Ticks, is it game over for shorts?

https://www.bikeperfect.com/features/tick-season-is-here-heres-how-to-avoid-nasty-vampire-bug-infections-with-our-mtb-safety-tick-list

Radio4 now.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001y87f

INSIDE HEALTH

We go on a tick hunt

We head to a leafy oasis in London to talk all things ticks

I’ve found a couple on me in the past couple of years, I’d never seen one until a few years ago, so definitely seem to be on the rise IME.

They seem to like to bite you in hard to reach places like your armpit, groin and one time for me at the back of my knee.

I didn’t realise that Smidge was so successful with ticks, I’ll make sure we use it more often.

OMG, I advise against listening to this Inside Health episode, if you’re already prone to worrying about ticks. Scary stuff.

I agree about the inside health episode. Better to be safe though. Some rather serious possible consequences.
My Upper New York State friend Lenny died of Leukemia and was told that his Lyme was a massive contributor.
So be read that they can live a long time without feeding so try avoid taking them into home or car.

I found the Inside Health episode quite reassuring: a few key takeaways for me were:

– Ticks need temperatures over about 15C be active

– Ticks don’t just jump on and start feeding, but first spend a couple of hours realising they are on a host and finding the best spot to feed.
– Most ticks aren’t carrying Lyme disease, so a tick bite is far from being a guaranteed Lyme infection.

I have had 3 ticks, one under my watch strap caught while cycling in the Cairngorms. One on my leg caught in the South of the Lake district. The last and most bizarre I think I got on the Ferry to Shetland.

I had driven from home to the ferry in Aberdeen and only stops twice for Petrol. I had gone to my cabin and slept in the cabin on the ferry. I drove off the ferry and drove to the hostel where I was meeting the other seakayakers. While chatting in the car park one of the other kayakers saw a tick on my neck and removed it.

I have no idea where it came from other than the ferry. There are no deer is Shetland and I had not got out of the car until I got to the hostel.

BBC Countryfile did an extensive report Sunday. Starts at 18 mins or so.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m001yssh

Seems he found them even in cold weather. Smidge at the ready riders!

Got back this week from nine days in the Western Highlands. ‘Wild’ camping every night (don’t like the term but, y’know). I’d sprayed my trousers with permethrin and kept my trousers tucked into socks. Cursory tick awareness – brushing off clothing, generally keeping inner tent door closed if not in use. No bites, found one tick in the tent. Be aware but not paranoid. I’m of the opinion, having read some signs going up (not where I was this trip), that at least some landowners/managers see tick paranoia as a useful tool in keeping people off their land.

I was surprised about the temp that ticks need to be active. Down in s.w Wilts where I live, neighbours dogs are picking them up nearly all year round now, I think mid January was the first spotted this year.

That bluebell full of ticks pic was taken before work last month, it was much colder than 15c and they were certainly active.

The low sounding incidence of Lymes they talked about was odd too, iirc there’s been 3-4 cases in our street of maybe 15 houses. The local GP is really hot on it too which is good.

There’s an interesting article on the BBC website currently –https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4nnke4m8lko

Mentions dog deaths related to tick bites & the possibility of Crimean Congo haemorrhagic fever (which kills 40% of those infected) reaching the UK.

I have asked a couple of Glasgow GPs about Lyme disease. Both saying they see it regularly but not frequently. A few cases a year. Not always a bullseye rash. Sometimes diagnosed after unexplained  lethargy weeks after being bitten.

Seems low risk if reasonable precautions are taken.

Tick Bite Prevention

A mate of mine started the antibiotics yesterday after having a rash (not bullseye) on his leg for a couple of weeks. He has no recollection of seeing/removing a tick recently.

Apparently my neck of the woods, Somerset, is a tick hotspot. There’s an article on the BBC website – https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd11gkldgw9o & also a 5 minute radio interview on ticks & bite prevention on BBC Sounds – https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0j3rb2s

Might be useful for local riders & walkers & seems to be suggesting that insect repellent is pretty much essential for any outdoorsy activities in the UK.

insect repellent is pretty much essential for any outdoorsy activities in the UK.

I’ll usually not bother with insect repellent if I’m riding or running on roads, but it’s a default if I’m going off-road.

I have picked up a couple to ticks from riding on the road before. I guess that the little blighters leap from grass verges & undergrowth.

Rewilding seems to be a big thing at the moment too which may increase the risk as verges & hedgerows are more overgrown.

Stop riding in the gutter it only encourages poor overtakes 😂

(That’s my victim blaming done for the day).

Ride where motorised traffic clears stuff off the road, not where it clears the stuff to. Riding in the gutter will likely get more punctures too, and then probably expose you to more ticks while fixing them in that grassy verge.

Heading for another tick hotspot on Monday – South Uist.  Walking socks and trousers sprayed with permethrin.

“Wherever Mr Charlesworth goes, he finds ticks. But it was a series of drags at Loch Eynort in South Uist that left him “shocked”.The only difference in the two areas he dragged was that large mammals couldn’t access the fenced section.Over a year, he found only seven ticks in that area – but 557 where animals could roam.”

The highest rate of Lyme disease in Scotland: The statistics behind Uist’s fight against ticks

I removed a tick from my wrist the other night after a ride. I was wearing long sleeves, gloves and tights, the only exposed parts of me was my face and neck, and a tiny sliver of wrist between my sleeve and glove. Thankfully no issues from the bite, actually I’ve had much worse reactions of late to midgie bites, I end up getting itchy raised puss filled lumps that leave a scab for at least a week or two.

Went for a walk around Montepulciano yesterday. GF caught 13 ticks, only one of which managed to take hold despite her wearing long trousers tucked into her socks. I found three on my socks and despite wearing shorts didn’t get bitten.

3 to 4 cases of Lymes in 15 houses would mean you need to be in a real , national level tock and Lymes blackspot.  Are there lots of deer, sheep, any other obvious reasons why this would be so?

Just pulled one out of my wife’s leg. We’ve had a quiet season for them (so farl.

First one in a while last week on my ankle after riding some neglected overgrown DH tracks. Easy out as it hadn’t really got stuck in, they don’t seem to like the taste of me.

Great to see this project (https://ticksolve.ceh.ac.uk) from Jimfrandisco, and also interesting to hear your professional views on some of the thoughts in this thread. For example: deer appear to be perceived as a prime vector (understandable considering adult ticks may be more likely to travel on larger mammals), but I understood ticks use smaller mammals (vole, mice, rabbits etc etc) as hosts too and were just as likely to pick up a nymph or larval tick from one of the other of their three mobile life stages (larvae, nymph, adult).

I find Adult ticks are usually extremely easy to spot, if you’re looking. Larvae, extremely easy to overlook. Nymphs – in between and usually fairly visible.
Therefore it’d be great to clear another area of confusion is whether larvae ticks can carry Lyme, or Tick Bourne Encephalitis? I’d previously believed they could not, so grateful

For context, I’ve found hundreds of ticks on me, but only a couple of dozen embedded and feeding (usually remove with tick tools).  They were very bad on the moors at home in Cornwall in 2020 (16 picked up in one walk) and other hot years, less so this year.

I’ve just returned from a 10 days bikepacking in the Scottish Highlands and think I managed to find every tick before it attached. My riding partner found a couple of nymph or larvae attached and feeding. However, as with any trip which includes camping in wild places; they  may be hiding in gear for some time – which is another area to understand: how long before they desiccate and die if indoors when removed from moist undergrowth?

Slight drift anyone seen any horse flies yet?

Clegs? Not yet. And I’d know about it! 😂

We usually get them in spells of hot, still weather and we’ve not had much of that so far this year.

Should never have mentioned them, turned up today – ****

Had traces of lymes disease about 20 years ago.  Avoided the ticks for many years

Thousands of them in the field where we are building a solar farm near Staveley (Derbyshire)

As for mtb – still ride in shorts

If I’m going to be using spray permethrin which product/brand should I be looking for?

I bought half a litre from this source:

https://www.hedgewitchessentials.co.uk/onlineshop/icaridin-insect-repellent.html

I rode the Ciaran trail back to Kinlochleven. Lots of ferns. I found 3 ticks in the next 2 days. It’s freaking me out. My daughter had Lymes disease about 15 years go. It is difficult to put into words what a difficult and life changing time that was for her.

I use Lifesystems around £9 or £10 from various outdoor shops or online. Seems effective. Note not the same product Bill linked to which appears to be an alternative to deet

https://www.cotswoldoutdoor.com/p/lifesystems-ex4-anti-mosquito-spray-E7224033.html.<!–more–>

Not tick related but just following on from the repelent recommendations in this thread.

We’ve had a lot of mosquito’s locally & been getting bothered by daytime biting ones recently.

Today whilst standing in my kitchen sipping on a coffee I got attacked by this failry large beast!

It’s an Asian Tiger Mosquito – anyone else come accross these evil pests? Apparently becoming more prevalent across Europe & spreading Denghi Fever & other nasty diseases.

I’m looking at buying some Smidge to protect against ticks on my rides but will that also ward off these daytime biters or should I be looking at something stronger/different??

I went to buy some Smidge earlier and saw they also do a mosquito repellent so I bought some of that instead.

Went camping with the wife up some local hills for the aurora last month. Was a fair bit of bushwacking and found 12 between us the next day.

Walked the east highland way last week but treated boots, socks, trousers, tops, rucksacks and bits of the tent with permithrin before we left. Used a bit of smidge on exposed skin.

No ticks at all for us two, whereas others in the party found quite a few.

Read that treating boots and socks alone reduces chance of tick bite 70x.

Just back from 2 days walking on South Uist, a tick hotspot. Treated trousers and socks with permethrin before going. No ticks despite much wading through bracken.

Bump to remind everyone.

Got two despite riding in long sleeve and trousers with elasticed waist and ankles. One even gone down my sock.

Better get a tick remover and remember the Smidge when we do the KAW in early September