Being eaten by a tick that is being eaten by another tick? New Record?

[caddisguy]

I bagged the a tick I pulled out of my ankle yesterday. I was thinking I might start taking the ones that bite me into the doctor so they can send them for testing (and prove lyme is real in BC) but don't feel like waiting for hours at a walk-in clinic. Figured I'd make sure it was dead and flush them where they belong.

In doing so, it became apparent that I was bit by a female deer tick which had a male deer tick engorged. So... I was being eaten by a tick that was eaten by another tick. Should get some sort of trophy for that?

I knew it was possible for ticks to feed off other ticks, as last year I had 15 or so in a small container. A few of the males started feeding off some of the females. I thought it might be a mating thing until I looked it up. Nope, it is what it looks like.

What are the odds of being eaten by a tick that is being eaten by a tick in the wild? I have no idea. Is there a B&C record for this kind of thing?

[ActionJackson017]

caddisguy, you just love giving a guy the heebee-jeebees right before bed, don't you? :mad:

lol.

[gutpile]

You should see a doctor if you have been bitten , you don't want to get lyme disease

[caddisguy]

caddisguy, you just love giving a guy the heebee-jeebees right before bed, don't you? :mad:

lol.

Lol I have some video of it in my leg and then some video of the two ticks after I separated... will be sure to post it up right before bed time... maybe on a Sunday night after everyone has been stomping around in the bush all weekend :D

[caddisguy]

You should see a doctor if you have been bitten , you don't want to get lyme disease

I get bit around 20x each spring... hundreds over the years. Mentioned it to half a dozen doctors but damned if I can get even one to blink an eye and send me for a test. Not that the tests in Canada are useful anyway. That's what our public health care system amounts to. Might explain the high white cell blood count (always 10-16), swollen lymph nodes, persistent low grade fever, intermittent sore joints and palmar erythema but apparently all those things are non-specific and don't warrant further testing. Come back when it seems like it's terminal or organs are failing then we'll have a look is how things seem to work.

Some doctors will give you antibiotics if you tell them you got bit by a tick (I'd be on antibiotics April to July) but actual lyme testing is rare and chronic lyme (anything beyond popping a few pills) is not acknowledged or treated in Canada as far as I can tell. I suspect it is the cost. It's very expensive to treat chronic lyme, let alone short term or long term disability. Doctors all seem to have the same script. First they tell you there is no lyme west of the rockies. Then you point them to stats showing lyme hot-spots in the Fraser Valley and in some areas 20% of ticks are positive. Then they tell you ticks only transmit lyme some small % of time they are attached. Then you tell them you have been bitten over 100x, then they tell you it's only the ticks that are engorged over 24 hours that you have to worry about (partly true) ... but it's really bizarre that you can see half a dozen doctors and they are all following this same script and act really awkward when it comes to this subject whereas they have no problems asking about how your poops, man stuff or whatever.

Sites like canlyme and are also full of poop. They pumped that "careplus" tick test kit that turned out to be something like 98% inaccurate and wouldn't retract.

Crazy world we live in. And to think there is actually a lyme vaccine that is not publicly available because of "lack of demand" or something. Ridiculous.

[Ohwildwon]

I've only seen a couple dozen in my lifetime, thankfully...

Where I hunt in 2-6, nothing..

[browningboy]

Stay out of the long grass, that’s what they like

[monasheemountainman]

Just an FYI to everyone someone I know recently committed suicide. He had Lyme and it deteriorated his body to the point where he couldn't go on living. I also have another acquaintance who has it equally as bad and she cannot find anything to eat that doesn't make her sick. Fkuc the doctors and the Canadian government for not doing anything about this EPIDEMIC. Keep an eye out people if you have any sort of rash that you think could be a tick bite you have about two weeks to get antibiotics then you could be in serious trouble. This is not a joke! Be careful out there and raise awareness please. This is something that needs to be tackled at the federal level.

[Ohwildwon]

Just an FYI to everyone someone I know recently committed suicide. He had Lyme and it deteriorated his body to the point where he couldn't go on living. I also have another acquaintance who has it equally as bad and she cannot find anything to eat that doesn't make her sick. Fkuc the doctors and the Canadian government for not doing anything about this EPIDEMIC. Keep an eye out people if you have any sort of rash that you think could be a tick bite you have about two weeks to get antibiotics then you could be in serious trouble. This is not a joke! Be careful out there and raise awareness please. This is something that needs to be tackled at the federal level.

Yes , I agree, this is no joke...

A lady that lives in my Mothers building, her daughter, has been bed ridden for a couple of years, because of misdiagnosis...

Thankfully her body is fighting it, along with the drugs etc, and slowly getting her life back.. scary...

And there's this...

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/01/health/ticks-mosquitoes-diseases.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=first-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news

[albravo2]

Caddis, stay healthy. You might already carry it but your body is (mostly) able to deal with it.

I probably had it for a dozen years before I had a motorcycle accident (deer tried to kill me, how ironic is that?) and the resulting concussion let the Lyme get a head of steam.

[caddisguy]

Just an FYI to everyone someone I know recently committed suicide. He had Lyme and it deteriorated his body to the point where he couldn't go on living. I also have another acquaintance who has it equally as bad and she cannot find anything to eat that doesn't make her sick. Fkuc the doctors and the Canadian government for not doing anything about this EPIDEMIC. Keep an eye out people if you have any sort of rash that you think could be a tick bite you have about two weeks to get antibiotics then you could be in serious trouble. This is not a joke! Be careful out there and raise awareness please. This is something that needs to be tackled at the federal level.

Sorry to hear about that... not sure if this was an acquaintance or good friend but condolences nonetheless

Also worth noting that rash does not always occur when one is infected. If I recall correctly it is less than half of cases that result in a rash and even less the hallmark bulls-eye rash.

It is a moral crime what is happening in Canada with our health care system when it comes to Lyme among other things. Doctors seem to be trained with a script to completely ignore. At best you can get antibiotics if you come in with a tick bite, but the most treatment you will get is a course of oral antibiotics and when it's done it is done. The stance is that chronic lyme (or lyme that can not be treated with 2 works worth of pills) simply does not exist. Sadly, this is not just with lyme in Canada, it is virtually everything. There are very few things that our health care system is proactive about.

From my understanding there is actually a vaccine for lyme but it is not made available due to "lack of interest" ... also very bizarre. They will spend tens of billions on a "swine flu" vaccine (while swine flu was less dangerous than the average seasonal flu) yet producing a lyme vaccine for people who actually want it is not worth while? Pulled off the market due to low demand? What the actual F?! If I have my facts wrong let me know because I have been wondering why nobody is screaming bloody murder.

Meanwhile there have been some studies suggesting that sexual transmission of lyme is happening. Are they waiting for an epidemic so it will be more profitable?

I think canlyme.COM is a joke and lip service, trying to make a buck here and there off of misery and hope. I think they even promoted the "careplus tick test" (50 bucks a test kit at London drugs?) which multiple studies indicate was completely fraudulent. My emails inquiring about their promotion of it in conjunction with the studies were unanswered... as with all the usual newspapers that reported on this amazing "revolutionary" test kit. I emailed several retailers as well as several different media outlets that reported on the promotion of the kit and virtually nothing. London Drugs said that while all the studies showed the test was bogus, the company said that their 2.0 version of the test kit was better and they'll take their word on it.

Also does it not seem suspicious there is a vaccine that is not publicly available due to "lack of interest" while it seems everybody knows somebody who is severely suffering from the disease? And that in Canada "chronic lyme" (or lyme that exists after a dose of oral antibiotics) is a "myth"?

I recall a lyme distribution map from tick testing indicating Chilliwack/Hope area were hot-spots and if I recall correctly (fact check before quoting) that 20-some-odd % of ticks carry lyme and transmission occurred around 2% of bites.

I think when it comes to health care, you get what you pay for and even less when you are paying for everyone else that hasn't paid into it. That's our problem.

[mastercaster]

Caddisguy, what part of the province are you getting all your bites from?

[caddisguy]

Caddisguy, what part of the province are you getting all your bites from?

Region 2. I have stomped around in regions 3, 5 and 8 but I have never found tick honey holes like in 2.

I'm usually good at busting them before they bite but for every 10-15 I catch on me one nails me.

So far this year I'm 1 for 2 (well, 1/3 if you count the ones that were doubled up) ... reason I got nailed? I made a quick stop when I got back to pavement, glanced at my shoes/socks and thought "all good" ... so I untucked my pants and had one (well two kind of) in my ankle. At least I think that is how it went down. I guess the tick could have went down my stock but they usually crawl up.

This year I've been wearing some cheap rain pants and I think that is helping. They are noisy which sucks for hunting but I noticed the other tick I had on my sock wanted nothing to do with those pants... (so maybe the one that got me did decide to go down... who knows) Last year I was picking up a dozen or so every day... would have caught 50 by now.

Funny thing is, caddisgirl walks through all the same crap as me. We've only ever found a couple on her and never one biting. My brother who has only been on a couple spring trips with me has been nailed a couple times.

[BigfishCanada]

This year in region 3, ticks everywhere, i cant tell you how many we saw 2 weeks ago. I get itchy just thinking of them

[BUCKJR]

I spend 90% of my time in different areas of region 2 both hunting and fishing. Much of it bushwhacking etc. and I have never even seen a live tick. Crazy how they seem to be segregated to certain areas or valleys. Hope they stay where they are for the time being.

[caddisguy]

I just noticed what feels like a hard bump on my gum above my last molar. I hope it's not what it feels like. That would be a new one. I'll see if I can get a dental mirror back there if not I'm off to scare some poor dentist tomorrow.

[IslandWanderer]

Don’t they have to been feeding for a while before the transmission of Lyme?

[caddisguy]

Don’t they have to been feeding for a while before the transmission of Lyme?

Typically yes. Improper removal is one way to increase the risk and the other is if the tick has been attached over 24 hours. Either one of these factors result in regurgitation which is what spreads the bacteria.

[IslandWanderer]

Typically yes. Improper removal is one way to increase the risk and the other is if the tick has been attached over 24 hours. Either one of these factors result in regurgitation which is what spreads the bacteria.

Good to know. I’ve yet to get bitten, but I always keep an eye out for them on myself at the end of the day.

[RyoTHC]

This year in region 3, ticks everywhere, i cant tell you how many we saw 2 weeks ago. I get itchy just thinking of them

You aren't kidding.. I've spent time in Manitoba and many years in both northern and southern Ontario and this is the worst I've ever seen the ticks. I'm taking dozens of them off my dogs a day between the two, and on my ourselves. Always a full body check Everytime we come inside now.

[stinkyduck]

Rose geranium oil is supposed to repel them.peppermint oil is supposed to kill them, didnt work for us. I believe there is one doctor is hope and one doctor in the kootneys that recognize lyme disease.

[monasheemountainman]

It's all bullshit something needs to be done I'm going to make it my effin mission there are thousands of new cases of Lyme every year in Washington....what do they ticks just stop at the border?

[elch jager]

Curious if ticks, like mosquitos... are especially attracted to certain individuals? I have never seen a tick. Ever. Not on me, not on the dog either. But my bother in law seems to be a magnet - he is a really hairy dark Quebecois though....

What does everyone think of the Lyme pill or injection for dogs? A trusted source tells me it is a waste of money. Just inspect the dog and dab rubbing alcohol on any bug you find... they drop right off. He says the vaccine is unnecessary. I try to keep any vaccinations to a min and titer the dog before anything additional gets stuck in him.

[Gone_Fishin_]

http://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/new-test-increased-awareness-lead-to-uptick-in-lyme-disease-cases

[caddisguy]

Curious if ticks, like mosquitos... are especially attracted to certain individuals? I have never seen a tick. Ever. Not on me, not on the dog either. But my bother in law seems to be a magnet - he is a really hairy dark Quebecois though....

What does everyone think of the Lyme pill or injection for dogs? A trusted source tells me it is a waste of money. Just inspect the dog and dab rubbing alcohol on any bug you find... they drop right off. He says the vaccine is unnecessary. I try to keep any vaccinations to a min and titer the dog before anything additional gets stuck in him.

Don't dab rubbing alcohol on ticks. That is exactly how to make the tick regurgitate bacteria into the blood stream resulting in lyme infection.

Remove the tick with tweezers or other tick tool. Wiping the area with alcohol after the tick is removed doesn't hurt.

If I recall correctly, ticks are attracted to heat, co2 and ammonia. My normal body temperature is higher than most. When I was younger it was always around 97.5 but in recent years it is usually around 99.5. Could explain why they like me. I only recall ever seeing one tick before it hitched a ride on me. I was about to move a branch away with my hand. Right before I touched it, I saw movement. A leg popped out. Sure enough on the under side of the branch there was a female deer tick. I suspected it sensed the heat or co2 and stuck the leg out for a hookup. That might be how they work or it could be coincidence.

[Ohwildwon]

This is very interesting!!

I wonder if its FD approved? :razz:

http://usahealthtimes.com/2018/04/02/cannabis-kicks-lyme-disease-to-the-curb/

[stinkyduck]

Three more off my dog today, 14 so far this year. One was a small six legged tic that was attached to the larger one that has been attached for a few days.

[sammer]

A few years ago I hiked to the top of mt proctor, just north of Fernie. When I got to the top, admiring the view, I thought I'd sit down and have a bite.
Looking around I noticed every blade of grass had more than one tick hanging on the top waiting for a ride.
I was wearing shorts, wool socks, and sneakers. The top edge of my socks was covered with them, all trying to decide who was going to be first to make the climb.
I'd guess there was 50+ at the top of each sock. A ring 3-4 deep all the way around. Needless to say I didn't sit down for lunch! I ate standing and picked as many as I could off my socks and made a bee line for the bottom.
Had a pretty good check when I got home but guess none had the balls to make the climb up past my socks, as I didn't find any on my search.
It was definitely a freaky experience though.

I've had quite a few swollen ticks when I was a kid, arm pit, back of the neck, but have been pretty lucky in the last 20yrs.

Sam

[Beachcomber]

A recent article by Mary Beth Pfeiffer, author of a just published book on the spread of Lyme, in the G&M suggests this issue may be gaining some mainstream traction. Google her and you can read some of her interviews, talks. She is not a medical practitioner but rather an investigative journalist focusing on Lyme. Not endorsing her as I only know what I read in the G&M piece/Googled, just suggesting another source of info. She makes some interesting points/criticisms.

[303carbine]

I bagged the a tick I pulled out of my ankle yesterday. I was thinking I might start taking the ones that bite me into the doctor so they can send them for testing (and prove lyme is real in BC) but don't feel like waiting for hours at a walk-in clinic. Figured I'd make sure it was dead and flush them where they belong.

In doing so, it became apparent that I was bit by a female deer tick which had a male deer tick engorged. So... I was being eaten by a tick that was eaten by another tick. Should get some sort of trophy for that?

I knew it was possible for ticks to feed off other ticks, as last year I had 15 or so in a small container. A few of the males started feeding off some of the females. I thought it might be a mating thing until I looked it up. Nope, it is what it looks like.

What are the odds of being eaten by a tick that is being eaten by a tick in the wild? I have no idea. Is there a B&C record for this kind of thing?


Just be glad that it wasn't the dreaded dick tick...............

[caddisguy]

Just be glad that it wasn't the dreaded dick tick...............

Butthole tick is worse. Can't see it to remove it properly and nobody in your hunting camp is going to help with that.

[RyoTHC]

Butthole tick is worse. Can't see it to remove it properly and nobody in your hunting camp is going to help with that.

You must not hunt with any generstion Zers ;)