Ticks and Kids

[Hawkeyewife]

Last night I found the fourth tick on my 6 yr old daughter in the last 10 days! It was a tiny deer tick. We do a check every night after bathtime. She also had one taken off last week at school by the nurse. Has anybody else seen an increase in ticks this year?

I feel weird about sending my daughter to school with repellent on everyday but will send her with a bug band to put on her ankle whenever they go outside. She is in school until the 26th so we still have about a month of this I fear.

 

[DoWhat]

Has anybody else seen an increase in ticks this year?

Yes, they are bad this year.

 

[frozenrain]

I had my first tick on me after a trail walk last Monday.Lucky I noticed it drying after my shower because I hear that a tick has to be on you for at least 24 hours to be able to transmit the Lymes Disease.
I have heard that there is a huge increase this year also.

 

[2Bullies73]

We have seen tons this year also, we call our 8 year old a tick magnet... it crazy, usually they are only on him, but we've found them on me, my husband and my older son... its crazy !!! I would do the bug band too, I spray mine down now even before they take the trash out... its gotten that bad!!!

 

[CalvertNewbie]

I've also noticed a huge increase in ticks this year. We check our dog every day & have pulled many ticks off of him. I've also had about 5 or 6 crawling up my legs while working outside in the yard in the past couple of weeks, which wasn't an issue last spring. Luckily, I haven't been bitten yet but I'm constantly checking for ticks.

So do these bug bands actually work? I've never heard of them, I'm kinda new to this whole "country living" down here!

 

[BeenSpur'd]

I thought with the extra cold weather we had this winter that the ticks would be less but I was wrong. There seems to be more of them in yards. I've been doing some trail clearing and have noticed there are less in the woods, normally I would pick a bunch off of me. This year I've only had a few and that is without any Deep Woods Off on. Last year I went through two spray cans of the stuff. It's weird.

 

[CalvertNewbie]

I thought with the extra cold weather we had this winter that the ticks would be less but I was wrong. There seems to be more of them in yards. I've been doing some trail clearing and have noticed there are less in the woods, normally I would pick a bunch off of me. This year I've only had a few and that is without any Deep Woods Off on. Last year I went through two spray cans of the stuff. It's weird.

That is strange but I notice the same thing. They seem to be all over our yard, yet our yard is surrounded by woods on 3 sides. I'm getting ticks on me while gardening in beds really far away from the woods. Our dog is getting ticks on him while out in the yard but not when he runs around the woods.

 

[Hawkeyewife]

We haven't gotten any from our yard yet this year (we have a pretty small yard in a new housing area) but I suspect my daughter has gotten her ticks at the school playground. It is in a clearing next to some woods. My husband took our boys on a stroller ride down through the woods bordering our neighborhood and they all came home with ticks on them. I bought a few bug bands at Target for my daughter and for the stroller, we'll see if those work. Of course bug spray for adventures in the woods etc.

 

[jsouthan]

I have to jump in with just a few words, as ticks and Lyme Disease are something that I am very "passionate" about, I guess you could say. First off, it is great that you check your child every day, as it is true that if the tick has not been on for more than a day, the likelihood that it will be able to transmit anything is minute. The one thing I always like to share with people, because many do not know, is that the "bullseye" that everyone knows to look for associated with Lyme Disease can be anywhere on your body, not just where the tick was. So, as you are checking for ticks, also just keep an eye out for this type of marking as well. My son developed Lyme Disease after having a tick we didn't even know about (it must have fallen off after a very brief time). The bullseye started developing on his forehead and then spread out across his face until the outer ring of it went right down his nose. Good thing was, we weren't going to miss it there! Although we certainly would have seen a tick right smack on his forehead, so I know it was not there. Fortunately, he took the antibiotics and was fine.

The ticks are terrible this year. We even had one just crawling on the wall in our living room! (It must have come in on one of the dogs -- yuck!) Just make sure to keep an eye out and stay vigilant and all should be well.

 

[morningbell]

Growing up in rural PA, playing in the woods everyday, I pulled 3 to 4 ticks out of my head every morning. Lyme's wasn't an issue back then. Now, dealing with an indoor/outdoor cat, there are teeny tiny ticks that hitch a ride with her and seek out the nooks and crannies of our bodies. We picked 6 ticks off her in 1 day (I keep bugging BF to put the Frontline on her and he finally did). I love being outside but I fear getting Lyme's while pregnant and refuse to wear bug repellent in any capacity.

 

[dn0121]

Holy cow, I guess we've been lucky. We have 3 dogs who all use frontline and I treat the yard every year. Also our lot was treated when the house was built and there is not really woods around only a lake with tall grass (we're never in.) I guess we have been lucky. I fear the tick and lyme disease.

 

[Christy]

I hear that a tick has to be on you for at least 24 hours to be able to transmit the Lymes Disease.

This is not true. I had a tick on me for less than 24 hours and I still wound up with Lyme. I also didn't get a "bulls eye" rash. Mine looked more like bruising, not a rash. My daughter didn't get a bulls eye either.

 

[Toxick]

Last night I found the fourth tick on my 6 yr old daughter in the last 10 days! It was a tiny deer tick. We do a check every night after bathtime. She also had one taken off last week at school by the nurse. Has anybody else seen an increase in ticks this year?

I have.

At first I thought it was because my kids were spending more time in the back yard because we got them a trampoline a couple months ago. There's a lot of trees, and our yard is fringed with wooded lots.

But we moved the trampoline out front - no trees, and I'm still picking ticks off of them on the regular.

The dog too. He even had one on his tongue. That was fun getting off.

 

[Jameo]

I ended up with Lyme's last year and never noticed a tick on me.

 

[frozenrain]

This is not true. I had a tick on me for less than 24 hours and I still wound up with Lyme. I also didn't get a "bulls eye" rash. Mine looked more like bruising, not a rash. My daughter didn't get a bulls eye either.

I am sorry to hear that. I heard it from a doctor but we all know they are not right about everything. I guess even if you did not get the bulls-eye;the bruising would have been a warning.

I ended up with Lyme's last year and never noticed a tick on me.

I hear that you can get really tiny nymph stage ones?? I also wonder how you can check your head when you have so much hair??

I had to check my daughter last night after a trail walk and it was hard.Now I am getting to know where all her freckles are though!

 

[dn0121]

I ended up with Lyme's last year and never noticed a tick on me.

so do u still have it? how did you know you had it? you all have me a bit freaked out now.

 

[Jameo]

so do u still have it? how did you know you had it? you all have me a bit freaked out now.

No, they caught it early. I did like 10 (maybe 12 or 14) days of antibiotics. It was like 2 months after I was diagnosed with pernicious anemia. I was feeling very run down again, no energy, had a hard time concentrating and was achy. I thought my B-12 was low again so I had a crap load of blood work done and they found I had Lymes AND a under active thyroid :doublewhammy:

 

[dn0121]

They need to hurry up and find a vaccine for it!

 

[Christy]

I guess even if you did not get the bulls-eye;the bruising would have been a warning.

I went in to be tested as a precaution within a week of removing the tick. The bruising didn't show up until a little later. It looked like I was beaten, it was all purple and black. I've been through the mill with Lyme when my daughter had it, so I'm slightly paranoid when it comes to it.

 

[Toxick]

Now I am getting to know where all her freckles are though!

My daughter has a tick-sized mole on her scalp on the left side of her head. It's the only thing on her body that doesn't glow in the dark from being so white. When she was younger she had really, really, really thin wispy hair and you could see it. I never got used to it, and when she was 3 or 4 years old, I would still stop her when she'd run by thinking it was a tick.

Her hair is a lot thicker now, and I don't normally see that mole any more. But wouldn't you know that every time she comes inside and we go on a tick-hunt, I see that thing, and go into alert mode.