posted
My 24 year old son pulled a tick off of his dog while at our home on Christmas day. The dog and my son don't live here, but they do live in town and are over to our house pretty often.
He has taken great steps to try and avoid ticks and fleas being on his two dogs, ESPECIALLY since learning about my Lyme dx. They both go to the vet regularly and are well taken care of, but we know that doesn't mean they will be free of these critters........
He didn't want to "freak me out" (as he said), but carefully pulled this tick off his dog. He put the tick on the desk and was using pens to move it around to examine it.
When he finally told me he had found a tick, we put it in a baggie. We still have it there and I'm wanting to know what the next step is.
What do I do with this tick? Have him take the tick to his vet? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!
Thanks,
terri3boys
Posts: 268 | From Texas | Registered: Aug 2007
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posted
Hey Cave --- thanks for your quick and informative response!
This tick has been in the baggie since Christmas morning and I'm assuming that it's dead.
Is there any point in putting him in an empty pill bottle with the moist cotton, etc.? If it's dead, then what should I do with it?
Say they're still able to test this tick, dead or alive. Is there any action taken if it tests positive for Lyme?
I'm not trying to be pessimistic, but would this benefit anyone in any way? Other than watching for signs of Lyme (or a co-infection) showing up in/on my family members, what else can I do?
Don't get me wrong, I WANT to be PRO-ACTIVE, I just feel like I'm shrugging my shoulders because I know how difficult this whole "journey" can be.........
Sorry, I'm tired, irritable, feel crappy, stressed out about many issues...........you know how things can be. The LAST thing I want to deal with is testing a damn tick!
Thanks for letting me vent.
Posts: 268 | From Texas | Registered: Aug 2007
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posted
Honestly, I would probably just flush it down the toilet.
Don't count on it being dead yet if its only been in the baggie since Christmas day. If they can survice being tossed around in a heated dryer for 30 minutes, a baggie is nothing. I had a tick survive a very long time in a Ziploc once. And then when I saw it laid eggs I burned the entire bag. Now I know they can easily escape from a baggie and I wouldn't keep them around in my house - no way.
Tell your son to call his dogs vet. Many vets today will test for tick borne disease at routine exams. Also make sure the dog is on Frontline. Watch for signs of tick-borne disease in the dog, especially change in appetite, energy level, or stiffness.
merrygirl
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
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posted
Don't bring it to the vet. They will do nothing with it.
I wouldnt flush it down the toilet either. I read somewhere that they can climb out.
I think if it were my dog I would wait and see. A vet most likely is not going to treat the dog that has been exposed and has no symptoms.
Your son could have the dog tested for Lyme and co's in a few weeks. There is a test that can be run in the animal hospital that takes 10 minutes.
It is pretty accurate. It is too soon to test now.
This is what I think being a vet tech for 10 years in a very endemic area.
Not a doc though....
Melissa
Posts: 3905 | From USA | Registered: May 2007
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merrygirl
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By the way K9 Advantix is the best product for keeping ticks off your dog.
Melissa Posts: 3905 | From USA | Registered: May 2007
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disturbedme
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posted
quote:Originally posted by cave76: Save the tick if you have to think about it. If it's still alive and in good shape it will live in that pill bottle in your fridge for a year or more. Truth. And can always be tested.
A tick can stay alive in a pill bottle in the fridge for a year or more!??! That's crazy... and scary.
-------------------- One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar. ~ Helen Keller
My Lyme Story Posts: 2965 | From Land of Confusion (bitten in KS, moved to PA, now living in MD) | Registered: Jun 2007
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Just Julie
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I kinda understood how MAYBE a small tick can crawl out of a pill bottle, but a ZIPLOCK BAGGIE???? Please, tell me this ain't so.
Please?
If the ziplock is truly sealed, all the way across, how can it get out? Does it bite a hole in the baggie and crawl out?, or is it just that the potential human error type escape--where the ziplock is not fully "locked" all the way across the baggie?
Come on guys, I'll probably have tick nightmares tonight. Really.
-------------------- Julie Posts: 1027 | From Northern CA | Registered: May 2001
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posted
I don't want to TOUCH this baggie with the tick! I have an empty pill bottle and a cotton ball ready to go, but I'm worried this thing might escape out of the pill bottle!
Do I just cut off the corner of the baggie that it's in and make sure it drops into the pill bottle?
There's NO WAY I'm going to put it in the fridge. If that's a "requirement" then I might as well burn it.
Hubby is already in bed asleep, and that's where I should be right now, but I thought I would see if there were any more responses..........I should have waited until the morning!!!!!!! LOL!
I did check with my son regarding the preventative meds for the dogs, and he told me they did the K9 Advantix each month for both dogs.
Little background on the dogs: They are both "rescued" dogs from our local SPCA that my son and his girlfriend adopted, although not at the same time.
Hailey is a mutt, but primarily Catahoula Leopard. The SPCA says she's a Hurricane Katrina dog and was definitely abused on top of that. They adopted her when she was approximately 6 months old and she's now over 1.5 yrs old.
Buddy is also a mutt, primarily Rhodesian Ridgeback Coon Hound. His background is more confusing. He's about 4 years old and was a week away from being put down at the SPCA. He looked like a skeleton and weighed less than 30 lbs.
It was apparent that he knew how to live on the streets as a stray, but at one time had been someone's pride and joy as their gorgeous dog.
They have managed to nurse him back to health over the past several months. He's gotten rid of his worms, under the care of the vet. He now weighs at least 65-70 lbs. It's amazing how healthy he looks.
Anyway, enough about the dogs.........I just wanted y'all to know that these dogs get their regular check ups probably more than they even need to. With that being said, they also are exposed to a lot: the dog parks here, our property in the county (with cattle, deer and God knows what else), and so forth.
Okay, I've GOT to go look at that tick and make a decision, AND I've got to get to bed. I'm wiped out and have some heavy worries about some yucky issues.
I'll keep you posted on the fate of the tick!!
G'night~~~~~
Take care,
terri3boys (and who knows how many ticks!)
Posts: 268 | From Texas | Registered: Aug 2007
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merrygirl
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If his dogs are still getting ticks on the Advantix, Tell him to apply it every 3 weeks instead of every 4 weeks.
Melissa
Posts: 3905 | From USA | Registered: May 2007
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Just Julie
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I just wanted to add, Terri, that if you or your brother remove ticks regularly, and want to have a rather "safe" place to deposit them (no flushing down sinks or toilets!) I'd suggest mason jars filled with alcohol.
I got this tip on this board, and have used it ever since. They sell mason jars at the supermarket (at least here in CA they do) a dozen to a pack. I then buy a bottle of rubbing alcohol. Fill the mason jar up half way, mark it "tick jar!" all over the jar, and use that in my garage, where my outside-only cats reside.
I use the "O'Tom" Tick Twister tick removal tool to remove ticks on my cats. I DO NOT touch the tick, ever. This little green plastic "tool" is fantastic, fabulous, best thing ever invented!
It is better than tweezers, because it was designed to pull the tick, engorged, or not, off the animal, without ever having to touch the damn evil thing. Ever. You literally pull the tick straight out, it's very easy. No tugging, or twisting needed. Then, you simply put the tick on the tool, into the mason jar already filled with alcohol, and rub it up against the inside of the jar to get it off the tool.
I have used the tick removal tool to even get crawling ticks off the cats, because I so do not want to touch the damn thing! It works by scooping up the tick in the cats fur.
I wish I could link the website, but if you type "otom.com" into google, it will come up. I have ordered from them, they are international, with other countries languages on the website, but english/usa is on there too. I keep one of the little green tools in my car (never had to use it--yea!!!) one in my house, one in my garage. Handy at all times. It has given me more peace of mind than I could ever hope for.
Oh, in your little ziplock type bag that each tool comes in, you get a regular size tool, and a smaller one, for the little eeny bitty evil tick monsters. Very handy. About $1.79 for each packet.
Their website has info on lyme, babs, etc. Very informative.
-------------------- Julie Posts: 1027 | From Northern CA | Registered: May 2001
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Vermont_Lymie
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quote:Originally posted by cave76:
I always burnt the ticks that I pulled off that weren't going to the lab. I stuck them on a piece of Scotch tape, wadded it up with a big piece of paper towel and burnt it to a crisp.
While I danced around the house, chanting DIE, SUCKER--- DIE!!! Felt good.
That's probably what I would do! Score one for humans.
Posts: 2557 | From home | Registered: Aug 2006
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Foggy
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U could also call your local health dept or city hall & see if they offer free tick testing. Many towns offer this, especially in endemic regions.
Posts: 2451 | From Lyme Central | Registered: Aug 2001
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Got the tick into the pill bottle last night! I had the bottle open with a moist cotton ball already in it, then I cut the corner of the ziplock baggie where the FAT tick was.
I let the tick and that particular part of the baggie drop into the baggie, then I put another moist cotton ball on top of that.
I slammed the lid shut and started taping the bottle shut with duct tape. I taped for probably 10-15 minutes!
Then I put the bottle into a small ziplock baggie, then put THAT one into a bigger ziplock. It's marked on the outside and rolled up with 2 granite samples holding down the sides.
I'm NOT putting that thing in my refrigerater! It was CRAWLING last night, so it WAS still alive after almost 3 days in a ziplock baggie!
I really appreciate all of your responses and advice about this. I'm going to pass along this info to my son and his girlfriend about how to handle any future ticks on their dogs and also to use the Advantix every 3 weeks, instead of once a month.
I'll keep you posted.........any other comments are completely welcome!!! Thank you all!!
Take care,
terri3boys Posts: 268 | From Texas | Registered: Aug 2007
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just don
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posted
I guess ALOT depends on whether this tick was 'attached' and engored?? Or JUST crawling around on the dogs fur??
Yes I thought ticks drowned too,,,but recently there was a thread here where they CAN swim and survive UNDER water for 2 WEEKS!!!
They have gill type things that ALLOW them to survive in water!! Flushing isnt an option NOW,,,I guess!!
IF he was crawling around,,,about all you have to fear from MY reading is Rocky Mountain Spotted fever,,,other things require attachmnet and engorement.
I would THINK an equally good demise is a good stiff "Squish" between like a baggie plastic covered fingers,,, and a one way ticket in the garbage truck.
How would one 'burn' one inside the house(IF you dont have a fireplace or wood stove etc??being--just don--
-------------------- just don Posts: 4548 | From Middle of midwest | Registered: May 2001
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I would throw it in a vial of alcohol with tightly screwed lid before I ever put it in a ziploc or a pill bottle.
I once heard of a lady who taped it to an index card and wrote the date thinking it would make a nice easy way to file. Unfortunately the next time she went to add another tick to the card, the first was gone.
So don't keep them in the fridge, don't keep them in a file, do not do not keep them in a pile Do not tape them here Do not tape them there Do not tape them anywhere
Do not ziploc it, baggie it, pill bottle it, jar it, can it, pressure cook it, or stick it with a fork
Don't make an earring out of it or decoupage it for a charm on your bracelet
Don't mix it with your granola and
Do not forget to KILL it!
Posts: 339 | From nowhere | Registered: May 2007
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Just Julie
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posted
Yeah, lymetoo, the descriptive part of the o'tom tick removal tool DOES say to "twist". I read the website again, and it definitely does say that in it's description on how to use this tool to remove a tick.
That said, I have NEVER twisted the tick to remove it, using this tool. It just isn't necessary to remove the tick. When you slip the curved part of the tool under the closest part of the tick body (the head) that is attached to the animal, and slide the tool to it's very smallest end, and PULL straight, the tick comes out of the animal quickly. You may have a bit of a "tug" action, but there has never been any such resistance that I've found where twisting became necessary---EVER. I have removed all sizes of ticks with this tool, and used both the small and big sized tool.
I have removed the head of the tick, every time using it, which is what I think it was designed for, there is NO way to NOT remove the head. It is brilliantly designed. And no, I do not sell this tool, and don't know anyone who does. I asked my vet if she would buy in bulk and sell them at her office, but they weren't interested. Even though we live in prime tick country. OH well.
I did take my neighbors dog (black lab) for a walk last week, and damn if I didn't see an attached, slightly engorged tick on her belly when she rolled over for a belly rub. I did not freak (way past that stage, thank goodness) but I was heavily disappointed to not be able to pull the damn tick out with my tick removal tool. I wasn't gonna attempt to pull it out with my fingers (NEVER!!!!) so I grabbed a flat type rock off the ground, and tried to get it off her that way.
It was near impossible. Very frustrating, and I don't know if I got the head out. It made me realize just how remarkable the o'tom tool is.
-------------------- Julie Posts: 1027 | From Northern CA | Registered: May 2001
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posted
Well, I don't KNOW what I'm going to do with this tick. I have it all bundled up in the pill bottle/moist cotton ball/duct tape/double ziplock baggie doo-hickey thing.
I have it sitting on the window sill at the moment. Not sure what to do with it.
I pulled up in my driveway and saw my cat "pawing" at it in the window sill. I think she's probably just curious about what's in there.
It's still anchored down on the sides with the 2 granite samples, so it doesn't look like she moved it.
At this point, I'd like to just burn the whole thing, but I don't want to open the pill bottle. I should have just squished it while it was in the ziplock baggie.........
I'm so creeped out at the whole thing. When I said the tick was "fat" --- it was at least the size of this --- o
I've got chills just thinking about it. I've got to go get ready for bed, take my meds, etc. I'll keep y'all posted..........
G'night my friends,
terri3boys
Posts: 268 | From Texas | Registered: Aug 2007
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groovy2
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Blow Torch and a Hammer -
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That's probably what I would do! Score one for humans.
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