Tick Awareness
Ticks are, unfortunately, on the spread.
Typically carried by the deer population which, having no apex predator to keep its numbers down, are more and more frequently being seen in areas where they previously have not been.
Its important to be aware of ways to reduce your chances of picking up a tick.
Wear long trousers and long sleeves, lighter coloured fabrics will allow you to see if you have picked up a tick and brush it off with your hands. Long trousers over boots will also help.
Wear insect repellent that states it will deter ticks, our preference is Smidge which works with midges, mosquitoes, ticks, fleas and horse flies. No one repellent is guaranteed to work and everyone is different as to how well they work but Smidge works for us and isn’t a nasty one. Apply it to covered areas as well (ankles, wrists waist can be ‘access points’ for them.
Avoid long undergrowth by sticking to defined footpaths. Deer make tracks through plants like bracken and the ticks hop on and off using the tall plants as a springboard.
After you’ve been out
Check yourself for ticks, the smallest ones can be difficult to see. I have had one that I thought was a small splinter but when I ran my finger over it I couldn’t feel it in my arm, unlike a splinter where it would ‘catch’. They desensitise the area, sneaky little blighters!
Typical places they go for are warm sweatier areas, backs of knees, arm pits, waist band, between toes, crotch, behind ears etc.
Top Tip: If you cant contort yourself to view every nock and cranny of your body (which lets face it no one can) and you don’t have a friend willing to investigate use your smart phone on front view camera.
If you find one
Use a tick removal tool (twister, card etc) to gently remove it by hooking as it as close to the skin as possible and gently twisting and lifting it or a pair of tweezers carefully pry it straight up with out pulling its head off.
DONT try burning it, applying vasaline etc to it. Any of that type of thing will make the Tick effectively throw up potentially contaminated blood back into you.