seed ticks: the devil’s spawn

On August 25, 2009 · 220 Comments · In honeymilk farm

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.

Tagged with: ticks

220 Responses to seed ticks: the devil’s spawn

Nanny Christie says:

September 7, 2012 at 7:01 am

Nanny Karen,
please don’t use clorox wipes on your grandson. Anything put on the skin goes directly through it and eventually into their bloodstream (think of those no smoking patches). Instead you can try putting vasoline or baby butt cream on them. That will smother them and they will die and and fall off. If he is scratching them try the bendril cream.
Erin says:

September 12, 2012 at 11:10 pm

Maya,

Thank you so much for demystifying this phenomenon. I was unwittingly involved when my partner got “bombed” in NJ’s Pine Barrens right before getting in my car for a 2 hour ride back to PA. Now we can have whole conversations about the exquisite sensations of itch, which remedies are working better or worse, how one week later can feel worse than day two, etc. Since it seems others have found your site useful, I want to contribute my hard-earned knowledge here as well. You did a great job covering avoidance and removal, here’s my survival guide:

1) Know when they spawn! States with significant tick populations will have charts that show when the little buggers breed, and what part of the life cycle to prepare for. Prevention certainly trumps cure in this case!
2) Have tape and look down frequently while hiking. I had plenty of tape, but did not know it was needed or useful until too late. 2b)Any clothing or gear involved needs a nice 20 minute trip in the dryer, or to be bagged up with Permethrin or Diatomaceous Earth for a week or more).
3) Find a close friend and a pair of tweezers, and go over every body part. Your sucky new friends will go anywhere, disregarding your modesty in every way, and the longer they stay on the more times they bite and enzyme they deposit, the more itch you have later. You may need to shave the pubic region and get a mirror to clear out that zone. (vaseline, baby oil, hot matches, etc, will not get the tiny demons out, and using your nails, etc, can spread their nastiness all over your skin. Tweezers with a pointy end are best.)
4) Antihistamines are your friend. Little else can dull the incessant screaming of nerve cells than your choice of Claratin, Benadryl, Allegra, etc.
5) Scratch only with fingertips (not nails), unless protected by cloth. Light smacking can work by engaging pain receptors and overriding itch for a moment. Opening the skin to infection will not reduce the itch.
6)You will try anything and everything suggested for topical relief. Here are some that have, for a time, worked:
a) vinegar – white or apple cider – or lemon (pour/spray on, allow to dry)
b) hyrocortizone creams
c) tea tree or peppermint oil (slather liberally)
d) basil, mint or thyme tea – applied to skin with cloth (steep 1/2 ounce dried or 1/4 ounce fresh in a pint of boiling water, covering to retain aromatics. allow to cool and apply with a clean cloth)
e) hairdryer – causes release of more histamine, then a temporary lapse in the body’s ability to produce more
f) oatmeal or baking soda bath
g) gold bond mentholated powder
7) There is a known connection between tick bites and developing allergy to red meat, so if you are a carnivore, take a break on eating mammals for a while and allow your body to recover.

Hope this helps, and keep spreading the word about the evil seed tick!
Truly,
Erin
Dan Ray says:

September 13, 2012 at 4:37 pm

I live in SE Tennessee and I am a outdoor person and have a cabin in the woods. Why I say I am sitting here with bites on ankles right now and I discovered the roll on BIOFREEZE its for sore muscles. Roll it on the bites and the iching stops fast and lasts about 4 hrs till I have to reapply. Must be something to do with the menthol in it. Just wanted to pass it on …I was looking for a way to keep them of period.
jodie allen says:

September 14, 2012 at 9:33 am

A friend just left this link on my FB page because I was tick bombed last week and after she googled “seed ticks” your post popped up! SO glad I read this and I will have tape with me on ALL hikes! I was so melodramatic about my encounter (dude it FREAKED me the fuck out like you said!) I left my favorite pair of Toms at the park! BUT Toms saw my post and are sending me a free pair! The ONLY good thing that comes out of a tick bomb!

http://freshartphotography.com/2012/09/the-worst-thing-that-has-ever-happened-to-me-on-a-photo-shoot/
Russ Croley says:

September 17, 2012 at 1:39 pm

I wrote an Op-Ed piece about these nasty critters, and how they can screw you up with Lyme disease as they did me. There’s a vaccine, but it’s not being produced due to lack of demand. Lovely. http://www.kentucky.com/2012/09/17/2339887/lyme-disease-deer-ticks-no-longer.html
Mike says:

October 1, 2012 at 1:44 pm

You have the right idea about the the tape, but let me do you one better a lint roller it’s faster then dealing with the tape. Just a little help for a fellow hiker.
Dawn says:

December 9, 2012 at 7:48 pm

Hi, my daughter has been tick bombed, we have had her in the shower and i was frantically pulling them off..my problem now is, we are not getting bombed, but one or two here and there and not noticing it..its alomost like when i put my clothes on I have a new bite..wtf is going on??? can u give me some ideas on what to do, this has been going on for a few weeks now.. plz help!
Christina says:

December 27, 2012 at 3:13 pm

AAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HELP ME!!!!!!!!!! My dogs all 3 of them have gotten into these spawns of SATAN> I cannot get rid of them no matter what we do. They are in our clothes and they do suck your blood. They get bigger and black and fall off of our dogs. WE have used ADAVATIX- Happy Jack Dog Dip, Coated them ever with Skin so soft. I and my husband and dogs are miserable. WE have washed our clothes, vacuumed over and over. Threw out rugs. Burnt leaves. What is there left to do? HOW do you break the cycle. I have never had such and infestation. Someone help. Its the end of December in N.C. and we are being attacked by Ticks of all things! I am up for suggestions. My poor white huge Shepard is taking the brunt of this they just love getting on him and biting him relentlessly. I have lived here in N.C. my whole life grew up in the woods but never saw this before. What works?????????????
maya says:

December 27, 2012 at 6:28 pm

Hi Christina, sorry you are suffering! Probably a couple days of hard freeze will help tremendously. They seem to go through cycles of bad years and not so bad, you might just have to wait this cycle out, but as you say, it’s December, you’re heading into the coldest part of the year, which should put an end to them. On our dog, during the bad season, we cycle Adavantix and the other one, what is it called, Frontline for tick, something like that, a different one each month, and that seems to help, too. We don’t have any right now, what a relief to walk through the forest and not worry about ticks (except the occasional big guy, but the seedticks are done for the year for us). Good luck!
Christina says:

December 28, 2012 at 2:01 pm

Hey Maya, thanks for your reply. I guess next is a tick bomb for the house. I agree a hard freeze is what we need but the weather has been in the 50s and 60s thus the problem. . I cleaned like a mad woman yesterday got off work early and washed, vac, did the routine to extreme!!!!! Then brushed the dogs with the Happy Jack spray mix over and over till they seemed relieved. My husband and I thought last night was the beginning of a new day. Got up this morning and it WAS WORSE THAN EVER! I just sat and cried. My Shepard’s blanket was covered with the devils and the tiny ones and the ones that swell up from sucking on him all night. Poor guy- oh and I have bites from my poodle sneaking on the bed last night and giving some to me. I have never had such a nightmare. It is like a million lice that never stop. So nasty. They are from hell because NOTHING works to kill them they were taking bathes in the Happy Jack . I am thinking maybe an Exorcism???? Does that work? So tired!
maya says:

December 29, 2012 at 2:01 pm

Wow. Are you seeing any adults? It sounds like the dogs are bringing in a new batch each day (which then swell up over night and drop off). The Advantix doesn’t seem to be killing them (when they bite the dog) if they are swelling up and dropping off onto the blanket in the morning. If it is working they should die before they swell. Be careful not to overdose your animals! Or yourself! I don’t know if bombing the house is the issue unless you are seeing them in your carpets or furniture. Maybe instead of cleaning like mad, clean the dogs and then keep them in for a couple of days and see if you are still seeing the ticks on the blanket, just take the dogs out to do their business, or walks on sidewalks where there are no ticks, that sort of thing. If you ARE seeing a lot of them in the carpets, maybe call an exterminator? I’ve only heard of one case where the house was infested. Usually its a new batch being brought in each day by dogs/cats/people.
We will get a hard frost, hang in there…
Christina says:

December 29, 2012 at 2:46 pm

The husband went to get super good stuff and is spraying our huge yard right now. I agree they (the) dogs are bringing them in. What a nightmare. . I am like you said not wanting to over chemical the dogs. I even rubbed onion on them out of desperation. I have no idea what that would do???? We have a million deer running around here and stray cats. Even Bobcats. I figure they just dropped some of their nasty friends off for our dogs. I have lived in this house 10 years never had a problem. Will let you know what works for other readers -I pray no one has this problem ever!!!! Oh and I did catch a bunch with tape.
Christina says:

December 29, 2012 at 2:55 pm

Oh Maya- in my experiment to catch them or get rid of them off my dogs. I ran out of tape and saw my tape lint roller that I use to get my Shepard’s white hair off me all the time. I used it to roll over him and the other two dogs and got quite a few of the suckers. Just a thought to carry around encase your tick bombed. God forbid. . Now for that HARD FREEEEEZZZEEE PLEEEEEZZZEEE. Thank you for all your help!
maya says:

December 29, 2012 at 4:16 pm

That reminds me that my neighbors sprayed the area around their house with some sort of garlic spray that they said really made a huge difference last summer. Wouldn’t help you now but maybe in the future? I don’t know exactly what they used. They said it was pricy but worth it. Maybe google?
Christina says:

December 30, 2012 at 3:48 pm

Hey Maya, at this point willing to try anything! We worked hours yesterday getting dogs clean, house, exterminating. Then we sat down…dogs were not itching. I was cooking. My husband who is sick finally got to rest and watch a movie. Then my hubby stepped out side to do as you suggested and keep dogs close and those darn brats took off back to the field . Got them in and they had rolled in the dirt-in the field with their nasty little blood suckers. We brushed them but they brought critters back with them. Woke up this morning with… you guessed it deer ticks. AHHHH. So everything is being washed and Cloroxed and Vinegar is in the mop bucket. I love the South, but could this not have happened during the Summer? It would make more sense then? I have heard garlic is wonderful been feeding it to us all. There was a ring around the moon with 7 stars and thunder the other night. old wise tale about snow. Maybe sleet or snow soon. At least my ticks will be warm and cozy in the house ha. Just nasty!!! And yes its ticks. Eight legged. Had them identified for sure. Maybe I can get on that show Infested, too funny and too sad at the same time. Just scared of LYME’S now. WE got Deer tick bombed in the woods hiking about 6 years ago and had to be on antibiotics. The E.R. doc. told me he was a medic in Vietnam and never saw a case of chiggers and ticks like I walked in there with and my husband! I guess I am a tick magnet. YUCK!
sarah says:

February 28, 2013 at 2:30 am

We seem to have an army of them in the master bedroom. Since then the dogs have been kicked out , my husband and i have moved into the guest bedroom, and we’ve been trying to fight them with every weapon ever known to insects. But to no avail. I’ve even tried kerosene and paint thinner our of desperation. They’re slightly larger than the ones in your picture but awful !!! After a cleaning that includes bottles of frontline spray, kerosene,and any pesticide i can get my hands on… they disappear for a week, and 7 days later they show up again. The dogs are tick free after a 2 week treatment.. but my house isn’t!!!
maya says:

February 28, 2013 at 11:54 am

God, that sounds awful. Call an exterminator, maybe. Don’t poison yourself with all that stuff, though! Good luck!
Clau says:

March 5, 2013 at 9:29 pm

We have a ranch and have NEVER had problems with ticks – EVER. We went to the ranch for the weekend, I went out of a walk, cut some oranges before leaving, got in the car… my foot felt itchy… no worries… stopped at the gas station to fill up, feet were now both itchy so I took off my shoes and socks to check and WHAT THE HECK?!?!??! I had all these dots around, thought they were seeds from the grass and I tried dusting them off and they wouldn’t come off! I pulled one off and it had legs… I freaked out! I knew they were seed ticks! I think I removed them all but I don’t know and I feel itchy… not sure if it’s because of all the bites that I now have or because the monsters are still all over me. Either way, I want and need something to make sure they’re all dead or I’m going to go crazy. My feet are full of bites and it’s pretty gross… I been drowning them in alcohol but doesn’t seem to help. Somebody please help me!!!! I’m more afraid of these evil creatures going in places they shouldn’t…
Heather mcilwain says:

March 29, 2013 at 6:28 am

Sooooo good to hear ism not totally delusional. In Sydney, and crawling with these invisible monsters. The Aussibe version are tinier. However sames sensation mentioned hear feeling of an army crawling all over the skin with the occasional needle like bite. Finally found one on my hand digging in and on my sisters back. The first ones we had actally managed to see after 7 days of HELL.
We have Mortein bombed, had the pest contol people in. Have vacuumed and now washed all our clothes in a solution for mites, fleas etc.The wasing machine has ben going for tha last 4 days 24 x 7. Costing us a fortune. We have put our clothes and linen n plastic bags to isolate, put body lotion, that stings too still no relief. I got someb more insectide and dam well,washed all the woodn floors with it wiped doen beds all surfaces.
The house has never been so clean, every groove in case eggs hide!
These things are all over the house , bed lounges rugs, floor and i swear. I rang the entomology department looking for help, send in samples of invisible nothing.
I have taken to trying kersene- dangerous as all hell if you have a gas stove!!!!! Do not get absent minded could blow your self up.
Stupid me i live by the sea, but never go. Finally went today, admitedly at end of day as i had a masectomy a couple of years go so going to the beach is a little fraught, especially with the scratched bite marks all over my body.
These things are lying heir eggs in my skin and hatching taking treatment for a dog! Worse thavn the stories from Sunday school of the plagues that tormented job…..
Still not totally clear we need a freeze, but never gets cold.my sisters is scared stiff she will lose the house, can’t rent can’t sell it. Anyway would pass this on to anyone we will burn the furniture rather than pass a blanket on despite losing mt life savings a few years ago. Iam with Truman on this LOL

Anyway sand is supposed to help the silica hepls, alcohol a bit and i am hoping talking to them with the caring everone has a right to live, but just not in my house. So please go and find yout bandicoot to live off, but hell i feel sorry for that bandicoot. Whats these seed ticks purpose in life? Trouble s not sure what my purpose in life is either……
Probably theirs is to turn people into cleaning freaks, in a paranoid state…. hell is an infestation of seed ticks.
Letbyou know if i survive this plague…… nlolc lol
Vicki Bangs - Louisville KY says:

April 10, 2013 at 4:31 pm

OMG !!! This just happened to me exactly like you described it. A mass of tiny red dots moving up my legs at break neck speed. I flung off my Crocks and started brushing off as many as i could. I then ran at break neck speed for the house taking my clothes off the second i hit the front door. I threw them in the washer and headed up stairs for a shower first and then a bath !! After i was scrubbed and pretty sure i had removed all the little bastards i got on line to see what the F had just happened. That was when i found your blog. My head is itching and i cant stop the crawling feeling on my skin. I dont know how long it will be before i stop itching.