Ticks

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divine_light777

New member
Hello I mostly just need someone to tell me it's gonna be ok... was w my 6 month old in the woods harvesting elderberry today and we came home and were both covered in ticks, tiny tiny ticks, I got them all off her and did a once over w lint roller too, think I got myself also, a little stressed that some r loose in my house now agh and on the baby carrier!! Trying to curb my panic attack but I just really hate ticks!!!
 
@divine_light777 Overall, you've done a very thorough job at getting the ticks off you and your child. I hate ticks with a passion, but they are a large part of my job and I want to provide some insight since the advise given here isn't as accurate as one might hope for in your situation!

Abstract from a 2016 study: "Placing clothing directly in a dryer and drying for a minimum of 6min on high heat will effectively kill ticks on clothing. If clothing is soiled and requires washing first, our results indicate clothing should be washed with water temperature ≥54°C (≥130°F) to kill ticks."

Do not put clothing items in the freezer. If that worked, ticks would not exist places where cold winters occur. They go dormant.

Also, it depends on the tick and the disease as to how long they must be attached for disease transmission to occur. The "24 hour rule" is a very broad guideline.

Edited: autocorrect
 
@divine_light777 For future reference, you can spray permethrin on your carrier and any clothes you regularly wear in the woods. It repels ticks and stays on through several washes. Just keep it away from any pet cats (I have cats and I remember reading that it's very toxic to them until it dries).
 
@divine_light777 I don't know about other diseases, but I was just reading that it takes a minimum of 24 hours, and more likely 36 hours for Lyme disease to be contracted from a tick. So if you got them all off, there's not really a chance baby has it now.
 
@divine_light777 If you got lots of very very small ticks, I mean like hundreds, it sounds like you walked into what is sometimes called a ‘seed bomb’. These seed ticks are in their larval stage and do not typically carry Lyme disease. That’s because the larvae are in their first stage after hatching and haven’t had a blood meal yet. So yes, it is crazy gross but you’ll likely be totally fine. In fact, exposure to ticks can make your body more sensitive to tick bites (I.e. more itching) and it’s been hypothesized that more sensitivity = less likely to get Lyme if you are bit by a infected tick.

That said if you or your child do suddenly get a freezer, rashes or dizziness, go see a doctor just in case.
 
@divine_light777 So a while back I got bit by a tick and ended up with low level rocky mountain spotted fever. Watch for any bites on either of you with swelling or anything weird looking. If you find any please go get your blood tested for Lyme and rmsf. Apparently there have been huge outbreaks of rmsf this year.
 
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