TICKS

I’m losing the battle with our new dog for pack leadership. When she arrived we covered the best armchair in the house with clothes baskets and books to stop her using it as a bed. Consequently none of us could get the benefit from the chairs plump cushions and panoramic views. Nevertheless every morning we would come into the kitchen to find her wedged in the most uncomfortable looking postures wrapped around our deterrents The chair has since been covered with the dog’s own duvet cover and when I walk past the chair, she looks at me with a comfortable air of victory and supremacy. However, we have a more pressing issue this week that needs immediate attention, namely a parasitic invasion -Ticks

TICKS

The dog is covered in them so we are discussing the best way to remove the pests. “How about painting them with nail varnish?” I suggest. “You could burn them off with a cigarette like you would leeches.” All interesting suggestions from the family. “Yea, the chef Heston Blumenthal fed leeches up with goose blood and cooked them up for a gothic feast, maybe we could do that with ticks.” The topic is getting a bit bizarre now and for the squeamish amongst you I would stop reading this now……

REMEDY

April to July is the time of year that ticks are lurking in the grass to jump on to unsuspecting hosts. These ticks are tiny spider like creatures that attach themselves to animals, normally sheep or deer, and don’t let go until they have gorged themselves with the hosts’ blood. Our new dog tends to spend a lot of time up the hill and in the woodland terrorising the pheasants that are around this year (courtesy of the gun club releasing loads into the wild). She never manages to catch one but she is very persistent, if she had a tail it would be wagging. The only thing she does catch though are the ticks, at least twenty a day.

I’d be looking guilty too if I stole someone’s chair.

I rather enjoyed picking them off initially, but the novelty has worn off. Nothing seems to deter them. (We have been heaping spoonfuls of dry garlic into her food). I go to the chemists to get an over the counter remedy for ticks and fleas. “I have two types of liquid to put on the dogs skin,” the helpful girl behind the counter tells me, “One for small dogs and one for dogs over 25kg.” I thought anything over 25 kg was a horse, but convinced myself and the girl that my Springer Spaniel was very large and needed a large dose. The girl looked a bit concerned but I assured her I am responsible.

At home, I follow the instructions on the packet, smearing the liquid in four key places along the dogs back. Three days later I am still picking the ticks off and they seem none the worse for the chemical attack, in fact they are thriving. One has even attached itself to her eyelid, which is proving difficult to remove.

REMOVING THE TICKS

Removing ticks can be tricky without leaving the head of the parasite embedded in the skin. They need to be turned anti clockwise from as close to the skin as possible with the thumb and forefinger. The reason for this is two fold. One, the ticks burrow into the skin clockwise so they need unscrewing. Two, if you squeeze their bodies and they pop you will be left with a splatter of blood, risking the chance of infection if any gets into the host’s body. This can lead to Lyme’s disease. Lyme’s disease is very rare in Ireland, but a handful of cases do happen every year so it’s best to be wary.


NOT FUSSY

The problem with the ticks is that they are not fussy whose blood they suck and can attach themselves to us when we are gardening or walking in the long grass. We have all had them at some point, as do most people who spend a lot of time out of doors. The ticks will drop off eventually when they are full, but removing them within 24 hours of becoming attached reduces the chances of getting Lyme’s disease to practically zero. Treatment for the disease is possible if it’s caught quickly.

There are some things we can do to keep these tiny blood suckers off of us when working in the grassy, bushy or woodland areas of the garden

• Cover your arms and legs. Wear long trousers tucked into your socks or boots, and long-sleeved shirts with cuffs fastened
• Wear shoes or boots rather than open-toed sandals.
• Use a natural citric insect repellent on clothes or on limbs if it is not practicable to cover up.
• Inspect skin and clothing for ticks every three to four hours; check children's skin and clothes frequently.
• At the end of the day, check your and your children's bodies thoroughly for attached ticks, including skin folds such as armpits and groins.
• Remove a tick as soon as you see one attached to the skin remembering to unscrew it as the tick's head can break off and be left behind.
• Following a tick bite, there is likely to be an area of redness; the vast majority of these look like nettle or bee stings and are just allergic reactions to the tick's saliva and do not indicate infection.
• See your doctor if you develop a rash or become unwell with flu like symptoms after being bitten.

This is the busy time for the ticks. Thankfully they ease off later in the summer. Just in time for the wasps to come out.

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