Are ticks a problem in Hurtwood, Leith etc?

Deer, bracken, my bruv was diagnosed with Lyme’s last year from running and riding on Blackdown, which is similar greensand ecosystem. Seems like it could be something to think about.

Should I carry one of those tick removal thingies in my pak?

I would not be bothered about this, except for my brother’s experience. Fortunately his GP was switched on and it got sorted early.

I got bit by something last year whilst on Pitch. My leg swelled up significantly. The Doctor thought it too was Lyme’s. This took over a week to disappear with some pretty strong antibiotics – at one stage they said i might need to go on a drip overnight in hospital.

In the end I concluded that it was probably a horsefly as I recalled swatting one away while I was in the carpark at the back of the Hurtwood Inn.

I’ve been riding there around 12 years and never had a tick.

Depends on what sort of riding he was doing among the bracken!! 😉

The wee blighters go for dark, damp places….. beware. I carry tick removal tweezers.

Horseflies are reet little shits Carlos – after youve been bitten a few times you get to recognise the bite before they inject you and can swat them off.

Tricky on a bike though 🙂

I think I will get a tick tweezer and then hopefully have the same experience as schnullelieber (it will be a miracle if I spelt that right).

Yep – plenty of ticks in these parts winterfold. I got one on my arm last summer at the bottom of BKB, or at least that’s when I saw it. In general, the woods should be fairly clear of them but if you ride across any of the open farmland where there’s livestock around then there’s more chance.
I walk my dogs in open farmland and reckon to ‘pull out’ perhaps 20-30 ticks a year from them – don’t like to spray my dogs with chemicals you understand.

I think I will get a tick tweezer and then hopefully have the same experience as schnullelieber (it will be a miracle if I spelt that right).

Go to the top of the spelling class. You should see how many attempts it takes me to log on.

I live on the Weald so the cats and dog are always getting them and you do find the little feckers jumping ship and trying to move home from time to time. I think we buy some inoculation from the vet for the pets which kills the ticks when they bite. Not sure I’d want to take it. (Although the detail of that is Mrs Winterfold’s department so I might be completely wrong, the vet is hot and she wears very low cut tops so it all goes over my head. Our pets get sick a lot.)

I did wonder if the one that bit my bro was more likely to have been picked up by his dog then moved home.

schnullelieber – I’m intrigued as to the meaning of your handle, although reticent at the same time 😉

schnullelieber – I’m intrigued as to the meaning of your handle, although reticent at the same time

It’s innocent enough. Schnulle is a who not a what.

Good stuff… smidgethatmidge

Been riding up there for 15 years, never got a tick.