Malcolm Appleby writes, "I saw your interesting article on ticks and their dangers prior to my visit to Kilchoan in May. Whilst walking, we were always mindful of your advice to check for any unwanted 'hitch-hikers' on our return. The photos show that on one occasion I found a tick at the back of my knee.
"Although it looks like it has not been attached long it did have quite a firm hold but was easy to remove. There were no marks left or signs of infection in the following days, so many thanks for your advice - otherwise checks would not have been carried out and it may have stayed for some considerable time."
Meanwhile, Ginny Jones at Foxfire Marine Consulting, West Tisbury, Massachusetts, writes, "Over here the deer ticks tend to be the Lyme carriers while the larger, dog ticks carry other nasty diseases. Frankly I've lost track of how many diseases they carry but there are something like eight or so, and some are lethal. I've had the bullseye rash and fever at least three times (but didn't find any tick) and have been bitten so many times that I'm probably a walking vector myself. I'm sure that the Lyme is why I'm so arthritic.
"I actually didn't know that May was tick disease month over here - we have ticks around 365 days a year. We were hoping that the extreme cold temperatures on occasion this past winter would wipe the little buggers out but unfortunately there was enough snow to insulate them a bit. Still, a lot of deer perished. Skunks, raccoons, and birds also carry ticks, as do rabbits. A lot of folks around here augment their food budget with venison which we are allowed to kill in season but not sell. A lot of deer get hit on the roads and folks gather up the road kill. Frankly, however, I can't bring myself to eat it or rabbit and that's because of the tick borne diseases."
Ginny's description makes Ardnamurchan ticks sound positively tame!
Many thanks to Malcolm and Ginny for writing,
and Malcolm for the photos.
No comments:
Post a Comment