I Hate Ticks

Every year it happens. I hear about another person in East Greenwich that is diagnosed with Lyme Disease. I hate parasites. They are so selfish. I hate how small ticks are. I always read about how they are the size of a period at the end of a sentence. I do tick checks on myself and my family but sometimes I feel it's futile. Even that stupid bull's eye rash does not consistently show itself after a tick bite. This is when I appreciate, dare I say it, the bump and itchiness of a mosquito bite. At the very least you knew you were bitten.

Here are some odds and ends about ticks that have been rattling my brain recently.

So you think your kid is safe playing outdoor soccer? When the ball goes into the woods, cheer them on when they stay on the field. The kid that gets the ball may also get a tick bite.

A bus driver from Lyme, Connecticut told a friend of mine to put some soap on a paper towel and rub counterclockwise on a tick that is biting you. The soap in the paper towel makes them let go. One week later I was forced to try it and it worked like a charm. So no welder torch needed.

Do you know that ticks can kill a moose? Especially if thousands of them are biting the animal.
I learned about it in a National Geographic video here. http://bit.ly/zUBH1I

The earliest known human with Lyme disease was Otzi the Iceman. And that was 5,300 years ago.

The best way to fight Lyme disease is to check yourself for ticks every day and to have a heightened awareness of tick prone areas. Stacks of wood, leafy forest litter and pets are tick hotspots.
The University of Rhode Island has an outstanding website to learn more about ticks. Here is a link to the "Top Ten Things Everyone Should Know About Ticks."
http://www.tickencounter.org/think_tick_take_action/top_ten_things

I am hoping that one full year will go by and I will not learn of a person contracting Lyme disease. I also hope that this post will heighten your awareness of these blood suckers and urge you to check yourself 
for ticks, even in the winter. If only they were a bit bigger, I would scour the forest with my welder's torch put an end to them Rambo style. But right now, we have to settle "tick checks."