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Static electricity attracts ticks to hosts

bristol.ac.uk

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Re: Static electricity attracts ticks to hosts

#41

Post by NickM »

justrealist wrote: post #14
CamperBob2 wrote: post #6

Earlier 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…

Yes, but the tick-borne diseases turn it into 7-8. Lyme disease is awful.

Lyme isn't even the worst thing you can get from ticks. If you really want to scare yourself, read up on Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Powassan virus, Ehrlichiosis, etc. etc.

Re: Static electricity attracts ticks to hosts

#42

Post by daliusd »

realugglan wrote: post #35
CamperBob2 wrote: post #6

Earlier 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…

You meant encephalitis vaccine , Lyme disease does not have approved vaccine but can be healed with antibiotics if noticed on time. I got encephalitis vaccine as I live in country that is one of the top countries where people get tick borne diseases.

Re: Static electricity attracts ticks to hosts

#43

Post by Freak_NL »

vanilla_nut wrote: post #13
pengaru wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The risk is leaving bits and pieces behind when you pull them off, which is why you want to encourage them to let go on their own. I thought the reason was if you accidentally apply pressure to the engorged tick, it backflows the potentially lyme-contaminated blood into your person. They sell special tweezers which engage the head while avoiding the body for this reason AIUI.

IIRC the recommended approach now is to freeze them off with those wart removers you can find at drug stores. Even the special tweezers were hard enough to use properly that it's no longer the recommended approach.

'How to handle those bloody potentially life-ruining ticks properly' is something that seems to change rather frequently. Quite annoying, despite the fact that improvements in that area are welcome.

Re: Static electricity attracts ticks to hosts

#44

Post by zoklet-enjoyer »

RandallBrown wrote: post #39
realugglan wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

[flagged]

Re: Static electricity attracts ticks to hosts

#45

Post by akiselev »

cs702 wrote: post #21

The 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.

> Key take-away for me: Don't wear statically charged clothes in wooded areas.

Isn't that most outdoor clothing? Fleece, polyester, wool, etc.

Re: Static electricity attracts ticks to hosts

#46

Post by Freak_NL »

candiddevmike wrote: post #40
cs702 wrote: post #21

The 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

At least with headcrabs you know where you stand. Either it kills you, it gets you killed, it turns you into a zombie, or you miraculously survive.

With ticks there is that awful, wait-for-a-red-ring-to-appear-in-the-next-few-weeks phase. Oh a tick? Yeah, you're probably fine; although there is a tiny yet non-negligible chance you're health will be ruined.

Also, try hitting a tick with a crowbar. You can hardly see the little buggers.

Re: Static electricity attracts ticks to hosts

#47

Post by littlestymaar »

thriftwy wrote: post #27
CamperBob2 wrote: post #6

Earlier 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…

Mosquitoes are super awful already and turn what would be an 8/10 outdoor experience into a 5/10. We seriously need to find a way to get rid of biting insects on a grand scale.

I used to hate mosquitoes, but then I travelled to New Zealand and met the sandflies, and now I'm glad we only have mosquitoes where I live.

Re: Static electricity attracts ticks to hosts

#48

Post by ericd »

Freak_NL wrote: post #46
candiddevmike wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They walk just like headcrabs in half life, absolutely revolting

At least with headcrabs you know where you stand. Either it kills you, it gets you killed, it turns you into a zombie, or you miraculously survive. With ticks there is that awful, wait-for-a-red-ring-to-appear-in-the-next-few-weeks phase. Oh a tick? Yeah, you're probably fine; although there is a tiny yet non-negligible chance you're health will be ruined. Also, try hitting a tick with a crowbar. You can hardly see t…

Haha you can always send a tick to the lab and start a course of amoxicillin preemptively. But it does get a bit expensive when your kids start picking them up every other week. Unfortunately the rates of Lyme disease in many areas aren't "tiny", it's at least double digit percentages of deer ticks that are carriers.

Re: Static electricity attracts ticks to hosts

#49

Post by marcosdumay »

mhb wrote: post #17
CamperBob2 wrote: post #6

Earlier 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…

I've never been able to get a tick off with alcohol.

Me neither, and I've got many ticks a lot of times.

The trick is to grab them near the skin, without using too much force, and pull them with the minimum amount of force that works (go increasing the force until they move).

People using tweezers also invariably do it wrong, because tweezers are not an instrument for delicately handling things.

Re: Static electricity attracts ticks to hosts

#50

Post by thriftwy »

littlestymaar wrote: post #47
thriftwy wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Mosquitoes are super awful already and turn what would be an 8/10 outdoor experience into a 5/10. We seriously need to find a way to get rid of biting insects on a grand scale.

I used to hate mosquitoes, but then I travelled to New Zealand and met the sandflies, and now I'm glad we only have mosquitoes where I live.

We need to get rid of these either, and also of horse-flies.

Totally no reason to have any of these around. Any ecological niches they are taking should be left to those who do not prey on human.

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