Ticks, Snakes, and Crawly things, oh my!

[+PJ-FredX-Tuck]

Just need advice on how the geocachers cope with ticks, snakes, etc., when they cache. In New Hampshire we are basically concerned with ticks, but PJ-FredX-Tuck (ok, Tuck could hardly care) would like to know how you deal with the above. For instance, FredX is leery of caching in the south as, he's concerned we'll have a horrific snake experience.

 

Please tell us not only how you deal with the above, but also some of your experiences.

Edited April 20, 2009 by PJ-FredX-Tuck

[+wkmccall]

Just need advice on how the geocachers cope with ticks, snakes, etc., when they cache. In New Hampshire we are basically concerned with ticks, but PJ-FredX-Tuck (ok, Tuck could hardly care) would like to know how you deal with the above. For instance, FredX is leery of caching in the south as, he's concerned we'll have a horrific snake experience.

 

Please tell us not only how you deal with the above, but also some of your experiences.

 

I would suggest using a walking stick and never stepping over a log - step on it, then over.

Other than that, it's never been a huge problem; I just keep my eyes open.

[+BrrrMo]

Just need advice on how the geocachers cope with ticks, snakes, etc., when they cache. In New Hampshire we are basically concerned with ticks, but PJ-FredX-Tuck (ok, Tuck could hardly care) would like to know how you deal with the above. For instance, FredX is leery of caching in the south as, he's concerned we'll have a horrific snake experience.

 

Please tell us not only how you deal with the above, but also some of your experiences.

 

I would suggest using a walking stick and never stepping over a log - step on it, then over.

Other than that, it's never been a huge problem; I just keep my eyes open.

 

NO FLAME INTENDED

 

I have been taught since I was living on a farm that you should "never step on something you can step over"

 

Rocks, logs etc. have a tendency to roll or shift and at the least your pride is bruised, but it could easily be an ankel or leg or arm, etc. broken.

[+Vinny & Sue Team]

Just need advice on how the geocachers cope with ticks, snakes, etc., when they cache. In New Hampshire we are basically concerned with ticks, but PJ-FredX-Tuck (ok, Tuck could hardly care) would like to know how you deal with the above. For instance, FredX is leery of caching in the south as, he's concerned we'll have a horrific snake experience.

 

Please tell us not only how you deal with the above, but also some of your experiences.

mmmmmm... yummy! yes! yes! yes! Thanks for bringing up the joys of unfolding spring! I LOVE ticks, mosquitoes, spiders, cave crickets, snakes ('specially venomous snakes!), and I never use any kind of insect repellent nor any other repellent or "protective" thingies, as they might alienate the cute friendly ticks, mosquitoes, flies, and spiders. Thank you for reminding me of the joys of spring! I am very lucky and very blessed, compared to many of you, as I live in the mountains of western Maryland, and thus our mosquitoes and/or ticks, in addition to carrying West Nile virus and the Lyme disease spirochete, also carry Babesiosis and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, and our wild rodents and their fecal material also carry plague (Yersina spp.) and hantavirus! We are indeed blessed, and thus I make sure never to wear any insect repellent, so as to avoid accidentally rejecting the wonderful gifts of God and Mother Nature!

 

.

[+Klatch]

 

NO FLAME INTENDED

 

I have been taught since I was living on a farm that you should "never step on something you can step over"

 

Rocks, logs etc. have a tendency to roll or shift and at the least your pride is bruised, but it could easily be an ankel or leg or arm, etc. broken.

Yep, same advice we give to Scouts. LOOK, before you step over, but step over nonetheless. And don't be so paranoid about snakes, sightings are so rare I consider myself fortunate to make a sighting.

[+Kohavis]

Rattlesnakes strike low and usually hide under logs, rocks, etc. We have them all over out here. Stepping on the log (or rock) first gives you extra distance from the log when your foot does touch the ground. That difference may mean the difference between a scare .....and all your friends wearing black arm bands the next day

[+Ike 13]

I live in South Carolina I spent every summer day as a teen out in the woods near creeks. Only saw one snake. They usually try to avoid humans. But carrying a stick or pole is good to defend yourself if needed. Thankfully no tick problems, and as summer comes I will get some mosquito repellent.

 

I've only had one negative encounter and that was Saturday. I got in my car and was setting up the GPS for the next cache and felt something on my neck. I swatted and felt a squish and threw whatever it was out the window. I believe it was a caterpillar, but honestly have no clue.

[uperdooper]

chiggers are the little buggers that give me the heebie jeebies. i've seen what they can do to a person.

 

thank goodness we don't have those where i live.

[+Kit Fox]

Every spring the topic re-occurs.

 

"TICKS ARE OUT"

 

ticks, getting them off you

tick-talk tick-talk tick-talk

 

Tick Talk

 

Ticks

 

Oh Man, They are REAL, ticks that is....

 

Proper Tick Removal - Its that season again

 

Look before you step.

 

Look before you touch.

Edited April 20, 2009 by Kit Fox

[Clan Riffster]

If you make any trips far enough southward to encounter any of my hides, you will encounter venomous snakes.

I carry a walking stick which I use to shift them out of the way, if there is no easy way around them.

Naturally, this method requires a modicum of dilligence.

 

I have a "routine" of sorts which I follow to minumize tick exposure:

I spray my boots, socks & pants legs with permanone.

http://www.greatoutdoorsdepot.com/repel-pe...-repellant.html

It's good stuff, so long as you remember it's really an insecticide, not a repellant. Don't get it on your skin.

I tuck my pants legs into my socks. I tuck in my shirt, then spray my waist line. I also spray down my hat.

Then I apply Off to my neck and arms.

I can go through the woods with a group and be the only one not covered in ticks once we come out.

[GOF and Bacall]

Just need advice on how the geocachers cope with ticks, snakes, etc., when they cache. In New Hampshire we are basically concerned with ticks, but PJ-FredX-Tuck (ok, Tuck could hardly care) would like to know how you deal with the above. For instance, FredX is leery of caching in the south as, he's concerned we'll have a horrific snake experience.

 

Please tell us not only how you deal with the above, but also some of your experiences.

mmmmmm... yummy! yes! yes! yes! Thanks for bringing up the joys of unfolding spring! I LOVE ticks, mosquitoes, spiders, cave crickets, snakes ('specially venomous snakes!), and I never use any kind of insect repellent nor any other repellent or "protective" thingies, as they might alienate the cute friendly ticks, mosquitoes, flies, and spiders. Thank you for reminding me of the joys of spring! I am very lucky and very blessed, compared to many of you, as I live in the mountains of western Maryland, and thus our mosquitoes and/or ticks, in addition to carrying West Nile virus and the Lyme disease spirochete, also carry Babesiosis and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, and our wild rodents and their fecal material also carry plague (Yersina spp.) and hantavirus! We are indeed blessed, and thus I make sure never to wear any insect repellent, so as to avoid accidentally rejecting the wonderful gifts of God and Mother Nature!

 

.

 

LOL! One of these days, if you aren't careful, that hand is gonna reach down and smack you right in the back of the head. Until then I hope to continue to enjoy your posts. Thanks for the chuckle.

[GOF and Bacall]

Give me the snakes any day. You can keep them dadgum black flies!

[+TheAlabamaRambler]

You are more likely to be struck by lightning than to die from a venomous snake bite. Pit Vipers are responsible for about 8,000 bites each year in the United States. Roughly 44% of venomous snake bites occurred through accidents, such as stepping on the snakes.

 

Over 55% resulted from the victim grabbing or handling the snakes, and 28% of those did so while intoxicated.

 

Deaths resulting from these bites are almost non-existent. About one-tenth of 1% of all snake bite victims die each year, and most of them received no medical treatment or first-aid. All snakes have teeth, but only venomous snakes have fangs.

 

Here's how most folks in Alabama get snake bit - "Hold my beer and watch this... "

[+amianda]

Give me the snakes any day. You can keep them dadgum black flies!

 

OMG biting flies! One of the main things I absolutely do not miss about louisiana!!! Gah. Those things are terrible.

[+south central beach ops]

always take a caching stick once in NC outer banks I got separated from my wife by a couple of feet by a 6 ft water mocosin that decided to to stop on the trail between us and not move. the worst part is that the trail ended and she had nowhere to go. I had to throw rocks and sticks at it until it moved enough for her to come past it. A stick would have helped and it didn't help that we were in flip flops. and for the ticks and chiggers Perminone based products are great just read the instructions first.

[+Vinny & Sue Team]

Just need advice on how the geocachers cope with ticks, snakes, etc., when they cache. In New Hampshire we are basically concerned with ticks, but PJ-FredX-Tuck (ok, Tuck could hardly care) would like to know how you deal with the above. For instance, FredX is leery of caching in the south as, he's concerned we'll have a horrific snake experience.

 

Please tell us not only how you deal with the above, but also some of your experiences.

mmmmmm... yummy! yes! yes! yes! Thanks for bringing up the joys of unfolding spring! I LOVE ticks, mosquitoes, spiders, cave crickets, snakes ('specially venomous snakes!), and I never use any kind of insect repellent nor any other repellent or "protective" thingies, as they might alienate the cute friendly ticks, mosquitoes, flies, and spiders. Thank you for reminding me of the joys of spring! I am very lucky and very blessed, compared to many of you, as I live in the mountains of western Maryland, and thus our mosquitoes and/or ticks, in addition to carrying West Nile virus and the Lyme disease spirochete, also carry Babesiosis and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, and our wild rodents and their fecal material also carry plague (Yersina spp.) and hantavirus! We are indeed blessed, and thus I make sure never to wear any insect repellent, so as to avoid accidentally rejecting the wonderful gifts of God and Mother Nature!

 

.

 

LOL! One of these days, if you aren't careful, that hand is gonna reach down and smack you right in the back of the head. Until then I hope to continue to enjoy your posts. Thanks for the chuckle.

Actually, I was totally telling the truth. About the only insects that bother me a bit are biting black flies, and we rarely encounter them around here, so they are not a worry for me. As for all the other things, I love them!

[+PJ-FredX-Tuck]

Thanks so far for the replies.

 

Having been raised in Maine and living in New Hampshire, I have to agree about the black flies. My husband is just about allergic to them. But I'll tell you it isn't as bad in Central NH as it is in Central Maine -- those things come in May and you can still find them (or they can find you) in late summer.

[+Ike 13]

Just got an email from the school nurse about tick removal. If one does happen to get past your defenses.

 

"I had a pediatrician tell me what she believes is the best way to

remove a tick. This is great, because it works in those places where

it's some times difficult to get to with tweezers: between toes, in

the middle of a head full of dark hair, etc.

 

Apply a glob of liquid soap to a cotton ball. Cover the tick with the

soap-soaked cotton ball and swab it for a few seconds (15-20), the

tick will come out on its own and be stuck to the cotton ball when you

lift it away. This technique has worked every time I've used it (and

that was frequently), and it's much less traumatic for the patient and

easier for me.

Unless someone is allergic to soap, I can't see that this would be

damaging in any way. I even had my doctor's wife call me for advice

because she had one stuck to her back and she couldn't reach it with

tweezers. She used this method and immediately called me back to say,

"It worked!" "

[+sTeamTraen]

I would be loath to use any method which might make the tick regurgitate its stomach contents (sorry for the image) as apparently that's how you get the nasty parasitic infections (Lyme etc). You have at least 12 hours after the tick lands to remove it before you run any significant risk of Lyme infection, so when you get home from a day's caching, have a shower with a friend to check each other out!

 

My preferred "release method" is a short sharp flick with one of these credit-card sized gizmos, available in any pharmacy in Germany (some people leave them as cache swag):

You can also improvise one by putting appropriate-sized slits in an old credit card, but the chamfered sides of the slits in the real thing make a difference. Slide the larger slit along the tick with the little @~£%'s head on the inside of the card, then a quick flick upwards and it all comes away in one go. If a couple of bits of fang get left, you can wiggle them out with the small slit.

 

In North America you don't have to worry about tick-borne encephalitis, which is at least as nasty as Lyme and has no warning symptoms (not that Lyme always does), nor treatment, plus the tick can transmit it with its first bite. However, there is a vaccine available. Anyone who is out regularly in the forest anywhere east of the Rhine in Europe probably ought to get vaccinated. We believe that this is what caused my son to have a meningitis/encephalitis episode which took out half of his last year of high school.

Edited April 21, 2009 by sTeamTraen

[+StarBrand]

One fact of life when caching on the prairies of Western Nebraska and far east Wyoming is Prairie Rattlesnakes. From late spring through early fall, I commonly see snakes while out and about Geocaching. Pay attention, use a hiking staff to probe dark unkown areas, most of all - listen!! and you should stay safe from the snakes.

 

As for ticks - use a high quality insect repellant before heading out and then do body inspections when you get home. Remove anything you find. Best to try and repel them upfront though. Long pants and decent quality shoes are a must in long grasses.

[+edscott]

A splash of DEET and some common sense should get you through the summer.