We now live very close to STANTA and my wife had a real problem after being bitten by a tick. Watch out if you're over this way.

Originally Posted by ugly

Front line allegedly only prevents them from biting but its bollox. Use an O Tom outside before the mutt comes in and it shouldnt be a problem!

The frontline does work, i believe it kills the tick after it bites, hence i have pulled a couple of very small dead ones from my dog but its only effective for the 1st 2 weeks after applying, you can only apply it once every 4 weeks and it costs a fortune!

Lyme's disease is on the increse...

linky thing

and here...

Tick alert link

Is there any spray or creams that will repel ticks in the field?
I'm paranoid about anything that wants to bite. :( ;)

Originally Posted by ugly

Buy from me the O Tom tick remover for less than �4 including instructions. I have a collection of ticks from my dogs and they are the best item on the market. Do not I repeat DO NOT ever pull them out! Use the O Tom and the things come straight out with all the nasty bits attached!

Ugly's business
E mail us your details or phone and we can send them out. Lymes disease is notto be messed with but simple precautions and daily checks are vital. Most professional stalkers I know seem to be infected with it and its no fun!

I agree. And you can get O Tom tick removers from most vet surgeries.

Excellent post!

On exercise in STANTA about 10 years ago, I was 'bitten' by something that gave me a largish, raised, circular welt and the wound it left didn't heal for 6 months. The wound actually re-opened and itched like hell every year, almost to the week, for the next 4 years. Only after watching a programme on German TV did it dawn on me I might be in for trouble at a later date.

I got my doc to give me a blood-test, but it showed up negative for the relevant antibodies etc.

Question is, can the active symptoms (rheumatism, heart-disease etc) appear years later, even though previous blood-tests proved negative?

Originally Posted by SharpRattyGleamer

Excellent post!

On exercise in STANTA about 10 years ago, I was 'bitten' by something that gave me a largish, raised, circular welt and the wound it left didn't heal for 6 months. The wound actually re-opened and itched like hell every year, almost to the week, for the next 4 years. Only after watching a programme on German TV did it dawn on me I might be in for trouble at a later date.

I got my doc to give me a blood-test, but it showed up negative for the relevant antibodies etc.

Question is, can the active symptoms (rheumatism, heart-disease etc) appear years later, even though previous blood-tests proved negative?

"Years later?"
According to my boss who this happened to, definetly! Not every GP knows enough about the disease and its variations!

Originally Posted by SharpRattyGleamer

Excellent post!

On exercise in STANTA about 10 years ago, I was 'bitten' by something that gave me a largish, raised, circular welt and the wound it left didn't heal for 6 months. The wound actually re-opened and itched like hell every year, almost to the week, for the next 4 years. Only after watching a programme on German TV did it dawn on me I might be in for trouble at a later date.

I got my doc to give me a blood-test, but it showed up negative for the relevant antibodies etc.

Question is, can the active symptoms (rheumatism, heart-disease etc) appear years later, even though previous blood-tests proved negative?

"Years later?"
According to my boss who this happened to, definetly! Not every GP knows enough about the disease and its variations!

I used to live in a semi-cleared rainforest area which teemed with minute scrub ticks which carried every tick-borne disease known to science. We had to learn how to remove the little bastards from both ourselves and our animals, otherwise the Dr/Vet bills would have been ruinous.

We found that a drop of vinegar (especially if salted) forced the tick to release, whereupon it could be killed with tweezers. As stated by others, encephalitis/Lyme Disease/etc. are not to be fucked with, and the effects can take a while to manifest themselves.

I was out cycling last week, but went off road, wearing shorts. I ended up covered in the buggers, and nearly put my back out trying to contort myself with a mirror and a magnifying glass and a pair of tweezers to get them off!
Long trousers and long sleeves will be the order of the day in future.