Ticks - Yoza!

Dave R · 06-07-2007, 08:14 AM

We have not noticed any excessive amount of them in our Southern NH yard this year. I am very diligent about cutting the underbrush in the fenced-in portion of our woods (where our dog roams) early in the Spring. It seems to help a lot and I think that since I started doing so the tick population dwindles each year. Probably won't help you too much this year but if you can go to town with a brush cutting blade equipped weed trimmer every Spring (not near the water though!), you may be able to keep them at bay in the future. Awful little bugs, I shudder just thinking of them crawling on me.

How does one encourage wild turkeys to hang around? I hear they like dairy farms. We see them a lot in our front yard, but I've done nothing to encourage (or discourage...) them and I live nowhere near a dairy farm (few horse farms though). Interesting birds. It's amazing how well they've thrived since hunting groups re-established them a few years ago. I hear the big Toms are pretty tough to hunt.

Windrider · 06-08-2007, 10:16 AM

Seems like a stretch that a 15- 20 pound turkey could eat fives pounds of ticks a day. After all they do roost at night and five pounds is a whole bunch of ticks.

Toms can be tricky but when love is in the air, they can be awfully foolish, just like everyone else.

You can encourage them to visit with black oil sunflower seeds and/or cracked corn, they eat both with equal enthusiasm.

pmj · 06-13-2007, 05:04 AM

Quote:

I am passing this along from a school nurse...

If you find an attached tick, a very effective way to remove it completely, is to soak a cotton ball with dish detergent and put it over the tick. The tick will detach itself from the skin and become entangled in the cotton fibers. You can then remove it, cotton ball and all and flush or dispose of it. It stands to reason, that with very small children, you could also use baby shampoo or even baby oil. The tick should detach itself within minutes.

I did pull a dog tick off of my neck about 3 weeks ago. My skin was crawling for days afterward.

Ticks are yucky and you have to be very careful with removal. The above story has been circulating over the last year. I work in the health profession I can tell you that this type of removal is an urban legend and false. I have included the links to www.snopes.com that discusses this and links to the CDC for proper removal and signs to watch for. Ticks aren't something you want to take a chance with on partial removal.

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/rmsf/Q&A.htm#tick
http://www.snopes.com/oldwives/tick.asp

Sunrise Point · 06-13-2007, 09:02 PM

PMJ,

Thanks for the post. I read the links and forwarded it to the person who passed the tip along to me.

The thought of having a tick attached to your skin is bad enough, thinking about having it regurgitate its stomach contents while attached is even worse!!

06-13-2007, 09:02 PM	#4
Sunrise Point Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Meredith Center / Winnisquam Posts: 250 Thanks: 87 Thanked 34 Times in 21 Posts	legend? PMJ, Thanks for the post. I read the links and forwarded it to the person who passed the tip along to me. The thought of having a tick attached to your skin is bad enough, thinking about having it regurgitate its stomach contents while attached is even worse!!

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06-07-2007, 08:14 AM	#1
Dave R Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 2,985 Thanks: 246 Thanked 744 Times in 444 Posts	We have not noticed any excessive amount of them in our Southern NH yard this year. I am very diligent about cutting the underbrush in the fenced-in portion of our woods (where our dog roams) early in the Spring. It seems to help a lot and I think that since I started doing so the tick population dwindles each year. Probably won't help you too much this year but if you can go to town with a brush cutting blade equipped weed trimmer every Spring (not near the water though!), you may be able to keep them at bay in the future. Awful little bugs, I shudder just thinking of them crawling on me. How does one encourage wild turkeys to hang around? I hear they like dairy farms. We see them a lot in our front yard, but I've done nothing to encourage (or discourage...) them and I live nowhere near a dairy farm (few horse farms though). Interesting birds. It's amazing how well they've thrived since hunting groups re-established them a few years ago. I hear the big Toms are pretty tough to hunt.

06-08-2007, 10:16 AM	#2
Windrider Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Meredith Posts: 34 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Seems like a stretch that a 15- 20 pound turkey could eat fives pounds of ticks a day. After all they do roost at night and five pounds is a whole bunch of ticks. Toms can be tricky but when love is in the air, they can be awfully foolish, just like everyone else. You can encourage them to visit with black oil sunflower seeds and/or cracked corn, they eat both with equal enthusiasm.