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On this hike, Dick and I were attacked by a wicked all-time
record number of ticks - at least 70 of the nasty little guys!
We were fine walking up the road and whacking through the woods
to the summit; but not so coming down on the ATV track through the powerline swath
(labelled "Tick Alley" on my GPS track).
I had sprayed my shoes, socks and pant bottoms with DEET
and Dick wore Permethrin clothing, but neither of these seemed to work.
The swath track had low-cut grass (about six inches high),
similar to my prior record tick encounter on
Signal Hill.
The ugly details: - Before entering the car to drive home, Dick and I helped each other remove around 50 ticks off our clothes. - Then on the drive home, I (as the passenger) found three more ticks on me, that I ejected out the car window. - Back at home, as I put my attacked clothing into the washing machine, I found 18 more ticks, mostly on my legs (I had not tucked my pants into my socks). - In the shower, fortunately, I found no more ticks. - But, after putting my clothes through the drier, I found two more ticks (very dead) in the output air filter. The lesson for me: - Don't hike on grassy paths, especially in spring! See also: - Lyme Disease Caution |