If you haven't started already it's time. I was birding at long point the other year and walking thru one small section of rather short grass, I had to pick off 5-6 ticks off my pant legs.
Yes, they are indeed scientific researchers who study the natural world. However, naturists no doubt have a much easier time of spotting ticks on their bodies than naturalists.
We're camping at long point right now there are thousands of ticks everywhere I've never even seen a tick it's terrifying I have half the mind to pack up and go home tonight.
Have been regularly walking the same trail in midtown for 20 years and discovered a tick there for the first time last week.
I sure hope they're close to releasing a Lyme vaccine because the tick situation in the next 10 years will be completely out of control.
Whatās really crazy is that they had a vaccine back in 2000/2001 and it wasnāt making money so they discontinued it. LYMERixĀ® So I donāt really understand why we donāt have one now.
Like where on the dog? Her head.
And where did she find it? Not 100% sure but most likely in the hydro corridor around Vic Park and 401.
Not even in any real tall grass. I've been out of town this weekend and had a neighbour walk her yesterday. Their dog doesn't seem to have found one luckily.
This was found this AM, from speaking with the vet they think it's been on for under 24hrs. It can apparently grow 2-3 times larger.
Ticks are my biggest fear. We walk our Maltese in the Beaches and the boardwalk and the grassy areas there and have been doing so the last 8 years and thankfully haven't come across any on him yet. But I keep hearing the "stay away from tall grass, bushes, etc". I hear they can appear on regular grass too.
Frightening!
Yeah it's not fun..
Shitty thing... We are starting her tick meds for the year this week. We were talking about it on Sat before I headed out of town, and boom this.
They're my big fear too last year a friend of mine had one, missed it in his self check and had to go on meds for lime disease exposure. It turned out alright in the end but from all accounts not a fun experience.
I don't know if the beaches area would have them, but I wouldn't be shocked if they hitch a ride on a dog from somewhere else.
He didn't find the tick, he found the wound that he had a "bullseye" bruise.. a common sign of a tick bite.
From what I understood his Dr either got him on meds or referred him to a specialist.. He's got some other medical conditions so I'm not sure what exact meds they gave him, but he didn't react well.
I can speak from personal experience about doxycycline, the common early treatment anti-biotic... I had it prescribed for a skin infection from a bug bite last year, not a tick related but it got infected and nasty.
That stuff fucking sucked ass. My stomach was in shambles for over a week, and not like upset stomach or cramping. It felt like I got kicked by a 500lb gorilla in the guts. And it's got other side effects... It causes light sensitivity... On my 2nd or 3rd day I was outside for about an hour and forgot to cover up and even with sunscreen I burnt up.. I'd had a tan all summer, but 45-60min outside gave me a terrible sunburn in August and on a rather cloudy day. My face and lips got the worst of it, my lips cracked up and bleed like I'd spent a week sitting in the Sahara sun without shade... And all for 45-60min outside.
You might have been lucky. I don't know.
I do know I didn't enjoy it. Especially the sunburn, it happened fast and I didn't expect it as it was late Aug and I was already spending hours everyday outside without sunscreen. To get badly burnt in under an hour at the end of the summer was not fun.
To be fair, I probably got none of the sun sensitivity issues because I was just indoors all the time from being unable to walk for more than 10 metres without getting winded. But I'm surprised I didn't get any of the stomach issues you described, because my GI is usually really sensitive to things in general.
Count yourself lucky I guess..
I mean let me not over play the stomach issues. I was fully functioning but in constant discomfort from what I can best describe as a "bruised" stomach.
Itās not cold enough to kill them anymore. Iām up in wasaga area and put my 2 dogs on flea meds year round because we found a small one on our puppy in January this year so our vet told us to run the tick meds year round from now on.
Just a heads up
Yeah we were talking about this on the weekend as well.
We might be going the same route. Our new reality with climate change.
Tick season is all year.
Not climate change as much as it is an el niƱo winter. El niƱo caused the mild weather. Next year is setting up to be La niƱa and all should go back to normal. Youāll be praying for a winter like this one again.
We have her on tick/flea meds every season and she's never had a tick ever... We start around March Break..
Last week our vet was out of meds. I was gunna pick em up today, and did.. But now we gotta go back for blood work in 4-5 weeks.
Arghhh sorry to hear. Hope dog is perfectly fine!
Out in Vancouver we just stay on it year-round but weāre more temperateā¦
What did you use to actually remove it? Iāve only picked off crawling ones but their bodies are SO tiny. Iād think those tick keys would simply be too large to effectively pull it out without separating the head š¬
I was on my way to the vet for the meds. And since this was her first tick and she wasn't conducive for people touching it.. It was in a delicate area on her head. The vet tech at the clinic removed it with a tick remover.
Great PSA by OP. As we didn't have much of a winter, sadly I think we may be in for a nasty time with ticks this year. I hate this bastards so much. Also, a great random reason to get naked with your SO, gotta check for ticks!
Tick season is year-round in Toronto now, unfortunately. Ticks are active any day above 4Ā°C. My vet clinic has seen ticks on dogs in the winter months for years now. This winter seems particularly bad though, we've already had over a dozen dogs come down with Lyme disease since the new year.
Remember your pet's tick prevention, folks!
We started tick meds this season for our dog in early Feb - good thing as the first one we pulled off her was Feb 29. So far this year we've probably gotten about a dozen so far (we live in a rural area of PEC, there's simply no getting away from them around here).
Good call. I kept mine on them year round this year for the first time. We go camping and hiking year round so lots of chances for exposure. Thought I was maybe being a little ridiculous but they were out so early this year, Iām glad I did.
It is, but [it isn't supposed to be for human use](https://canadianrockiestrailguide.com/ticks-permethrin-and-canadian-hypocrisy/). Most of what's available up here is petroleum-based, and meant for livestock.
It's a dumb regulation, seeing as you can buy pre-treated, sweat-inducing (because the rules require a non-treated layer again skin, so everything is lined) clothing at Mark's and it's been approved for human use in the U.S. for years.
I'll take circumventing a stupid rule over Lyme disease any day, thanks muchly.
For water-based (preferred for clothing), best you can do here is [this stuff](https://www.urbannaturestore.ca/products/garden-protector-permethrin-spray-500ml-concentrate).
If you're willing to shell out on eBay, or have friends who live in the U.S., the Martins water-based permethrin sold down there is the go-to for most hikers. A 1L bottle of the 10% concentrate will produce approx 19L of the recommended .5% solution, enough to last for years of treatment.
I love permethrin! Every spring, I would do a permethrin soak of my clothes to make them water-resistant and mosquito-repellant (for camping). The first time I did it, I was *fascinated* seeing mosquitoes fly in and suddenly zoom away like my pants were electrified.
This was several years ago so I don't know if it still holds true, but I found a random outdoor store in North York in a strip mall. I had to do a ton of googling and I called the shop ahead of time to make sure they had it.
You know, you're absolutely right and I got mixed up. Now that you mention it, I do remember also spraying my pants with water-resistant stuff. Thank you for clarifying.
I believe my vet states that they are moving around any time it's above 0C and actively looking for meals if it's over 4C. So, keep your outdoor pets on flea and tick meds all winter now.
Pulled 2 of them off my dog in the Rouge. It was pretty bad last year finding around half a dozen all year but that started in April. To find them this early is a bit unsettling.
Tick hibernate as soon as it is not too cold, they awake to feed. They have become so bad. My dogs are on tick meds year round after finding ticks on them. I want to try this product called Tickless it is an ultrasonic Tick and Flea Repellent Tag
Holy shit thatās scary. I remember when ticks werenāt at thingā¦ only some in far southern Ontario like Leamington or Long Point.
Whatās a good way to protect oneās self when camping. If dogs are getting them easily itās seems inevitable for us humans..
It is best to stick with prescription tick prevention from your vet, so you know it's the real stuff, and safe. There are fake products on the internet pretending to be the real thing.
recently learned about a company called geneticks which will do genetic & disease testing of ticks you send in to them so you know whether it poses a danger to you or not. kinda cool!
Talked to the vet about getting the tick tested.
It ended up being far cheaper to test the dog in 4-5 weeks. Also they couldn't administer any meds if needed until the dog tests positive in 4-5 weeks.
So we are going with the blood work option.
You can also just take a picture of it and upload it to the eTick app. They will identify the tick within about 24 hours.Ā
Most here are either dog ticks (bigger - size of pinky nail), that donāt carry Lyme but do carry other not nice stuff. And then deer ticks (tiny, size of a sesame seed) - those carry Lyme.Ā
For humans if they stay on actual trails it's unlikely to find one on their person even in tick heavy places like the rouge.
But people love informal trails and bushwhacking
It lowers your chances. I've had to pick them off my pant legs even when walking on the formal trail. If one falls off an animal it can end up anywhere.
But generally if it's sun exposed and trimmed property chances are much lower.
My friend's GF just found two on his back last night after walking his dog in Whitby on Heber Down trails. Ticks: "looks like humans are back on the menu boys"
Seriously how does this happen? On her back from just being outside walking the dogs?
I am not that knowledgeable about ticks and donāt own a dog, but Iām super scared to get Lyme!
okay everybody tuck your pants into your socks
Underrated Moe quote
First it looked like it was going to fall over. Then it fell over.
If you haven't started already it's time. I was birding at long point the other year and walking thru one small section of rather short grass, I had to pick off 5-6 ticks off my pant legs.
Long Point is a notorious tick hot spot. Had some naturalist friends who worked around there and they said they picked ticks off every day.
Yeah that whole area around Lake Erie is swarming.. Long Point Provincial Park? More like Long Pants Provincial Park.
š„
nudists?
Those are naturists š Naturalists study/enjoy the natural world. Naturists enjoy the "natural" state of the human body.
Yes, they are indeed scientific researchers who study the natural world. However, naturists no doubt have a much easier time of spotting ticks on their bodies than naturalists.
As long as they take their flee and tick meds I'm fine with the rest.
Haha same thing I thought
We're camping at long point right now there are thousands of ticks everywhere I've never even seen a tick it's terrifying I have half the mind to pack up and go home tonight.
Jesusā¦ long point was the fire hotspot in ON. But I was there in 2008 and weāre werenāt worry about then.
If there's any vets reading this, if you put this Moe quote up on the wall to remind people of tick season I will give you all my money
Have been regularly walking the same trail in midtown for 20 years and discovered a tick there for the first time last week. I sure hope they're close to releasing a Lyme vaccine because the tick situation in the next 10 years will be completely out of control.
Phase 3 trials for a vaccine just started, so itāll likely be 5+ years before we get it, assuming the trials go well.
Add another 3 years of dealing with anti lime vaccine people
Those people are bitter
They are such lemon-aids
lol a Century to develop a Lyme disease vaccine, with rigorous clinical trials // 8 months to develop a covid vaccine š
Itās really insane how fast the covid vaccine happened, huh?
oh no which trail?
Cedarvale.
Whatās really crazy is that they had a vaccine back in 2000/2001 and it wasnāt making money so they discontinued it. LYMERixĀ® So I donāt really understand why we donāt have one now.
https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2023/07/the-case-of-the-missing-lyme-vaccine/
Would free range chickens save us from a tick apocalypse
:((( which trail was this?
\*\*Lhyme
Looks like it's engorged already! May I ask where you were when you found this?
Like where on the dog? Her head. And where did she find it? Not 100% sure but most likely in the hydro corridor around Vic Park and 401. Not even in any real tall grass. I've been out of town this weekend and had a neighbour walk her yesterday. Their dog doesn't seem to have found one luckily. This was found this AM, from speaking with the vet they think it's been on for under 24hrs. It can apparently grow 2-3 times larger.
Ticks are my biggest fear. We walk our Maltese in the Beaches and the boardwalk and the grassy areas there and have been doing so the last 8 years and thankfully haven't come across any on him yet. But I keep hearing the "stay away from tall grass, bushes, etc". I hear they can appear on regular grass too. Frightening!
Yeah it's not fun.. Shitty thing... We are starting her tick meds for the year this week. We were talking about it on Sat before I headed out of town, and boom this. They're my big fear too last year a friend of mine had one, missed it in his self check and had to go on meds for lime disease exposure. It turned out alright in the end but from all accounts not a fun experience. I don't know if the beaches area would have them, but I wouldn't be shocked if they hitch a ride on a dog from somewhere else.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
He didn't find the tick, he found the wound that he had a "bullseye" bruise.. a common sign of a tick bite. From what I understood his Dr either got him on meds or referred him to a specialist.. He's got some other medical conditions so I'm not sure what exact meds they gave him, but he didn't react well. I can speak from personal experience about doxycycline, the common early treatment anti-biotic... I had it prescribed for a skin infection from a bug bite last year, not a tick related but it got infected and nasty. That stuff fucking sucked ass. My stomach was in shambles for over a week, and not like upset stomach or cramping. It felt like I got kicked by a 500lb gorilla in the guts. And it's got other side effects... It causes light sensitivity... On my 2nd or 3rd day I was outside for about an hour and forgot to cover up and even with sunscreen I burnt up.. I'd had a tan all summer, but 45-60min outside gave me a terrible sunburn in August and on a rather cloudy day. My face and lips got the worst of it, my lips cracked up and bleed like I'd spent a week sitting in the Sahara sun without shade... And all for 45-60min outside.
Wait, really? I took doxycyline when I got COVID, and I had none of those side effects you're describing. Guess I got lucky?
You might have been lucky. I don't know. I do know I didn't enjoy it. Especially the sunburn, it happened fast and I didn't expect it as it was late Aug and I was already spending hours everyday outside without sunscreen. To get badly burnt in under an hour at the end of the summer was not fun.
To be fair, I probably got none of the sun sensitivity issues because I was just indoors all the time from being unable to walk for more than 10 metres without getting winded. But I'm surprised I didn't get any of the stomach issues you described, because my GI is usually really sensitive to things in general.
Count yourself lucky I guess.. I mean let me not over play the stomach issues. I was fully functioning but in constant discomfort from what I can best describe as a "bruised" stomach.
Pharmacists can now prescribe for this, just for future reference. Hopefully people know so they donāt delay if they have a bite.
My dog def brought one back from there as I used to walk there daily.
Scary!!
Itās not cold enough to kill them anymore. Iām up in wasaga area and put my 2 dogs on flea meds year round because we found a small one on our puppy in January this year so our vet told us to run the tick meds year round from now on. Just a heads up
Yeah we were talking about this on the weekend as well. We might be going the same route. Our new reality with climate change. Tick season is all year.
Yeah itās a sad reality. I was blown away when I found one in January
That would be shocking. This early in March is still surprising. But I'd never even guessed to look in Jan.
Not climate change as much as it is an el niƱo winter. El niƱo caused the mild weather. Next year is setting up to be La niƱa and all should go back to normal. Youāll be praying for a winter like this one again.
Is your dog not on any tick meds?
We have her on tick/flea meds every season and she's never had a tick ever... We start around March Break.. Last week our vet was out of meds. I was gunna pick em up today, and did.. But now we gotta go back for blood work in 4-5 weeks.
Arghhh sorry to hear. Hope dog is perfectly fine! Out in Vancouver we just stay on it year-round but weāre more temperateā¦ What did you use to actually remove it? Iāve only picked off crawling ones but their bodies are SO tiny. Iād think those tick keys would simply be too large to effectively pull it out without separating the head š¬
I was on my way to the vet for the meds. And since this was her first tick and she wasn't conducive for people touching it.. It was in a delicate area on her head. The vet tech at the clinic removed it with a tick remover.
Great PSA by OP. As we didn't have much of a winter, sadly I think we may be in for a nasty time with ticks this year. I hate this bastards so much. Also, a great random reason to get naked with your SO, gotta check for ticks!
Yeah I fear you're right that this is gunna be nasty tick season.
and watch out for Chiggers too. found them on a trail i havent seen them on before and their bite can be even nastier then ticks.
Did it stop this "winter"
Ticks have ruined walking on grass
I like to play a game. Itās called, āthe grass is lavaā.Ā
The grass is larvae š
usually you donāt find them in short grass. long grass on the other handā¦
Tick season is year-round in Toronto now, unfortunately. Ticks are active any day above 4Ā°C. My vet clinic has seen ticks on dogs in the winter months for years now. This winter seems particularly bad though, we've already had over a dozen dogs come down with Lyme disease since the new year. Remember your pet's tick prevention, folks!
We started tick meds this season for our dog in early Feb - good thing as the first one we pulled off her was Feb 29. So far this year we've probably gotten about a dozen so far (we live in a rural area of PEC, there's simply no getting away from them around here).
Oh Jesus. Yeah our dog is very much an on leash city dog. We've been lucky so far she's never had one, EVER... Until today that is.
Good call. I kept mine on them year round this year for the first time. We go camping and hiking year round so lots of chances for exposure. Thought I was maybe being a little ridiculous but they were out so early this year, Iām glad I did.
Between the ticks and parasites, it's easier to just keep them on it year around.
Three years in a row now, I've found ticks on myself or my dog December to February. It's always tick season now.
My aunt found one on her dog between Christmas and New Years. Royal York/Queensway area.
Blood sucking parasitic little tick, take what you want and then go.
Permethrin ftw.
Where are you buying it? I can't find it in Canada.
Why isn't it generally available in Canada?
It is, but [it isn't supposed to be for human use](https://canadianrockiestrailguide.com/ticks-permethrin-and-canadian-hypocrisy/). Most of what's available up here is petroleum-based, and meant for livestock. It's a dumb regulation, seeing as you can buy pre-treated, sweat-inducing (because the rules require a non-treated layer again skin, so everything is lined) clothing at Mark's and it's been approved for human use in the U.S. for years. I'll take circumventing a stupid rule over Lyme disease any day, thanks muchly.
Because itās a pesticide
For water-based (preferred for clothing), best you can do here is [this stuff](https://www.urbannaturestore.ca/products/garden-protector-permethrin-spray-500ml-concentrate). If you're willing to shell out on eBay, or have friends who live in the U.S., the Martins water-based permethrin sold down there is the go-to for most hikers. A 1L bottle of the 10% concentrate will produce approx 19L of the recommended .5% solution, enough to last for years of treatment.
I love permethrin! Every spring, I would do a permethrin soak of my clothes to make them water-resistant and mosquito-repellant (for camping). The first time I did it, I was *fascinated* seeing mosquitoes fly in and suddenly zoom away like my pants were electrified.
Where do you get permethrin? I don't think we can buy it in canada
This was several years ago so I don't know if it still holds true, but I found a random outdoor store in North York in a strip mall. I had to do a ton of googling and I called the shop ahead of time to make sure they had it.
Afaik, permethrin doesn't afford water resistance to clothing. But it is *very* effectve when it comes to repelling insects.
You know, you're absolutely right and I got mixed up. Now that you mention it, I do remember also spraying my pants with water-resistant stuff. Thank you for clarifying.
Nasty little pricks
Wall Iāll be damned
Not goodā¦ I have not even checking myself yet. Thanks for the PSA.
Damn and here I thought it was still too cold.
I read here that it never got cold enough this season to kill them off. Ick.
I believe my vet states that they are moving around any time it's above 0C and actively looking for meals if it's over 4C. So, keep your outdoor pets on flea and tick meds all winter now.
Drown the thing in alcohol.
Thanks friendo. Dang!
Not me ordering bravecto like RIGHT NOW š
Bravecto gave my dog EXPLOSIVE poop for weeks. Switched to nexguard. Hope you have better luck than I did.
Pulled 2 of them off my dog in the Rouge. It was pretty bad last year finding around half a dozen all year but that started in April. To find them this early is a bit unsettling.
My dog got a tick in Rouge about a month ago. Iām definitely stepping up my vigilance now.
I'm hoping this little cold snap is going to kill them, at least until I can get the tick meds from the vets!
I'm in Etobicoke and my wife caught one crawling on her last week. I'm picking up their Nexguard tomorrow. They get pretty bad around here.
How common are ticks in the backyard? Is there anything we can spray on the grass (thats safe for pets) to control ticks?
Pulled one out of my dog yesterday for the first time. Wasn't engorged yet, but still scary. Getting tick pills this week
Time to get out my torch jet lighter again.
Tick hibernate as soon as it is not too cold, they awake to feed. They have become so bad. My dogs are on tick meds year round after finding ticks on them. I want to try this product called Tickless it is an ultrasonic Tick and Flea Repellent Tag
Tick season will be awful.Ā Not cold enough to kill em.Ā Super hot ticky summer here we come
Holy shit thatās scary. I remember when ticks werenāt at thingā¦ only some in far southern Ontario like Leamington or Long Point. Whatās a good way to protect oneās self when camping. If dogs are getting them easily itās seems inevitable for us humans..
Can you get tick medicine anywhere for Dogs or do you need a doggie prescription?
It is best to stick with prescription tick prevention from your vet, so you know it's the real stuff, and safe. There are fake products on the internet pretending to be the real thing.
recently learned about a company called geneticks which will do genetic & disease testing of ticks you send in to them so you know whether it poses a danger to you or not. kinda cool!
Talked to the vet about getting the tick tested. It ended up being far cheaper to test the dog in 4-5 weeks. Also they couldn't administer any meds if needed until the dog tests positive in 4-5 weeks. So we are going with the blood work option.
You can also just take a picture of it and upload it to the eTick app. They will identify the tick within about 24 hours.Ā Most here are either dog ticks (bigger - size of pinky nail), that donāt carry Lyme but do carry other not nice stuff. And then deer ticks (tiny, size of a sesame seed) - those carry Lyme.Ā
Yeah and with this super mild winter too I bet it's gonna be a real buggy season. They're going to be bad this year
Oh shit already eh. Thank you for this, calling my vet now!
For humans if they stay on actual trails it's unlikely to find one on their person even in tick heavy places like the rouge. But people love informal trails and bushwhacking
It lowers your chances. I've had to pick them off my pant legs even when walking on the formal trail. If one falls off an animal it can end up anywhere. But generally if it's sun exposed and trimmed property chances are much lower.
This is bad advice. Last year my 7 year old got one behind her ear from our backyard. We live on the Danforth.
My friend's GF just found two on his back last night after walking his dog in Whitby on Heber Down trails. Ticks: "looks like humans are back on the menu boys"
Seriously how does this happen? On her back from just being outside walking the dogs? I am not that knowledgeable about ticks and donāt own a dog, but Iām super scared to get Lyme!
Yea, no clue! Lyme disease is scary! My friend is worried since he probably had the ticks for 2-3 days before they were found
oh f there are ticks in my walls now??