Dan's Papers - June 26, 2009

Spring is here and ticks may be abundant on many Long Island trails. Trails through woods of oak and pine with high grass or a brush layer of blueberry and huckleberry, or bushy low-growing scrub oak encroaching on the trail set up a perfect scenario for hikers to pick up ticks. Stay on paths and try not to brush against vegetation. Inspect for ticks periodically. Immediately before re-entering vehicles, check yourself (and have someone check your back) for ticks again. If you see a tick on your clothing, pluck it off and flick it into the woods. They are very "grabby" creatures so it takes a very determined flick to get them off your finger.

Some deer ticks and Lone Star ticks may carry diseases including Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Babesiosis, and Erlichiosis. You can greatly reduce the risk of contracting these diseases by preparing for your hike in advance, and following this advice. Wear light colored long pants, and a light colored shirt and socks; light colors make it easier to see the dark colored ticks. Towards the end of summer, ladies kneehighs in white, worn over socks or as sock liners are necessary because small, larval ticks will travel through even treated loosely woven athletic socks, but they cannot travel through tight-knit woven fabrics. Tuck your pants into your socks and tuck your shirt into your pants.

DEET and Picardin are virtually useless against ticks, but Picardin is very effective against flying insects, so use a repellent containing the ingredient Permethrin, and follow the directions on the package. The instructions on the aerosol can of Repel or other brands of tick repellent containing Permethrin direct the user to apply the spray to clothing four hours prior to donning the treated apparel. Spray both pairs of socks, sneakers, and pants. I suggest treating the entire pants (not just from the knees down) because I have seen ticks occasionally grab on as high as mid-thigh level. People with chemical allergies should seek medical advice regarding use of Permethrin. Clear tape is useful for removing ticks from clothing.

Beginning in late July and extending into the first heavy frost, be alert for a puff of tiny red mobilized dots on your pants. They will continue to travel until they find exposed skin. When I sent samples of these offending critters to Vector Control to be analyzed, I was told that the small mites I associated with the welts were larval Lone Star Ticks. These Lone Star larval ticks hatch in large numbers and cause hikers to have mysterious bumps that itch for weeks. People have been calling them chiggers, but every sample I have sent to Suffolk County Vector Control has been identified as Lone Star larval ticks. In late summer while walking a trail with dense lowbush blueberry plants rubbing against my pant legs, I began to notice I was picking up splotches of red on my pants. When I looked closely, I realized the splotches were comprised of hundreds of tiny individual creatures. If my pants had been untreated, they would have rapidly spread out looking for skin. After a short while, unless you looked carefully, they would be so spread out you wouldn't be able to see them. Unfortunately, for my little six-legged "friends," they landed on my Permethrin-treated pants. In anticipation of this risk, I had treated my sneakers, white socks, knee-highs, and white pants with Permethrin. The dots were constricting instead of spreading out. The larval ticks rapidly crawled on top of each other to avoid the Permethrin-treated cloth and literally dripped off of my pants. At one point my pants looked like they were splotched with red mud, but it all "dripped" off. When I returned home there were hundreds of dead "specks" in my shoes, between layers of socks and in the outer creases of my clothing, yet I hadn't gotten a single bite. These larval Lone Star ticks gather at the ends of leaves and twigs. As you brush against the leaves on which they are gathered, they transfer (en masse) to your clothes. When transferring to untreated clothing or bare skin they first look like a drop of liquid, then they spread out and look like a light puff of paint. Five or 10 minutes after they've made contact, they are spread out so thinly that unless you look really carefully, you can no longer see them at all.

In an emergency, isopropyl alcohol and a rag takes them right off, but this has to be done immediately, because they will bite you within minutes of making contact with your skin. I have found that if you wipe them off your clothes before they get to your skin you can save yourself from an extremely uncomfortable ,prolonged itchy experience.

Before entering your home, or just inside the door (preferably on a hard surface floor) remove your shoes/boots and search inside and outside for ticks. Remove socks and check both pairs inside and out. Inspect pant cuffs. In a suitable location remove all clothing, check clothing inside and out. Inspect yourself thoroughly (including armpits, and private areas, waist, behind ears, behind knees, between toes, on scalp, etc.). Placing clothing in a tightly sealed plastic bag until they can be washed and dried is a good precaution. Wash these clothes in hot water separately from others.

HOW TO REMOVE AN ATTACHED TICK

Remove attached ticks promptly because the risk of infection increases with time. According to the Center for Disease Control, if a tick is attached to your skin for less than 24 hours, your chance of getting Lyme disease is extremely small. An itchy red spot may develop even if the tick was only attached to the superficial layers of skin for a short time.

Follow the advice on tick removal listed below. Do not use petroleum jelly, a hot match, or other products to try to remove a tick. Saving the tick and seeing a doctor are probably not necessary unless the tick had begun to feed and swell in size - but that is your decision. Use your own discretion and common sense.

1. Use fine-point tweezers to grasp the tick at the place of attachment, as close to the skin as possible, without crushing the tick.

2. Gently pull the tick straight out away from your body.

3. Wash your hands, the site of the bite, and the tweezers with soap and hot water. Use rubbing alcohol too if the tick was crushed.

4. Watch the tick-bite site and your general health for signs or symptoms of a tick-borne illness. Typical Lyme disease symptoms include fever, headache, fatigue, and a characteristic skin rash. Left untreated, infection can spread to joints, heart, and the nervous system.

For the last 18 years, I have spent more time in the woods than out. I periodically get tested for Lyme Disease and have never contracted it. I walk one hundred miles of trail a week (often through brush) and do trail work. Every day when I come home from the woods, I check my entire body for ticks. I don't find them troubling, because I understand them. Simply stated, they grab on anywhere from the shoelaces to mid-thigh. They then start traveling straight up, seeking a place to attach. Looking for them and flicking them away has become an almost unconscious act. It took me a while to develop the method stated here for dealing with Lone Star larval ticks, but it has proven to be quite effective. With new understanding of these ticks, I expect that an easier method for protection will soon be developed.

If you feel the way I do about the beautiful natural places on Long Island, these extra precautions will not seem burdensome but rather well worth the effort.