mayaland
Lest anyone [re: city folk] think living in the country is all sweetness and light, let me disabuse those folk of that notion in one word: seed ticks.
Okay, it was two words. Sue me. But really, seed ticks are disgusting, horrible, nasty, annoying, and gross. Now, let me tell you how I really feel.
I HATE SEED TICKS.
And we live in Tick Central. This is the Tick Ranch. Our main crop is, you guessed it, TICKS. It’s just a fact of life in central NC.
What? You don’t know what a seed tick is?
A seed tick is the larval stage of a tick. They sit in masses of hundreds, if not thousands, in grass, or maybe in some alternate tick dimension where they phase into existence just as one of the kids walks by. Innocently brushing said grass/inter-dimensional portal, hundreds of tiny, teeny seed ticks glom on and begin swarming up the leg or arm at near superluminal speeds. When you notice it, you look down and see this massing army of what looks like moving dirt spreading up your leg and generally what happens next is you freak the fuck out.
Here, look:
Can you see those little dots? Those are about a hundred baby ticks crawling across my hand and up my arm. This is actually a small tick bomb, as a big one can look like mud on your hand, the tick mass is so large. Can you believe I had the presence of mind to stop and take a picture before I washed those mother fuckers off? I can’t.
When this happens, we call it a Tick Bomb, as in, “Mom! I just got tick bombed!”
If you don’t get the ticks off, they bite in, leaving tiny, blister-like bites that itch for weeks, months even. Seed ticks supposedly are too small to spread Lyme Disease or Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, so there is that in their favor I guess. I don’t know—if someone introduced me as “At least she doesn’t carry any major diseases,” I don’t think it would be a huge compliment. Just saying.
When we were looking at this land to buy, we hired a semi-realtor dude to come out and handle the paperwork for us. He came out to walk the land with us with the seller’s realtor—I guess this is normal, like having your lawyer present or something. Anyway, we warned him about the ticks. We told him to take preventative measures. But he totally dismissed this and showed up in slacks and loafers. He later told me that no amount of money from the sale of that land could make up for the torture-by-itching that he experienced from all the tick bites he got on that walk.
So what ARE preventative measures? Well, some people use the chemical method, some people use the barrier method. For the ticks, I mean. For example, people try to keep the ticks away with tall boots, sprayed down with poisonous toxins. This can do all right, unless you get ticks on your arms. And if you spray your whole self, there you are, covered in poison. No thank you. Other people say to tuck in your clothes tightly, putting your pants into your socks, that sort of thing, in an attempt to keep the ticks on the clothes and off your skin. They they toss the clothes in the washer. But I’ve seen ticks come out of the washer alive (obviously they are the scourge of the earth, a mix of nuclear waste and the Undead), and one or two or ten always seem to get through anyway and bite you in the armpit, or along the elastic of your underwear. I HATE that.
Here’s a weird one: I used to put a super thick layer of lotion or vaseline around my ankles. The ticks couldn’t climb any higher than the lotion (they would get stuck in it) and I could just wash my feet after the walk and be done with it. I did this until one summer I got about 200 bites on my left foot and decided even localizing the torture wasn’t good enough.
What to do?
The first thing is when you see this:
Don’t Panic!
And the second thing to do is pull out some TAPE.
Because look:
Tape pulls those ticks right up! I’ve gotten tick bombed so bad at times that the tape has been wall-to-wall ticks. DISGUSTING! We NEVER go on walks in the woods around here without tape.
Look at what the macro feature on my camera does to that tape:
Can you see their evil little legs??? They are about the size of the head of a pin. Smaller. There have been a couple of times where we have been out on a walk and forgotten the tape. Someone gets bombed and we just run for the yurt, yelling. It’s pretty funny. “Tick Bomb! ARRRGGGG!!!” We make a joke about it, to stave off the horror and panic. And I buy lots and lots of tape. It never hurts to have extra.
You can pop seed ticks between your fingernails if you’re feeling vengeful, or you can burn the tape, maybe, and maybe do a little victory dance around the flames.
I knew a gal who lived a couple of miles from here who thought she had a spider infestation in her carpets—you could run your hand across the shag and a little hail of tiny bugs would spring up out of them. SEED TICKS. The exterminator was so grossed out he went home to take a shower. She was from the north and had never seen ticks before. Her dogs had brought them in. NASTY. Don’t worry, every one lived. And they didn’t even have to burn down the house.
Moral: don’t give up walks in the beautiful woods. Don’t live in fear! Just don’t leave home without your tape.
Finally, although this post is about ticks, look at what a yellow jacket did to little Sophie’s hand:
Poor baby! It swelled up so much she couldn’t make a fist. Mean old yellow jacket.
There are a few advantages to living in town. Not getting Tick Bombed is one of them.
ETA: There is quite a discussion in the comments section on this post. Including a longish reply from me that talks about how to get them off, once they have bitten in. Scroll down to find it—look for the bold print if you don’t want to read the other comments—especially if you’re googling because you’ve got ticks on you and you are freaking out. 
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152 Responses to seed ticks: the devil’s spawn
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- MAYA LASSITER is a writer of fantasy novels, an unschooling mom, a yogini, a former goat keeper, a yurt dweller, and an all-around cool person. Except when she's a boring ninny. Hopefully she won't post on those days.
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(24.44%)today's yoga practice
- friday
May 11, 2012 | 10:09 am…and now we come to lady’s holiday. the weakest week of yoga that ever barely happened.
- thursday
May 11, 2012 | 9:09 amprimary to navasana. can’t seem to get past freaking navasana this week. at least I’m on the mat.
- wednesday
May 11, 2012 | 9:08 amprimary to navasana with Maria’s vid.
- tuesday
May 11, 2012 | 9:08 amSKIP. Shame.
- monday
May 11, 2012 | 9:07 amprimary to navasana. am I back in the saddle?
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"Dusi's Wings" April, 2003. . . .
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- MAYA LASSITER is a writer of fantasy novels, an unschooling mom, a yogini, a goat keeper, a yurt dweller, and an all-around cool person. Except when she's a boring ninny. Hopefully she won't post on those days.
Jesus christ! That’s intense! I don’t think I’ll be dipping my kid in gasoline just yet…
I got tick bombed two days ago, but I didn’t realize it until it was too late. Now I have about 30 bites all over my legs and I itch like fucking crazy!!! Tape is a great idea although I didn’t realize it until they had already attacked.
OMG fucking GOD!! i just googled the pics of them and came across your article!! we went scouting a trail for a run next week adn i dont want to go again next week, cuz i literally almost had a goddamn breakdown after seeing them all!! I was like “omg! they are going to go straight for my vagina!!hahaha i showered and scrubbed and they still wouldnt come off! these buggers are seriously a pain in the ass. I only ever wanted my fiance to see me by candle light or moonlight but let me tell you..we know each other pretty damn well now, maybe too much. he took out this bright ass desk lamp he thought he would never again have a use for and we had to look in every crevice of each other and pick them off one by one. i thought of the tape thing but we didnt have any, i will never live without tape again!! thank you for this article, its funny now, but now i dont feel so alone, i seriously freaked the fuck out dude
hehehe
I just got attacked by seed ticks hiking in NW Arkansas, and they absolutely destroyed my ankles–has been over two weeks and the bites have dried up and scabbed over some but still itch somewhat and look like I have leprosy. Truly miserable.
OMG!!! Thank you so much for this post. I really had no idea what had happened to us! I am from North Carolina and just moved to Maryland. We went for our first nature walk at a local wildlife park and didn’t notice “the bomb” that must have exploded on us!!! I now have about 40-50 bites and I swear I keep getting them. We have washed our sheets and completely wiped out any that were on our dog but alas, I still feel like I keep getting bit!!!! There are so many it’s hard to tell, but do you have any suggestions for keeping them from infesting our home?????
SOS!!!!
Try Skin so Soft by Avon – not a Avon fan but this works great as an insect repellant – original scent – put in a spray bottle & spray away – great on people & pets repeals all that I come in contact with, chiggers, seed ticks fleas, ect & it is nontoxic
okay if anyone has any idea about what I’m talking about please reply with helpful hints. I live in chattanooga tn and I was in the woods the other day for a few hours and now I have these damn itchy bumps around my ankles waist upper legs and they are spreading. I found a small almost clear tick on my arm the day after. People are telling me it’s “chiggars” while others say its seed ticks and I’m about to go to the doctor because they really itch.
I was tick bombed and didn’t realize it until after I had sat in my recliner in front of the TV. How can I rid my recliner of the remaining seed ticks that still haunt me?
No matter what I do, there is always at least one more.
Thanks, Mel
They will die out eventually! I think… They are a subspecies of the undead after all. I’ve never had any infestation in my furniture, so I’m not much help there. Maybe if you have a pet who has been dosed with Frontline or some other tick/flea meds, have them hang out in your chair for a while. The ticks will migrate to the pet and the meds will kill them.
Very helpful blog, thanks. We went walking in the woods in southern KY for only a few minutes yesterday and came home with either seed ticks or chiggers, not sure which. OMG we had not heard of seed ticks.
—>>> But the main reason I am posting is to tell you that crushed green curly dock leaves (best) and plaintain leaves (alternate if curly dock is not available) can take the pain and swelling out of hornet, wasp and bee stings. Actually if you find a curly dock leaf and rub the juice on the bite immediately it will not swell at all (unless perhaps the person is unusually reactive). If it needs longer treatment you can rub juicy leaves of either plant on the bite and then tape the tablespoon size clump of munched leaves to the bite area. Change when it dries out.
Thanks so much, your web page has been THE most helpful. I’m in Virginia now(formerly a Minnesota girl). My fiance and I were at Manassas Battlefield park hiking with my two dogs last weekend. My Border collie is fine…no ticks, but my fiance let Jack, my schnauzer/poodle mix walk through the tall grass. That was Saturday. Monday nite his poor little skin on his belly, groin, armpits et al was covered. I described them as “poppyseeds”. Would it take two days for them to hatch? I use a preventative on my dogs…but since my guy has Jack living with him, he confesses that he has forgotten to put the Advantix on for the past three months. He won’t do that again, cuz I am letting him pay the vet bill – 98 bucks to eradicate the little vermin. Poor Jack is back to his ol’ self now, and Mike is promising to never let Jack within miles of tall grass again. Thanks again…I did not realize the mid Atlantic was quite such a hotbed for ticks. It’s good to know people like you are out there with good practical info.
just successfully completed a treatment to get rid of 439 seed ticks I picked up on a 3-hour walk in the woods. FYI – I sprayed OFF! prior to the walk, wore boots and tucked jeans into my socks… showered within an hour after getting back to the house… and STILL got that many bites. I’ve had ticks and chiggers before… but never like this… My clean up consisted of smearing the bite areas with RID lice shampoo and waiting 10 agonizing minutes while the little flaming pests convulsed under my skin. 24 hours later it appears that the one application was sufficient.
I didn’t see anyone mention the remedy I use after I’ve been bombed: When tape is not available, use a credit card (or similar plastic card) to scrap the ticks off. It works whether the ticks have attached or are still moving around.
I have a seed tick story for you…. Summer 2006, we were camping at the lake, one of my son’s friend had walked the dog around to use the bathroom. He dicovered he had seed ticks all around his ankles, he disappeared for a short period, when he returned he had gotten them off. We had a really nice afternoon, took the pontoon boat out, swam and I enjoyed laying out in the sun. By the next day I was misserable. See the towel I used all day was the same towel the child used to wipe and wash off the seed ticks. So needless to say I had a tick infestation from hell!!!!! Hundreds of the little devils, from head to toes. My father(an avid deer hunter)was very familar with seed ticks, so I called daddy (crying). I covered myself with kerosene, to kill them and then started picking them out. A trip to the emergency room, another to the family doctor, topical creams, explaining several times “NO I DON’T USE DRUGS”, (because of the sores), 3 runs of antibiotics, months of healing, vitamin E lotion (for the scaring), all the embaracement and 4 years later I have basically recovered……. That is the WORST FEELING in the whole world, to have bugs under your skin chewing on flesh. *****Important***** rub dishwashing liquid on the infected area and they will back out!!!!!
NEVER TRUST A SEED tick or any other type of tick that tries to protest its innocence in the spread of Lyme disease. I am in stage II KIDNEY Failure (brought back from Stage III a year ago) after removing two Lyme (DNA Positive) ticks from my ankles.
IT was FOUR weeks AFTER they were out that the RENAL Failure began. Only ILADS would lead me to a treatment AGGRESSIVE enough to STOP the Kidney failure. MANY doctors insisted (EVEN with the proof I had) that I did not have Lyme disease. ALL INSURANCE tries NOT TO COVER Lyme Treatment.
We used to visit my grandparents all the time in Arkansas. We ended up stopping in this weekend and walking through the woods, inviting the ticks home I guess. My Peanut got her first exposure to seed ticks, and yes – EWWW! And then even after you have them gone, you itch and feel all crawly. Blech!
Your comment about “if you introduced me as someone who doesn’t spread disease” made me LOL!
Hello Jessica, Can, Angie, TOL and April! Thanks for stopping by. I’ve come to realize that there really isn’t a socially acceptable place to talk about one’s seed tick experiences. Until now. Welcome to the Seed Tick Support Group Comment Thread! Obviously a much needed venue for people to discuss all their Seed Tick Woes. Welcome!
I was out scouting for deer season two days ago and unbeknown to me, I got bombed. Unfortunately, the little buggers had many hours to have their way with me, before I undressed and saw the 30 or so that were still stuck to me. I picked those off with tweezers, but the next day, I had at least two hundred bites. Very painful and itchy. What a mess!
Thank for this post. Though I saved the ones I picked off- and the dermatologist and I looked at them under the microscope – he wasn’t sure if they were chiggers or ticks, but they looked like ticks to me, and your photos show just what I saw as well.
As I consider myself a tick pro, being a wetland delineator for the past 14 years, and have probably harvested billions of ticks, seed and adult, here’s a few tips. Keep looking at your legs. Like every few minutes when you are in grassy of low shrubby areas. Keep looking. When you know you’ve been bombed, break out the high quality lint roller. Tape on steroids. Roll away. Discard sheet. Do over till clean. If no lint roller on hand, spray Off! on ‘em. It’ll be a tick holocaust. Or if without either of those, use the credit card as stated above or a pocket knife to GENTLY scrape them away. But keep looking at yourself, and maybe you can catch them still in the cluster for easy dispatch. I still get caught off guard, but if alert, I can get covered in thousands a day with a single attach. Another thing, don’t scratch the bite. It will go away 50 times faster.
David, I whole-heartedly concur. You just keep checking, over and over, and that way, you catch them before they get very far. Tape em off. The lint roller trick is fantastic, but I’m always out of those, haha. Worst case scenerio, I’ve gotten hundreds off with sharp fast scrape with the side of my hand. This only works on bare skin. I recommend bare legs, really for woods walks around here because it is so much easier to see, feel, and remove ticks from bare legs than from pants legs. We, also, can get covered with bazillions of ticks a day and hardly ever get a bite. I think my skin gets more sensitive to them, too. It’s a tiny sensation, but now I know what it is, I almost always feel them before they spread very far.
don’t think it was mentioned but pantyhose i’ve read does a decent job of stopping ticks. not just that but leeches and to a certain degree mosquitos.
it’s been know to be used in the military so for more “manly” and durable version you can get Activskin or the camouflaged Rynoskin. i don’t think you want to throw those away so i’m wondering another layer of disposables on the outside would be better since you can just trash the whole thing and get rid of most of them but still be covered.
hunting forums suggest a combination of preventative methods.
i also inadvertently came across a “mantyhose” blog looking up the stuff…
http://www.nylongene.com/2009/10/supplies-shipped-to-troops-includes.html
:laughing:
Doing research for our new product Elimitick and came across this.. nasty! We are in Minnesota and have heard about your seed ticks. The deer ticks up here are quite bad, too. Thanks for the post!
I long ago heard about using powdered sulfur on shoes and socks for repelling ticks and chiggers. A short search came up with some useful advice:
Sulfur tick repellent can be made at home using equal parts of baby powder, sulfur and cornstarch. Sulfur, available in powder form through many pharmacies, also can be used alone to repel ticks.
Read more: Sulfur Tick Repellent | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/facts_7813067_sulfur-tick-repellent.html#ixzz1HeJZnmoR
If you have constant exposure to lots of ticks you might want to consider ingesting sulfur; it will keep the little buggers from bitting you anywhere. Check this out:
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Natural-Health/Repel-Ticks-Sulfur-Remedy.aspx
I’ve been bombed by seed ticks many times… even a few times where it looked like a large patch of dirt was crawling up my leg.
We have a family farm (100+ acres) in Missouri… We keep Guinea Fowl (birds almost like chickens) to control bugs like ticks, spiders, grasshoppers, etc.
It helps, but the ticks are still out there in the cow pastures, there just isn’t as many by the farm house.
On the down side keep an eye out for sly foxes and those wily coyotes – they don’t play well with Guinea’s (or our chickens).
Chiggers? I always thought these tiny, tiny little hoards that will end up causing you all kinds of itches — were chiggers! Look exactly like what I have thought to be chiggers. So–do you also get chiggers and how do you distinguish?
Thanks
Well, with a chigger you won’t see a bug clinging on once they’ve bit. Also ticks, on me anyway, leave a small hard bite that itches for weeks. Chiggers, on me, leave a red patch, nearly flat, like a welt, that itches for weeks. Only time I get chiggers is when blackberry picking. Ticks we get all the freaking time. Thanks for stopping by my blog!
I live in the woods and it seems the ticks live all year round here. I use Avon Skin So Soft in a spray bottle and dilute with water. It doesn’t take much its so oily. I spray in on my clothes and skin. In Summer you jump in the swimming pool and the chlorine will kill the ticks and chiggers. I also put a little bit of bleach in the bathtub and all is well.
Damn bugs!
Ya, thanks. I think this was the best and most honest article I’ve read, and I’ve read many In the past few months since my dogs started showing up with the little creatures on them. We have been treating everything even tore up the grass and put down new. We get the house, lawn And bushes sprayed. We have no carpet. Every morning when I get up I pluck all of the ticks I see off the walls and dogs. We have no carpet so I mop every day. When retiring at night I go back through the house and pick the ticks off the walls and the dogs wash up and hit the sack. It doesn’t seem to lessen the amount of ticks I see every day no matter what we do. Dip, advantix ll, frontline, flea ANC tick baths. I’m really surprised our dogs aren’t dead from the treatments. Oh well I’m gonna keep trying
For around the farm try some Guineas. These birds love ticks and eat them by the thousands. They require very little to no care when grown (After about two Months) and will forage all day for ticks and other bugs.
Hi Paul, thanks for stopping by. Yes, we’ve had guineas, they are hilarious birds. Super loud watch-birds, too. Perhaps because we live int he forest, it’s super hard to keep them alive. Foxes and hawkes get’em. I’ve done two springs of them and sort of given up. Chickens eat ticks, too, and they happily go back into the chicken house at night. I don’t seem to lose so many chickens as I have guineas.
I loved reading this article and all the comments. We live in Mississippi and my husband has always thought that seed ticks were chiggers until reading this article and seeing the pictures.He was very freaked out knowing that all these years what he thought were chiggers getting on him were actually nasty little ticks!! He said that whenever he had them on him he would add some clorox to the bath water and soak in for a little bit and they would all die.He swears by it!
Geez! y’all are making me feel SO much better! I have always known about with seed tick “nests”…but I never encountered them…..until I got a great macro lens for my SLR camera. I was busy on the ground taking photos of all the interesting shapes, that wild onions form. When I transferred the photos to my computer…I saw all these little brown things. I knew they were not part of the onion. so I zoomed way in on my photo.
Egads………ticks…..8-10 on each tiny onion! And here I was sitting in a field of them! I ran downstairs, got my trusty gallon of insecticide, and sprayed the area until it was dripping. It’s too bad the field wasn’t near my burn pile….. Then I took a long shower with alcohol, soap, etc. I finally felt “clean”.
Now I realize why these bites felt different from my childhood chigger bites, from the Spanish Moss on all the oaks where I grew up. These were TICK bites! Yikes! And, I’m getting them all the time….
I just found this site tonight. Although I will still walk the fields and woods…I have to…I have horses and love nature. I guess, I’ll just “pretend” they are chiggers even if I am not walking under trees. (No Spanish moss should have given me a hint)
I walk all over my ranch every day taking photos of wildflowers, butterflies, interesting plants, birds, my horses…, so I hope I only get bitten once in a while and don’t sit in a “tick bomb”!
We have been tick bombed!! I have never in all my days seen anything like this! One day nothing, the next day thousands of lil seed ticks! In the house, on us, on the dog! I bought a microscope so that I could inspect the creature more closely. Found out that they really are “devel’s spawn”…. Anyway, after hundreds of bites and the house completely bombed, I actually enjoyed reading this! We now have our lil seed tick support group!!! I am Judy and I hate seed ticks!
Georgia feels your pain! Both ankles are ate up. Had some bite in the area where gentlemen don’t talk about in mixed company. I was in bed one night scratching the before mentioned area when my wife came to bed and saw me. In this case I was thankful for those nasty red bites they left behind!!!
We moved to the Tn woods ten years ago and encountered seed ticks. Now when the end of June comes I stay inside. More than just the garden suffers. It can seem unbareable at times the mass of gloom spreading up my leg. I hate few things. This is one.We keep a yougert cup of soapy bleach water that we drop them into. We kill everyone that we can. I never flick them off to crawl another day. I feel inspired to brave the garden today because of you Maya. And I will take the tape.
Hello Judy, Terry, and Nativeginger, so glad to meet you. Sorry for your tick-woes, but at least we band together against a common enemy. Judy, I like your support group, haha.
Oh THANK YOU!!!!!! for this post! I thought I had bedbugs! I stupidly went off a trail and through some thick brush with capri length pants and running shoes on. I figured I would end up picking off a couple regular ticks here and there, but didn’t look for them until I got home. I didn’t find any so I thought I got lucky. The next morning, I found four of the tiniest ticks I’d ever seen on my inner thigh. Then plucked four more off of my baby! Thought I was done after that, but yesterday another one on the baby and four more on me! I’ve got hard little bites all over me! Luckily, the baby hasn’t reacted in this way! Anyway, I started to get paranoid about the recent bedbug epidemic! Then I saw one running across my arm and put it in a plastic bag. That’s when I really freaked out!! It looked like a tick but with only SIX LEGS!!!!!! I KNEW it was bedbugs! But it didn’t really match any of the bedbug pics. It seriously looks JUST LIKE A TICK. But with only 6 legs. I’m so glad I found this. I now realize I was more than likely “bombed” and brought them all home. Now my question is, will they mature and eventually be a bunch of adult ticks in my home?
Great update on the Tape. I have not tried that. we use tweezers to get the 100 seed ticks off. I know you are not fond of spraying before but we live on some land in Tennessee and I was always coming back with ticks and chiggers from the field or woods. A farmer told me to just spray with OFF. He kept a can in his truck door. I have been doing that now for about 10 years. It is great. No need to tuck in your pants. I just lift up my pant legs a little and spray around my shoes and socks. then drop my pant legs down and spray up my pants to a point higher than where i am going. If you know ticks they love cedar areas. I spent an entire summer, nights and Saturdays, cutting cedars off a hill side. I sprayed like this when I got out of my truck and sprayed high up on my shirt because I was under cedars with a chainsaw. I did not get a single tick or chigger the entire season except once when I just drove up to get shovel I left and one got on me.( I had not sprayed). I just buy 3 or 4 cans and keep a can in my truck door and one by the garage door. spray my legs and go out in the field. No Ticks or Chiggers.
Hi Gary, thanks for stopping by. Glad you’ve found something that works for you! Unfortunately for me, OFF makes me feel sick, can’t explain it…
Can someone please help me. I have probably 150 bites on me. First I want to know, are the ticks still under my skin or are they just bites? I think my house is infested at this point. I’m still getting bit. I’m in misery, can’t even sleep. I’ve pulled off a hundred or more already. How can I treat the bites now? They are on every part of my body except my face and hands. PLEASE HELP!
Goodness, Sherry, sorry you’re suffering! If it’s ticks, they don’t get under your skin. That’s chiggers. If it is seed ticks and you’re still getting fresh bites, you might have a few crawling around biting you but not staying put. Aloe and tea tree can be soothing to the bites. You might want to get someone who knows to check out your bugs and make sure they’re ticks, though. Good luck!
Hi Maya! I came across your post while looking up ways to kill/repel seed ticks. We live in the woods near Lost City Okla & they are just terrible this year! I read that you can soak a basil plant in water & this will repel them & also garlic water will keep ticks,fleas & mosquitoes away. I haven’t tried them yet. I did try Bayer insect control spray last year. We have to be very careful what we use as our water system is from an underground spring. This spray is waterproof in 1 hour & kills insects in 24 hours.It worked really well. Hubby never got around to spraying this year & we can sure tell the difference! Now, if we could just keep the dogs from going into unsprayed areas! For the post from Paul- we use First Shield Trio on our dogs. It works! all the other treatments didn’t. Have a fun summer!
I’ve had dogs for the last 16 years and have only had a flea problem once in a condo. For the last 8 years we’ve lived with a back yard surrounded by woods. We’ve had regular ticks. I tried diatomaceous earth once, but it was a royal pain, so we stick with Seiven. it’s always worked well. usually one application when we start seing ticks does it. This Monday I was seed tick bombed. It took a day to figure out what was going on. I thought I had a bug in the bed or something. Then I started finding the little suckers. It’s like a horror film. You can’t get rid of the sensation of them being on you, even if they are gone.
I will be spraying the yard tomorrow. Bought advantix today, even though I hate putting chemicals on the dogs. They are horrible enough to make me do it. I have been using Melagel (Melaleuca tea tree product) and it’s been helping a lot with the itching.
Anyone have suggestions for clearing the house without spraying chemicals?
Hi. I’m Jesse and I hate seed ticks!
Great support group here.
I took my dog on a hike at Long Hunter State Park and afterwards, picked 5 regular ticks off of him. The next day, he was COVERED with red splotches and bumps. A couple of days later I took him to the vet and was told he has seed ticks, which I had never heard of before. I put Advantix on him (hope it’s not too late) and have been using a flea comb to find the nasty little buggers. I drown them in a (disposable) cup of water when I pick them off.
The vet said that they’ll fill up with blood then fall off. What a nasty, gross idea, but it’s better than them living on my dog forever. I feel so bad for him with the red splotchy blisters and bumps.
Strange thing is, there’s not a single tick on me. I wore shorts and a tank top on the hike, and am physically close to my dog all day and night. He sleeps against me in bed. Still, nothing on me. I don’t know whether to be happy or offended!
Anyway, good luck to everybody out there and thanks again, Maya, for such a helpful support group.
I am glad I read this right now, since I had my first (and last??? probably not) encounter the other night. Some rude tick laid her eggs right under our outdoor table and I got bombed when eating dinner. I was horrified! Its bad enough that I have some really irrational reaction when I get one adult tick merely crawl on me! But to see hundreds crawling up my leg, I almost passed out. Tape didnt cross my mind
Instead, I grabbed them, squished them between finger nails and eventually took to tweezing them out and washing them away! I was needless to say traumatized though, and have sacrificed our dinners outside. But with the tape idea, I might just venture out again…! 
thanks for the tips!
I thought I was the world’s only seed tick magnet!! Before trail riding my horses I use deep woods off to help keep them off of my body and it helps some but I do not think anything will keep all of these sickening thing off. I am moderately hairy and this add another problem to the mix!! They get at the hair line and attach themselfs to the hair and into the hair follicle and become almost impossible to remove. When I get home I coat my body with a synthetic motor oil and leave it on for at least 10 minutes. I then take a shower using Dawn dish soap (blue) mixed with Rid lice shampoo and leave this on for 10 minutes. Besure to shampoo your hair good! This kills them and removes most of them however, you will still find some that will have to be removed by tweezers. Regardless prepare to itch for 3 weeks or more!!
Sonny, you are high! You might as well rinse in nuclear waste! Yeah, it’ll kill the ticks, but what about you??? Motor oil????
Just got into a mix of these and chiggers.. I only got bit around 30u times today so I know im lucky.. I have peeled back my sock and found black rings around my ankles.. I’ve got bit over 300me times before and had to go to the hospital before.. these things are worse than hell
I was out in the north western tip of Mississppi. I walked 50 feet from my car, and back, and had larvae ticks swimming on both of my feet. At least 100 on both feet. I was in the country. Deep in the country. It is hard for me to give them a seed tick title, as they were clearly larvae, and formed nice patches across both of my feet and ankles. I wiped as many of them off as I could. After that, it was freak out city. I went to a nearby gas station and rinsed my feet off. Unaware of tape. It took about three days to get to normal again after lots of anti itch, cleaning etc… I kept thinking that the ticks were still around, although no one around me saw or felt the same thing. These things are Crazy! I could not live on property that had them! I could not!