they are very bad this year in Okla. worst I’ve ever seen. not the common spotted tick or what we call a deer tick. these are tiny, about the size of a pin head, but they pack a punch and leave a hole when removed and area is sore for days. has anyone had any experience with these little bast…ds
In 2021, my son and I came back from a walk in the woods in Tennessee, and I think we pealed 8 off of him. They were really small, it was early spring, so we chalked it up to them being immature.
Yesterday, we went trail blazing here in Montana. Only days before we found out there are rattlesnakes here. What a drag. We used to live with them, but figured they didn’t like the cold. Well, I stepped right over one yesterday!
My daughter was right behind me and yelled, “Snake, snake!”
I said, “Where!”
She said, “You just stepped right over him!”
We were pretty certain it was a rattler. Then we made it to the fire tower, and they had a sign that said, “Caution Rattlesnakes!” Yeah that was a drag, but you better believe we said a prayer thanking God for our safety.
Oh, and I ended up with 5 ticks. Once we saw that snake, I was the trail leader, so I started collecting them. 
They looked like this…
Handsome feller, I know.
Four of them I caught early, the last one had barely started to dive in for a bite. We like the “Tick Tornado” for getting them out.
P.S. I’m still checking for ticks!
Here’s some shots from the hike.
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Tick tornado? Beautiful landscape in Montana. A rattlesnake bite would take the shine off of the day for sure. I refer to all snakes as rattleheadedcoppermocasins just to be safe.
Glad you dodged that bullet.
I googled it!
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Yes it is tick season…UGH. I had one embedded in my back and I thank God it was just a dog tick and I have the tick tornado tools.
I have a colloidal silver cream and immediately applied it to the bite area.
Kevin,
The ticks that are that small are called nymphs, and those are the ones you definitely have to be careful of.
Boy oh boy…this is one topic that I know a lot about! I actually have progressed Lyme - meaning that I’ve probably had it since childhood. Heck I was in the woods all the time as a kid. Back in 2016 I had an issue with my heals hurting so bad that I could barely walk. I went to my homeopath bc I was feeling awful and well…I couldn’t walk very well. The pain in my heals was excruciating! I couldn’t even sleep at night bc of the pain. The best way to describe this feeling would be bare bone being scraped on concrete. Well, that was the clue that lead my homeopath to figuring out that I had Lyme.
Now comes the interesting part. She wanted to refer me to a LLMD. (Lyme Literate MD) So I, in turn, went home and researched and researched! Joined FB groups, got opinions, the whole 9 yards! The cost of going to an LLMD was crazy expensive and their treatments were even worse. But the most interesting thing I learned in my research…the “natural” field of medicine had been infiltrated with mainstream medical dr’s. I believe they realized they could make more money going into the “naturopathic” field of medicine. Mainly because most people that take the natural way of treating disease are unable to use any health insurance. Many create their own concoctions for treating Lyme, which I’m sure work, but the is out there.
Needless to say, I did NOT go to an LLMD. I decided to try out using different herbal supplements and tinctures. This was an extremely long process, especially with the brain fog that I was experiencing at the time. In fact, I look back at my old spreadsheets with notes in them and honestly, I can’t make heads or tails out of most of it.
By God’s grace and lots of prayer, I was able to get my Lyme under control. I’ve learned so much about my immune system, but most importantly, how to read my body when symptoms start. I can usually get everything back under control within a few days.
Bottom line - I truly feel that most everyone has Lyme disease. They just don’t realize there is anything wrong until it gets activated - when your body chemistry creates that perfect storm. When your immune system gets out of whack is when bad things can happen. And the unfortunate part about Lyme is that it mimics so many other diseases - especially the “auto-immune” diseases! I could go on and on about this, but will end it here.
The MAIN BOTTOM LINE is…Keep your immune system up! Know when it’s starting to decline and do something about it!
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I’m never ever without Colloidal Silver!! Amazing stuff right there.
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I have done lots of research in this area too. I found two studies that Stevia (real Stevia) kills the spirochetes that Lyme’s cause. I had a Stevia plant, dehydrated the leaves and crushed them down to a powder, and stopped using cane sugar and substituted Stevia in my drinks and tinctures.
I know exactly what you mean about the heel pain, I had it, and it felt like I was walking on grounded glass. Turmeric is also great to take for pain.
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UGH - so sorry to hear!! Not fun at all…
As for the Turmeric, I am one of the few that it doesn’t work for. My mom swears by it and helps her tremendously. Me…I must not have the right body chemistry for it.
I never tried Stevia for the treatment protocol. I just don’t like it and I really tried to!
I tried it for at least a month…nope, I just don’t like it. So I still use cane sugar, but I limit it and use raw cane with minimal processing. But the Japanese Knotweed was key in my ever changing protocol for treating Lyme. If I even get a little bit of pain in my heals, I start taking it again RIGHT AWAY! I used a combination of probably 20-30 different herbals. Patience was key for me…slowly introducing one or two remedies at a time, recording symptoms, changing things up, recording again. What a process that was.
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Absolutely, Japanese Knotweed is great! I completely forgot about that!
I started using Tumeric chews (more absorbable), and that’s what worked for me.
I also like to make a strong tea of; Burdock root, Nettle and dandelion root to detox once a month.
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YES! Of course, I’m awful when it comes to keeping up with things like supplements. I think I was just so regimented trying to cure myself that now I slack on things…BUT, I still take my Quercetin, Zinc, Vit C and D3/K2 daily. I will skip a few days, sometimes a week and then take them again daily. I have it in my head that it kickstarts your body chemistry again. Not sure if that’s just in my head or not, but it seems to give me a boost so I continue to do it!
Edited to add: Isn’t funny how the plants that “they” say are invasive are typically the ones with great healing benefits? Knotweed, garlic mustard, burdock, dandelions, etc. It’s like God is throwing it in our faces and people are running around pulling it all out!
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Good info Donna. I know they are ferocious.
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Yes indeed. Then people are told to kill all the invasive weeds with Round UP (Glyphosate) and poison the soil, so they can have a great lawn. 
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Ticks are awful here in MI, I had 3 on me yesterday and I was just weeding my flower beds 
there is so much information on ticks and lyme, it can be confusing. Did you know mosquitoes can transmit Lyme disease as well!? If a tick is embedded, even for 5 min or 5 days it can still transmit lyme and not all ticks transmit lyme. People are literally afraid to go outside here! The immune system is so important, and God made us so wonderfully…. all we do is after removing the tick, I have this Black Drawing Salve from Earthley Wellness. It uses activated charcoal to pull out all the toxins (it’s great for bee stings, bug bites too). I put it on the bite for 12ish hours. And then we support the immune system with elderberry, echinacea, vit c, among other tinctures and herbs. And then just watch for symptoms. You don’t always have to have the “bullseye rash.”
I have had worse symptoms from the black flies here in May, there are swarms and just being outside for an hour or at our boys baseball games, we are covered in nasty bites! Usually those buggers are gone in June.
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Meaghan, thanks for the info.
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I have a terrible reaction to the nasty black flies. Memorial day, I was bit on my thumb and it swelled and kept me up all night with throbbing pain. 
I love the outdoors, especially after being couped up all winter. I will not put any deet on, I keep essential oils like; Lavender, Eucalyptus, vanilla (mosquitoes don’t like vanilla or Lavender) in my creams and soaps to help keep them away.
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What do you folks use for mosquitoes, no see um, and tick repellent?
We rarely need it, and had something natural, it’s been gone for a while, but I should pick up something for hikes. Lyme is not so much an issue out West, but they have their troubles too.
When we were in Alaska, Dad had something for bugs, and Lord you needed it! There were thousands and I mean thousands of no see ums hovering around our dryer vent. Hundreds of mosquitoes congregated when a warm ATV was sitting there.
I remember being outside playing with the kids. I smashed so many no see ums on my arms, it was like someone peppered them. 
So yeah, sometimes you need repellant!
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When I try to look for natural pictures of nature it’s a pain in the butt. Your camera captured these images so vividly I want to use them for my inspiration. Though I would prefer to keep learning how to oil paint better, the space and supplies needed can get frustrating. I have been learning how to digital paint until I can get a lot more paint thinner, and more canvases.
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I didn’t know you were a painter, how cool Ericka! I’d love to see what you put together…
I actually converted the file format, and then compressed those images before posting. I love my camera, that just so happens to be a part of my phone!
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As Donna mentioned those tiny ticks are deer ticks in their nymph stage; it’s estimated that those little buggers are responsible for the majority of Lyme disease cases.
Our former home and pottery studio were located in the forest of central Minnesota. I spent forty years making firewood to heat our buildings, and building walking/ski trails through our woods. Needless to say I have spent countless hours in the woods and as a result I’ve had Lyme disease three times. I can totally relate to Kay, because the first time I also had long term Lyme, although we were able to trace my exposure to five years earlier. It really is very very nasty! After I was diagnosed it took about a year of treatment before I was rid of it. After that experience I became paranoid and would check often for ticks as I walked or worked in the woods. I found you can often catch them walking up the front of your pant legs before they get a chance to latch unto you. I would tuck my pant legs into my socks, ware light colored clothing with long sleeves and a hat. Not always the most comfortable on hot and humid days. Then I would spray my clothing with tick repellent— and I still got Lyme two more times! The next two times I was treated immediately and was quickly cured.
I really miss my dogs and our daily walks through the woods; by the way, they had to be treated regularly also.
Alaskan no see ums and mosquitoes are something everyone should experience at least once in their life. I would argue it’s closer to millions than thousands, but who has time to count when you are running for your life! Hey, at least there are no rattlesnakes in Alaska.
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