Lyme Disease & Ticks - What's your experience?

[mwebs]

Back in the day I worked for the USGS and I site I had to check was an old dump that had been reclaimed. First time I hiked in with shorts and a t shirt on and realized to late that the area was swarming with ticks. I had 100+ on me by the time I got back to the truck. Every other time I went in with pheasant pants tucked into boots and long sleeves all doused in a mixture of tick sprays. I could watch them try and crawl up and fall off my pants. Still would get a few but it prevented 99%. Ticks are nasty, I would feel ghost ticks for days after. Thankfully not an issue in ID, only found one.

 

[Broomd]

Hey Guys, I am an avid backpacker and hiker and really want to get into hunting. My one hesitation is ticks and lyme disease. I have unfortunately suffered for years due to undiagnosed chronic lyme disease and am just finally feeling better after a long road of treatment hence wanting to finally start new hobbies. What is your experience with ticks and lyme disease? Am I more likely to get ticks on me in the field? Or is the deer/elk themselves crawling with ticks and you also need to watch out when field dressing/cleaning the animal etc? Any advice or tips besides pyrethrin and/or deet? I really want to get into hunting, but if Lyme disease is a potential again I think I'll have to pass.

Man, hard to read some of these stories. Really feel for you guys; ticks are a scourge!
My wife and I have a good friend, about 44y/o and a heckuva bow huntress--attractive gal, smart afield.
Lyme disease has systematically destroyed her body. Many joint replacements--knees, shoulder, vertebrae replacements, aches, constant pain. What an absolutely horrible experience for her.
Her biggest battle now is depression after 15 years of insidious pain. And she can't hunt, and she loves to bowhunt spot and stalk. She tries to get out, but it's a monumental struggle now.
Most of those years she went undiagnosed. She contracted it in Idaho, so even rare tick areas/sightings can yield Lymes.

 

[SwampBone]

I live in north central MN. We have good and bad years around here. They’re generally out in the spring and fall. When it’s bad I can get one walking on my lawn. I have a bird dog who’s always in the woods so he’s my early warning system if they’re out. Some years I can’t keep them off him but this year hardly a tick. I’ve had Lyme and will do whatever it takes not to go through that again. The last couple years I’ve been putting out homemade tick tubes. You can buy commercial made ones as well. I also have bucket tracks for mice set out all year killing as many as I can. Mice are a huge Lyme spreader as far as spreading it from tick to tick.

 

[Zeke6951]

Again, I have been treated for Lyme 2 times, never had a bullseye rash, and never had an adverse reaction Doxy. The paper company I worked for encouraged all field workers to take a series of 3 Lyme vaccines. Most took the first shot. Before offering the second shot the company wanted us to sign a document that we would hold them harmless if there were negative side effects. The main one chronic arthritis. Some took the second shot. Odds for side effects increased with each infection. I don't think anyone took the third and final jab. I have remove attached tics from my body every month of the year. Some above have said they get several per year. The people I worked with and I would often get hundreds of the black hearted blood suckers on us per week, not all would be attached. Tics seem more abundant in grassy, weedy areas than in the woods. Some areas have more then others. Other tick born diseases are:

• Lyme Disease
• Anaplasmosis
• Babesiosis
• Ehrlichiosis
• Powassan Virus Disease
• Borrelia miyamotoi Disease
• Borrelia mayonii Disease
• Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF)

Tics are bad news, and not to be taken lightly. Don't let tics keep you from doing the things you love but take as many precautions as you can.

 

[hutty]

Had it twice and its a not a joke. First bout was tough, wound up with secondary infection and was on antibiotics for a month. Second bout was on doxy and no issues.

As others have stated, treat your clothes before you go out
Check when you get back
If you have a bite, call your doctor and get antibiotics.
Red Bullseye does not show up in all cases so don't expect it to.

 

[Fordguy]

A friend of mine has a spandex shirt and bicycle pants that he soaks in sawyers (permethrin) and wears under his turkey hunting gear. He swears by it. He's 72 and has been hunting in tick infested areas his entire life, says that the treated spandex undersuit keeps him from finding attached ticks 99% of the time.

 

[Rich M]

Ticks are horrible critters.

Having hunted in CT - we'd get back to the truck and strip to skivvies, pick ticks off each other like monkeys. Many days it was double digits.

That advice about permethrin is right on - you gonna go play where the ticks live, spray up and take a hot soapy shower when you get home or back to camp.

 

[G2400]

Thanks for all of the replies guys! For me I spent years going to different doctors who missed the chronic lyme diagnosis as the disease presents like a lot of other things. It is unfortunately becoming more common, but still not on the radar for the average conventional doctor unfortunately. And if it is on their radar they are not up to date on testing and treatment. For me, I finally had success with months of a very in-depth protocol of strong herbal tinctures, and other specific supplements (lots of $$$ unfortunately) while working with my functional medicine practitioner.

To echo others, the standard lyme test you get at most labs is almost useless. Unfortunately, the tests that are more accurate are usually not covered by insurance and quite expensive and still not 100% accurate. I've done a lot of research over the years trying to get to the bottom of what was causing all of my issues (tick borne disease such as lyme and the other co-infections they carry) as I'm in the medical field myself. I can post links to legit resources for info and where you can find a doc that is "lyme literate." I won't post links right now though as I'm a new member and don't want to come off spammy.

It does make sense to take every precaution in the field. Not going outside, hiking, backpacking, hunting would be the safest route, but what kind of life is that?

Question for you guys that recommend tick checks and showers every night when coming back from hunt, how do you do this on multiple day backpacking hunts where you aren't showering for days? Is this more for single day hunts where you are going back home or to cabin, etc?

 

[Hunt4lyf]

There are no reported cases of lyme disease that have originated in Colorado.

We have what is labelled as Rocky Mtn Fever which is tick borne but it does not have the same long term effects that lyme has.

You may want to look into that again, I know 2 people who’ve contracted Lyme in Colorado, 1 was fine after a dose of Doxy, the other one is still suffering from it and has been for years, she got it while hiking at Palmer Park in Colorado Springs. It’s rather uncommon here but it is in Colorado.

 

[Anglo-American]

Hey Guys, I am an avid backpacker and hiker and really want to get into hunting. My one hesitation is ticks and lyme disease. I have unfortunately suffered for years due to undiagnosed chronic lyme disease and am just finally feeling better after a long road of treatment hence wanting to finally start new hobbies. What is your experience with ticks and lyme disease? Am I more likely to get ticks on me in the field? Or is the deer/elk themselves crawling with ticks and you also need to watch out when field dressing/cleaning the animal etc? Any advice or tips besides pyrethrin and/or deet? I really want to get into hunting, but if Lyme disease is a potential again I think I'll have to pass.

It takes 12 hours for ticks digestive cycle to get to a point where they might infect you with a bacterial virus.
Check yourself in the morning and at night and you've prevented that process from being able to take place.

The problem with all those bug sprays etc is they are insanely toxic for us and our health to. Although I used to use them I avoid them now.

 

[Timeless61]

Here are some facts:

The test is garbage. If you have unexplained symptoms after a tick bite just call your Dr. and get Doxy. Don't wait for results that are 50% accurate at best. You can get false pos and false negs so neither result is accurate.

Tick can infect with lyme immediately. 24 hrs is old wives tale

Only way to remove a tick is to grab head with sharp tweezers and pull fast. No Vaseline, burn it off, glue, etc.

Deet does not work for ticks. Permethrin only!

Ticks will not freeze to death with cold and snow unless you have numerous days / weeks of below zero and no snow. Even then all ticks attached to any animal will be fine. You can get a tick in January the same as summer but since they are slowed down by cold is why you only see a few in winter but it is not because they aren't there.

Go to Tractor Supply / Farm Store and get a 10% permethrin concentrate for animals usually $20/Qt. Same stuff that's in the sawyers. You need to dilute it down to 19 parts water to 1 part concentrate. Make a gallon (121 oz water to 7 oz concentrate) and put it in a 5 gal pail. Soak your outdoor clothes for an hour then ring out and air dry. Don't let your cat near this stuff it will go tits up. Keep outdoor clothes in trash bag and change before and after you are outdoors. Put remainder in spray bottle and top off every couple weeks. You should be good for a season like this. I soak spring. summer, fall and top off every two three weeks with spray bottle. I spray my dog too when we are out bird hunting.

1 qt of Martins 10% concentrate will make 4.5 gal of sawyer .05% spray equivilent.

Inspect yourself and anyone else out with you.

I hunt with my 3 kids and we live in a HEAVILY infested area. I've had 60 - 100 ticks on me in a day before I knew what to do to stop them. Permethrin is what keeps us doing whatever we want to do outdoors. My kids have only had one tick imbedded between the three of them and they are 20, 17, & 14 now.

Permethrin is absorbed into our bodies if we are exposed to it and filtered out by liver and expelled through urine in a pretty fast amount of time. It has not been found to accumulate in a person or have any long term effects of use. I use it on bare skin all the time.

Can you share the study that shows that transmission happens immediately?

 

[Afhunter1]

Can you share the study that shows that transmission happens immediately?

Nobody knows for sure how long it takes and every tick bite is different.

Lyme borreliosis: a review of data on transmission time after tick attachment

Lyme borreliosis is increasing rapidly in many parts of the world and is the most commonly occurring vector-borne disease in Europe and the USA. The disease is transmitted by ticks of the genus Ixodes. They require a blood meal at each stage of their ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Last line of conclusion:

Therefore, LB infection can never be excluded after a tick bite irrespective of the estimated duration of attachment time.

 

[Lawnboi]

Iv had it twice now. First time didn’t find a tick and got pretty sick. Each time antibiotics cleared it up and I have no lasting effects I’m aware of yet.

 

[def90]

You may want to look into that again, I know 2 people who’ve contracted Lyme in Colorado, 1 was fine after a dose of Doxy, the other one is still suffering from it and has been for years, she got it while hiking at Palmer Park in Colorado Springs. It’s rather uncommon here but it is in Colorado.

Read the highlighted text:

Colorado Ticks and Tick-Borne Diseases - 5.593

In Colorado, Rocky Mountain wood tick and American dog tick are the most common ticks associated with people. Colorado tick fever is by far the most common tick-transmitted disease of the region. No human cases of Lyme disease have originated in Colorado. DEET is the most effective tick repellent.

extension.colostate.edu

"Fortunately, the most important tick-borne disease in North America, Lyme disease, is not present in wild animal populations in Colorado (i.e., not endemic). There has never been a confirmed case of Lyme disease originating from a tick-bite in Colorado. There are a small number of cases of Coloradoans that have been diagnosed as having Lyme disease (seven recorded cases between 2007-2017) but all of these are thought to have originated from exposure to infected ticks in states where this disease is present.

The main reason that Lyme disease is not transmitted by ticks in Colorado is that the ticks capable of transmitting the pathogen (Borrelia burgdorferi) do not occur in the state. "

The few cases that have been seen here came from somewhere else as in the patient had travelled to somewhere else in the country where Lyme exists. It does not exist here in the wild.

 

[Hunt4lyf]

Read the highlighted text:

Colorado Ticks and Tick-Borne Diseases - 5.593

In Colorado, Rocky Mountain wood tick and American dog tick are the most common ticks associated with people. Colorado tick fever is by far the most common tick-transmitted disease of the region. No human cases of Lyme disease have originated in Colorado. DEET is the most effective tick repellent.

extension.colostate.edu

"Fortunately, the most important tick-borne disease in North America, Lyme disease, is not present in wild animal populations in Colorado (i.e., not endemic). There has never been a confirmed case of Lyme disease originating from a tick-bite in Colorado. There are a small number of cases of Coloradoans that have been diagnosed as having Lyme disease (seven recorded cases between 2007-2017) but all of these are thought to have originated from exposure to infected ticks in states where this disease is present.

The main reason that Lyme disease is not transmitted by ticks in Colorado is that the ticks capable of transmitting the pathogen (Borrelia burgdorferi) do not occur in the state. "

The few cases that have been seen here came from somewhere else as in the patient had travelled to somewhere else in the country where Lyme exists. It does not exist here in the wild.

Believe what you will, they both contracted it here in Colorado as neither of them had been out of the state for several years when they came down with it. One was fine, went hiking at Palmer Park, got bit by a tick and her life has been misery ever since. It took several years for her to get diagnosed with it because Lyme doesn’t exist in Colorado but she got it regardless.

 

[grfox92]

I have tested positive and been treated for Lyme with antibiotics over 10 times. Been hospitalized twice.

Once I didn't walk for 2 weeks because it was attacking my knee. My knee was swollen up like a balloon and the pain was so intense that I was on the verge of tears every day for those 2 weeks. I hate taking pain killers, but I was pre scribed Percocet, and took it 3 times a day during those 2 weeks and was still in un believable pain. Every now and then the pain flared up in my knee or my wrist which it attacked on a different stint.

I'm originally from the Hudson River Valley in NY and that is one of the most, if not the most tick infested places on earth. I lived in the woods chasing deer and ticks were a part of every day life. If you go walking around the hardwoods in southern NY, it's not IF you get a tick on you, it's how many.

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk

 

[Coldtrail]

I got off easy both times I had it, a couple years of "flash fevers" that would knock me out for 20-30min at a time, body/joint aches, and the lymes headaches. Most recently I got the bullseye rash on my arm with the red line going to my heart, was on doxy and kicked it, but that rash stuck around for 6mo and ended up looking like a bad burn before it finally went away. A year later I can still see remnants of it like a scar. Little ba $ tards

 

[go4thegusto]

My brother got hammered by Lyme and will likely never be the same. We send garments to InsectShield to be treated.
Treat at least a few outdoor pants. Tuck in to socks or treat gaitors. Shower right when you get home.
This disease is no joke.
I understand with all the mRNA technology fast tracked due to Covid that a 2023 Lyme vaccine is coming.
Sign me up.

Additionally, spring turkey is the worst time for us since sitting on ground in a blind. We sent cotton painting tarps to insectshield and had them treated for ground cloths. Also spray blind skirt with Permethrin.

 

[Tom_]

You may never see the bullseye. I didn't. Thought I did a detailed tick check after being in the Maryland woods. I was wrong. I found the little bastard the next morning at the hairline on the back of my neck. In did look daily but the rash was never visible.

About 3 months later I woke up with Bell's Palsy. Thought I had a stroke. Fortunately my doctor was used to Lyme and got me on Doxy immediately. Had joint pain and headaches for about 3 months after. Hasn't stopped me from being outdoors but you better believe I comb the heck out of my hair after getting home.

 

[mwebs]

I remember when I was a kid my Moms friend, who was a nurse would tell a story about having to dig a tick out of the tip of a guys unit.. Still makes me cringe when I think of ticks haha.