# Tick up my butt



## BeNice (Jan 2, 2004)

Yes, I found one that was engorced in my butt crack early this morning. It must have been there for at least a day or two, but the last time I was out in the woods was longer than that. I go in the woods more than your average person, so it could have been clinging to my clothes. Anyway, it had a white spot in the middle which, from what I have read online, indicates that it's a Lone Star tick, which carries Lyme Disease. I already go around knowing that I have a chance of having Lymes, and the symptoms haven't rolled in yet, but to actually pull off and see a confirmed Lyme carrying tick from my own body doesn't help anything. I was also in the woods just before and pulled off lots of ticks while in the woods, one or two with a white spot in the middle, and many small and medium sized ticks. I'm going to take a shower but there could always be teeny ones on me somewhere. Sometimes I think they are just hanging out in my laundry pile, jeans, etc. I wash clothes a lot, but I can't wash my jeans all of the time. Dont be like me, folks.


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## sonya99 (Sep 5, 2005)

Ohhhhhh man that's disturbing :afr 

Hopefully you still won't have Lyme disease after that eep

You must be good at removing ticks. How do you do it without ripping their heads off? Especially ticks in hard-to-reach places?


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## free thinker (Nov 11, 2003)

I'd like to know how you knew it was there since it was so well hidden from view. Obviously someone else would have to check it out and remove it. Rather embarassing I would think. Lately, I've been hearing a lot about ticks since I'm now living in an area which is heavily forested. On my last hike with a hiking group, a guy pointed out two of them that were on his clothing at the end of the hike. I figure if he can have two ticks from one hike alone then there is little doubt that some of those dispicable things have been on me in the past.


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## noregrets (May 4, 2006)

I hate ticks. That must have been truly disturbing.


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## UltraShy (Nov 8, 2003)

1) I've never seen a tick in person.

2) I think you are the first person I've ever seen discuss their own butt crack on SAS before. I know "plumbers butt" has come up before, but never before discussion of one's own crack. :lol We all thank you for putting that imagine in our minds.


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## Lonelyguy (Nov 8, 2003)

Ticks seem really bad this year for some reason. My dog loves to run and play outside and she's constantly picking them up. I've lost count how many I've pulled off of her so far this spring, it must be close to 20. Luckily she's white and has short hair so they are easy to spot but most of the time they have already stuck in by the time I find them. I haven't had one stuck to myself since I was very young, I always check myself carefully.
The ticks we have around here are the common wood ticks which also have white markings on their backs. As far as I know they don't carry Lyme disease, its the deer ticks we have to be careful of around here. I hate those disgusting creatures, anytime I find one I either flush it down the toilet of smash it with something on the sidewalk.


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## millenniumman75 (Feb 4, 2005)

UltraShy, it may be a first! :lol

I have only encountered ticks a few times. My dad would take a lighter to the little [email protected][email protected]$! My dog had a couple, but it was never that bad. Having a tick in that location would be scary! :afr


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## UltraShy (Nov 8, 2003)

This does give new meaning the the phrase "he has a bug up his ***". It now becomes literal.


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## mechagirl (Nov 12, 2003)

:um :afr 
this is why, as much as I love nature, I dont actually like to be *in* nature(hikinig, camping, living by the woods) & prefer living in a more urban area.


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## copper (Nov 10, 2003)

Ticks are terrible up here this year. After I go in the bush I take a hot shower to wash any of them out of my hair. They drop out of the trees.


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## BeNice (Jan 2, 2004)

Isn't part of the reason for ticks being so prolific because of development? I thought I read something about that. Anyway, these woods are kind of enclosed, surrounded by an open park and housing developments. There are deer nests all around. The grass is compressed from them all sitting there. 

Lyme disease was first discovered in CT, I believe. If you look at the maps of Lyme cases, this whole area, I think up to around MA, has the most cases. That's why it scares me. My dad got it when he was younger and was treated. My friend Julia was diagnosed this year with it but she was in the later stages. The doctor thinks she had it since she was 17 and she is 24 now. It did some damage to her and she believes it played a role in her psychological problems. 

Oh, and I was itching my butt while laying in bed. That's how I found it. I don't know if I pulled all of it out. I know that you can become infected if the whole mouth isn't pulled out. Hopefully I did it good. I might be going out in the woods today... yeah. I should go and buy some of that Deet stuff. I couldn't find anything good at the Eckerd. Walking through high grass in the woods, I will probably get about 10 ticks at the minimum. This little area I walk through is totally infested.


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## copper (Nov 10, 2003)

*Re: re: Tick up my butt*



GermanHermit said:


> copper said:
> 
> 
> > (...)They drop out of the trees.
> ...


I actually seen them drop out of pine trees and hit the ground.


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## free thinker (Nov 11, 2003)

> Ticks are terrible up here this year. After I go in the bush I take a hot shower to wash any of them out of my hair. They drop out of the trees.





> Ticks seem really bad this year for some reason. My dog loves to run and play outside and she's constantly picking them up. I've lost count how many I've pulled off of her so far this spring, it must be close to 20.


This thread is beginning to sound like an "invasion of the ticks" sci-fi movie. :afr :lol


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## BeNice (Jan 2, 2004)

Surprisingly, I was walking in the same part today and didn't get any ticks. I had on all natural insect repellant, which I am skeptical of. It may have helped that I road my bike through the tall grass and didn't actually walk my bike through it like I usually do.


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## OneIsALonelyNumber (Mar 28, 2005)

You're right about the white dot indicating the tick was a lone star tick. They are very common in my area. In fact, I picked a dozen off my dog today during our daily walk. Fortunately, I got them before they attached.

Lyme disease is passed by the deer tick. The lone star tick isn't known to carry Lyme disease.

I found this web site where you can learn about the diseases passed by ticks...

http://www.health.state.ny.us/diseases/ ... able/lyme/


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## OneIsALonelyNumber (Mar 28, 2005)

Well I did a bit more reading and it seems the lone star tick can carry Lyme disease. I'm confused by the conflicting information.


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## BeNice (Jan 2, 2004)

I have read conflicting information myself. It looks like this tick does carry it, though. I'm going to assume that when I get ticks out there, they are probably all of the same kind.


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## Lyric Suite (Mar 16, 2006)

I wish i read this thread before. Today i went for a walk in the woods, and as soon a s get home, lo, a tick in my leg. I hate insects, arachnids most of all. :afr

From what i can see a got an American Dog Tick, but i had enough presence to put it in a jar so i have it identified if it need be. What ticks me off (excuse the pun) is that i didn't check for tick when i got back so there may be more lurking in the car (or worst, the house). Bastards. 

The one i got was quite small and had only six legs, which means it was a young specimen. I wonder if only adults can carry the most dangerous diseases. 

To think i went for a walk to relieve some of my anxiety and now i'm more anxious then ever. The hell...


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## Lyric Suite (Mar 16, 2006)

*Re: re: Tick up my butt*



sonya99 said:


> How do you do it without ripping their heads off?


You are supposed to use thin tweezers and grab the tick by it's little pinchers, then slowly pull out without braking them off. If the tick is too small i guess you can grab the head itself (which is what i did), but you need to be extra careful.

Thank god for the internet, i became a tick expert in less then 10 minutes.


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## millenniumman75 (Feb 4, 2005)

I am glad to see that you guys are okay.
There seems to be a nationwide tick infestation! :hide
SAers are the first targets :wife.


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## Amelia (Nov 24, 2003)

BeNice said:


> It must have been there for at least a day or two


 :um


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## Lyric Suite (Mar 16, 2006)

millenniumman75 said:


> I am glad to see that you guys are okay.


Heh, it's too early to tell. Symptoms are supposed to appear between 3 to 5 days from infection (sometimes up to two weeks). In the case of Lyme Disease, it may even take a month. There's nothing that can be done until then because taking medicines before the symptoms start only delays the onset of the disease. This means that we are going to have to spend the next few weeks worrying about possible infections. :mum


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## ghostgurl (Sep 20, 2004)

Wow just wow. This thread should win an award. :lol Ticks are terrifying. :afr


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## Drella (Dec 4, 2004)

I've never even seen a tick before. Strange.


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## Eraserhead (Sep 23, 2006)

I've been taught to put some grease on the tick, and then to gently twist it out counter-clockwise with a tissue or something.

I got a tick last summer on my side, and ripped it off not knowing what it was. I had to undergo impromptu minor surgery to get the head taken out 

"Hey what's that grey stuff surrounding the black thing?"
"Oh that's just the underlying flesh."


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## Lonelyguy (Nov 8, 2003)

Drella said:


> I've never even seen a tick before. Strange.


Consider yourself lucky. I found one crawling on my bedroom wall tonight. I must have picked it up in the grass while I was walking to the house and it stuck to my clothes, I'm not sure how it got in the house. I grabbed it with the tweezers and snipped it in half with a scissors. 

When I was younger my parents used to apply nail polish remover or rubbing alcohol to encourage the tick to release its hold, but I've since found out you're not supposed to apply any substances such as petroleum jelly, finger nail polish, finger nail polish remover, repellents, pesticides, or a lighted match to the tick. The reason is because this can agitate the tick and cause it to salivate or regurgitate which increases the chances of infection or spreading disease. You are supposed to grab it by the head as close to the skin as possible with a tweezers and carefully pull it out.


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## Kelly (Dec 12, 2003)

Drella said:


> I've never even seen a tick before. Strange.


Me either. I barely know what they are. I couldn't tell you what one looked like. All I know is that I probably shouldn't have clicked on this thread. It's making my skin crawl a little. I'm going to have to go look for them now. uke

Have a nice day,
Kelly


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## millenniumman75 (Feb 4, 2005)

Nasty little buggers, I tell ya, NASTY! :troll


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## aviator99 (Nov 23, 2006)

Pretty creepy. I'm not sure i've ever even seen a tick in real life?

I live on 2 acres of farmland (no trees really, except some tiny young trees that are maybe 5-7 ft tall that my family planted on our land) - of which dont have many leaves to begin with.

Since some of you mentioned that they tend to be in higher grass - On our land here in Michigan, I mow only 1 acre of our 2 acres every week with a riding lawnmower. The other acre (way in the backyard/back of our property). I let grow and mow every month. At the end of the month its usually tall grass, weed and hay, usually 1-2ft tall, and thick as hell (My lawnmower just chugs mowing it because its so thick. I have to drive 0.1mph otherwise its so thick it'll stop the blades). 

I remember last year when I was doing it, I had these annoying black little bugs, probably 1/4th of an inch or 1/5th of an inch in length like jumping on my legs. 

The riding lawnmower sits me high above the ground, so the grass was not at all touching me (My legs were probably 1-2ft in each direction away from the grass), but these annoying bugs would land on my legs and get caught in my leghair. Once they'd get caught, it was almost like they were struggling to get out of my leg hair (weird bugs). I'd usually swat them off my legs but was doing it like every 2-3 mins because a new one would land on there.

It didnt seem like they were flying bugs either. The just slingshotted right onto my leg from somewhere, then started struggling because they were caught in my leghair. When they landed you could easily feel them land on your leg (it was almost like they did a high speed crash landing). They never landed on my arms (but those were on the steering wheel of the lawnmower, so it'd be harder to jump onto my arms) or my head/face. Bizarre, but, were these likely ticks? Does anyone know?

I just mowed the same 1acre last week (and it was VERY thick, like 2ft in length - took me 3hrs). I didnt have a single bug land on my legs or arms (even I was surprised)....hmm..


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