I don't know if anyone remembers the good deal I got on the 55 gal tank, stand, and junk... but I still haven't set it up yet... we really shouldn't do anything with it til we move... at any rate I've put off cleaning it for a while. Then two weeks ago my landlord wanted some people to come see the apartment because they are renting it this fall. So in cleaning I moved the tank outside... my wife said she would clean the tank but she was just in a cleaning mood that day. Since then it's been sitting on the patio, still unclean, waiting for one of us... I finally got tired of it being out there so I went outside to clean it today... I found a tick on it... then another, and another. I pulled of at least 5 ticks from the tank... It wasn't in the woods... It was on the patio... So it had me wondering if there was something about the tank that attracted the ticks... I squished two of them, put the other three I found in a jar... don't know if I missed any... I cleaned the tank, good enough for now but still a pain... through it over my shoulder and carried it inside... now that it's clean it will be harder to not set it up yet. oh well........ anyone have any ideas about the ticks... perhaps I could invent a tick collector/trap... I may just get some chickens when I move.
tick-tick-tick
- Thread starter millipede
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Bearfan
Aquarium Advice Addict
Not good.
oscarbreeder
Aquarium Advice Addict
Hope none of them got inside... 8O
Christmasfish
Aquarium Advice Addict
The glass warming must have fooled them into thinking there was a lunch on the go. But that means there is a tick explosion in your area and they are desparate for food...
ugh! Would't go walking the woods THIS week!
ugh! Would't go walking the woods THIS week!
Bearfan
Aquarium Advice Addict
fishfreek said:
Although there is no cure for...
I was at girl scout camp this weekend and we soaked in bug repleant. I still had a tick walk across my shoe. I all most lost it. They we every where, an other mother caught two on her clothes an squished them. This place is crawling with them.
I have a nothing but grass fenced in back yeard and still have to check the kids before they come in from the house. I have never had a tick in my life but my poor son has gotten two while playing at his granparents house. It's the small ones you have to really watch out for.
Eewww!
I have a nothing but grass fenced in back yeard and still have to check the kids before they come in from the house. I have never had a tick in my life but my poor son has gotten two while playing at his granparents house. It's the small ones you have to really watch out for.
Eewww!
TankGirl
Aquarium Advice Addict
Springtime is tick season, for sure. I really wonder how they got on the tank, because they generally sense a warm-blooded creature and will drop onto them as they brush past in a wooded area, so your situation has me stumped. The only thing I can think of is that squirrels during the day or raccoons at night deposited the pests. These animals generally carry quite a few ticks, especially this time of year. I am sure they would be curious about the tank, so that could be it, but whatever the etiology is, bleach is in order!!
QTOFFER
Aquarium Advice Addict
Thanks for posting this, Millipede - a reminder that we are in peak tick season.
In college, I worked in a Lyme Disease research lab for the New York State Dept of Health, so I know a tick and how to kill it when I see one. Looks like you found a few common dog ticks (Dermacentor variabilis ). Do you or a neighbor have a dog? That's most likely how these creepies wound up on your patio.
For those of you in the continental US and southern Canada who have pets and enjoy the outdoors, you should check out these links from the US Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta. There's info on tick-borne zoonoses, preventing tick bites, and protecting your pets.
Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/rmsf/
Lyme Disease: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/lyme/
I live on Long Island - Lyme Disease Central - and I don't let it deter me from my walks in the woods. I just take precautions (wear light colored clothing, use DEET repellent, tuck pants in socks) and check myself thoroughly when I get home. Enjoy the outdoors, but take precautions and check yourself, your children, and your pets for ticks.
In college, I worked in a Lyme Disease research lab for the New York State Dept of Health, so I know a tick and how to kill it when I see one. Looks like you found a few common dog ticks (Dermacentor variabilis ). Do you or a neighbor have a dog? That's most likely how these creepies wound up on your patio.
For those of you in the continental US and southern Canada who have pets and enjoy the outdoors, you should check out these links from the US Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta. There's info on tick-borne zoonoses, preventing tick bites, and protecting your pets.
Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/rmsf/
Lyme Disease: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/lyme/
I live on Long Island - Lyme Disease Central - and I don't let it deter me from my walks in the woods. I just take precautions (wear light colored clothing, use DEET repellent, tuck pants in socks) and check myself thoroughly when I get home. Enjoy the outdoors, but take precautions and check yourself, your children, and your pets for ticks.
deli_conker
Aquarium Advice Addict
I moved to the sticks when I was 6 years old. My mom freaked out when she found a tick on my older brother's head. She took him to the doctor where they yanked it with a pair of tweezers. "You just have to make sure you get the head..." I remember him saying.
After that day it was routine to get our heads checked after spending any amount of time outdoors.
We had two dogs that would always end up with big fat ticks on them and we'd have to clean them off of them to.
BTW, ticks don't like gasoline...
After that day it was routine to get our heads checked after spending any amount of time outdoors.
We had two dogs that would always end up with big fat ticks on them and we'd have to clean them off of them to.
BTW, ticks don't like gasoline...
This is an interesting topic isn't it? I mentioned once before a bug spray that I bought at a local fair and that it worked fairly well at keeping the ticks away. I haven't tested it well enough to say it works this much percent but it seems to work really well, is all natural, and doesn't smell bad. Here is a link to the website wit the bug sprays on it. If you click the picture it doesn't do anything except enlarge it. I don't think they do paypal stuff yet... If you want to order something I guess you go to the order form... http://www.livingwatersoaps.com/bug_sprays.htm
And here is a link to the specials page: http://www.livingwatersoaps.com/specials.htm Those bug sprays happen to be on special and you can get %10 off... Anyway, Just thought I'd mention it to everyone.
I don't think I brought any ticks into the house. I sure hope not anyway. I was out there for a long time scrubbing with soap and lots of vinegar... my skin started peeling a little this morning on my hands and I believe it's from the vinegar... I scrubbed enough to make me sore all over and then decided to carry the tank, 55 gal, inside on my shoulder by myself... the next day moving a console tv that I picked up at a yard sale real cheap... still works. Got a kids coloring desk and leapfrog something or other, with the tv all for $30. Tv has remote and still works... Anyway... back to the ticks huh... I still have no idea why I found so many on one tank in the middle of the patio... I may never know... Oh well... It is definitely going to be a bad year for them around here.
And here is a link to the specials page: http://www.livingwatersoaps.com/specials.htm Those bug sprays happen to be on special and you can get %10 off... Anyway, Just thought I'd mention it to everyone.
I don't think I brought any ticks into the house. I sure hope not anyway. I was out there for a long time scrubbing with soap and lots of vinegar... my skin started peeling a little this morning on my hands and I believe it's from the vinegar... I scrubbed enough to make me sore all over and then decided to carry the tank, 55 gal, inside on my shoulder by myself... the next day moving a console tv that I picked up at a yard sale real cheap... still works. Got a kids coloring desk and leapfrog something or other, with the tv all for $30. Tv has remote and still works... Anyway... back to the ticks huh... I still have no idea why I found so many on one tank in the middle of the patio... I may never know... Oh well... It is definitely going to be a bad year for them around here.
Found a tick on me the other night.. I have this thing I can use to magnify it but I can't find it. The thing is so small I can't identify it without magnifying it... Anyway, the other night I was sitting here and I found this thing right around my hip area which is hard to reach. If it was on my leg I could look closer at it but I had a hard time seeing what I was doing... The first few attempts I don't think I got the head so I kept pinching and pulling with those tweesers... missing a little bit of skin there now. It's been over 24 hours since I removed it and there is a little bit of a rash and it itches. Gotta love Arkansas... then there's those mistery bug bites you don't know how you got... I have one on my ankle and I was wearing socks... larege bump, itches like crazy... probably a chigger or something. What a wonderful topic huh, I can't stand itching, I'd rather it hurt. When I move in a few weeks, hopefully, it will be further into the woods... Anyway, I think I'll be putting that tick spray on every time I go outside, even to check the mail.
TankGirl
Aquarium Advice Addict
Lyme disease is tick-borne, that's for sure. I got a tick bite last Memorial Day (2003) and there is still a bump there that itches occasionally. Without a "bullseye" rash and fever or other symptoms don't worry about it, other than keeping the area clean so a secondary infection does not take hold.
Usually the tick has to be on you for 24 hours, from what I understand, for it to transmit pathogens, so that is why it is so important to check yourself often for them if you live in an area where they are.
Usually the tick has to be on you for 24 hours, from what I understand, for it to transmit pathogens, so that is why it is so important to check yourself often for them if you live in an area where they are.
Yeah, no bulls eye here.. I save every tick I find whether it bit me or not... Anytime the bite is itching I've been putting aloe on it and it sort of helps... Stops the itching. As for the other bug bite you might not want to know what I do about those... I'll say it anyway, turn your head if you're squeemish...
sometimes I get bites that I don't know how they occured, often times they itch like crazy and I can't stop scratching... Sometimes there's a white center to them, sometimes there isn't... this one on my ankle didn't have a white center to it but I still treated it the same way. Last night I couldn't find the pin cushion so I used a safety pin(remember, I said look away) and poked and scraped at that thing for a while. It was a large bump as far as my bug bites go... Then I just squeezed and squeezed for a while. It bled but also got some pus out of it... I figure that stuff can't be good for me and is good to get it out... I did that for quite a while til I felt it was fairly clean... then I put a bandaid on and went to bed. I left the bandaid on all day today but didn't have to scratch once... Oh yeah, I did wipe the site clean with vinegar aftwerards... I know some people will think sticking a sharp object into your skin is just asking for infection, well, maybe... That's just the way I handle things and so far it always works... Ever have a scratch in the back of your throat that you just can't seem to shake? I usually scratch it... yep... I take a butter knife and actually scratch it a little and it feels so good... Anyway...
Back to the ticks... I sure hope you're right about the 24 hours thing... I've had them on me longer than that before without knowing, but I'm usually good at finding them before then. I'm going to keep using that tick spray I have and hope for the best...
sometimes I get bites that I don't know how they occured, often times they itch like crazy and I can't stop scratching... Sometimes there's a white center to them, sometimes there isn't... this one on my ankle didn't have a white center to it but I still treated it the same way. Last night I couldn't find the pin cushion so I used a safety pin(remember, I said look away) and poked and scraped at that thing for a while. It was a large bump as far as my bug bites go... Then I just squeezed and squeezed for a while. It bled but also got some pus out of it... I figure that stuff can't be good for me and is good to get it out... I did that for quite a while til I felt it was fairly clean... then I put a bandaid on and went to bed. I left the bandaid on all day today but didn't have to scratch once... Oh yeah, I did wipe the site clean with vinegar aftwerards... I know some people will think sticking a sharp object into your skin is just asking for infection, well, maybe... That's just the way I handle things and so far it always works... Ever have a scratch in the back of your throat that you just can't seem to shake? I usually scratch it... yep... I take a butter knife and actually scratch it a little and it feels so good... Anyway...
Back to the ticks... I sure hope you're right about the 24 hours thing... I've had them on me longer than that before without knowing, but I'm usually good at finding them before then. I'm going to keep using that tick spray I have and hope for the best...
Tooooooooo many ticks this year... had to pull one off my wrist a few nights ago and the next day there was a small blister kind of thing there... man did it itch... seems to be going away now though... When I move, eventually I plan on getting some guinea fowl... they supposedly are the best type of chicken to eat ticks and other bugs...
TankGirl
Aquarium Advice Addict
I love guineas! They are also excellent "watch" birds and will let you know if anyone/thing comes into your yard. If I ever move back out to an area where I could keep them, I would in a heartbeat.
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