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Ticks. Yuck.
I remember when I first moved to this county. A kindly neighbor took me aside and revealed, like a dirty secret, that our county had a tick problem. Not being familiar with the pests I was being told about, the end product of a sucking, clingy insect did not scare me. In my newfound spirit of ‘slow and easy country living’, I likened the insects to a wingless mosquito. My neighbor wrapped up her warning with a final statement; “Ticks do not like the heat of a flame.”.. and that was the tidbit I remembered when I spotted an extra freckle on my leg that was not there before.
As I screamed to my husband that I had a tick on me and I needed a flame, he obediently{which is very unlike him} ran to the kitchen and back, having retrieved a book of matches. As I stretched my leg out, he unsteadily, struck the head of the match and lowered the flaming paper to my leg. The tick did not move. But the burning flame did, straight down the length of the match to my hubby’s fingers. He cursed. He tried it again. He yelled. Three times a charm. Not for us. The fourth time, he held the match closer to the skin on my leg {we figured we had a ‘tough’ skinned tick}, and the tick silently suckled as I screamed from the heat of the flame. Now the newly transplanted city dwellers {us} began to panic. The word ‘flame’ is what I kept repeating, so my husband turned our propane stove-top burner on high, grabbed a wad of paper towel and forcefully pulled the bloodsucker from my leg. He ran, faster than I had seen him run, straight to the large flame and POOF. A 3 foot high flame, gobbled up the tick, and the paper towel.
As we cleaned the scorch marks from the back splash of the stove-top, we city dwellers decided to edumicate , er educate our selves on ticks. This we felt could benefit both ourselves and out pets.
First, if you find a tick, Do Not Panic. {like the poor creatures in the above story…sorry honey}.
Be Proactive:
When walking your animals, walk in low grass, or in the middle of paths, gravel and pavement. Large populations of ticks live in the tall grass, leaf litter, shrubs and trees.
Check your pet every night , especially around the ears, neck & head and groin area for ticks. Be thorough, these insects are very good at hiding.
There are tick repellent collars or chemicals sold at every vet clinic.
If you find a tick, get a handy pair of tweezers and place them as close to the skin as you can and pull, twisting or squeezing are not recommended. You want to get the tick out as fast as possible.
Oh, by the way, avoid myths like nail polish, petroleum jelly{ Vaseline} and flames they may not work…
Annual Yard Sale Items can be dropped off from May 12th -23rd between 9-7 weekdays and 9-5 weekends at the Bridgewater Exhibition grounds. Plant drop off is May 24-25th. Please bring goods that are in good condition.
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