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leeches n tics

Pretzel

17-Jan-2005
9:28:28 AM

After an wonderful adventure on the weekend, one of our band of merries arrived at the car park with eight blood suching leeches. They were removed with the car cigarette lighter. What are other the removal options - salt/heat/metho/petrol? And what cream is best to stop the insane itchiness?
Also to remove tics, is the standard method to place tweezers behind the head and twist anti-clockwise?
Here's to red blotches/scratched legs and a great day out!


Alex

17-Jan-2005
12:17:34 PM

Also to remove tics, is the standard method to place tweezers behind the head and twist anti-clockwise?

Don't do that! You'll leave the head/mouthparts of the tick imbedded which can cuase infection or worse. What you should be doing is trying to grasp the tick with tweezers as close as possible to the skin, prefeably on the mouthparts and then gently pull out. Dont tug or yank as you'll just rip it apart leaving bits embedded. If bits are left behind you'll have to remove them with a sterilized needle or something similiar.


Phil Box

17-Jan-2005
1:20:52 PM

The bushwalkers in Queensland are currently doing an informal study as to the efficacy of a new method of tick removal.

The method is to grasp the head of the tick and rip very quickly sideways.

If anyone tries this method I would be very keen to hear of the results. We are trying to build up a database of anecdotal evidencs so that we can establish grounds for further scientific study.


JamesMc

17-Jan-2005
6:27:50 PM

Salt, metho, shellite, insect repellant all remove leeches. So does a lit match.

But they're no good for the nightmare scenario of a leech in the eye. A doctor friend carries anaesthetic eye drops for this purpose. Apparently the put the leech to sleep and sooth the eye at the same time.

James Mc

Robin

17-Jan-2005
6:34:49 PM

Two friends of mine got sprayed with blood when they torched a fat leech with a cigarette lighter. Fortunately I was far enough away to miss the spray. Great party trick. Maybe Shellite or metho if your not into blood sports, oh yeah you don't need to light it!


mousey

17-Jan-2005
8:16:35 PM

i was bouldering in the rain this morning and i chucked my left leg over the top of the boulder to get some heel friction for the dicey mantle, and saw a 3 inch long white, black& red tick latched on my shin. i found that trying to rip the thing off while still holding on halfway through a friction mantle in the rain with no spotter or mat to be a most inefficient method and i highly discourage you from trying it.
smallprint=(somehow, though, i managed to pull through for the FA!! good fun, the problem is called 'commander keen vs. the giant leech')
thats my irrelevant rant for the day

James

17-Jan-2005
11:00:25 PM

I've found it necessary to twist ticks anti-clockwise to get them out at times. The ticks actually burrow clockwise down into your skin, so if they've been there for a while, you can't get them out without twisting!! But (as already mentioned), its important to get the head out as well.

elephant

19-Jan-2005
9:59:46 AM

>I've found it necessary to twist ticks anti-clockwise to get them out at
>times. The ticks actually burrow clockwise down into your skin, so if

Would there be left-handed ticks that burrow the other way round??

Oh, and is there anything I can do about the itchiness?? I'm the unfortunate one feasted by the leeches.. :-( I'm applying calamine lotion or stingose almost every hour. It's driving me mad! If I itch them, they get red and swell up.. And isn't happiness all about itching all your itchiness??


rhinckle

19-Jan-2005
10:30:43 AM

for leeches,
enjoy the scratching.
just don't scratch too hard,
it won't make the itch go away.
my dogs drag their stomachs along the grass
to get just the right balance of itch and scratch.
if that's any help.


Phil Box

19-Jan-2005
11:33:12 AM

On 19/01/2005 elephant wrote:
>Would there be left-handed ticks that burrow the other way round??

Only in the northern hemisphere.

Has anyone here experienced scrub itch. This occurs from being bitten by larval ticks or chiggers. Typically if you sit down on the ground this may occur. It will usually manifest itself in the groin region and result in a maddenning itch that will hang around for a week or so. The bites will fester into little sores that will ooze for that period of time. Nasty little blighters.


master of drung

19-Jan-2005
12:37:39 PM

i have friends in the army that call it "the mank" and claim they catch it from where kangaroos have been lying, not easy to get rid of quickly, unpleasant.

Pretzel

19-Jan-2005
2:45:33 PM

Freak me out brussel sprout...leeches in your eye....arrrgghhhh
For the itchiness try tiger balm or balsam hijau (it is what we used to use in Kalimantan, Indonesia). There is also a weed called Plantain that you crush to a paste and then apply it to the bite. But a Russian pal told me they remove tics by smearing fat on the tic which suffocates it, and then just wipe it off....has anyone tried this method?


Phil Box

20-Jan-2005
9:31:27 AM

I caution anyone who is thinking that slow removal of ticks is the way to go. If you try to suffocate or insect poison a tick then the tick will disgorge its stomack contents into the bite area and you will be at extreme risk of infection or other nasty surprises.

Quick removal is definitely the preferred and safest method.


hangdoggy

21-Jan-2005
11:43:22 AM

is touching a hot match to a tic an effective way of removal?
think i heard this somewhere....or am i getting confused with leeches?

Pretzel

27-Jan-2005
7:28:58 PM

Matches, hot ones that is, do little to encourage a tic to give up slurping that fine juice from skin. Matches can make matters worse by irritating the tic and stimulating it to release additional saliva, (same principle as trying to smother the tic...mess with it and it will dribble/vomit) Smothering and hot methods of tic removal should be avoided. The best method of tic removal would have to be plain set of fine tipped tweezers. (See above for direction of removal depending on the hemisphere)


Rich

28-Jan-2005
7:22:53 PM

i've ripped a tick off a mates bum and another mates head and both times i had tweezers as deep as possible and if that meant some skin so be it. Then rip/yank nice and hard. no problems afterwards. Both those ticks were at nowra and the only other ticks we had there had nice shiny bolts on em.
Everytime i've had a leech on me i've just given it a patented 'power flick' from the side although i can say with experience that this is not without its side effects if said leech is in the crotch area...

elephant

1-Feb-2005
9:44:43 AM

>Everytime i've had a leech on me i've just given it a patented 'power
>flick' from the side although i can say with experience that this is not
>without its side effects if said leech is in the crotch area...

Yeah Rich, you flicked couple of leeches off me before when we were
at the cathedral. It did work.

And now I got another bite from something worse than a leech.
In two days, my whole right forearm was red and swollen.
I went to see a doctor yesterday and got some cortizone tablets.
I wish these things would stay away from me!!!

DJ Biggs

6-May-2005
4:23:19 PM

For tics just cover them body included in oil of some sort then wait a litt and they drop off once they can't breath any more.


anthonyk

6-May-2005
4:46:12 PM

On 17/01/2005 Pretzel wrote:
>After an wonderful adventure on the weekend, one of our band of merries
>arrived at the car park with eight blood suching leeches. They were removed
>with the car cigarette lighter. What are other the removal options -
>salt/heat/metho/petrol?

i reackon easiest way for leeches is just get a stick and scrape it along the skin so you scrape it off from the bite point. no fuss no bother, no equipment (well except a little stick). or let em grow fat and drop off. (http://www.diggerhistory.info/images/asstd/leech-humour.jpg )

Rosie

7-May-2005
2:13:29 PM

The best way from my experience (bushwalking in SE QLD) is to roll a bit of rid (or any other insect repellent, I spose) on the tick's backside, wait a few minutes, and then twist anticlockwise. Apparently the rid makes the tick loosen its grip. I've never left the tick's head behind using that method. You have to make sure that you pull it cleanly, though, or the tick injects more juice, and you can get really stiff muscles and headaches for a few days afterwards if it's a biggie, especially if it's on your neck.

Leaches? Just pull them off. If you're squeemish, drop a pinch of salt on them and they shrivel up and drop off in about 30 secs. More entertaining to use the salt, I spose.

As an aside... I have not come across a single leach or tick since I moved to Victoria 2 1/2 years ago. I didn't even realise that they were an issue down here.

There are 21 messages in this topic.