Lyme Disease

[johnhens]

Good article about geographic areas with the highest incidents of Lyme Disease.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2012/02 ... t=1&f=1001

[alecto73]

If I found a Genie in a bottle I'd strongly consider getting rid of ticks as one of my three wishes. Not a fan. I was actually considering the tick/Lyme factor while trying to decide whether to head down to the Smokies in early Spring. Guess I'm going. Now I just have to figure out where to even begin route planning. 800 freakin' miles of trails? Thanks for the info.

[fonixmunkee]

Glad to see my home state is solid red on that chart. NOT.

Seriously, I've known so many people who have had tick-bourne diseases that I'm often turned off from backpacking trips in Wisconsin & Minnesota. And with a dog, I'm even doubly-worried. Sure I use long sleeves, wear pants, etc. etc., and the dog has front line, but ticks seem to be growing in equal resilience as fast as they grow in population. Hell, when I go golfing I can walk off the course with a tick or two on my legs. It's getting out of hand. alecto73, I'd be very grateful if you wished away ticks. They really are keeping me from having fun.

[Ingo]

This may be the genie http://www.npr.org/2011/04/18/135468567 ... grapefruit. Sounds too good to be true, but hopefully it pans out.

If this year is like last, in a month or two I won't be able to step into my yard w/o getting at least one tick. The deer do like to bed and graze in the yard, though. Ironically I'm probably safer from ticks out camping and hiking. Not sure what to make of the fact we've never had Lymes or Rocky Mt Spotted Fever--probably because we usually find and remove them quickly.

[alecto73]

I've been using Permathrin and the Repel Lemon/Eucalyptus stuff with pretty good results but I also more or less completely avoid high season for the things. Last time we were at Buckhorn they were bad. That's when I got to field test a Liberty Mountain Tick Key on my buddy. The Permathrin seemed to keep them off of me but this sounds much better. I will be bathing in it daily if it makes it to market.

[Midwest Ed]

If this year is like last, in a month or two I won't be able to step into my yard w/o getting at least one tick. The deer do like to bed and graze in the yard, though. Ironically I'm probably safer from ticks out camping and hiking. Not sure what to make of the fact we've never had Lymes or Rocky Mt Spotted Fever--probably because we usually find and remove them quickly.

If the first map is at all accurate it would explain why North Carolina has been relatively free from Lyme disease. The ticks in your area don't seem to carry the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato bacteria, yet. I'm sure they carry other nasty things though. From what I've read I remember 4 interesting "facts". 55% of all ticks surveyed in rural New Jersey carried some sort of pathogen. A typical exposure to deer ticks results on average in a 1% infection rate of Lyme disease. For Lyme disease to take hold in a host the tick must typically feed for at least 24 hours (there's something in the ticks saliva that kills off a certain white blood cell that normally would prevent infection and as a result of longer exposure the bacteria is allowed to "take hold"). And many infections occur from ticks that are virtually invisible to the eye.



This map paints a slightly different picture:


American Lyme Disease Foundation:
http://www.aldf.com/usmap.shtml

[Ingo]

If the first map is at all accurate it would explain why North Carolina has been relatively free from Lyme disease.

Yeah, I'm skeptical considering I know several people who have had Lyme Disease down here. It certainly isn't the same as WI/MN and the NE, but I think there may be some reporting issues, too. The bigger threat is Rockie Mt Spotted Fever--I've read that 1 in 4 dog ticks in my area carry it. And we also have the wonderful Lonestar tick, which carries both plus another. I'm probably too casual around my house, as I'm pretty compulsive about using DEET when out hiking/camping or at the family cabin in N. Wis. In any case I'm sure I've pulled a thousand ticks off me over my lifetime, attached or not, and never contracted something.