# Friggin ticks!!!!!!!!!!



## Torch (Aug 18, 2014)

Back in May and recently August we had gone to Nebraska for a couple of long weekends, on the May trip my dog Stella had about 8 ticks on her which we pulled of,the August trip we didn't notice any. Well a week and half ago she was just not herself,sluggish, appetite not normal. Monday we take her to the vet and she is a sick dog. Finally figured out she picked up Rocky Mounted Spotted fever. She's been on IV's 24hrs,spiked 106 deg fever. She is on 2 anti biotics and yesterday they added steriods to the mix. There's a 20% fatality risk and we are hoping we caught it early enough before it damages internal organs and blood cells. Moral of the story is"KILL ALL TICKS"....wishful thinking but what the vets are saying is keep the ticks in a plastic jar or container so that if your dog/pet gets sick they can identify what the potential disease is by what type of tick it is. They are finding more and more diseases these little sh#ts carry..

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## Wildcat (Aug 18, 2014)

Yep ticks suck. My daughter had one lodge in her scalp last year, luckily nothing came of it.


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## Thorlifter (Aug 18, 2014)

Yeah I can't stand them either Torch. Completely repulsive bug. When I go into deep outdoors I wish I could bring about 10 chickens with me to clear out where I will be. Mosquitoes, scorpions, ticks, grasshoppers, bees, you name it, it's all lunch to a chicken.

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## Lucky13 (Aug 18, 2014)

_Daaammmnnnnn!!_ Sorry to hear that! Sending yous some positive vibes...


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## Siddley (Aug 18, 2014)

Hope Stella will be OK. We use Scalibur collars on our cats and our Ridgeback and they seem to be very effective against ticks. They are definitely available in the US - we import ours from there as they are a lot less expensive than in Europe.


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## Capt. Vick (Aug 18, 2014)

Hope your pup makes a full recovery!


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## at6 (Aug 18, 2014)

Hope your doggie recovers fully. The last tick I saw was on me after a day at the river.


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## vikingBerserker (Aug 18, 2014)

Man I'm story to hear that. I hope the lil one gets better soon!


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## bobbysocks (Aug 18, 2014)

i know what you mean torch....yeah bad, bad year for ticks. i pulled them off my dogs ( and they are indoor dogs ) by the droves early this year. took our border collie to the vet for a check up and he has lyme's disease.....caught it early so its antibiotics for him. i have never had a tick and pulled 2 off of me and found one crawling up my wifes arm....i bombed, sprayed, frontlined....and so far nothing. just glad we dont have chiggers up here ( watch that in nebraska if you walk in tall grass...)


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## Crimea_River (Aug 18, 2014)

Just read an article in Macleans, our Canadian version of Newsweek, saying that these critters are spreading as temperatures are going up and that the North American medical community is really not as well armed as it could be against the diseases these things can spread, especially Lyme disease which can be serious sh!t. If you're counting on seeing a "bullseye" mark to tell if you've been bitten, think again. In 20 to 30% of the cases, no such mark shows up. Misdiagnoses of the symptoms are common so beware.

If you are bitten, try to keep the thing in a jar as stated above and bring it to your medical provider.


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## Gnomey (Aug 18, 2014)

Ticks are nasty pieces of work...

Hope she gets better soon.


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## bobbysocks (Aug 18, 2014)

did hear of an interesting way to get the off once they attach. if you yank them the head may come off and all or part may stay in the area and become infected. what i was recently told was take dawn dishwashing liquid and put a dab on the tick and then rub gently with your finger in a circle pushing it away from the bite. the soap must burn or sufficate them but they supposedly let go to get away. havnet tried it yet....really dont want to have to....


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## Torch (Aug 18, 2014)

Vet told me the head stuck in skin does not cause the infection,when they start feeding they release a type of saliva which carries all their infections,etc back into your system. So if you catch it early enough you probably won't have an issue.Heard the same about olive oil,dish soap. Supposed to suffocate them. I've tried it and it took a long time for it to work, if it didn't hurt so bad I would use a blow torch on the basta4DS.

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## Vic Balshaw (Aug 18, 2014)

Not nice things and it was only last Friday when we had a friend up from the coast complaining about them. They were using special tweezers pushed under the tick to stop it anchoring and then popping it out. Yuk.

Sorry to hear about Stella though, hope she pulls through.


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## bobbysocks (Aug 19, 2014)

Torch said:


> Vet told me the head stuck in skin does not cause the infection,when they start feeding they release a type of saliva which carries all their infections,etc back into your system. So if you catch it early enough you probably won't have an issue.Heard the same about olive oil,dish soap. Supposed to suffocate them. I've tried it and it took a long time for it to work, if it didn't hurt so bad I would use a blow torch on the basta4DS.



makes sense.


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## Boa (Aug 19, 2014)

I got meningitis from a tick, it took me almost 9 months to recover.
Ive heard that one of few natural enemys to ticks are Daddy longleg spiders...
Im gona start a farm.

I got one of those special tweezers, to pick ticks from my dog, I also have Spot-on Treatments on him every 4 weeks.

My dog sends his regards to Stella.


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## Torch (Aug 19, 2014)

Damn 4000.00 vet bill,gonna be a sad XMAS this year


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## GrauGeist (Aug 20, 2014)

Sorry to hear that, man...

I hate ticks, they are nasty, evil little bastards that can easily be compared to politicians. We used to have to pick them off our Shepherds all the time, especially when the deer were down by the house. Fortunately, none of the dogs ever contracted any diseases from them, but my Mom ended up getting Lyme's disease from one.


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## at6 (Aug 20, 2014)

Torch said:


> Damn 4000.00 vet bill,gonna be a sad XMAS this year


 Hope she is doing better. While the bill may leave you sad, it would be a sadder XMAS if you lost her.


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## Torch (Aug 20, 2014)

Took her home today, looks better. She's on pain meds,antibiotics and steroids. Eating ok. Fingers crossed

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## GrauGeist (Aug 20, 2014)

Great news....hoping for the best!


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## vikingBerserker (Aug 20, 2014)

Me too!


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## Torch (Aug 20, 2014)

Thanks all for the kind words,nice to have Munchkin home,one of her nicknames


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## swampyankee (Aug 21, 2014)

I've walked one of my dogs and picked off 16 ticks: 7 I caught while walking him; the other 9 at home. He didn't get Lyme, which was nice (he was, however, later attacked by a neighbor's akita, and came home from the vet's with an Elizabethan collar, 4 drains, and about 16 stitches, and, probably, a back injury).

Evil creatures, ticks are. The worst thing is that the ticks that carry Lyme are usually too small to see.


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## parsifal (Aug 21, 2014)

I lost a dog to Shellback ticks years agao. Nasty little buggers. Paralyse the animal including their ability to breath and pump blood. I lost my dog, because he got a tick between the pores of his front feet where the tick wash wasnt effective. 

http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0013/160321/paralysis-ticks.pdf

I hope your dog comes through.


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## Capt. Vick (Aug 21, 2014)

Torch said:


> Damn 4000.00 vet bill,gonna be a sad XMAS this year



I know your pain bro! One of my Dachshunds needed back surgery and it was a little north of what you spent. No vacations for a while after that. But what price love huh?

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## Siddley (Aug 21, 2014)

Another insect born disease to watch out for is leishmania ( sandfly fever ) - it's endemic in a lot of hot countries. It certainly is here, we lost one of our Ridgies to it last year 

I'm glad your dog is home and feeling a bit better, that's good news.


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## mikewint (Aug 21, 2014)

Torch, just caught this thread. I echo +++ what Bobby posted. NEVER "pull" a tick off. A feeding tick is like an eyedroper. If you grab the ticks butt and squeeze you will push all the stuff IN the tick INTO the dog (or you). Dawn does not work nor any other "soap/detergent". The small tweezers are excellent but again you must grab the ticks head (very difficult if it has had time to dig in). A stiff plastic credit card also works very well, again pushing against the head. There is also a special slotted "tool" which is slipped over the tick and then rotated which moves the tick deeper into the narowing slot. 
For a really dugin tick a drop of straight flea/tick shampoo will work but it takes time

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## Torch (Aug 21, 2014)

Have to look for that tool, thanks for the info Mike..


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## parsifal (Aug 21, 2014)

we used to apply turps or metho or kero onto australian ticks. lifted em more or less straight away. But its not recommended anymore. 


_View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mN3HDzCpiU_


_View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AITueotqYs_

Getting a Tick Off of Your Dog : The Humane Society of the United States


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## Njaco (Aug 21, 2014)

Mike, you and Torch are both right. The disease is a spirochete that is in the saliva of the tick. When you aggressively pull the tick and separate his head, he "spits" back into your body the saliva with the disease. If you get the head, you don't risk the chance of him "spitting" the spirochete.


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## vikingBerserker (Aug 21, 2014)

When I worked at a Vet Clinic we would have dogs come in white gums as ticks and fleas had sucked out so much blood. I do not recall what the shampoo we used was called but it would quickly kill them.


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## GrauGeist (Aug 21, 2014)

I have heard alot of the advice out there about how to "properly dispose" of the ticks, once they've been removed.

Some say flush them down the toilet, others recommend putting the ticks in a ziplock bag that contains rubbing alcohol. And so and so on. Not us...once we removed those nasty bastards, we'd toss 'em into the woodstove. 

Kill them with fire, it's the only way


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## swampyankee (Aug 21, 2014)

parsifal said:


> I lost a dog to Shellback ticks years agao. Nasty little buggers. Paralyse the animal including their ability to breath and pump blood. I lost my dog, because he got a tick between the pores of his front feet where the tick wash wasnt effective.
> 
> http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0013/160321/paralysis-ticks.pdf
> 
> I hope your dog comes through.



Isn't just about all the fauna in Australia poisonous? I mean, come on, isn't there a bird with poisonous _feathers_?


As for tick disposal? I prefer drowning. I want them to suffer. Fire's too quick.


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## GrauGeist (Aug 22, 2014)

swampyankee said:


> Isn't just about all the fauna in Australia poisonous? I mean, come on, isn't there a bird with poisonous _feathers_?
> 
> 
> As for tick disposal? I prefer drowning. I want them to suffer. Fire's too quick.


I don't think anything in Australia is NOT lethal in one way or another. It wouldn't surprise me if plain old gravel rubbed on the skin would kill a guy inside of a day or so...

As far as the ticks go, I would occasionally toss them on top of the stove if it was stoked up. That offered about 30 seconds of payback.

Drowning is to easy on 'em...makes 'em go peaceful-like.

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## syscom3 (Aug 22, 2014)

How would you like to be fighting in the Solomons and New Guinea knowing that deadly ticks were known to be hiding in the underbrush just waiting for you?


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## GrauGeist (Aug 22, 2014)

Man...those islands...if the ticks don't get you, the mosquitoes will.

I think the further south you travel, the more hateful nature seems to get.


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## parsifal (Aug 22, 2014)

they breed em tough down here...aaaarrrrggghhhh


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## Torch (Aug 22, 2014)

I used to stomp,burn, drown the little sob's. Now I will keep them for awhile until i'm sure the dog and us humans are not sick,,,,then I will stomp,burn and drown the little sob's...

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## swampyankee (Aug 22, 2014)

Torch said:


> I used to stomp,burn, drown the little sob's. Now I will keep them for awhile until i'm sure the dog and us humans are not sick,,,,then I will stomp,burn and drown the little sob's...



Sulfuric acid should do nicely. I think. Damned things are pretty tough. 

Usually, when they're checked to see if they have anything nasty (other than their basic nature), they're squished between a cover slip and a slide.


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## pbehn (Aug 22, 2014)

You can buy special tweezers that lift the whole mouth parts of the tick.


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## Njaco (Aug 22, 2014)

Torch said:


> I used to stomp,burn, drown the little sob's. Now I will keep them for awhile until i'm sure the dog and us humans are not sick,,,,then I will stomp,burn and drown the little sob's...



Thats what you want to do. Hold onto them alittle bit - maybe taped down with scotch tape - until you're sure nobody has any disease. At least a doctor can have the tick checked out.


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## GrauGeist (Aug 22, 2014)

Look! We found a tick crawling around out there in the field...

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## mikewint (Aug 22, 2014)

Ah Dave... You bring back fond memories of fall evenings clustered around the Franklin stove picking fleas and ticks off the dogs and tossing them on the top of the stove where they'd sizzle and pop like a drop of water...Good times!! (except for the fleas ticks)

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## Gnomey (Aug 22, 2014)

Glad to hear she is doing better. Fire is certainly the best way to deal with the little assholes...


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## vikingBerserker (Aug 22, 2014)

Fire is the only way I have killed ticks. Fleas unless popping them onto a stove I just use the finger nail smash, and use my evil hand sanitizer afterwards.


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## mikewint (Aug 23, 2014)

Hand Sanitizer???? Spit...Right?


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## GrauGeist (Aug 23, 2014)

Used to use gasoline as hand cleaner...is this the same thing?


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## vikingBerserker (Aug 23, 2014)

It's basically gelled alcohol, it's like napalm


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## Lucky13 (Aug 23, 2014)

Are yous putting the poor animal on the _cooker!!??_

_Napalm!!??_ 



Just wait until C see this, he'll have a _fit!!_


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## GrauGeist (Aug 23, 2014)

A tick is not even close to being an animal, good or bad...a tick is genetically closer to a politician than anything else.

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## Lucky13 (Aug 23, 2014)

Meant the dog....


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## GrauGeist (Aug 23, 2014)

Lucky13 said:


> Meant the dog....


Ahh right


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## Lucky13 (Aug 23, 2014)

Tactical withdraw and regroup....


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## vikingBerserker (Aug 23, 2014)

GrauGeist said:


> A tick is not even close to being an animal, good or bad...a tick is genetically closer to a politician than anything else.





You sir, deserve bacon!


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## GrauGeist (Aug 23, 2014)




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## mikewint (Aug 23, 2014)

Exactly Dave, once again you've cut right to the heart of the matter: POLITICS - (polly-ticks) as in Many Blood-sucking Parasites

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## vikingBerserker (Aug 23, 2014)

A-Fricken-Men!


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## parsifal (Aug 23, 2014)

how many polit5icians does it take to change a light bulb/

none, they get us to do it all


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## Lucky13 (Aug 24, 2014)

....._and_...they charge us for it!!


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## vikingBerserker (Aug 30, 2014)

Torch said:


> Back in May and recently August we had gone to Nebraska for a couple of long weekends, on the May trip my dog Stella had about 8 ticks on her which we pulled of,the August trip we didn't notice any. Well a week and half ago she was just not herself,sluggish, appetite not normal. Monday we take her to the vet and she is a sick dog. Finally figured out she picked up Rocky Mounted Spotted fever. She's been on IV's 24hrs,spiked 106 deg fever. She is on 2 anti biotics and yesterday they added steriods to the mix. There's a 20% fatality risk and we are hoping we caught it early enough before it damages internal organs and blood cells. Moral of the story is"KILL ALL TICKS"....wishful thinking but what the vets are saying is keep the ticks in a plastic jar or container so that if your dog/pet gets sick they can identify what the potential disease is by what type of tick it is. They are finding more and more diseases these little sh#ts carry..




How's the pup doing?


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## at6 (Aug 31, 2014)

vikingBerserker said:


> You sir, deserve bacon!


 I couldn't resist giving GrauGeist bacon. This state is governed by ticks.


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## GrauGeist (Aug 31, 2014)

at6 said:


> I couldn't resist giving GrauGeist bacon. This state is governed by ticks.


The state??

The entire world is infested with those effin' things!

I wish it would be just as easy as twisting the blood-suckers out and tossing them on the wood stove, but it's just not that simple...


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## mikewint (Aug 31, 2014)

If it helps any: 
The vermin only teaze and pinch
Their foes superior by an inch.
So, naturalists observe, a flea
Has smaller fleas that on him prey;
And these have smaller still to bite 'em,
And so proceed ad infinitum.
-Jonathan Swift


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## Torch (Aug 31, 2014)

Stella has been home for about a week and change,still on roids,pain killers and antibiotics. She's still is not herself,has up and down moments,eats well thou and I take her for a short walk in the morning,time will tell.


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## vikingBerserker (Aug 31, 2014)

Man, that has to be tough, my thoughts are with you guys.


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## mikewint (Sep 1, 2014)

In the United States, some ticks carry pathogens that can cause human disease, including:

•Anaplasmosis is transmitted to humans by tick bites primarily from the blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis) in the northeastern and upper midwestern U.S. and the western blacklegged tick (Ixodes pacificus) along the Pacific coast.
•Babesiosis is caused by microscopic parasites that infect red blood cells. Most human cases of babesiosis in the U.S. are caused by Babesia microti. Babesia microti is transmitted by the blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis) and is found primarily in the northeast and upper midwest.
•Borrelia miyamotoi infection has recently been described as a cause of illness in the U.S. It is transmitted by the blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis) and has a range similar to that of Lyme disease. 
•Colorado tick fever is caused by a virus transmitted by the Rocky Mountain wood tick (Dermacentor andersoni). It occurs in the the Rocky Mountain states at elevations of 4,000 to 10,500 feet.
•Ehrlichiosis is transmitted to humans by the lone star tick (Ambylomma americanum), found primarily in the southcentral and eastern U.S.
•Heartland virus infection has been identified in eight patients in Missouri and Tennessee as of March 2014. Studies suggest that Lone Star ticks may transmit the virus. It is unknown if the virus may be found in other areas of the U.S. 
•Lyme disease is transmitted by the blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis) in the northeastern U.S. and upper midwestern U.S. and the western blacklegged tick (Ixodes pacificus) along the Pacific coast.
•Powassan disease is transmitted by the blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis) and the groundhog tick (Ixodes cookei). Cases have been reported primarily from northeastern states and the Great Lakes region.
•Rickettsia parkeri rickettsiosis is transmitted to humans by the Gulf Coast tick (Amblyomma maculatum).
•Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) is transmitted by the American dog tick (Dermacentor variabilis), Rocky Mountain wood tick (Dermacentor andersoni), and the brown dog tick (Rhipicephalus sangunineus) in the U.S. The brown dog tick and other tick species are associated with RMSF in Central and South America.
•STARI (Southern tick-associated rash illness) is transmitted via bites from the lone star tick (Ambylomma americanum), found in the southeastern and eastern U.S.
•Tickborne relapsing fever (TBRF) is transmitted to humans through the bite of infected soft ticks. TBRF has been reported in 15 states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming and is associated with sleeping in rustic cabins and vacation homes.
•Tularemia is transmitted to humans by the dog tick (Dermacentor variabilis), the wood tick (Dermacentor andersoni), and the lone star tick (Amblyomma americanum). Tularemia occurs throughout the U.S.
•364D rickettsiosis (Rickettsia phillipi, proposed) is transmitted to humans by the Pacific Coast tick (Dermacentor occidentalis ticks). This is a new disease that has been found in California.


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## vikingBerserker (Sep 1, 2014)

Thanks for Googling that Mike, I'm sure that will help cheer up Torch.

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## mikewint (Sep 1, 2014)

As posted "Friggin Ticks" double YUP! Here in Deer Tick Paradise hardly a week goes by I don't remove 2 or three, me and the dogs. They (dogs) are tested every year right along with heartworm tests. Knowing WHAT you face is most of the battle


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## Torch (Sep 2, 2014)

The ones we pulled off Stella were the Brown Dog Tick...


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