[at-l] Thinking About Ticks - Long

[dragginanchor@earthlink.net (Draggin' Anchor)]

I was out this weekend and picked up a couple of what we call "seed ticks"
here in the Carolinas.  These are the ticks that manifest at about the size
of a poppy seed, maybe a little bigger but not much.

There have been threads in which the advice has been to screen yourself for
these critters every evening, inspecting yourself and wiping yourself down
with a scrap of cloth, your bandana, or something else handy.

I started thinking about this and this process and how it differs when under
ideal conditions (at home and in the shower) from less than ideal conditions
(in a shelter on week 12 of your thru hike attempt).

In order to do an effective tick check, you will have to disrobe and will
probably be in your tent or under your tarp.  If you are particularly modest
or staying in a shelter, you are likely to be trying to do this inside your
bag, right?

Using a mirror and flashlight, you will closely inspect as much of yourself
as you can see.

Problem one - these insects are really tiny.  Don't think dog tick - they
are huge. Think really, really tiny, about the size of the period at the end
of this sentence.  If you are dirty, tanned, or naturally have a dark
complexion - the brownish/tannish color of the tick will tend to look like a
spot of dirt or a small mole or will tend to blend in with your skin color.
At my age (60+) the eyes don't focus as well as they used to.  At my age and
weight, the occasional fold of skin or wrinkle can effectively conceal them
from sight.  Conclusion one - if any of these guys are on me, it will just
be happenstance that I spot them, even when I am looking.

Problem two - How to remove what I can't see.  Using my hands I check my
body, hoping to feel the little guys.  Sometimes I can, sometimes I can't.
If I can, problem solved - tick removed.  Suppose I can't detect it with my
hands, next using the cloth I rub down hard all over.  What happened?  If
the tick was imbedded - nothing. (I proved this yesterday.)  If the tick was
still wandering around and seeking the tastiest spot, my rubbing transferred
the tick to the cloth or I knocked it off my body or I just pushed it around
to someplace else.

If I'm in my tent or in my bag and I knocked it off, I have accomplished
nothing because the tick will simply relocate me that night or the next time
I am in the vicinity.  I'll carry it around in my gear until the inevitable
happens.  Only if I am Shane will I be cavorting around outside nekkid and
inspecting the most private areas of my body.

If I transferred the tick to the cloth (bandana - towel) again I have
accomplished nothing. Same scenario.  It is baaaaaack.

This is getting too long.  I think you get the picture. So, is there a
better way?  I don't think what we have been telling people is particularly
effective.

I had two of them on me yesterday - one embedded, one roaming freely.  I
stood in my bathroom trying to wash them off, wipe them off, brush them off.
Nothing really worked effectively.  Even when I picked them off, I had
trouble keeping track of them (they move fast for their size) and ensuring
that they wouldn't become a threat later.

Thoughts??  Advice?

Al (Draggin' Anchor)