Can I just eat them? No answer required. I sat here reading the group
and reading a book and kept feeling a pinch on my shoulder. Felt like a
bug bite but I couldn't find a bug. Finally after about 4 bites I found
the culprit in my shirt. Some little 1/4" thing with what must be
mandibles to match. I sliced it in half with my fingernails and damned
if the thing wasn't still moving.

"Cheryl" > wrote in message
.com...
> Can I just eat them? No answer required. I sat here reading the group and
> reading a book and kept feeling a pinch on my shoulder. Felt like a bug
> bite but I couldn't find a bug. Finally after about 4 bites I found the
> culprit in my shirt. Some little 1/4" thing with what must be mandibles
> to match. I sliced it in half with my fingernails and damned if the thing
> wasn't still moving.

"Cheryl" > wrote in message
.com...
> Can I just eat them? No answer required. I sat here reading the group and
> reading a book and kept feeling a pinch on my shoulder. Felt like a bug
> bite but I couldn't find a bug. Finally after about 4 bites I found the
> culprit in my shirt. Some little 1/4" thing with what must be mandibles
> to match. I sliced it in half with my fingernails and damned if the thing
> wasn't still moving.

What was it?

On 05/07/2011 9:32 PM, Cheryl wrote:
> Can I just eat them? No answer required. I sat here reading the group
> and reading a book and kept feeling a pinch on my shoulder. Felt like a
> bug bite but I couldn't find a bug. Finally after about 4 bites I found
> the culprit in my shirt. Some little 1/4" thing with what must be
> mandibles to match. I sliced it in half with my fingernails and damned
> if the thing wasn't still moving.

Earwig?

For years I had been seeing pet products for treating fleas and ticks.
I always wondered why they bothered with the tick component. We didn't
have ticks. I had never seen one and had no idea what they were. I had
seen pictures of them but didn't know how big they were. Then about 7
years ago I started seeing them. I have been more diligent with the
flea and tick treatment for the dog. I started this year's treatment in
June, as per the vet's instructions. Two days later he had a tick on his
side. They are nasty looking creatures, and darned near impossible to kill.

On 7/5/2011 9:49 PM, Dave Smith wrote:
> On 05/07/2011 9:32 PM, Cheryl wrote:
>> Can I just eat them? No answer required. I sat here reading the group
>> and reading a book and kept feeling a pinch on my shoulder. Felt like a
>> bug bite but I couldn't find a bug. Finally after about 4 bites I found
>> the culprit in my shirt. Some little 1/4" thing with what must be
>> mandibles to match. I sliced it in half with my fingernails and damned
>> if the thing wasn't still moving.
>
> Earwig?
>
> For years I had been seeing pet products for treating fleas and ticks. I
> always wondered why they bothered with the tick component. We didn't
> have ticks. I had never seen one and had no idea what they were. I had
> seen pictures of them but didn't know how big they were. Then about 7
> years ago I started seeing them. I have been more diligent with the flea
> and tick treatment for the dog. I started this year's treatment in June,
> as per the vet's instructions. Two days later he had a tick on his side.
> They are nasty looking creatures, and darned near impossible to kill.

Earwig is possible if it's a young one. I know what they look like and
they hop and flip. This was much smaller. You're right about ticks.
They are nasty when full of blood. You can usually only burn them to
death. Fleas are just as hard to kill without chemical.

<shudder>

--

Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.

On Tue, 05 Jul 2011 21:49:32 -0400, Dave Smith
> wrote:

> I have been more diligent with the
> flea and tick treatment for the dog. I started this year's treatment in
> June, as per the vet's instructions. Two days later he had a tick on his
> side. They are nasty looking creatures, and darned near impossible to kill.

My father used to hold the red end of a cigarette up to them and make
them explode.

--

Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.

sf > wrote:

>On Tue, 05 Jul 2011 21:49:32 -0400, Dave Smith

>> I have been more diligent with the
>> flea and tick treatment for the dog. I started this year's treatment in
>> June, as per the vet's instructions. Two days later he had a tick on his
>> side. They are nasty looking creatures, and darned near impossible to kill.
>
>My father used to hold the red end of a cigarette up to them and make
>them explode.

That works, but so does grabbing them with a pair of needle-nose pliers.
There is no way to crush them without pliers and even then it can
be tough.

Steve

On Wed, 6 Jul 2011 06:10:05 +0000 (UTC), (Steve
Pope) wrote:

> sf > wrote:
>
> >On Tue, 05 Jul 2011 21:49:32 -0400, Dave Smith
>
> >> I have been more diligent with the
> >> flea and tick treatment for the dog. I started this year's treatment in
> >> June, as per the vet's instructions. Two days later he had a tick on his
> >> side. They are nasty looking creatures, and darned near impossible to kill.
> >
> >My father used to hold the red end of a cigarette up to them and make
> >them explode.
>
> That works, but so does grabbing them with a pair of needle-nose pliers.
> There is no way to crush them without pliers and even then it can
> be tough.
>
There was some sort of a problem with using the tweezers before
exploding their bodies. Don't ask me what, I was a kid at the time...
not even a teenager. I only remember something about the head
remaining in the dog's body. Maybe he exploded the tick so he could
get at the head easier. I dunno. It's been too long, if I ever knew
why.

--

Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.

Dave Smith > wrote:

>On 05/07/2011 9:32 PM, Cheryl wrote:
>> Can I just eat them? No answer required. I sat here reading the group
>> and reading a book and kept feeling a pinch on my shoulder. Felt like a
>> bug bite but I couldn't find a bug. Finally after about 4 bites I found
>> the culprit in my shirt. Some little 1/4" thing with what must be
>> mandibles to match. I sliced it in half with my fingernails and damned
>> if the thing wasn't still moving.
>
>Earwig?

I've never been pinched by one-- but apparently they will if trapped.
That would be my bet, too, if the pinchers were so pronounced.
>
>For years I had been seeing pet products for treating fleas and ticks.
>I always wondered why they bothered with the tick component. We didn't
>have ticks. I had never seen one and had no idea what they were. I had
>seen pictures of them but didn't know how big they were. Then about 7
>years ago I started seeing them. I have been more diligent with the
>flea and tick treatment for the dog. I started this year's treatment in
>June, as per the vet's instructions. Two days later he had a tick on his
>side. They are nasty looking creatures, and darned near impossible to kill.

I had hunting dogs for a decade or so 30 years ago. Never saw a
tick- and those dogs spent most of their lives in 'ticky' places.

Now I live in the burbs and have a pug. If I go a week over his
monthly tick repellent treatment, we get ticks. I've gotten 3-4
myself in the past couple years.

They are more than just a nuisance, too. Lyme is not the only tick
spread disease on the block these days. There is Babesiosis,
Ehrlichiosis , and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. [that's NY's line-up-
your state might have something else] Babesiosis is a good one.
The tick leaves no particular rash like the Lyme infected ones
*usually* do. You get the flu. Then, if you've already got a
weakened immune system, you can die.
http://www.health.state.ny.us/diseas...unicable/lyme/

Best tool we've found to remove them without leaving parts behind, or
squeezing someone else's blood into the host is the Tick Twister-
http://www.amazon.com/ProCollar-Tick...dp/B000OH6D96/

Looks like a crowbar, but you spin it and get the entire tick. Which
you can then explode with a match or cigarette.<g>

Jim

On 7/6/2011 7:35 AM, Jim Elbrecht wrote:
> Dave > wrote:
>
>> On 05/07/2011 9:32 PM, Cheryl wrote:
>>> Can I just eat them? No answer required. I sat here reading the group
>>> and reading a book and kept feeling a pinch on my shoulder. Felt like a
>>> bug bite but I couldn't find a bug. Finally after about 4 bites I found
>>> the culprit in my shirt. Some little 1/4" thing with what must be
>>> mandibles to match. I sliced it in half with my fingernails and damned
>>> if the thing wasn't still moving.
>>
>> Earwig?
>
> I've never been pinched by one-- but apparently they will if trapped.
> That would be my bet, too, if the pinchers were so pronounced.

Ugh, there have been a ton of them this year. Two were having a
race across my living room ceiling the other day. They creep me out.
They look like they pinch and like they could run forwards or
backwards. They're as bad as the stink bugs.

nancy

On 06/07/2011 7:35 AM, Jim Elbrecht wrote:

> Best tool we've found to remove them without leaving parts behind, or
> squeezing someone else's blood into the host is the Tick Twister-
> http://www.amazon.com/ProCollar-Tick...dp/B000OH6D96/
>
> Looks like a crowbar, but you spin it and get the entire tick. Which
> you can then explode with a match or cigarette.<g>
>


I have a similar little tool that I picked up at the vet's office. It
looks like a little plastic crowbar. Slip the notch over the tick's head
and give it a twist.

On Wed, 06 Jul 2011 07:35:16 -0400, Jim Elbrecht >
wrote:

>Best tool we've found to remove them without leaving parts behind, or
>squeezing someone else's blood into the host is the Tick Twister-
>http://www.amazon.com/ProCollar-Tick...dp/B000OH6D96/
>
>Looks like a crowbar, but you spin it and get the entire tick. Which
>you can then explode with a match or cigarette.<g>
>
>Jim

You can just put a drop of any type of cooking oil on the tick while
it's still embedded and it will back out of the animal. Then just pick
it up with tweezers and put it into a small jar of rubbing alcohol.

On 7/6/2011 9:51 AM, Janet wrote:

> Wait till you get your first tick attached to yourself.... what an
> advert for pet tick prevention that is :-( and some of them carry some
> very nasty diseases. We check our dog every couple of days, but ticks also
> spend part of their life cycle on deer, mice, and long grasses so anyone
> gardening in rural areas can pick them up.
>
> Summer came late here, I got my first tick of the season last week
> (gardening in long grass, but it had crawled up my sleeve and reached my
> shoulder before embedding).

Just curious, do you have Lyme disease where you are?

nancy

On Jul 5, 6:32*pm, Cheryl > wrote:
> Can I just eat them? No answer required. I sat here reading the group
> and reading a book and kept feeling a pinch on my shoulder. *Felt like a
> bug bite but I couldn't find a bug. *Finally after about 4 bites I found
> the culprit in my shirt. *Some little 1/4" thing with what must be
> mandibles to match. *I sliced it in half with my fingernails and damned
> if the thing wasn't still moving.

Lice?

On Wed, 06 Jul 2011 09:03:51 -0400, James Post >
wrote:

> On Wed, 06 Jul 2011 07:35:16 -0400, Jim Elbrecht >
> wrote:
>
> >Best tool we've found to remove them without leaving parts behind, or
> >squeezing someone else's blood into the host is the Tick Twister-
> >http://www.amazon.com/ProCollar-Tick...dp/B000OH6D96/
> >
> >Looks like a crowbar, but you spin it and get the entire tick. Which
> >you can then explode with a match or cigarette.<g>
> >
> >Jim
>
> You can just put a drop of any type of cooking oil on the tick while
> it's still embedded and it will back out of the animal. Then just pick
> it up with tweezers and put it into a small jar of rubbing alcohol.


Good tip, if it works!

--

Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.

On 06/07/2011 9:51 AM, Janet wrote:

> Wait till you get your first tick attached to yourself.... what an
> advert for pet tick prevention that is :-( and some of them carry some
> very nasty diseases. We check our dog every couple of days, but ticks also
> spend part of their life cycle on deer, mice, and long grasses so anyone
> gardening in rural areas can pick them up.
>
> Summer came late here, I got my first tick of the season last week
> (gardening in long grass, but it had crawled up my sleeve and reached my
> shoulder before embedding).
>

My wife takes the dog for a walk in the woods first thing every morning.
A few weeks ago she had one on her head. One day last week she got her
dog walking shirt from the coat rack and there was a tick crawling up
the sleeve.

On Wed, 06 Jul 2011 09:22:56 -0700, sf > wrote:

>On Wed, 06 Jul 2011 09:03:51 -0400, James Post >
>wrote:
>
>> On Wed, 06 Jul 2011 07:35:16 -0400, Jim Elbrecht >
>> wrote:
>>
>> >Best tool we've found to remove them without leaving parts behind, or
>> >squeezing someone else's blood into the host is the Tick Twister-
>> >http://www.amazon.com/ProCollar-Tick...dp/B000OH6D96/
>> >
>> >Looks like a crowbar, but you spin it and get the entire tick. Which
>> >you can then explode with a match or cigarette.<g>
>> >
>> >Jim
>>
>> You can just put a drop of any type of cooking oil on the tick while
>> it's still embedded and it will back out of the animal. Then just pick
>> it up with tweezers and put it into a small jar of rubbing alcohol.
>
>
>Good tip, if it works!

It works great. You can also use liquid dish soap or Vaseline. Any of
that type of thing will smother the tick and make it back out. One
trick is to put the liquid soap or oil on a cotton ball and gently rub
the area with it. The tick gets smothered, backs out and grabs the
cotton ball which you can then dispose of after killing the tick. I
find the easiest way is to use tweezers after smothering the tick and
just drop it into rubbing alcohol to kill it.

On Wed, 06 Jul 2011 09:22:56 -0700, sf > wrote:

>On Wed, 06 Jul 2011 09:03:51 -0400, James Post >
>wrote:
>
>> On Wed, 06 Jul 2011 07:35:16 -0400, Jim Elbrecht >
>> wrote:
>>
>> >Best tool we've found to remove them without leaving parts behind, or
>> >squeezing someone else's blood into the host is the Tick Twister-
>> >http://www.amazon.com/ProCollar-Tick...dp/B000OH6D96/
>> >
>> >Looks like a crowbar, but you spin it and get the entire tick. Which
>> >you can then explode with a match or cigarette.<g>
>> >
>> >Jim
>>
>> You can just put a drop of any type of cooking oil on the tick while
>> it's still embedded and it will back out of the animal. Then just pick
>> it up with tweezers and put it into a small jar of rubbing alcohol.
>
>
>Good tip, if it works!

It didn't for us. Picture 4 adults going 'Hurray- one of the dogs
has a tick-- what 'remedy' will we try this time?!'

alchohol- fail
oil- fail
nail polish- fail
match [made even more fun with a squirming dog- I know he was saying
"use fire on your own damn ticks!'] - fail

Crowbar-twisty thing. So easy we haven't tried anything else.

All of the 'authorities' [our vet, the CDC, the NIH, Health Dept, etc]
say to get the tick out as quickly as possible without damaging or
squeezing it to minimize transfer of infected blood that the tick
might be carrying.

The Tick-twisters do exactly that- for about $5 and another gadget on
the key chain.

Jim

On Wed, 06 Jul 2011 13:53:14 -0400, Jim Elbrecht >
wrote:

>On Wed, 06 Jul 2011 09:22:56 -0700, sf > wrote:
>
>>On Wed, 06 Jul 2011 09:03:51 -0400, James Post >
>>wrote:
>>
>>> On Wed, 06 Jul 2011 07:35:16 -0400, Jim Elbrecht >
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>> >Best tool we've found to remove them without leaving parts behind, or
>>> >squeezing someone else's blood into the host is the Tick Twister-
>>> >http://www.amazon.com/ProCollar-Tick...dp/B000OH6D96/
>>> >
>>> >Looks like a crowbar, but you spin it and get the entire tick. Which
>>> >you can then explode with a match or cigarette.<g>
>>> >
>>> >Jim
>>>
>>> You can just put a drop of any type of cooking oil on the tick while
>>> it's still embedded and it will back out of the animal. Then just pick
>>> it up with tweezers and put it into a small jar of rubbing alcohol.
>>
>>
>>Good tip, if it works!
>
>It didn't for us. Picture 4 adults going 'Hurray- one of the dogs
>has a tick-- what 'remedy' will we try this time?!'
>
>alchohol- fail
>oil- fail
>nail polish- fail
>match [made even more fun with a squirming dog- I know he was saying
>"use fire on your own damn ticks!'] - fail
>
>Crowbar-twisty thing. So easy we haven't tried anything else.
>
>All of the 'authorities' [our vet, the CDC, the NIH, Health Dept, etc]
>say to get the tick out as quickly as possible without damaging or
>squeezing it to minimize transfer of infected blood that the tick
>might be carrying.
>
>The Tick-twisters do exactly that- for about $5 and another gadget on
>the key chain.
>
>Jim

Sorry to hear it didn't work for you Jim. It does take 10-30 seconds
for the tick to back out. It can cause the tick to regurgitate some of
the blood back into the wound, which can be a risk if that tick is a
carrier of disease. The only problem with the "crow-bar" type method
is that it sometimes leaves part of the tick in the wound. Hey, ticks
are nasty. For the safest method, and to avoid the regurgitation
problem, the crow-bar type method would be the best.

Another invader. I've seen a few of these lately. Sort of worried they
have nested somewhere inside. Heck, I employ 4 cats to save my house
from bugs. It's not their fault the bugs can climb on the ceiling and
the cats can't. They sure try though!

http://i56.tinypic.com/1268g87.jpg

These are biters too! ICK.

On 7/6/2011 1:24 PM, James Post wrote:

> It works great. You can also use liquid dish soap or Vaseline. Any of
> that type of thing will smother the tick and make it back out. One
> trick is to put the liquid soap or oil on a cotton ball and gently rub
> the area with it. The tick gets smothered, backs out and grabs the
> cotton ball which you can then dispose of after killing the tick. I
> find the easiest way is to use tweezers after smothering the tick and
> just drop it into rubbing alcohol to kill it.

Old wives tale.
http://www.snopes.com/oldwives/tick.asp

"Cheryl" > wrote in message
...
> Another invader. I've seen a few of these lately. Sort of worried they
> have nested somewhere inside. Heck, I employ 4 cats to save my house from
> bugs. It's not their fault the bugs can climb on the ceiling and the cats
> can't. They sure try though!
>
> http://i56.tinypic.com/1268g87.jpg
>
> These are biters too! ICK.

Ew. Creepy!

Cheryl wrote:

> Another invader. I've seen a few of these lately. Sort of worried they
> have nested somewhere inside. Heck, I employ 4 cats to save my house from
> bugs. It's not their fault the bugs can climb on the ceiling and the cats
> can't. They sure try though!
>
> http://i56.tinypic.com/1268g87.jpg
>
> These are biters too! ICK.

It's a house centipede, Scutigera coleoptrata. Their diet is other bugs.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scutigera_coleoptrata provides this little gem
of a quote from a US Department of Agriculture entomologist:

"It may often be seen darting across floors with very great speed,
occasionally stopping suddenly and remaining absolutely motionless,
presently to resume its rapid movements, often darting directly at inmates
of the house, particularly women, evidently with a desire to conceal itself
beneath their dresses, and thus creating much consternation."

The rest of the Wikipedia article is a good read, too, and indicates that
you might want to keep one or two of them around if you're troubled with
other multi-legged critters: "House centipedes feed on spiders, bedbugs,
termites, cockroaches, silverfish, ants, and other household arthropods."

Bob

On Tue, 05 Jul 2011 23:46:32 -0700, sf wrote:

> On Wed, 6 Jul 2011 06:10:05 +0000 (UTC), (Steve
> Pope) wrote:
>
>> sf > wrote:
>>
>>>On Tue, 05 Jul 2011 21:49:32 -0400, Dave Smith
>>
>>>> I have been more diligent with the
>>>> flea and tick treatment for the dog. I started this year's treatment in
>>>> June, as per the vet's instructions. Two days later he had a tick on his
>>>> side. They are nasty looking creatures, and darned near impossible to kill.
>>>
>>>My father used to hold the red end of a cigarette up to them and make
>>>them explode.
>>
>> That works, but so does grabbing them with a pair of needle-nose pliers.
>> There is no way to crush them without pliers and even then it can
>> be tough.
>>
> There was some sort of a problem with using the tweezers before
> exploding their bodies. Don't ask me what, I was a kid at the time...
> not even a teenager. I only remember something about the head
> remaining in the dog's body. Maybe he exploded the tick so he could
> get at the head easier. I dunno. It's been too long, if I ever knew
> why.

that's what i recall. you wanted to do something to make the tick back out
- heat, or cover the spiracles with petroleum jelly. leaving the head in
could lead to infection.

hmm, the CDC says not:

<http://www.cdc.gov/ticks/removing_a_tick.html>

your pal,
blake

On 7/7/2011 6:01 AM, Bob Terwilliger wrote:

> "It may often be seen darting across floors with very great speed,
> occasionally stopping suddenly and remaining absolutely motionless,
> presently to resume its rapid movements, often darting directly at inmates
> of the house, particularly women, evidently with a desire to conceal itself
> beneath their dresses, and thus creating much consternation."

Say what?? lol