You probably don't have it since you found him before he was all the way in. I had a tick stuck in my ear once, and I didn't get Lyme disease. I'd get your blood tested just to be safe.

Also, I was hoping this would be about Heathers.

nail polish remover next time.

For all I know I've also got one in my ear or up my butt. I'm too afraid to check for more, lol.

Yeah, my friend told me to use nail polish remover, but then the internet told me not to... I opted for not, but since the internet's advice didn't exactly yield stellar results, next time I just may acetone that beast.

omg! ewwwww! that's awful!

btw, I also thought this was going to be about Heathers.

just use a match...isnt that the way the cool kids do it?

Whoa, that sucks! had it been feeding on you (i.e., was it engorged), or had it just recently attached? about how big was it? I actually work with ticks on a daily basis, and i'm sort of curious. I've never had an adult tick on me, but I've pulled off a couple of larvae and nymphs (the two smaller stages). Grabbing them firmly at the base of the head and pulling straight out with tweezers works fine for that, but maybe it's tougher with adults.

ick ick ick ick ick, ticks ick me out.

and it generally takes 12 to 24 hours after the tick starts feeding to transmit Lyme disease.

The title sounds like something someone would write into savage love.

I've had to deal with ticks on cats and dogs because I'm a vet tech, but I've never actually seen a tick on a person. Just thinking about it kinda makes me want to barf.

The same thing happened to me when I was in highschool. I never got lyme disease though.

bio-bot, it seemed like an adult to me, not that I would necessarily know what a younger one looked like, but he seemed to be of the appropriate size and proportions to be an adult. He didn't seem to have fed, since he was not 'engorged' as you put it (which was certainly a relief to see). Though I don't know what the hell he was waiting for since I figure I most likely came in contact with him Friday night or Saturday morning...

hote

...also, I love how I've suddenly assigned 'him' and gender, lol

a gender^

silly typos

wait, how does the whole tick thing happen? you can't just flick it off?

These are the 3 life stages, at oh, maybe 3 times life size?


you can't just flick a tick off once it's bitten you. you have to pull it out. twisting it doesnt help, matches, fingernail polish, kerosene, whatever, might work, but probably would just make it regurgitate into your skin.

EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

ahh, here:


the larvae don't carry Lyme disease, and the adults are usually easy to see before they can infect you. it's the nymphs that are most likely to transmit the disease to humans.

That's the one whodunnit!

Me thinks it was an adult male. At the very least it was an adult something. If my camera worked right now I'd throw a pic up... I've got the arachnid in question chillin' in some alcohol.

how...?

Oh man. When I used to go on digs my team and I always had to check eachother for ticks. Fortunately one was never found on me, but I had to pull one out of a friend.

I'm not sure, spom, I spent much of the early AM hours of Saturday climbing trees on a farm and otherwise frolicking, then later in the day I went on a brief hike on a wide trail in the woods and had a picnic in a meadow... As far as I can imagine, the best opportunities would have been:

A.) When I was climbing a tree.
B.) When I went slightly off the trail to catch a snake.
C.) When I was chillin' in the grass.

I'm inclined to suspect "A"

ick, I hate those things

best way to get a tick out is olive oil and tweezers

works everytime for me

and i live in the middle of a freakin forest

i don't think ticks hang out in trees. i'd go with C. they hatch on the ground and hang out on vegetation or logs.

but the plus side is, you can call yourself a tick magnet

why oh why did I click on this blog again. those pictures of ticks are so gross!

I'm glad you're ok.

did you have a run in with Mantick, the Tick Man? did you cross in front of him with your right foot? he hates that.

Tick magnet it is then :)

Thanks for the insight, bio-bot, and for your concern, everyone!

I feel a bit better about my plight now. I just think I've been harboring the fear of Lyme Disease ever since 3rd grade or whatever, and so to finally have been confronted with one of its agents has been a little disconcerting.

yeah, Iw as always afraid of lyme disease too. I remember we used to go to Edison New Jersey and my parents would say that people would get Lyme Disease all the time there because they walked around barefoot. Why Edison New Jersey, specifically? I don't know.

Limes disease

I has it

as ste7en said, use a match or lighter, they release when the flame gets next to them. then you stamp them into the fucking grounds until there's absolutely nothing left.

I had a TINY TINY one burrow into me once, on my upper chest, found it in the shower and nearly died when I saw it, I freaked out so bad I ran out of the bathroom naked. My mom helped me get it out. You have to be careful not to leave the head behind *shudder*

Lyme Disease is shit, i've had it for four years. I'm alot better then I was, I can leave the house sometimes now but I was bed bound for ages.
You need to make sure that the mouth parts are not still in you and use antiseptic. You will probably be fine but keep an eye out for a bullseye rash (though it doesn't appear in 50% of cases of Lyme Disease) and at the first slight of fatigue, get yourself to the Doctor's for a western blot test. If it comes back negative, don't necessarily believe it. If treated with antibiotics in the first year, you will probably get rid of it.
Don't panic though, you're more than likely fine.
Burning ticks and smothering them is the wrong way to go, they will be sick or get blood on you anyway.
http://www.bada-uk.org/defence/removal/indextickremoval.php

I'm really sorry to hear that, Batty. I'm glad you're doing somewhat better these days, and thank you very much for your advice :)

I found another little bugger on my lower back right before bed last night. This one came off much easier than the first, and appeared similarly skinny and un-engorged (if that's even a word, which, of course, spell check is telling me it is not)...

Keeping my fingers crossed.

Omg you found another one! I hope you're ok! Where do you live that there are so many ticks about? I don't think I've ever seen one.

Thanks, kitten. I live just outside Ann Arbor, Michigan. I think I picked them up at my buddy's farm house in the country. I've never seen one before either :/

You need to incinerate your bed & clothing, then bathe in bleach. Its the only way to be sure.

I get ticks all the time. I have a little tool like a tiny plastic crowbar that you slip in under them and twist to pull them out. I got it at the vet. Apparently you shouldn't try to kill them first, just pull them out alive.

bio- there are tree ticks! They jump out of the trees on their prey. My mom got one before in her head,jumped right down on her.

I third the match trick. Good luck with that :-/

Whoa, crazy.

On camping trip, one of my cousin's friends got a tick on his leg. There weren't really any tool so they took the body off with a thorn, and then on of my cousins had to suck/bite out the head part.

Good times had by all.

aaaaaaaaaah i'm glad you got both of them out.

after pulling them out, burn the fuck out of them.
or throw them in some candle wax so that later when you get paranoid that you didn't pull the head out you can go back and make sure the head is still attached to the tics instead of to you.

this is one reason i am happy to not live in the country anymore.