Did You Ever Get Ticks?

[Swede]

When I start to skin an elk, I can see they are covered with ticks. There are thousands of them on some. Of coarse they go no deeper, so out of consideration for them I leave them the hide they live on and just remove the carcass. I assume we are all satisfied that way. Over the years of handling these hides I have never picked up a tick. I guess they are well rooted into the elk and prefer the elk's hide to mine. Have any of you picked up a tick or ticks when butchering an elk?

[Roosiebull]

I have never had one bite me while processing one, but have found them crawling on me...one deer I brought out whole on a cart, skinned him in my shop and left the hide on the ground, while butchering, I pulled 4 off of me that were crawling on me...hate those things.

Never had one on me while hunting until about 5 yrs ago, now it's fairly common...only 2 have bit me though.

[stringunner]

Never picked one up during the skinning or processing part. But usually in the spring and early summer when we go scouting my boys and i always bring them home. I have had them, and both my boys to the point we have had to pull them out of the skin. My wife usually finds them in the laundry room for a week or so. After about July we don't seem to pick them up as bad.

[Old school]

Happens to my boys and I all the time - skinning deer or coyote. Not uncommon to find them crawling on our clothing or if we somehow miss them, they are bit in us the next morning.

--Mitch

[saddlesore]

With Lyme disease or Rocky Mountain Tick fever prevalent here I am very vigilant. Years ago before I new of such things, I cut a buck deer in half up in WY and carried each half back to camp unskinned.The next morning the ticks were all gathered about it's nose/ mouth or butt. For two days,I imagined I could feel them crawling on me.

The only tick I have ever found on me was in the summer on a pack trip. Luckily it was crawling around and had not bit into me yet

[TimeOnTarget]

I've never even found a tick on a deer or elk, usually oct or Nov when im shooting them though so kinda late for ticks.

I pick them off me all summer though anytime im outside for more than about 0.002 seconds. When they are real bad, I can pick 30-40-50 off me at a time after being in tall grass.

I got one last week already. All i did outside was walk down to the mailbox to leave a letter. Found it crawling on my that night when i showered.

[Lefty]

I havent had "bad" expieriences with ticks on big game.

Growing up in Minnesota Spring time ticks were crazy thick.
Some lakes had muskrats with "water fleas" (shrimp)
Other furbears including canines were fairly clean from little creepy crawlers.
However westerns state have a bug problem. Ive touched fox and coyotes that turn brown when thousands of fleas raise to the surface,.. nasty
My best tick experience was with my wife. She was reading in the back yard, she was covered with ticks, dozens and dozens,... Which required her to strip down for me to pick ticks off of her,....

[Swede]

Timeon: I am pretty sure if you hold the hair back and look on the skin of any elk, you can find ticks. Maybe they are different where you hunt, but the elk I have killed all had them whenever I checked.

[Elkduds]

You do NOT want tick fever! I got it after I found one that had embedded in my sitting part during trail crew days. High fever and total fatigue off and on for weeks. From that I learned to diligently "tick check." Spring to early summer is the peak tick season for humans in CO, they are almost never a problem come autumn. Learn how to remove them, head and all, in case they dig in.

Steps to removing a tick safely :
1. Use a pointy tick removal tweezer
2. Disinfect with rubbing alcohol
3. Grab tick close to skin and use slow, steady motion to pull tick out
4. Disinfect again

[TimeOnTarget]

Timeon: I am pretty sure if you hold the hair back and look on the skin of any elk, you can find ticks. Maybe they are different where you hunt, but the elk I have killed all had them whenever I checked.

sure could be the case, I usually end up skinning them by headlamp on some gawd awful incline.

[Brendan]

You do NOT want tick fever! I got it after I found one that had embedded in my sitting part during trail crew days. High fever and total fatigue off and on for weeks. From that I learned to diligently "tick check." Spring to early summer is the peak tick season for humans in CO, they are almost never a problem come autumn. Learn how to remove them, head and all, in case they dig in.

Steps to removing a tick safely :
1. Use a pointy tick removal tweezer
2. Disinfect with rubbing alcohol
3. Grab tick close to skin and use slow, steady motion to pull tick out
4. Disinfect again

Then get a doctor to write you a prescription for a big Doxycycline horse pill as a preventative measure...

Ticks are a big problem out east. Find them on me after almost every trip into the woods. All over every deer too. I've taken to treating my clothes in Permethrin.

I can't remember seeing them on either of the Elk I've shot though.

[scrubs]

I`ve seen them on deer, but don`t recall seeing them on elk. I have never had one bury into me until this last Dec, I didn`t notice it until the day after it attached to me. Luckily, I didn`t have any ill effects.

[Grousewit]

Here in central PA u can't go in woods right now to scout for gobblers or shed hunt without spraying clothing and dog with permethrin or there will be 30-40 ticks on us. Both of us have tested positive for Lyme disease and I had the treatment twice now. If I get a tick embedded in me my doc automatically gives me 10 days of antibiotics. It's really polluted with them right now here.

[Scorpyd shooter]

went wy to kill coyotes for a rancher in April one year, I saw 50 ticks coming to me sitting eating lunch in shade of rock outcropping, crawling up pant leg or clothes, took clothes off in mid day to look for any on me, worse I ever seen, found a few on my skin

[Beendare]

Never from an elk as I mostly bone them out.

We used to get them a fir amount when pig hunting as we would carry those pigs out on our shoulders- skin on. I even had the bullseye rash once....no worries, it went away- grin. [even back 25 years ago they did antibiotic course for that]

We were driving home after one hunt down in Hollister area [about 3 hours] and my buddy kept grabbing his junk. "This aint a baseball game Pete " We were joking about it incessantly......until he suddenly stopped and pulled over.....he had a tick burrowing into the end of his tallywhacker.

And sure I would do just about anything for Pete....but not that...he was on his own.