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Static electricity attracts ticks to hosts
31–40 of 61 posts
Re: Static electricity attracts ticks to hosts
#32> Ticks can be attracted across air gaps several times larger than themselves by the static electricity that their hosts naturally accumulate
So always keep a good contact with the ground to dissipate the excess electricity. /s
Re: Static electricity attracts ticks to hosts
#33Earlier quoted context omitted.
I've never been able to get a tick off with alcohol.
The trick is to use alcohol on tick, not on yourself. Joking aside I think alcohol was supposed to be just for disinfecting and some people took it wrong way ?
The disinfecting part is relatively new in the human history.
Re: Static electricity attracts ticks to hosts
#34[flagged]
> Scientists are out here proving that water is wet on a daily basis
It depends on temperature.
Re: Static electricity attracts ticks to hosts
#35Man I’m so glad I live somewhere with few if any ticks. They sound horrible from everything I’ve read.
Fortunately, tick-borne diseases aside, they are probably about a 2 on a scale from 1=non-disease-carrying mosquitoes to 10=guinea worms. You don't notice when you've been bitten, and if you get into the habit of checking yourself all over before bedtime, you can usually remove them fairly easily with alcohol. The risk is leaving bits and pieces behind when you pull them off, which is why you want to encourage them t…
Do absolutely not "encourage them to let go on their own". When discovered use tweezers or a tick-removal tool to remove it as soon as possible. Make sure to pull as close to the skin as possible.
All old folk-remedy things with butter and alcohol only risks the tick to go into shock and spew saliva into you, increasing the risk for lyme disease/tbe or borrelia.
Just pull it straight out, it's safe and easy, done it a dozen times.
Also get vaccine for lyme disease if you are in an area where ticks pass it on, it is a horribly crippling disease and not worth the risk however low.
Re: Static electricity attracts ticks to hosts
#36That's interesting, and a bit surprising. Peak tick activity in the US coincides with outdoor activity in times and places where you're doing a lot of sweating, and are more or less at equipotential with the ground. I suppose they could be attracted first to dry clothing, then to skin nearby, though. And dog ticks obviously wouldn't face the same problem, since they produce minimal sweat through their fur.
I think ticks are mostly attracted by the CO2 in breath of animals. As in, they drop themselves from trees when an animal/person is breathing below them.
Ticks dropping from trees is the childhood myth that will make me also always forever fear walking under low trees, but ticks neither jump nor go high up on trees, usually. I almost believe you don't meant that seriously ;), otherwise nowadays there are more "debunk" stories out there than ticks probably, just google it.
See also this video for where and how you find ticks easily: https://youtu.be/igBfTmRQ8-U
Some mosquitos iirc let them guide by CO2 gradients..
Re: Static electricity attracts ticks to hosts
#37Gives a new meaning to “touch grass” phrase!
Re: Static electricity attracts ticks to hosts
#38This might explain a bit about their preference for dry weather. Living in Minnesota, with dogs and kids, these little bastards are hated almost as much as mosquitoes.
My SO's senses are focused on the sense of smell and she swears that increased tick activity in an area is associated with a distinct smell - she picked-up so many ticks during childhood that it's a miracle that she didn't get Lyme disease so I'm giving her the benefit of the doubt in this case. In light of this research it's possible that the smell in question is that of dry foliage/soil.
> she picked-up so many ticks during childhood that it's a miracle that she didn't get Lyme disease so I'm giving her the benefit of the doubt in this case.
Remember how Spider-Man got his super powers after being bitten by a radioactive spider?
Now I’m not saying that your SO definitely has super powers. But..
Re: Static electricity attracts ticks to hosts
#39Earlier quoted context omitted.
Fortunately, tick-borne diseases aside, they are probably about a 2 on a scale from 1=non-disease-carrying mosquitoes to 10=guinea worms. You don't notice when you've been bitten, and if you get into the habit of checking yourself all over before bedtime, you can usually remove them fairly easily with alcohol. The risk is leaving bits and pieces behind when you pull them off, which is why you want to encourage them t…
Do absolutely not "encourage them to let go on their own". When discovered use tweezers or a tick-removal tool to remove it as soon as possible. Make sure to pull as close to the skin as possible. All old folk-remedy things with butter and alcohol only risks the tick to go into shock and spew saliva into you, increasing the risk for lyme disease/tbe or borrelia. Just pull it straight out, it's safe and easy, done it…
I don't think there's any Lyme disease vaccine available for humans, at least not in the US.
Re: Static electricity attracts ticks to hosts
#40The videos of ticks flying through the air are here: https://phys.org/news/2023-06-static-electricity-hosts-scien... Totally worth watching. Key take-away for me: Don't wear statically charged clothes in wooded areas.
They walk just like headcrabs in half life, absolutely revolting