Green Club

[sourland]

I have become sensitized to tick bites (deer ticks not the brown dog tick) that my body reacts with itching/burning/pain almost as soon as they bite me - immune reaction? The dog ticks do not cause a similar reaction. 'No-see-ums in the evening - ugh!!! Right now I am feeding a couple of chiggers on my left ankle - forgot to spray last outing.

One of the area beagle clubs recently had an outbreak of Tularemia. Scary stuff - ticks, fleas, deer flies and other insects/arthropods can carry the bacteria. I dislike insect repellent/spray but use it nevertheless.

 

[Bunnylady]

Ticks are bad here. I find ticks on myself and the rest of the family on a regular basis (three or four a year, sometimes more.) We don't make a big deal of it. I know they are nasty disease carriers, but so are mosquitoes, and if you are going to obsess about those, you will never go outside around here. I have bug spray in the garage, back porch, coop, work shop and in the Ranger (atv.) We use it once we are reminded to do so by the slapping and scratching that the "no-see-ums" cause. Otherwise, we live our lives and don't obsess over the bugs.

Oh, to think that 3 or 4 ticks a year is "bad."

We have deer that wander through and feed in our yard at night. Around here, the formula is simple - "you got deer, you got ticks." At least once per month, I manage to find some of those little "seed ticks" - if I'm lucky, I'll feel a crawling sensation and get them off before they get a chance to bite. It's almost the stuff of a horror film to look down and see your entire pant leg covered with little moving brown dots (Duct tape is a great way to get the little monsters off, BTW). Some times of year aren't too bad, but especially during the post-tropical weather spells this place is mosquito central. Get near any type of plant that is more than 6 inches high, and here those little blood suckers come. Unfortunately, I have very sensitive skin, and bug spray feels almost like liquid fire to me. I can only take it for so long before I have to wash it off.

 

[sourland]

Oh, I have a story about insect repellant and sensitive skin , but I will keep it private. I never spray 'bug spray' on my skin - just around my ankles/boot tops, pants cuffs, pant seams, waist band. Anything that crosses those barriers makes it to my arms or head where they are readily located - I hope.

 

[Alaskan]

When I grew up in the glorious warmth of Texas, you would get a wave of ticks, a black thick carpet of ticks crawling on your leg seeking delicious warmth! We had all sized of ticks, but the big ones didn't come in giant mats, usually only one to three at a time.

Every night we would have at least ten that had to be removed.


Then came the fire ants........ They ate up most of the ticks, and ground nesting birds...

And, uh, uh, GREEN, yes fire ants like to crawl inside GREEN okra and eat out all of the seeds.

 

[oldrooster]

Quote:
Are fire ants Cajan? or La French? I mean do they like Gumbo also? if not perhaps Gumby since he is green?

 

[Alaskan]

YEAH! Bar-B-qued Gumby! BRING IT ON!!!

 

[Bunnylady]

I wouldn't think clay would taste very good.

 

[kikithebird]

Are you kidding i love the colour green

 

[sourland]

Hi, Kiki, GREEN is the only acceptable color! "Just sayin'."

 

[kikithebird]

ok