabbits.
I spent the whole summer loving all my wild animals in our lake yard. The beautiful deer, the rabbits, the wild turkeys.
I thought oh what beauty to look at and see Pine trees, cedar tree, nature and water just over the hill.
Today when I look at these type areas I see danger. I wish I wasn't like that. I used to be a tree hugger. Now I'm fearful of grass.
Sad.
Pam
Posted by Rivendell (Member # 19922) on :
Pam, I'm so sorry. I was and still am a tree hugger, but I hug from a distance.
Well, I think I was bitten again, too. Found a bullseye on my breast. And getting sick again.
LLMD has me back on stronger dose of antibiotics and starting to feel somewhat better.
I really don't have a clue where or when I was bitten.
I really don't want to live in a glass bubble. That may be the future, with ticks everywhere year round - even crawling across the ice and snow in Alaska.
Posted by map1131 (Member # 2022) on :
I am having concerns with my left breast still. Reading Dr B sites I found it's called Lymphocytoma. The nipple did heal and scab over.
Now I'm having aches in my left breast. This started yesterday and is continuing today. I'm about to do Lyme on rife machine.
Looking at on-line pics of course it's a man's nipple, but I saw one that showed the size my nipple was, except my nipple was blood red and blistered up.
Oral abx no longer work for me. Based on the last year of fighting a UTI. 3 different orals did not kill the bacteria in my urinary track. It would need to be IV something abx.
I will go there if I need too. This time my insurance company will have a fight/appeal if they were to deny me IV after 6 weeks.
I've learned to never say never. I hope and pray that my continuing rife sessions will keep it in check.
Keep me in your thoughts gang. Lord, don't let me step backwards in this Lyme journey.
Rivendell, I've been tick bitten many times since the dozen that got me in '99. Yes, I did get quarter size bulls eyes within I think it was 2 weeks of starting doxy.
But I've never had a bulls eye since. Now in '05 when 2 Lone Star ticks got me, I did have one of two bites that had a rash/red hard sore that took a month to heal.
But 3 weeks later it turned back into an active bite again. Healed again. This cycle repeated itself 6 times before I finally told my voodoo chiro doc about it.
He did something with vials and did some body work on me. Weird I know, but the sore finally healed and never turned into an active tick bite again.
All these years later I can have an itch and it is the exact place where that Lone Star put it's venom in me. I always get frightened and check to see if there is skin sore again.
Nothing there but a deep itch. Which makes me wonder????? Is there still some bad guys buried in that area?
Rivendell, we could share the glass bubble. Wouldn't that be sad to feel so frightened of being bitten that we would confine ourselves to a bubble.
I'm going to rife. Died lyme die.
Pam
Posted by map1131 (Member # 2022) on :
Bumping up...I guess needing some thoughts from others, I should have posted this in my own thread.
Pam
Posted by GretaM (Member # 40917) on :
Well I hope there's room for 3 in that bubble.
I used to garden, (camp 2-3 times a month), hike, run, play outdoor sports, birdwatch.
All my hobbies involved ticks.
Growing up in the Rockies, I only remember wood ticks. I assumed it was the same everywhere.
Then I moved to the coast and happily spent the majority of all my spare time outdoors.
My dog and me were constantly finding "back routes" to get to some swimming spots. I would stand on the shore while she would swim.
Talk about a high risk lifestyle.
My dog is dead and I am fighting for my life.
I've moved to the top floor in my apartment now, as I was worried about ticks.
HA!
Yesterday while vacuuming, I am 90% certain I found a nymph on my floor. I thought it was a fruit fly at first, (darn pineapple), but when I looked closer it didn't have wings and had 8 legs. It was so small, and my eyes aren't good anymore, but I am almost certain it was a nymph.
I happily sprayed it with bleach and sucked it up my vacuum. Said a few choice words, not repeatable on here.
I can only assume they are falling off the birds that land on my balcony.
Now I see chickadees as a threat.
Where does it end?
No where is safe.
Don't slide back into the pit, Pam.
Keep rifing.
Can you get a PCP to check out your sore boob? What if it is an infected lymph node or something?
I have one requirement for bubble living...
Chocolate mousse must be on the menu. Posted by map1131 (Member # 2022) on :
You must share your chocolate mousse with me. Please. I can't live in a bubble either. I enjoy life to much to give up.
I've already decided I'm going to call one my PCP and try to get in to him next week. Two I'm going to call my gyn and tell them I need another mammogram and try to explain lyme & co. Lord, I dread that.
My gyn knows my history and years with lyme, but I've never really talked to him about. I did have him do a partical hyster back in 2000, because lyme life with menstrual cycles were horrible.
Years of female problems before lyme (?), Pelvic inflammatory disease, uterus that laid backwards, infertility, etc. I actually thought removing uterus would take some lyme spirochetes with it.
Nope, just one less thing to worry about.
Pam
Posted by GretaM (Member # 40917) on :
That's the fighting spirit Pam!
A plan of attack is always a good place to start
Yes, gyn appointments are complete drags. Can't imagine lyme thrown into the mix on top of everything else.
It's hard enough talking lyme with any non-LL doc. Sigh.
Yes I have a thing for chocolate mousse. Haven't had any since going lower carb. I have to find a low carb version so I can get my fix!
Then I'd probably eat only mousse all day and get a gut ache! Haha!
Thinking of you Pam Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
Do you have a bird feeder, Greta?
Posted by sugarjo62 (Member # 41896) on :
We just found a teeny tiny tick, fully engorged (gross) on the kitchen floor yesterday! It was ALIVE!!!! My H thinks it is from the firewood he's been bringing in from the outside shed. Crap.
Posted by GretaM (Member # 40917) on :
No, no bird feeder, lymetoo.
I used to love chickadees. Now I see them as airplanes for ticks.
Posted by Rivendell (Member # 19922) on :
Pam and everyone, what do we do?
They are everywhere, now. I mean seriously, it is only going to get worse, and I really can't live in a bubble.
Pam, I'm glad your doctors accept your lyme diagnosis and I hope they can help and hope the rifing works.
I have been afraid to tell my doctors. I guess I am afraid of the stress if they don't believe me, and just tired of it all. REally.
I may try rifing eventually. Been trying to convert to all Buhner herbs, but just like I have trouble with antibiotics due to acid reflux, I have trouble with some herbs due to allergies.
Oh, what the heck. I'll just work on a drawing and make this all go away.
At least I can do this activity better than I used to. So I have improved, just not well.
Posted by Lymedin2010 (Member # 34322) on :
I used to live in the city & I had to BEG my father to take us upstate so I can roam free. Always looking to escape to such beauty, tranquility & peace. It was a place where I felt like I belonged & took much comfort in.
Although I could not convince many of my friends, I went & loved fishing. Even while starting ABX & having a pic line I took to the lakes to relieve my pains & stress.
The one thing I can say is that I was bitten by many mosquitos. I now regret doing that & wonder if I hadn't done that would I be better today? Who knows, but that gentle spring breeze & calm rippling water will call to me & I again will find myself without restrain.
Map, I also have pain on my left breast (& I am a male). Almost feels like Borrelia has setup shop in there & is causing a mass of some sort. Pain comes & goes. I also get electrical zapps that come and go.
I have been meaning to do this, that is take a heating pad & heat that area up. Some spirochetes die in temps above 108 & hopefully I can get surrounding skin to reach that temp for 30 min or so.
Ticks from firewood, I hear that. I just realized I still have to get my tired body to bring in the Christmas decorations from outside our door. A thick 9' Red Poinsettia Garland hung around the door & 2x 4' mini XMas trees. To avoid ticks I will just bag them & seal it tight.
Posted by map1131 (Member # 2022) on :
I've heard about ticks in firewood many times over the years. Not to long ago I was in someone's home and they had some firewood stacked inside.
I'm not going to keep my mouth shut and let others become ill with this. All I can do is tell them you are endangering your well being. It's up to them to believe my knowledge of the situation or they can live it and then they will wonder, why did I doubt my SIL.
Thank you lymedin2010, I love heat. So I will try driving them from that area at least. I know I can't kill them with heat, I'd die before they would.
But heat to the breast very well might send them packing to another spot. The scary part is....where they would land?
I already have heart disease due to this illness. I certainly wouldn't want them to do more damage there.
Reading these threads I realize it's like The Evasion of the Ticks. They are so darn smart, they are running from cold and snow.
That's scary folks.
Pam
Posted by Lymedin2010 (Member # 34322) on :
Awesome weather here in NY, at last!!!! Not the best time to post this, but it may help a future searcher.
"The Subantarctic is a region in the southern hemisphere just north of the Antarctic Circle which contains the Campbell Islands and îles Crozet. According to the "Encyclopedia of the Antarctic Vol.1" (ed: B. Riffenburg, 2007 p.335), "The zoonosis Lyme disease is caused by the spirochaete Borrelia burgdorferi, which is carried by sea birds transmitted by Ixodes ticks. It has been found through DNA analysis in ticks on the Campbell Islands and the îles Crozet. King penguins on the îles Crozet have antibodies to B. burgdorferi.""
Well so far over the past 2 weeks I have found 3 engorged ticks crawling on my floor, two attached ticks to my dog, a few crawling on her and one attached to me. On Doxy now.
I will have to deal with this the rest of my life as long as I live in NJ and refuse to be pushed inside.
Posted by Lymedin2010 (Member # 34322) on :
My niece found one on her floor in the past two weeks as well. They have 2 big dogs & let them out freely to do their outside business.
Posted by Lymedin2010 (Member # 34322) on :
As the seasons & weather changes, it is good to remind ourselves that ticks can survive cold weather & the winter.
Personally, I don't think global warming is having the grand impact that we read about. Is it allowing for ticks to spread to new territories, I am sure of that.
Ticks can ride the animal for warmth, they can burrow into the dens & tree houses of animals & easily survive regardless of weather.
What I think is happening is that we have removed the natural predators of ticks, unbeknownst to us, & we have removed those animals that allowed ticks to feed on them & naturally killed off or lowered the infection within the tick.
Also we are allowing an unprecedented number of animals to live besides us & we are feeding the ticks. Before these animals would have fed our population, because of shortage of food & would have been target practice for others. We have become a more benevolent society towards animals, since our food supply is easily met.
Im in soth nh and my pest guy just told me there can be nymphs year round and for some reason it will be worse in future
Posted by lpkayak (Member # 5230) on :
Im in soth nh and my pest guy just told me there can be nymphs year round and for some reason it will be worse in future
Posted by lpkayak (Member # 5230) on :
And moose are hunted for meat. So you have to cook it hot enough to kill ketes? No rare moose steaks i guess
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
- As this is being brought up again now, remember that ticks can come in Christmas trees, holiday wreaths, other greenery.
Sadly, many artificial trees are loaded with chemicals.
Still, for those who want safe, healthy and BEAUTIFUL alternatives, now's the time to thing about that. Never give up on the beauty, or traditions you enjoy. Just find ways to make them safer. Shift thinking, get creative, seek out what others have done to bring light and cheer via holiday decorations. -
Posted by lpkayak (Member # 5230) on :
I pick flowers all the time and bring them inside. I spray them with permethrin brfore i bring them in. If i have a live tree or wreath now i would spray it first
Posted by Lymedin2010 (Member # 34322) on :
All very true!
Around here there are a lot of local grown vegetables & fruits sold in the local supermarkets & at the farmer's markets. I would advise caution when bringing those home as well.
Posted by Star Wars Fan (Member # 44326) on :
Yikes!
Posted by Lymedin2010 (Member # 34322) on :
"Thanks to a protein in their bodies that works like antifreeze, ticks survive cold temperatures remarkably well, and can be found looking for a host to bite such as you whenever the temperature is above freezing and the ground is not frozen or covered with snow."
I dont know wherr they came from...maybe off a bird. But i saw them crawling on garb as ge can i winter up north when therr was plenty of snow on ground
Posted by MADDOG (Member # 18) on :
Well i have been hunting here for a month. The squirrels I harvested have 0 ticks on them.
We have millions of tree frogs they are allways chirping and singing while i sit motionless in the woods.
Want to know when it is going to rain ? just listen to the tree frogs they go nuts when rain is coming.
Mabe they eat ticks!!!!!!
MADDOG
Posted by lpkayak (Member # 5230) on :
I just saw a fox acting funny in the dsytime. It was red. But its whole backend was black and not hairy. I wonder if it had mange or was covered in ticks like the moose
Posted by Lymedin2010 (Member # 34322) on :
I guess it depends on where you are at exactly & it depends on what kind & how many animals are feeding the ticks.
Last Nov, I reported a dog getting 12 ticks in 10 minutes & some new people on my block who contracted Lyme disease.
But in close by neighborhoods, where there are no trees near by & where the lawns are manicured, the people are oblivious to ticks & Lyme.
Posted by Ellen101 (Member # 35432) on :
I found a nymph on my dog today. This is the first tick I have found on him in 2 yrs. I have him on advantix monthly and have my yard sprayed every month as well. I will be calling the company Monday to have them come and spray. The other day I looked out my back window and saw the most beautiful deer standing in my backyard. Unfortunately treating the yard will not prevent them from coming in that way.
Posted by GretaM (Member # 40917) on :
I talked to my LL last week. He is getting more reports from patients that are finding larvae and nymph ticks this late in the season. In fact found one himself while demoing where ticks hide to a friend!
That would be wonderful! Maddog, if we could add frogs to the list of tick eaters.
1. Guinea Fowl 2. Frogs
Posted by Lymedin2010 (Member # 34322) on :
Funny how all these cats where I live get bit year in & year out and are never affected. They have had dozens & dozens of ticks on them & nothing.
Maybe they hold the secret?
Posted by Lymedin2010 (Member # 34322) on :
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