Maria and I spent all of Tuesday night picking ticks off of ourselves and Zinnia. We went for a beautiful sunset walk in the beautiful woods, and Zinnia raced around sniffing, digging up old bones.
Then it was like a Japanese Tick Horror Movie, The Tick Invasion.
On the walk, I crawled through the bushes taking photos with my black and white monochrome. I got some lovely pictures and together, walked on a lot of leaves. We haven’t encountered any ticks lately.
They arrived yesterday and came out in force. They love leaves and tall grass. It was an ambush. We never had a chance.
By the time we left the woods, we had met hundreds of ticks. They were all over us, our clothes, in our hair, crawling around under our shirts. We didn’t realize this right away.
We didn’t realize how much trouble we were in until we saw these black dots appearing all over Zinnia, climbing up on her white coat, tiny black specks of mayhem.
Then Maria found them on my clothes, and I found them on hers.
As a person with diabetes, every tick bite touches off a round of swelling, itching, rubbing, and scratching. Those little things can do a lot of damage. We are at risk for all sorts of things.
I shivered. I had an awful bout of Lyme Disease a few years ago. That was as sick as I have ever been.
Maria and I have been dealing with ticks for years now (I don’t need any advice, thanks, I could write a book about ticks.) We went into our tick protocol: take clothes off, put them in the shower, scrutinize one another, brush hair, and put clothes outside to dry.
Neither of us had ever seen a swarm as we encountered in our beautiful woods on our lovely walk. We hadn’t yet deployed our favorite sprays and protections.
We spent much of the evening and night picking ticks off of Zinnia, brushing her, flushing the invaders down the toilet. Miraculously, Maria and I each only got one bite. But it was a tick onslaught.
We got the biters early, only minor swelling and itching. No red bullseye rings. The doctor said no antibiotics; she gave me instructions on how to know if they are infected. She said to call right away if the bite swelled.
We found some in bed this morning, but they were dead. The monthly tablets we’ve been giving Zinnia and the other dogs were working. Maria found one on her neck before dinner tonight.
This isn’t a good time to get Lyme Disease again. Or to get sick and need a doctor. Maybe social isolation isn’t good enough. Perhaps I just need to stay in bed all day with a mask on.
Zinnia was itching all night. I called the vet and made an appointment to take her in today if they were open. Labs can get hot spots and skin infections quickly, and she has been slopping around in the water a lot lately.
The vet was open, sort of. They had significantly reduced hours and lots of new procedures for keeping everybody protected.
They could see us, but I had to stay outside in the car while a masked tech came and took Zinnia in to be examined. She was happy to go, of course. They examined her and treated her. She looked great, past her urine test with flying colors.
Her weight is perfect; there was no sign of fleas or ticks on her now – we did well with our exam of her on Tick Night. She had no hot spots or sores.
I left with three months worth of flea and tick and heartworm tablets for all three dogs for the summer and a $418 bill vet.
I can’t quite get over how surreal life is during the time of the virus.
Dr. Suzanna Fariello, our very beloved vet, came out wearing a mask and stood six or seven feet from me, and we talked about ticks, dog food, and when to have Zinnia spayed (after the first heat.) And we talked about how we are both dealing with the coronavirus.
She has three kids at home. I told her I was an official Old Man At-Risk, a new role for me, and was under the tight control of Governor Wulf, the “guv.”
Dr. Fariello and I are friends at this point; we have been through a lot together. We talked about our lives in this curious time and how she worried about getting her staff or anyone else sick, but she also felt a strong obligation to stay open to take care of her client’s pets.
She couldn’t just run away from us, and I am grateful to her.
Lots of vets, like lots of other medical professionals, have simply closed their offices and disappeared. The heroes are the ones who stay behind and keep our lives going.
It was a beautiful walk anyway, and I did get some lovely photos, which I will share. We were too distracted on our walk to think about ticks. In the heat of the summer, they mostly disappear around here, and until then, we’ll stick to the roads.
In the country, it is essential to be aware of what time of year it is and where you are.
I had to have my dog put down on Monday. I think the only right thing to do is accompany them and hold them for the entire process. Not in these times. The vet tech came out to the car and walked away with my sweet Sam and came back 15 minutes later with his collar. These are hard times. Be strong because this too shall pass.
I used to carry wide masking tape and if I saw seed ticks I could blot them up with the tape. Works a treat. When we first arrived at the farm ticks were terrible. I got guineas and they sorted things pretty quickly. They also eat snakes and mice. I’ve seen them drive a coyote out of the pasture as a group.
For ticks, I use a lint roller, basically sticky tape on a tube, to remove ticks quickly after a walk. If you get to the ticks before they burrow into your dogs hair, or moving off of your clothes, it is a pretty efficient way to get rid of them. They just stick to the tape for easy disposal.
Hasn’t worked for me, Susan, not with dogs with thick or long hair…the ticks are often too low..glad it works for you…it’s rarely possible on walks in the woods to get to the ticks before they burrow..
True, I do have a short haired dog. Good luck in Tick-Land. As much as I love the woods, I feel that they have been stolen from me by the ticks.
Oh God, Jon! This made me laugh, sorry! I have a thing about ticks, seems I attract them! Whenever I visit family in NC, I am usually the only one who gets a tick! While hiking in Colorado, I’m the only one who got a tick! Took a yoga class outside once, behind a greenhouse, and came home with ticks all over me and all my stuff. Ugh! So I avoid the places where they are, and carry my spray with me.
Thank God for the professionals who have stayed open during this crisis. We haven’t needed our veterinarian yet, but they are open, and have the same protocol.
Laughing is a great gift, never be sorry for it…:)
Had to take Maggie to vet this morning for an ear infection. They did take her in while I waited in car also. I thank God for them and all the other service providers in this country. We will get through this together, God has not forgotten us.