We enjoyed yesterday's walk to the east of Loch Mudle but Mrs Diary came home with four very unwelcome passengers which had managed to climb onto her arms - even though she was wearing long sleeves and gloves to which she had applied an insect repellent. We assume she picked them up while moving through the forestry which the deer use for cover during the day.
It seems very early for the ticks to be active but we've had a mild, if damp, winter so I suppose we have to be prepared for them. The four ticks were all tiny - that's a five pence piece to the right - and while three were discovered shortly after we returned home, this one was only noticed this morning after its activities started to cause an itch.
I had to remove a tick from my daughter back in early March here on the Clyde coast - she had been wandering through long grass where the deer and sheep roam though. My trusty tick removers are always to hand and a tick check is part of our nightly routine. Hate the little blighters!
ReplyDeleteThanks for letting us know that ticks are around already. I wrote a post about how to avoid ticks (http://www.holidayscottishhighlands.co.uk/lyme-disease-avoid-tick-bites-humans/)but is worrying that your wife was still bitten despite covering up and wearing insect repellent.
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