Petty Vents

[Cooking Goddess]

Apparently I either need to wear a HazMat suit or bathe myself in Beagle's Frontline Plus. Was out in the yard cleaning.... I still wish there was something that would work on people. I sure wouldn't wipe it off on the couch or carpet. End of rant.
**********************
Even after bathing, they don't go away! Isn't it something that there's no vaccine or preventative?

Oh. I. Wish...there was tick repellant for humans! Himself got a case of Lyme disease about 9-10 years ago. Fortunately it was caught early, he got the 3 or 4 week round of antibiotics, and he's been symptom and side-effect free since. Meanwhile, I am completely paranoid about going out to work in the gardens. Hence, my beds look like total crap. Gotta bundle up, suck it up, and hope the ticks don't land on me and do the same (sucking it up). In our time up here I've plucked only two ticks off of me. Since I am afraid to leave parts behind I've got my own system of cleaning them out: my cuticle clippers. Sterilize both the spot of skin and the blades of the clippers, then nip a bit of a channel good enough to use the tips and grab the little bugger's backside and pull him out. I've since gotten the pointy style tweezers but haven't had to use them. Yet. I HAVE to work in the yard this year if I want the house to have nice curb appeal.

Lyme disease: just one more reason to move back to OH. Per the CDC, last year OH had a total of 49 cases, MA had 3396. That's in spite of the fact that OH has almost twice as many people and is nearly 5 times larger than MA.

 

[CarolPa]

Now I have 2 reasons why I stay indoors most of the time.

1) allergies
2) ticks

 

[Addie]

Apparently I either need to wear a HazMat suit or bathe myself in Beagle's Frontline Plus. Was out in the yard cleaning out the flower beds, came in and found yet ANOTHER tick under my clothes! My second so far this spring, and we've only had 2 days of nice weather! DH, Beagle and I have all had ticks on us so far. And these are the little (probably) deer ticks. Beagle has been Frontlined, as has the couch and carpet as she hates it, but I still wish there was something that would work on people. I sure wouldn't wipe it off on the couch or carpet. End of rant.

What about Off? For people, not for dogs. (There is a product for dogs also by that name to keep them off the furniture.) Keep a can by the door and every time you go outside for an extended time, spray you legs, feet and the bottom of your clothing. I have never liked the idea of spraying near the face. Or try one of those little clip-ons that have a small fan in them. Ticks can be very scary.

When we lived in Washington, I managed an apartment complex. I had all military tenants. One couple went back home to Oregon for a week's vacation. When they came back, Poo went down to their apartment and they brought him in and let him watch while they unpacked. That night when I undressed him for his bath, I noticed a little black spot on his testicle. Looking closer, I realized it was a tick. A run to the ER. They kept pouring alcohol over it until it backed out. They picked it up with tweezers and put it in a lab vial. A couple of days later I had a woman and man at my door from Wash. D.C. They were from the Federal Department of Health and The National Parks Dept. They wanted to know where my son had picked up the tick. I felt like I was being interrogated for an upcoming prison sentence. It seems that it was a Rocky Mountain Tick! The kind that makes you very sick and can kill you.

The next week I had the State's equivalent of the officials at my door. It seems that due to the Columbia River, there are no Rocky Mountain Ticks in the state. Next they knocked on my tenant's door. They fumigated their whole apartment. I ended up at a later date evicting these tenants. They had a dog that was against the lease. I left the apartment empty for a couple of weeks before I went to clean it. When I opened the door, my arms were instantly covered with very hungry fleas. I have some nice scars from the attack. A lot of the bites became infected.

How can anything so small be so dangerous?

 

[Addie]

I can understand when someone posts pictures to the forum, they may not know how to size them and edit them. But isn't there a way that the site administrators can correct them so that they fit on the page properly? Just curious.

 

[taxlady]

I can understand when someone posts pictures to the forum, they may not know how to size them and edit them. But isn't there a way that the site administrators can correct them so that they fit on the page properly? Just curious.

Addie, the forum software usually resizes the pictures and puts a bar on the top with instructions to click the bar for the full size. Sometimes it doesn't work. It would be a lot of work for the admins to resize all of those pix, especially when the software usually does it.

 

[cave76]

For information on how to remove a tick properly go to:

http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f26/information-about-lyme-disease-89653.html#post1359561

 

[Chef Munky]

Oh good gravy. Now I'm off to take another shower, with pumice stone, Beagle's last vial of Frontline, and bleach. And I'm bringing my pointy tip tweezers with me.

The dog ticks we'd get at the lake were nice and big, easy to see. These little deer ticks are the size of a pin head or smaller.

I'm a big garden person, we need a vaccine!

We once had a dog who was a tick and flea magnet. They just loved him when we went camping we took him into the vet to get a shot to repel them.That was getting costly as my adopting ok, bad habit of picking up and bringing home dogs that other people dumped off was growing into 4 at one time.

We did some checking and have and still use on the dogs and around the house to keep those critters under control. It's cheap. Easily found.Non harmful if used correctly. Boric Acid.

Boric acid - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Scroll down to the uses section.
HTH.

Munky.

 

[Dawgluver]

Thanks Munky!

 

[cave76]

We did some checking and have and still use on the dogs and around the house to keep those critters under control. It's cheap. Easily found.Non harmful if used correctly. Boric Acid.

Boric acid - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Scroll down to the uses section.
HTH.

Munky.

I've never heard of boric acid used to to kill or control ticks.

I went to Wiki, as suggested:
"Boric acid was first registered in the US as an insecticide in 1948 for control of cockroaches, termites, fire ants, fleas, silverfish, and many other insects. The product is generally considered to be safe to use in household kitchens to control cockroaches and ants.[20] It acts as a stomach poison affecting the insects' metabolism..."

I also read the entry under Toxicology at Wiki.
************************
Ticks are not insects although they're commonly called an insect by laymen.
Ticks are not Insects: Consequences of Contr... [Parasitol Today. 1998] - PubMed - NCBI
*******************
"What boric acid will NOT kill.

Insects (and non-insects such as ticks) that have piercing mouthparts and feed on plant juices or blood (e.g., bed bugs, lice, aphids) do not groom, so boric acid does not control them.
The larva (immature stage) of insects with complete metamorphosis (beetles, flies, fleas, butterflies & moths, etc.) do not typically groom, so boric acid does not control this life stage. The larval stage is often the stage that does the damage (e.g., clothes moths, stored product beetles and moths, carpet beetles, etc.), so control of larvae is essential to eliminate the problem.

Conclusions.

Boric acid should be treated with respect because it is toxic. It is a pesticide/insecticide.
Boric acid must be properly applied to be effective.
Boric acid will not kill or control insect and tick life stages that have piercing mouthparts.
Boric acid will NOT kill/control bed bugs.
Boric acid will not kill the larval stage of insects."

Toxicity. Both borax and boric acid must be ingested for their toxicity to be expressed.

Borax and Boric Acid for Insect Control [228] | David Moore
************************
If you've been using Boric acid for years I don't want to tell you to stop using it. It's your right to treat as you see fit.

 

[taxlady]

I once had an exterminator use boric acid to get rid of cockroaches. He said that it messed up their breathing. They started crawling out of their hiding places and falling on the floor within minutes. I doubt they were all grooming that quickly. I had to leave the boric acid in place for six weeks so it would kill any newly hatched cockroaches, since it doesn't kill the eggs.

 

[Addie]

Addie, the forum software usually resizes the pictures and puts a bar on the top with instructions to click the bar for the full size. Sometimes it doesn't work. It would be a lot of work for the admins to resize all of those pix, especially when the software usually does it.

Okay, Thank you.

And one for Sheddy!

 

[Chef Munky]

I've never heard of boric acid used to to kill or control ticks.

I went to Wiki, as suggested:
"Boric acid was first registered in the US as an insecticide in 1948 for control of cockroaches, termites, fire ants, fleas, silverfish, and many other insects. The product is generally considered to be safe to use in household kitchens to control cockroaches and ants.[20] It acts as a stomach poison affecting the insects' metabolism..."

I also read the entry under Toxicology at Wiki.
************************
Ticks are not insects although they're commonly called an insect by laymen.
Ticks are not Insects: Consequences of Contr... [Parasitol Today. 1998] - PubMed - NCBI
*******************
"What boric acid will NOT kill.

Insects (and non-insects such as ticks) that have piercing mouthparts and feed on plant juices or blood (e.g., bed bugs, lice, aphids) do not groom, so boric acid does not control them.
The larva (immature stage) of insects with complete metamorphosis (beetles, flies, fleas, butterflies & moths, etc.) do not typically groom, so boric acid does not control this life stage. The larval stage is often the stage that does the damage (e.g., clothes moths, stored product beetles and moths, carpet beetles, etc.), so control of larvae is essential to eliminate the problem.

Conclusions.

Boric acid should be treated with respect because it is toxic. It is a pesticide/insecticide.
Boric acid must be properly applied to be effective.
Boric acid will not kill or control insect and tick life stages that have piercing mouthparts.
Boric acid will NOT kill/control bed bugs.
Boric acid will not kill the larval stage of insects."

Toxicity. Both borax and boric acid must be ingested for their toxicity to be expressed.

Borax and Boric Acid for Insect Control [228] | David Moore
************************
If you've been using Boric acid for years I don't want to tell you to stop using it. It's your right to treat as you see fit.

Excuse me for not being more specific in my post.
What I had forgotten to mention after he picked a tick up while camping,no vet was around where we were camping, it's head was already inside his belly. We got it out completely with a lit cigarette.It backed right out.

My other point was in my mind but not typed up. We used and still use it as a preventive as a flea/ant repellant for living on an ant hill during spring and summer months. And that's using it sparingly.Living in the country all his 16 years of life and only picking up that one away from home wasn't too bad.

Munky.

 

[cave76]

Excuse me for not being more specific in my post.

That's fine.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

I can understand when someone posts pictures to the forum, they may not know how to size them and edit them. But isn't there a way that the site administrators can correct them so that they fit on the page properly? Just curious.

You know that saying about a picture being worth a thousand words? Just think of those big pictures as saving you reading about 2000 words that could, quite possibly, be only mediocre anyway.

 

[Mad Cook]

I've never heard of boric acid used to to kill or control ticks.

I went to Wiki, as suggested:
"Boric acid was first registered in the US as an insecticide in 1948 for control of cockroaches, termites, fire ants, fleas, silverfish, and many other insects. The product is generally considered to be safe to use in household kitchens to control cockroaches and ants.[20] It acts as a stomach poison affecting the insects' metabolism..."

I also read the entry under Toxicology at Wiki.
************************
Ticks are not insects although they're commonly called an insect by laymen.
Ticks are not Insects: Consequences of Contr... [Parasitol Today. 1998] - PubMed - NCBI
*******************
"What boric acid will NOT kill.

Insects (and non-insects such as ticks) that have piercing mouthparts and feed on plant juices or blood (e.g., bed bugs, lice, aphids) do not groom, so boric acid does not control them.
The larva (immature stage) of insects with complete metamorphosis (beetles, flies, fleas, butterflies & moths, etc.) do not typically groom, so boric acid does not control this life stage. The larval stage is often the stage that does the damage (e.g., clothes moths, stored product beetles and moths, carpet beetles, etc.), so control of larvae is essential to eliminate the problem.

Conclusions.

Boric acid should be treated with respect because it is toxic. It is a pesticide/insecticide.
Boric acid must be properly applied to be effective.
Boric acid will not kill or control insect and tick life stages that have piercing mouthparts.
Boric acid will NOT kill/control bed bugs.
Boric acid will not kill the larval stage of insects."

Toxicity. Both borax and boric acid must be ingested for their toxicity to be expressed.

Borax and Boric Acid for Insect Control [228] | David Moore
************************
If you've been using Boric acid for years I don't want to tell you to stop using it. It's your right to treat as you see fit.

The house we had in Spain was over-run with ants and the only successful treatment was borax laid where they were getting into the house. Worked wonders. Borax is no longer available in this country due to it's toxicity

 

[Dawgluver]

When I awoke this morning I found I can't close the right side of my jaw without a lot of pain. Not sure if it's TMJ or some type of infection. I had a crown put in last summer, and afterward the gum behind the crown felt weird. When I got my teeth cleaned a couple months ago, X-rays didn't show anything unusual, and dentist didn't think it was anything. But today I can't chew! Guess we're not going out to dinner tonight.

 

[mmyap]

I hope your dentist / physician can work you in quickly to take care of that. That sounds awful. Best wishes, Dawgluver.

 

[taxlady]

When I awoke this morning I found I can't close the right side of my jaw without a lot of pain. Not sure if it's TMJ or some type of infection. I had a crown put in last summer, and afterward the gum behind the crown felt weird. When I got my teeth cleaned a couple months ago, X-rays didn't show anything unusual, and dentist didn't think it was anything. But today I can't chew! Guess we're not going out to dinner tonight.

Aw phooey. I hope it feels better soon. Have you made an appointment for the dentist yet? (((hugs)))

 

[Dawgluver]

Thanks guys, dentist is closed on Friday, so I'll have to wait until Monday. It doesn't hurt unless I try to close my jaw, or chew.

 

[cave76]

When I awoke this morning I found I can't close the right side of my jaw without a lot of pain. /QUOTE]

As a Dental Hygienist I would put an ice pack on the patients joint first then immediately put a warm moist cloth on the TMJ.

What I would for myself (back when I had TMJ pain) was what is shown on this video starting about 5 minutes and ending at about 7 minutes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1U7PSqKDCpg

I didn't do anything else shown on the video----just the cold and hot and massage.

Do NOT do this too much or with a heavy hand.

Sometimes (only sometimes) a slight change in the elevation of a tooth or crown or filling can cause TMJ pain and that's a job for the dentist to assess with a painless grinding of the high spot.

But TMJ pain after waking up almost always means the person slept wrong or ground his teeth at night.
That's the short and simple explanation.

Warning---- I repeat, don't massage with a heavy hand or too much.
I hope the pain goes away soon. Sometimes it just goes away on it's own.