How easily to get a tick while riding through the woods?

[Question Man]

I've been doing a lot of riding in the woods and even though I see plenty of signs warning against ticks, I am yet to get any on me.

 

I ride through some very narrow trails where leaves are brushing up against me.

 

It has me thinking that it is hard for a tick to get on you if you're riding fast through the trails. Is there any validity to this?

[tractorman06]

I don't think so it's just more by chance than anything me and a fiend were working side by side I found 3 on me he didn't have any.

[Qqqqqqqqqqqq]

I have had a few on me in the past , you got to get them out quick .

[squamishhunter]

Unless your a small child, or retard, you will notice one on you. Simply get your rising partner to check your back/neck after the ride.

[sonobob]

I have ridden woods exclusively for the last 16 years.   I have yet to find a tick on me after riding.  And I always check as I'm getting my riding gear off.  I did screw up once and leave my shoes on the ground once while out for a ride and got a nasty scorpion sting in my toe when I put my shoes on! 

[Question Man]

I have ridden woods exclusively for the last 16 years.   I have yet to find a tick on me after riding.  And I always check as I'm getting my riding gear off.  I did screw up once and leave my shoes on the ground once while out for a ride and got a nasty scorpion sting in my toe when I put my shoes on! 

 

Yeah. I am thinking it has to do with how ticks attach to you.

 

Supposedly they usually like to go in tall grass or weeds. When we ride we are usually above this, I make sure not to step off my bike into these areas. I only dismount my bike over dirt paths.

 

The other thing is ticks sense chemical cues, like exhaled carbon dioxide or possibly heat to stretch their legs in order to attach to someone. If we are driving through the woods at speed, I don't think they have time to react to you coming quick enough.

 

This is all speculation of course. I just feel that if you take precautions not to brush up on anything you can avoid them. They can't jump on you.

[Confederate]

In the summer I always spray legs of pants with off. It not only keeps ticks away but also reduces a chigger infestation. Ticks are bad and can carry some bad diseases but if you check yourself good you can rid yourself of them before they have a chance to latch on to you. Chiggers on the other hand are itchy little Red Devils. You don't even know they are there until you have done scratched yourself silly.

[redhed]

From experience, YES it is possible. We have ridden back in our timber, on trails, come back home and found ticks on us. All you have to do is brush up against brush or tall grass or ride under low hanging branches for them to drop down on your shoulders or helmet. We have even found them on us after swearing that we didn't brush against ANYTHING. We combat them by spraying our clothes with a spray containing permethrin and our skin with deep woods OFF. Even then you still have to do body checks for the little blood suckers. They are expert at working their way through your line of defenses.

 

And yes, please do take the threat seriously. I thought it was hard to catch Lyme....till I got it. Trust me, it will screw up your riding plans really fast. I couldn't go down hills when I even felt like riding. My depth perception was messed up to the point that even a 3% grade looked like a 30% grade to me and the brain fog that accompanies the disease makes it down right dangerous to ride. In some areas 1 out of 10 deer ticks are infected. (I actually think it's higher in some areas)  And don't let the reports fool you. Most species of ticks can carry Lyme or a Lyme related disease.

 

Oh, and make sure you do the body check with somebody you love and trust because you need to check EVERYWHERE and guys I do mean EVERYWHERE. They are completely indiscriminate upon their choices of body parts where they will attach and expert at working their way under clothing.

 

Sorry for the rant, but Lyme prevention is a personal crusade for me.

 

Have I mentioned that I HATE ticks?

[OLHILLBILLY]

In all my years in the woods on dirt bikes I've never gotten one either (and S.W. Missouri is tick heaven). Mountain biking, hiking, hunting, etc.., is a different story. ?

[Greta Fauchi]

Unless your a small child, or retard, you will notice one on you. Simply get your rising partner to check your back/neck after the ride.

Have you ever seen a tick? The large ticks aren't that hard to find, about the size of a small freckel (sp?). The smaller deer ticks (that are the most likely to carry lyme) have bodies the size of a small grain of salt. Not real easy to find even if you aren't a "retard or child".

[Gink]

Try adjusting valves to reduce ticking.

[rmxdan]

The link below shows an excellent tool and method for properly and safely removing ticks should you find any latched onto you.

NB. The twisting action is the key, not pulling like you would think. It's well worth having tools like these with you when outdoors.

 

http://www.otom.com/how-to-remove-a-tick

 

I use the tool in the link and have safely removed 100s of ticks from both my pets and myself over the years. I have never had the mouth parts left behind which is very important.

 

You should definetly avoid removing a tick using methods such as pulling it, heating it, chemical application, shotgun etc, as they are likely to cause the tick to puke it's guts into your body and that will greatly increase the chances of infection.

[BenIsRipin]

i never had any while riding... maybe from going to fast for them to grab on or they don't like the vibration/noise from the bike 

[Dsmc]

Rmxdan that's a cool tick tool.All of a sudden this year I've had 10,3 at the same time.A small dog that loves to run out side.

[CBus660R]

Have you ever seen a tick? The large ticks aren't that hard to find, about the size of a small freckel (sp?). The smaller deer ticks (that are the most likely to carry lyme) have bodies the size of a small grain of salt. Not real easy to find even if you aren't a "retard or child".

Sounds like all you're dealing with are deer ticks. Wood ticks can get much bigger than a freckle. Trust me, I'm a red headed freckled bastard who's had deer and wood ticks on him before lol. Deer ticks are a pain to find when you have freckles! Hahaha

[flrider]

  Google Lyme disease.  Go to the CDC site about Lyme.  Click on statistics.  Look at the incidence charts and maps.  It all depends on where you live and ride.

Good luck,

Dan

[handreasen]

really pretty simple answer, slow riders get them / fast riders don't.

[deener]

Who knows. Friend and I were riding early summer together, he literally picked 50-60+ ticks off of him throughout the day, I yanked 3 all day long. The only difference was I was in moto gear and he was in a Tshirt and cutoff jeans lol.

[zderekv]

If you brush against any over growth or stop for a breather anywhere on the trails here in New England there's a good chance of picking up 1 or 10. As others have said, always brush off and get out of your riding gear when you get back to the staging area. Never ride home in your gear - gives them more time to burrow or fall off and end up in your vehicle.

[redhed]

The tiny nymph sized deer ticks are even more dangerous than the larger size.

 

Besides Lyme, ticks may be infected with one or more of the following: Colorado tick fever virus; Mycoplasmas; Powassan encephalitis virus; Q Fever; Rocky Mountain spotted fever (Rickettsia); tickborne relapsing fever Borrelia; Tularemia (bacteria).

 

That list is taken from Lymedisease.org.

 

PLEASE, I'm not above begging. Do not think you are immune from anything a tick might be carrying should you be bitten by one. I've been involved on a Lyme disease forum and many victims tell about becoming infected with Lyme or a co infection in less than the 24 hours that people believe they have as lee way in removing a tick.

 

Doctors are becoming more Lyme intelligent and recognizing the symptoms. The problem is that you can have the symptoms, have the required tick bite and test negative for the disease. Not everyone gets the rash. I did. Many people are being misdiagnosed as having everything from MS to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome when they really have Lyme.

 

My best advice is that if you have been bit, especially if the tick in embedded, get to a doctor and get on antibiotics. 10 days of inconvenience is far better than the three years it took me to knock the disease into remission. The same thing goes for using insecticides on your skin and clothes before venturing out into the woods.

 

The really scary thing about Lyme is that they recently uncovered an ancient human who had been frozen in ice. When they did DNA testing on the mummified remains, they found a genetic marker for Lyme attached to his DNA. Yep, that far back it was around.

 

Thank you for posting about the safe removal tool for ticks. Lot more easy to use than a hemostat.