Viewing 14 posts - 1 through 14 (of 14 total)
  • What tick remover for…
  • fadda
    Full Member

    …well, ticks, I guess…?

    Have decided to get a tick twister, after my marathon with thread yesterday.  Are they all much of a muchness, or do I need to look for certain features?

    Any recommendations welcome…

    immaterial
    Free Member

    Lifesystems credit card gets a +1 from me.

    redthunder
    Free Member

    Tom O Twister.. works very well. Removed loads so far 🙁

    If your totally stuck, wind cotton thread around the biting parts of the tick and then pull upwards.

    Amazing creatures though.

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    DezB
    Free Member

    Always used one like this on the dog, worked well.

    Related image

    PiknMix
    Free Member

    Tom O Twister

    +1, you get a small one and a large one so all bases covered.

    johnners
    Free Member

    You’ll struggle with thread on the larva and nymph stages, they’re just too small. The Twister is quite good but I find a pair of fine tweezers best.

    Yak
    Full Member

    tom o twister for most of them and resorting to tweezers for the tiddlers.

    Smidge for minimising them in the first place.

    fadda
    Full Member

    Thanks for all the replies and help.

    Should maybe have pointed out that this is for people, not pets – is there any difference?

    Onzadog
    Free Member

    No difference, they’re the same ticks

    whitestone
    Free Member

    On the farm we always twisted/pulled them off with our nails but these days I’ve one of those credit card sized ones that’s in my minimal FAK. Not had to use it yet.

    As always, prevention is better than cure: try not to sit on grass; wear long clothing especially on legs; use Smidge.

    DezB
    Free Member

    this is for people, not pets – is there any difference?

    Pets find it hard to use the tools 😉

    johnners
    Free Member

    Yeah, as the posters above have pointed out, it’s better not to get them. I don’t recall ever picking up any when I’ve used repellent, even riding in shorts where it’s a bit overgrown. Otherwise it used to be at least a couple per 2-3 hour ride in the Quantocks.

    petec
    Free Member

    we get a lot in our garden (borders the woods)

    I’ve made my own acaricide  – citronella oil, mixed with a cheap moisturiser. Lathered on. Stops them coming near you. If you’re really going for it, add some cedar oil (link for study), or rose geranium

    they do work. You might smell a bit funny…

    the other thing – for my gardening clothes – is to get some 10% permethrin (cheaper from america, but amazon.fr sell some pre-made sprays). Dilute it, soak the clothes for an hour or so, and then drip dry. Clothes then have the ability to kill anything that does try and get on, which stops the crawling up the shorts malarky (and you can use the remaining liquid as a spray). It lasts for a few washes, and doesn’t degrade in sunlight.

    The natural equivalent (pyrethrum) breaks down in UV light…so won’t last, but you could wash in a mixture of it after a ride. Perfectly safe for humans.

    dovebiker
    Full Member

    Daily we have to pull 2-3 off each of the dogs as we’re walking in woodland / knee-high grass.  You’ll need 2 sizes of ‘twister’ for the ‘bloaters’ and a small one for where they’re barely visible. Tried tweezers etc but they’re far more fiddly / more chance of pulling the body off / infections etc. A self-adhesive clothes lint roller is particularly good for catching walkers and holding our daily ‘catch’. Seems particularly bad this year.

Viewing 14 posts - 1 through 14 (of 14 total)

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