[Dingdong]

Always good to check yourself after a day of chossing as sirlockoff mentioned. Good to check in the shower in certain areas too cause they can be sneaky.
Ideally under armpits, behind knees, in the groin. I’ve even heard a story of someone getting one on the end of their pecker! 

[SA Chris]

Stay on the path, STAY ON THE PATH!

I always take precautions, in higher risk areas, and do a once over check after, but tiny ones still attach sometimes, and you only notice like JB says when they start itching. If you do find one, no matter how small, remove it properly and keep the dead tick folded in bogroll in a small ziplock for a couple of weeks; if you have any reaction they can test it for diseases and confirm. 

[Bradders]

I've always considered ticks as something to be aware of if I see one but the risk of Lymes and encephalitis seems very small still, certainly no larger than numerous other risks. I certainly don't religiously check my dog or myself after every trip outside. Should I?

In my humble opinion, YES!!! It's just not worth it. And dogs can get ill from them too.

I check myself regularly throughout the day whilst I'm out, and basically every time I go through any vegetated area and I'm brushing against any plants, which I do my best to avoid doing in the first place. In Austria recently I even stripped down to the nads immediately after walking through an area of long grass - as in, as soon as I was out of the field on a good path I put my pads down and stripped. Found 3 on me. 100% worth the potential embarrassment of someone coming along.

I'm maybe quite a way along the paranoid end of the spectrum but I just don't know why you'd risk it.

I'm also lucky my dog is white, so they show up pretty well and he's only ever had two bite him, out of several dozen maybe I've found crawling on him. The tick collar as I say does seem to work pretty well but certainly isn't bulletproof.

I’ve found loads in the bed over the last year.

That is without question the most horrific thing I've ever read on this forum. Thanks for the nightmares. How the hell do you sleep at night?!

[SamT]

I’ve found loads in the bed over the last year.

That is without question the most horrific thing I've ever read on this forum. Thanks for the nightmares. How the hell do you sleep at night?!

  

[SamT]

Genuinely dumb question.. but why don't we wear tick collars, or bracelets or whatever.

(cant be arsed to google -  )

[bolehillbilly]

Friend of mine got a tick and Lyme's from Froggat recently, got antibiotics and was recovering last I heard.

[webbo]

I’ve found loads in the bed over the last year.

That is without question the most horrific thing I've ever read on this forum. Thanks for the nightmares. How the hell do you sleep at night?!

  

Did James not mean the dogs bed.

[James Malloch]

I’ve found loads in the bed over the last year.

That is without question the most horrific thing I've ever read on this forum. Thanks for the nightmares. How the hell do you sleep at night?!

  

They were all in the van, non at home. I think we just got so used to them on our trip last year. In Val Daone we were taking 20+ off the dog each day (not all attached). Lots in the Frankenjura, Font, Scotland and the Lakes too.

There was no way we were stopping them so just got used to doing a really thorough check of the bed anywhere we found them on him. Would go over the bed inch by inch, inside and out, and then run the dyson over it as well.

I never had one until this year on Ilkley Moor (post trip) so i was still convinced i was one of those people who are just immune to getting them!

One thing i found with dog checks is that brushing was basically useless. After the first one we found in Font we would spend about 15 mins meticulously using a flea comb all over every bit of fur. We never once pulled one out with the comb,but would often find them walking over him as soon as we got in the van.

[spidermonkey09]

I see where James is coming from. If there's that many you aren't going to stop them so I can see how you'd get used to it.

I'm not trying to dismiss anyone's point of view but I find it fully mental to even think about checking myself or the dog for ticks every time I pass through vegetation or brush against a plant, let along strip off every time I walk through long grass. Possibly I'm lucky in that I think I've only ever found a couple on me by chance, so maybe they don't like me, but I simply cannot be arsed to go to that level of effort.

I'm not trying to come across as pro tick but I can't see the above as anything other than paranoid! I'm sure it's very different if you're personally affected or know someone who got Lymes badly though.

[Will Hunt]

 A work colleague's partner (fell/trail runner) got fucked by Lyme's. I'd guess that the NHS' view of the risk is written by and for townies who do things like the Three Peaks Challenge. Climbers and other outdoorsy people will be spending lots more time at risk.

I'll check when I get home if I think I've been at risk that day but I'm more into prevention than finding them later. I habitually wear trousers for walk ins (shorts in the bag if it's hot). If I've got to walk through bracken I'll tuck in my t-shirt in and my trousers into my socks and keep any exposed skin above it.

[Johnny Brown]

I find it fully mental to even think about checking myself or the dog for ticks every time I pass through vegetation

Lucky you! Ten years ago I wouldn’t have either, but it’s fast becoming a necessity in places, doesn’t take too many grim experiences before you realise it takes two seconds to tuck socks in or brush your trousers off, far preferable to trying to dig their mouthparts out with a needle from your armpit.

[spidermonkey09]

Yeah, it sounds bad in the peak based on the stories below. Thinking about it I've checked when I've been in Scotland before but never bothered in England. I probably do avoid walking through bracken as well so maybe I've just ended up not exposing myself by not climbing on as much esoterica. Food for thought anyway.

[sdm]

I found 3 on me on the walk out from The Wave yesterday.

Spotted the first one crawling up my leg when I was half way down. I stopped at the bottom to check, and removed 2 more. Got them all before they bit.

I'm sure most people will wear trousers anyway because of the brambles & nettles. It's worth tucking your socks in too.

[James Malloch]

Yeah, it sounds bad in the peak based on the stories below. Thinking about it I've checked when I've been in Scotland before but never bothered in England. I probably do avoid walking through bracken as well so maybe I've just ended up not exposing myself by not climbing on as much esoterica. Food for thought anyway.

I cant think of getting a tick (on me or the dog) on any of my standard walks around the Skipton area. I’m regularly bashing around on the Barden Moor bracken/heather.

Other than one on Ilkley, all of the others have been outside Yorkshire.

[Bradders]

I'm not trying to dismiss anyone's point of view but I find it fully mental to even think about checking myself or the dog for ticks every time I pass through vegetation or brush against a plant, let along strip off every time I walk through long grass. Possibly I'm lucky in that I think I've only ever found a couple on me by chance, so maybe they don't like me, but I simply cannot be arsed to go to that level of effort.

The stripping off incident was very much an exception, based on having walked through an extremely high risk area. And as I say, I found 3 on me. According to the Medical University of Vienna roughly a third of all ticks in Austria carry the bacteria that causes Lyme disease (source - that's as of 2017, and it's not getting any better), so odds are I'd have got it if I hadn't checked. So given that level of risk and with Lyme disease alone being a potentially life-changing disease (not to mention all the other things they carry), I vice versa find it fully mental anyone can be so blasé about them.

[spidermonkey09]

I guess I think we're comparing apples with pears comparing your average UK area with what sounds like a tick hot-spot in Austria (may be wrong, can't be bothered to Google)? Agree it sounds like the paranoid style is the way to go in that context, maybe less so in most areas of England? But I take your point. Seems like a pretty big disconnect between the official advice and the stories on this thread which is interesting /concerning.

[Will Hunt]

Once, in the Sinai, we stopped to rest on a sandstone platform at the base of a rocky outcrop. The camels lay down in the sand some meters away. As we sipped our Bedouin tea we noticed a grey wave moving towards us over the rocks. An army of ticks had dropped from the camels and was making its way towards us. They moved thickly over the stone and we set about a bloody slaughter but were soon overwhelmed and had to retreat into the dunes.

[SamT]

I guess I think we're comparing apples with pears comparing your average UK area with what sounds like a tick hot-spot in Austria (may be wrong, can't be bothered to Google)? Agree it sounds like the paranoid style is the way to go in that context, maybe less so in most areas of England?

Really?  Lymes and ticks are present in the UK, in most regions, Scotland, Lakes, Snowdonia and now sadly the peak, not to mention other moorland areas such as Dartmoor, albeit some more than others.

And yet another anectode, but I was on Raven Crag in Thrilmere on a hot sunny day a few years ago. Its sadly somewhat overgrown these days and the single bit of tat on the abstation looked rotten as hell, so we opted for the overgrown descent path down the RHS.  I had 8 ticks on me when I got back for a shower.  I was wearing long trousers.  Mate had 40! on him, he was in shorts and a vest top. 

It was that experience that really put the willies up me.

[spidermonkey09]

Really?  Lymes and ticks are present in the UK, in most regions, Scotland, Lakes, Snowdonia and now sadly the peak, not to mention other moorland areas such as Dartmoor, albeit some more than others.

And yet another anectode, but I was on Raven Crag in Thrilmere on a hot sunny day a few years ago. Its sadly somewhat overgrown these days and the single bit of tat on the abstation looked rotten as hell, so we opted for the overgrown descent path down the RHS.  I had 8 ticks on me when I got back for a shower.  I was wearing long trousers.  Mate had 40! on him, he was in shorts and a vest top. 

It was that experience that really put the willies up me.

They clearly aren't comparable. The presence of ticks isn't the relevant thing, its surely the likelihood that the ticks are carrying Lyme?

Nick quotes research saying that 1 in 3 of ticks in that region of Austria carry Lyme; thats clearly very high. Thats 33% of ticks  in the region. In the UK as a whole the figure is between 2.5% and 5% (https://ukhsa.blog.gov.uk/2022/04/13/what-is-lyme-disease-and-why-do-we-need-to-be-tick-aware/). Thats an order of magnitude of difference. In more recent articles  (from the Mail  ) the figure is quoted at no higher than 10%.

I'm not actually disagreeing with the idea that preventative measures are a good idea fwiw.

[User deactivated.]

Both sides of the caution/overreaction debate are fair here. Personally, on the basis I've been swimming through bracken all year in my shorts and never seen a tick, I'm not about to don the biohazard suit and keep a 20m radius between myself and all vegetation, but the anecdotes within this thread are convincing enough to remind me to take more precautions.

From my brief reading, treating a pair of trousers with permethrin for the walk in seems like an extremely easy way to reduce the odds of being bitten?

[SamT]

They clearly aren't comparable. The presence of ticks isn't the relevant thing, its surely the likelihood that the ticks are carrying Lyme?

Fair point, but 1 in 25 or 1 in 3, knowing that people get royally screwed over by Lymes means I'm still going to take preventative measures, and still going to have a damn good thorough check when I get back in from anywhere where I might have been at risk.

I think we're all on the same page really, but it still amazes me that people seem so un-aware.

[Will Hunt]

I've seen the state of spidermonkey's harness. He's a man who loves to roll the dice.

[Snoops]

Its definitely a big change in tick population.
Having spent 30 years climbing and running all over the Peak had never met any ticks outside of the Lake District until last 2/3 years....since then have found many a tick on me/the missus or the dog. This year even worse.

[SA Chris]

And yet another anectode, but I was on Raven Crag in Thrilmere on a hot sunny day a few years ago. Its sadly somewhat overgrown these days and the single bit of tat on the abstation looked rotten as hell, so we opted for the overgrown descent path down the RHS.  I had 8 ticks on me when I got back for a shower.  I was wearing long trousers.  Mate had 40! on him, he was in shorts and a vest top. 

Creag Dubh is the worst I have experienced. There are feral goats all around the crag, and we descended off the top of Tree Hee rather than the uncertainty of the abseil. I think i brushed 20 off my arms and trousers, and found a few on my leg hairs inside my trousers. If you have hairy legs it seems to give them something to grab onto, but takes them a while to crawl along hair to get to skin, so worth a quick check and a brush off, rather than having to remove.

Spraying with permethrin does apparently held, and sensible easy precautions like tucking into socks and a quick check if you have gone through an overgrown area does help.  Also if any do attach, having a tick hook, specialist tweezers or card in your pack plus some antiseptic wipes helps. Do  not use cotton buds, tweezers, vaseline or burning or any other method you might see on tik tok. As well as a small ziplock for keeping any you find attached in case testing is required. If you are especially paranoid you can post the dead tick to a lab for testing..

[Dingdong]

It’s pretty obvious the change in climate patterns (climate change is real) is what has caused a sharp rise in not only ticks but other insects such as mosquitos and midges in the last 2/3 years. There’s talks of mosquitos in the UK now carrying rarer diseases such as Zika which until recently were mostly found in countries in the Southern Hemisphere.