Last week, I promised a look at a couple of ugly critters encountered by those fishing for suckers. However, due to a conversation I had with a friend, I decided to change the topic.
As we all know, early spring is a lovely time of year. The long winter is over, and some of the lovely, warm days of which we dreamed for so long are now upon us. The birds are coming back, the trees are in leaf bud, the fish are starting to bite and things are just great. Unfortunately, there are also some unpleasant aspects to the return of warm weather.
In the last year or so, ticks have become a real problem in our neck of the woods. I think that I can safely say that, until last year, I only ever saw a couple of ticks in my entire life. Now, they are becoming a real menace. They are often thought of as a summer pest, but they are with us right now. The other day, in the drugstore, I was talking with a friend who said that, after walking her dogs along a wooded road, she had to remove several ticks from the dogs, and noticed some of them on her jeans. Another friend said that, after walking her dogs, she actually found a tick attached to her skin. My buddy’s wife has already taken ticks off their outside cat and dog, and I’ve taken one off our outside cat already. Let’s focus a bit on these bothersome and dangerous critters, as my friend encountered one just last week.
We’ve all heard of the deer tick, also known as black-legged tick. They carry the dreaded lyme disease. I personally know two individuals who suffered through the full blown form of this disease. Their experiences were both terrible and life-threatening. I went to the bother and expense of getting the vaccine, but the jury is still out on how its protection lasts. The major indicator of a bite is a bullseye shaped inflammation. If you get one of these, get to a doctor right away. If antibiotics are administered early, you can avoid real misery.
Ticks are often thought of as insects, but they are really arachnids, closely related to spiders and scorpions. A parasite, they feed on the blood of their host. The American dog tick is one of the most commonly encountered ticks in our area. Although they are named the dog tick, they readily attach themselves to other creatures as well, including humans.
Space does not permit a discussion of all of the types of tick of which we must be wary. When you come right down to it, they are all similar in many ways, and they can carry such horrible diseases as the aforementioned lyme disease, spotted fever, tularemia and a variety of others.
Fortunately, ticks are fairly easy to spot. They appear as a fat, bulbous knob on the skin. The more engorged they become with blood, the bigger they get. When you remove them from a pet, care should be taken to not leave the mouth parts imbedded in the skin. The tick should be gripped as close to the skin as possible, and gently pulled out. Once the tick is out, don’t crush it with your fingers. Not only will doing so make you feel like hurling your lunch, it liberates the germs carried by the tick. The best things to do are to flush them down the toilet or burn them in a fire. Each time I remove one of them from our outside cat, I burn it up with a butane grill lighter. This gets rid of both the tick and the germs it carries. No matter how you deal with them, ticks are enough to gross you out. After removing them, be sure to wash your hands thoroughly. If, after a tick bite, you or your pet exhibit symptoms of illness, seek veterinary or medical assistance at once.
In the aforementioned conversation, I was informed of a couple of non-lyme tick borne diseases. One makes it impossible to eat beef, while the other can lead to total paralysis. Fortunately, the paralysis is temporary if treated.
Ticks should by no means prevent you or your pets from enjoying time spent outdoors. A bit of simple caution can avoid most problems.
Email: salmonangler1@gmail.com