# It's the invasion of the Tick People! Run! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 14, 2009, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-invasion-of-the-tick-people-run/499769 "2009-06-14T22:47:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2009, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-invasion-of-the-tick-people-run/499769/1 "2009-06-14T22:47:00Z")
The first time was funny. My brother, who didn’t want to come with us on the hike in the first place, was complaining about the hights, the mushrooms, the dreaded Exercise, the fact that he could have been spending this time surfing the internet in the comfort of our basement. But at least, he added, there weren’t any spiders. Actually, his exact words were, “At least there aren’t any spiders ahhh argghhh getitoffame! Get it off of me!” It was a [dog tick](http://bugguide.net/images/raw/3ZXRFZXRTZQRZH8RKH8RQH7ZALIZHH8RALFLJZLZULFLTZZZ2LXROZ3LYZZZFZMRELJLYZSRRHER.jpg), not a spider. But still, it was an arachnid, and it was crawling up my brother’s pants. I gallently snatched off the tick, with no thought to my own safety, and spent the rest of the hike laughing about it. The joke was on me. We get back into the car, and as we’re driving home, I spot another dog tick crawling across the headrest. I quickly wrapped it up in a tissue. The next tick appeared on the back of my seat. At this point, I was starting to wonder how I’d fallen into a horror movie. The third tick was spotting crawling across my pants. Another tick was found on my dad’s shirt. Anyway, I burned the little scridnit. I burned it. Burned it to ashes. But I’m still afraid. If it crawls out of the embers with revenge for its fellows in mind, I will know I’m in a horror movie. Ugh. You know that mental illness where you’re convinced there are bugs crawling all over you? Well, it’s even worse when the bugs are real. Excuse me, I’m going off to get myself fumigated. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2009, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-invasion-of-the-tick-people-run/499769/2 "2009-06-15T01:39:20Z")
OMFG!!! My brother found another one. Crawling on the kitchen floor. I burnt that one too. And flushed it down the toilet afterwards. _Grabs copy of [How to Survive a Horror Movie](http://www.amazon.com/How-Survive-Horror-Movie-Skills/dp/1594741794/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1245029785&sr=8-2) in one hand, and ten gallon cannister of bug spray in the other_ ---
**Author:** ![Hockey\_Monkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a183cd/32.png) [@Hockey\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hockey_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2009, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-invasion-of-the-tick-people-run/499769/3 "2009-06-15T01:50:34Z")
You need to check yourself very thoroughly. Very. Thoroughly. I mean get a significant other or mother to check you thoroughly. The bug spray ain’t gonna cut it. Do it now. Nooooow! ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2009, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-invasion-of-the-tick-people-run/499769/4 "2009-06-15T01:58:21Z")
We checked each other! We don’t have ticks on us! I don’t know where they’re coming from! ---
**Author:** ![emmaliminal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@emmaliminal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emmaliminal)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2009, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-invasion-of-the-tick-people-run/499769/5 "2009-06-15T02:07:33Z")
Hooo boy. You’re in for it now. They’re in your house, reproducing (it only takes two). Next you’ll find them peppering your walls, your doorframes, looking for a way to drop down on you all unawares to _suck your bloood._ Um, seriously. This happened to us. Ticks are even creepier than you think they are! Also, watch for the classic Lyme disease [bull’s-eye rash](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyme_Disease#Stage_1_.E2.80.93_Early_localized_infection). My husband _and_ my dog have had it. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2009, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-invasion-of-the-tick-people-run/499769/6 "2009-06-15T02:12:06Z")
_whimpers and runs under the bed_ Please, does anyone know anything we can do? I’m scared. I’m really scared. I hate ticks. I won’t be able to sleep tonight because I’ll be thinking of ticks crawling all over me. Is there anything we can do??? Please??? ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2009, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-invasion-of-the-tick-people-run/499769/7 "2009-06-15T02:26:12Z")
Take a hot bath, and feel around. They particularly get under tight places in your clothes. They are a plague here, but a hot bath and quick search in the tub takes care of it. I like to drop them into my [Nepenthes](http://www.botany.org/carnivorous_plants/nepenthes.php) pitchers. 🙂 And of course wash all your clothes in hot water. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2009, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-invasion-of-the-tick-people-run/499769/8 "2009-06-15T02:35:04Z")
Oh yeah, the Lyme disease, spotted fever. From the link: > [@](#): > > which occurs at the site of the tick bite 3 to 32 days after being bitten. I thought it was only twelve hours, but I can’t imagine anyone having a tick attached that long unless it was a camping trip where they didn’t know there were ticks around and didn’t bathe for a couple of days. Again, check tight places, around your waist, behind your knees, under your arms, legs (they crawl up them, they get on you from high grass) and, er, your crotch. It’s going to be ok, I promise. ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2009, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-invasion-of-the-tick-people-run/499769/9 "2009-06-15T02:55:40Z")
After hiking through prairie grass in Nebraska I’ve had as many as 70 discovered on my person with maybe five actually attached. Did the 'counter-clockwise quarter turn and pull" method of removal later that day. So far, I’ve never caught anything from the bastards. ---
**Author:** ![Early\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Early\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Early_Out)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2009, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-invasion-of-the-tick-people-run/499769/10 "2009-06-15T02:57:23Z")
Dog ticks don’t carry Lyme disease. It’s the little deer ticks that are the culprits for that one. Much smaller than the dog ticks, and tougher to spot. Because they’re so small, it’s very easy to have a deer tick latch onto you without ever noticing it. Showering doesn’t remove them. Been there, caught that, spotted the bull’s-eye rash quickly, and took the antibiotics. Now I spray the deet when I head out on a hike, though it’s becoming clear to me that the woods on the back 2 acres of my property are deer tick heaven, which is where I probably picked up the last one. The other day, I carried some yard debris back there to dump it, and spotted two of the little bastards on my arms when I came back into the house! ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2009, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-invasion-of-the-tick-people-run/499769/11 "2009-06-15T03:20:05Z")
Here is a [link](http://www.oes.org/html/how_2_identify_different_ticks.html) with pictures to identify them. My experience is that they itch like hell before you have them on you long enough to get Lyme disease. Early Out, you didn’t know this thing was on you? Maybe I’ve not had a deer tick, although they often run through the yard. ---
**Author:** ![Early\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Early\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Early_Out)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2009, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-invasion-of-the-tick-people-run/499769/12 "2009-06-15T03:35:20Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Early Out, you didn’t know this thing was on you? Nope, not a clue. I never felt anything, and never actually saw the tick before it had finished its “feed” and dropped off somewhere. I don’t think most people realize just how tiny these suckers are. They’re used to big, obvious dog ticks. If you have skin that naturally has a lot of spots, a deer tick is indistinguishable from all the other little spots that come and go. Got out of the shower one morning and noticed a bug bite on my thigh, about the size of a nickel. Didn’t think much about it. Next morning, noticed that the mark was now the size of a half dollar, and was beginning to show the classic bull’s-eye, at which point I knew precisely what I had. By the time the antibiotics kicked in, it was bigger than a silver dollar. With treatment, it stopped growing, turned a few different colors over the course of the next couple of weeks, then faded away. Happily, I never had any of the other symptoms - no fever, no joint pain, nothing. Unfortunately, I gather you don’t develop any immunity to it, so you can keep picking up the infection over and over again if you’re not careful. ---
**Author:** ![Hockey\_Monkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a183cd/32.png) [@Hockey\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hockey_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2009, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-invasion-of-the-tick-people-run/499769/13 "2009-06-15T03:45:15Z")
My Dad had a tick in his belly button for 2 weeks! He got Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. Check your belly button! I hate ticks. Hate hate hate. Be sure to check your scalp (and pubes). Check every crack and crevice. Which is why I said earlier to get your SO or mom to do it. I’d rather suffer the indignity of my boyfriend checking my asshole than having to have an attached tick removed from there. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2009, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-invasion-of-the-tick-people-run/499769/14 "2009-06-15T17:04:37Z")
Okay, I’m feeling better now. I was panicking last night. There’s probably isn’t a supernatural infestation of evil ticks waiting to suck me dry. I’ve been Googling dog ticks, and there’s one point I’m confused about. Do dog ticks need an actual dog around to cause an infestation? I’ve got two cats, but no dogs. ---
**Author:** ![emmaliminal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@emmaliminal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emmaliminal)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2009, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-invasion-of-the-tick-people-run/499769/15 "2009-06-15T17:26:18Z")
**Deer Ticks and Dog Ticks** Deer ticks carry Lyme disease. Dog ticks carry Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. If ticks didn’t carry disease, they would be creepy but bearable. Deer ticks and dog ticks are about the same size – at the same life stages. However, ticks have distinct life stages that \*are \*different sizes: larva, nymph, and adult (females slightly larger than males). Any stage can bite you or your dog or a deer or whatever, though in general, smaller stages go for smaller animals and larger stages go for larger animals. This is good, because tiny ticks carry disease too, and they are harder to find. [four sizes of deer tick](http://www.ent.iastate.edu/imagegal/ticks/iscap/all4.html) You do not need dogs to get dog ticks. You do not need deer in your house to get deer ticks. Deer ticks will feed on dogs (and other animals); adult deer ticks just prefer deer. Dog ticks will feed on deer (and other animals); adult dog ticks just prefer dogs. You can get a tick yourself by walking in a tick-infested natural area. You can also get one that your dog brought in. You can also get one born and bred in your house, if you bring in a fertile mama tick, though this is apparently rare (it happened to us in Texas). Ticks actually [lie in wait for you](http://entomology.ifas.ufl.edu/creatures/urban/medical/american_dog_tick.htm#life). [QUOTE=U of Florida Dept. of Entomology and Nematology] After hatching, larvae remain on the ground or climb growing vegetation where they wait for small mammals, such as mice, to serve as hosts for their first blood meal. This host location behavior is called questing. Under favorable conditions, larvae can survive up to 11 months without feeding… Nymphs can survive six months without a blood meal. After successfully questing for their second host, which is normally a slightly larger mammal (such as a raccoon or opossum), the nymphs will blood feed over a three to 10-day period… Adults can survive two years without feeding, but readily feed on dogs or other larger animals when available. Questing adult ticks climb onto a grass blade or other low vegetation, cling to it with their third pair of legs, and wave its legs as a potential host approaches. As the hosts brush the vegetation, the ticks grab onto the passing animal. [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2009, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-invasion-of-the-tick-people-run/499769/16 "2009-06-15T17:58:20Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > And of course wash all your clothes in hot water. Ideally in [this washing machine](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=521185). ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2009, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-the-invasion-of-the-tick-people-run/499769/17 "2009-06-15T18:11:38Z")
> [@Anne\_Neville](#): > > Ideally in [this washing machine](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=521185). Man, I want one of those. Especially that portal thing. We could have an accident while the Shelties are playing with that ten pound kong they bounce off the floor.