April 23, 2025 • 39 mins
It’s officially tick season, which in New England typically runs from April to September. Tick Man Dan joined us to discuss what you need to know about ticks and the best tick prevention for keeping your family safe!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
It's Night Side with Dan Ray on WBS Boston's Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
All right, well, you can't win them all.
Speaker 3 (00:09):
Okay, the Red Sox got a little bit of a
winning streak going, but obviously you know you're not gonna
win every game. But we we're not worried about the
Red Sox. Too early in the season to worry and
fret about the Red Sox. I mean, you want them
to win, but you know no, you know, no, no
(00:30):
doing anything drastic. This team will be okay at the
end of the day. I have something that you can
worry about, but I also have something that can solve
you worries. This is sort of our annual visit with
tick Man Dan. Tick season is upon us. I know
that it's been a nasty cold winter and it really
(00:52):
hasn't warmed up a lot, but it doesn't need The
ticks don't need much to get active. And we're delighted
to be joined by tick Dan tonight once again to
answer any and all of your questions about ticks.
Speaker 2 (01:07):
There are more ticks around every.
Speaker 3 (01:09):
Year, and if you haven't been bitten by a tick,
you're very lucky. We tick Man Dan's going to tell
us how to prevent or decrease the likelihood of you
being bitter one of your family members being bit and
also he's going to talk about what can be done
if the unfortunate happens. Tick Man, Dan, welcome back. You
had a sweat in there for a moment.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
I don't know what was going on. How are you tonight?
Speaker 4 (01:33):
Yeah, some technical issues, but it's always great to hear
your voice, Dan, and it's wonderful to be back. And
every time that I'm here, it means that it is spring,
So that's that's something enlightening and uplifting.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
Well, you know the funny thing about it is we're
about a third of the way through spring. Actually, I
believe we're a couple of days beyond a third of
the way through spring. And spring has, like all the seasons,
about ninety one days burned about thirty one of those days.
We haven't had much spring. But the ticks know what
time if here it is, and they are out and
(02:09):
about already.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
What's going on with the ticks?
Speaker 4 (02:12):
Yeah, Well, it's typical ticks season is upon us, and
we're entering into the most active time of the year
for them and also the most likely time where people
are going to pick these suckers up and their pets
and where they're going to start biting us, And it
is really important to do whatever we can to reduce
(02:34):
our risk of being bitten. And the prevention part of
it is so important, and I'm here to help you
with some of the basics. Unfortunately, there's no guarantees when
it comes to ticks because they are insidious little suckers
and they will find their way to a meal at
some point. So if you're up here in the Northeast
(02:55):
or other areas where they're abundant, you got to really
be careful.
Speaker 3 (03:00):
Let's just talk about for this winter, the ticks go away,
and you know this, I remember some of it. When
the first freeze hits in the fall, Is that the
end of the tick season sometime in late October early
November for the most.
Speaker 4 (03:15):
Part, No, not at all. As a matter of fact,
people often think, you know, they always said to me, oh,
after the first prost of freeze, then the ticks go away.
But no, that's what happens with mosquitoes and some other
pesky biting insects. Ticks are not insects, and they possess,
you know, just naturally some really cool things I mean,
(03:40):
if they weren't so yucky, they wouldn't. I mean, regardless
of their you don't have to use.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
By the way, tick mak dan.
Speaker 3 (03:47):
You do not have to use the technical medical terms
like yucky by audience, No, only DZ. They are pretty disgusting.
They are pretty disgusting. So they live through the winter.
They lived through in New England winter.
Speaker 4 (04:01):
Oh. Absolutely. Ticks have been around for centuries, you know,
since pretty much the beginning of of Earth, and they
have some great adaptations that will make them successful and
staying around to bite you. And one of those is
it's a substance in their cells. It's called glycerol, and
it's an anti freeze. So basically they they've become inactive.
(04:26):
It's not like they're hibernating. They go into a state
called diapause, which is just sort of like suspended animation
where where they'll hide underneath the leaf later underneath the
slope snowpack, and their their bodies shut down. But as
soon as the temperature starts to warm up a little
bit for for a day, two three days, it wakes
(04:48):
them right up and they're like, let's go find a meal.
And the unique crazy thing about glycerol, which is which
helps the tick survive, is that it's actually a food
source for the line bacteria if it's present within that tick.
So that's crazy stuff.
Speaker 2 (05:05):
Oh man, I'll tell you how many years have you
studied this? Now? I know it's been a while.
Speaker 4 (05:10):
Yes, I've been studying ticks for going on twenty five
ish years. And that's been using myself as a guinea
pig when it comes to that, because I've personally been
bitten and not intentionally, So don't get that idea in
your head. Everybody more than two hundred and fifty times,
and those numbers are so highs not because I'm dumb.
(05:34):
It's because I'm old and I spend a lot of
time out in the woods.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
And you do it intentionally, I assume to do research.
Speaker 3 (05:41):
I mean, you're not out there looking to set some
sort of Guinness Book of records for the man who
has been bit by the most ticks, right.
Speaker 4 (05:50):
Right, And I don't think I would have that record.
But no, I don't do it intentionally. And I would say,
as my mother used to tell me when I was
a kid, do as I say, not as I do.
And that has stuck with me like a tick.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
So okay, so is this what prompted your interest?
Speaker 3 (06:09):
I mean when you say you spent a lot of
time out in the woods, I mean maybe you're an
outdoors person, maybe you're a hunter, it doesn't matter. By
being bitten by ticks. Has this led you to your
vocation or did your vocation lead you to the ticks?
I'm trying to get this sort of like the classic
chicken and egg question.
Speaker 4 (06:30):
Yeah. No, Actually, you are correct in that the amount
of ticks that I was getting on me did lead
me to it sparked my curiosity what are these things?
And of course when I first started getting bitten all
those years ago, you know, it wasn't so bad even
though we hadline disease, of course, but it was just
(06:51):
starting to really become prevalent. Cases were increasing, but not
a lot of people really knew much about it, the doctors,
and there wasn't nearly as much awareness and prevention information
out there. But I tell you, the real thing that
led me to my to further my curiosity and turn
(07:12):
this fascination and fear into a business was when I
brought ticks home unintentionally and I noticed on My son
was ten years old at the time, and he came
downstairs and there was a tick stuck in his back. Now,
of course I didn't you know. With me, I'm like, okay,
(07:34):
I'll take care of it. But when it's your son
or your family member and they're vulnerable, that really got
me scared. So at that point I really turned the
jets on and started to explore and research and teach
myself all about it.
Speaker 3 (07:49):
So a couple of more quick questions about you and
where you got to this, and then we'll take a
break and we'll start talking about preventions and.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
What can be done.
Speaker 3 (07:57):
Have you developed an immunity having bitten this many times?
Do you have an immunity at this point or or
does such an immunity even exist in your world?
Speaker 4 (08:10):
Well, Jerry's out on that one. I have been approached
to participating in the study that looks at people that
have been bitten a large number of times and to
have my blood looked at. But that actually involved the
intentional implantation of ten ticks on my body and having
(08:31):
them feed to completion. And the compensation wasn't The compensation
wasn't quite enough to justify that.
Speaker 3 (08:41):
However, just just for curiosity, what will you offered, I
mean like five bucks a tick or something.
Speaker 4 (08:48):
I think it was one thousand dollars total.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
No, not even no.
Speaker 4 (08:55):
But they were CDC guaranteed clean ticks. That's what they
told me.
Speaker 3 (09:01):
Sorry, oh yeah, that's that's oh sure, right, yeah, okay right.
Speaker 4 (09:07):
Another point that my mother brought home, and I referred
to her quite a bit in my life now, was
are you crazy? Don't be stupid, and if you do that,
I'm going to be mad.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
So I didn't do that.
Speaker 3 (09:20):
That's all good advice for mom. And so then my
last question is, with all of the tick bites over
the years, approximately two hundred and fifty, have you ever
come down with a bad case or even a case.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
Of lime disease?
Speaker 4 (09:38):
I don't know, because I was vaccinated. There was a
vaccine available on the market in the late nineties. It
was available for only a couple of years. It was
pulled because there was controversy and it was not making
enough money for the pharmaceutical company that brought it to market.
(09:59):
So I I did, and now I believe that my
system is carrying antibodies for that particular strain of lime,
and I haven't been feeling myself lately. You know, over
the past couple of years, I'm trying to figure some
stuff out. And I did test positive for lime within
(10:21):
the past months, and that's the only time that it's
ever really concerned me. However, given that the standard line
test now initially tests for the antibodies or the body's
reaction to a bite and not the bacteria itself, and
there it has been proven to be highly inaccurate.
Speaker 2 (10:44):
So I was that the Western block test that you took, Well.
Speaker 4 (10:49):
There's two. There's a I think it was something called
Elissa E L I S A and then they do
a Western blot on one or the other. But I
only had the first one done. But I'm out there the.
Speaker 3 (11:00):
Western But the Western blood test of according to you know,
this expert that I deal with, he says that it's
highly unreliable. Guest, Yeah, yes, doctor Miller, who's just brilliant, brilliant.
Speaker 2 (11:14):
On this issue. My guest is tick Man Dan. He
can answer literally.
Speaker 3 (11:22):
Any question about different ticks, variety of ticks. All of
us are going to spend more time outdoors in the
next four or five months. Then we're virtually all of us. Uh,
then we've spent outdoors in the last few months. Simply,
this is the time of year when New Englanders want
to get out, get out and spend time at the beach,
(11:43):
maybe up in a New Hampshire or a main of
Vermont or wherever this and and even when you're out
in the winter time, if you're up skiing, there's no
way that tick's going to get you anywhere. You're skiing
too fast. So any questions you have about what works
what doesn't work, Dan will give us some general suggestions
(12:07):
on the other side of the break, and then we'll
leave it open to you and you can deal with myths.
You can deal with any question you want. There's nobody
who I know who is more qualified to talk about
how to avoid how to decrease the chances that you
might actually deal with a tick bite which could lead
(12:28):
to lime disease? Does it always lead to but could
leave We'll take a quick break. The lines are just
blowing up right now. Tick Man, Dan, you're one of
my most popular guests. The only line that is available
if you want to call in right now is there's
one line at six, one, seven, nine, three, one, ten thirty.
I don't want people to break their knuckles or their
their nails trying.
Speaker 2 (12:49):
To dial in.
Speaker 3 (12:50):
We want to get as many people in as possible.
Tick Man Dan is with us. We'll be right back
here on Nightside after this very brief commercial break.
Speaker 1 (12:59):
It's nice with Dan Ray Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
Pick Man Dad, I got full line.
Speaker 3 (13:06):
So let's do this real quickly, because one get at
least one or two callers in before before nine thirty,
we only got.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
A few minutes.
Speaker 3 (13:15):
What is the quickest and easiest advice you could give
to someone who you know, lands here on a spaceship
from Mars or something and says, we've heard about ticks.
Speaker 2 (13:24):
How can I protect myself? What do you tell people?
Speaker 3 (13:27):
What's the what's the let's go for the cliff notes
version right away.
Speaker 4 (13:31):
Well, initially I tell them stay in their spaceship and
and don't come out.
Speaker 3 (13:35):
But for a lot of reasons, by the way, for
a lot of reasons not necessarily all related.
Speaker 4 (13:40):
To takes go ahead exactly. Well, I mean, there are
the standard answers, and there's basic prevention, and they're very
simple and common sense. You know, if you're hiking in
the woods, stay in the center of the trails. Ticks
tend to hang out on the tips of grasses and
brush and leaves, and the deer tics which are the
(14:01):
most dangerous around here in the Northeast. They're called ambush
predators or ambush hunters. They'll just wait and they'll extend
their front legs, which are a little longer than the
rest of their legs, and they have like velcro type
hooks on the very ends of their feet. They'll start
waving them around and anything that brushes by will they'll
(14:24):
be able to stick to it, like again like velcrow. Yeah,
they hit, they're hitchhikers. However, there are studies and I've
seen the videos and it's amazing that static electricity can
also propel tics from their perch onto a passer by
that has a static charge. Now, don't panic, they don't
(14:46):
go flying through the air, you know, from across the trail.
This would be like millimeters. However, you don't actually have
to brush up physically against them in certain circumstances to
have them, you know, catched to you. By the way,
ticks do not jump, they do not fly. They don't
get on you and the drop on your head and
all that stuff. They are just physically incapable of that.
(15:10):
So you can also do the basics. Again, light colored clothing,
and that's not a deterrent, it's just allows you to
visually see those ticks easier because the ticks are like
little dark specs, and light clothing will help you with that.
Tuck your pants into your socks. Use repellent a car asides,
(15:30):
which is my favorite. It's it's called permethrone, which you
can treat your clothing with, not your skin. You can
use deep on your skin. And then of course I
always say do your tick checks, do them often, and
do not neglect your crevices.
Speaker 3 (15:49):
Yeah, where could people get promethrone?
Speaker 4 (15:52):
Permethrone is widely available at most garden centers or outdoor stores.
In a self applying spread. However, I prefer the clothing
when it's pre treated in a process from a factory
from a company called insect Shield, and that binds directly
(16:13):
to the fibers, so it reduces human error in the application,
and it's so bound to those fibers that it last
a really long time, much much longer than when you
self apply. However, the self applying spray I recommend highly
for your boots and shoes and other footwear. If you
(16:34):
know if you're wearing promethine treated apparel. So that's really important.
Speaker 3 (16:39):
And realistically you always have to wear long pants and tuck,
you know, tuck them inside your socks.
Speaker 4 (16:45):
That's a good idea and it just what that does
is that it doesn't prevent them totally from getting onto
your skin, but it makes it harder for them because
they can get through little tiny holes in your sock.
I mean, larvae and nympho stage ticks are very very small.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
Okay, let us do this.
Speaker 3 (17:06):
Let us try to get one quick call in before
before the break. So let me start off with Ken
in Topsfield. Ken, I'm going to get you in before
the break. You go right ahead.
Speaker 2 (17:17):
You're wrong with tick man, Dan, what's your question of comment, sir?
Speaker 5 (17:21):
My wife got picked yesterday by a tech.
Speaker 4 (17:23):
We found it.
Speaker 5 (17:25):
We assume it was yesterday. I removed it and I
got ninety nine percent. There was a little bit that
I could not get with the tweets. As I dug
at it, no success. Called the doctor's office, told them.
They said that wasn't a big deal, don't worry about it.
They issued a prescription for whatever. The standard thing is
(17:47):
two hundred milligrams of high I forget the name doxycycling, Yeah, sir,
And I want to know is there is their concern
should if is to weep it something like you said,
the end of it. I can't tell.
Speaker 4 (18:05):
They say, yeah, that's get Ken. That's a great question.
And it's just something that a lot of people experience.
And again, your chances of getting sick are not, you know,
eminent here, And it depends on the type of tick,
the stage of the tick's life, and how long it
was feeding. Now, there's a few things that I will
(18:26):
tell you guys, everybody should never ever do when they
remove a tick, and that is to flush it, burn it,
or dispose of that. Ken. Did you save the tick? Yeah, okay, perfect.
What I recommend doing is putting it in a ziplock bag.
You don't have to freeze it, you don't have to
put in an alcohol. Just keep it in a sealed bag.
(18:48):
Write your name or whoever the victim the tick bite
victim was right, that person's name on the bag? Is
the date? And how long you think you might have
had it attached and what where you think you might
have gotten it. Now, there's a few schools of thought
regarding what to do as far as a prophylactic dose
(19:10):
of doxy cycling, which is what you were prescribed or
your uh you said your wife right, Yeah, as far
as what she was prescribed, there's there's a lot of
controversy around that, and a lot of people in the
lime world and the tick world will say, don't do
that because there's something called a tick rash or a
bullseye rash, which is really a very very indicative sign
(19:35):
that you are infected with lime and a prophylactic dose
of doxy cycling I believe suppresses that rash. Now, not
everybody gets it, but if you do get it, it's
you're pretty much guaranteed that you should see your doctor
and get treatment for that. The other thing that I
recommend that people do is.
Speaker 3 (19:57):
In one question, because I got a question to the caller, ken,
did your wife obviously you know where your wife was bitten?
Can you look at that later today and when she
got bit yesterday? Is that is that the time frame here?
Did you see any sort of like what they call
a bullseye rash, which is like a red a circle
(20:19):
or you know, not a huge circle, but a red
circle around the place where she was bitten.
Speaker 5 (20:26):
Yep, there was there wasn't She feels that she hadn't
had it long. You know, we can't prove that, but
we felt that I was wondering how soon a bulls
eye might show up when a person.
Speaker 3 (20:38):
Well, let's let's ask the expert, Dan, she's bit yesterday,
how long should he try to monitor the presence of
the appearance of a bullseye? Right?
Speaker 4 (20:48):
Well, the problem is that not everybody is typical, and
bullseye rashes, if they appear, can appear within days or
a week or so of the bite. Now, the big
problem here, and I know we're pressed here for time, Dan,
is that you have to know the difference between a
bite site reaction and a target lesion or bullseye rash.
(21:11):
And that's important and I you know, I'm happy to
explain that. But Dan, you're running the show here, so
are we? Are we good for time?
Speaker 3 (21:22):
Yeah, let's do this. Let's hold Ken over after the newscast.
Ken you're too important to call. Stay there, we'll pick
you up on the other side of the newscast. Okay,
we have a newscast. We're with tick Man Dan. As
you can see, this guy knows his stuff. He's an
amazing guest to me one of my favorite guests.
Speaker 2 (21:38):
Every year.
Speaker 3 (21:39):
Sometimes we have him a couple of times in the springtime,
but certainly every once every spring. We'll take a break,
here's a newscast. We'll be back. We'll be start off
with Ken in Topsfield and we'll get his questions answered
in yours as well. Back on Nightside after this.
Speaker 1 (21:54):
Night Side with Dan Ray, I'MBZ Boston's news Radio.
Speaker 3 (22:00):
We're going to bring Ken from Topsfield back up here
and we're going to try to move a little bit
more quickly.
Speaker 2 (22:05):
But I didn't want to short change him. Ken.
Speaker 3 (22:08):
We're back in the ear. You're on with tick Man,
Dan tick Man, you can pick it up. You're leading
the stance, go right ahead.
Speaker 4 (22:17):
Yeah. So we were talking about the prophylactic dose of
doxycycling after a tick bite. But I think what's also
really important to look at is what do you actually
need to do? What are the steps that you need
to follow once you find an attached tick And I
think if everybody had sort of a card or a
(22:38):
protocol to follow, there would be a lot less anxiety
and stress about it. Although you have to look at
the situation, there's a potential for somebody to get very sick. Now,
to put it in perspective, we have a majority of
the people that get bitten by ticks that are positive
for carrying lime that don't get lime at all. We
(23:00):
have a lot of people that actually do get lime,
and most people can get treated and recover just fine.
But there's a small percentage of people that it just
screws up their whole life and they can have terrible,
terrible problems. And we're seeing a lot more of that
just because the numbers in general of tick bites is increasing.
(23:24):
So but Ken, what we want to do is help
you out now, because time is of the essence. The
quicker you treat a tickboarn illness, the better off you're
going to be. So there's a few steps that I
think are important. First of all, you got to start
with proper tick removal. And I might claim to fame
was that I invented a product under the name Tickies,
(23:48):
which is a two sided with steel tick removal tool. Now,
forget about these bottle cap looking things, forget about twisty
things for ticks and all this other stuff, the gimmicky
stuff that I call it, and just basically use a
fine tip tweezer. Now, mine was good that it had
a little angle on it and also had a little
scoop side for removing larger and gorge ticks from animals.
(24:12):
But proper tick removal is important. It is, and it's
very simple. Simple is better. What you're gonna do is
you're going to try to get down as close to
the skin surface as possible with the very very tips
of the fine tweezer, squeeze the tick down low, firmly, lifts,
slowly and steadily straight up until it pops out. Now,
(24:36):
there's a whole bunch of reasons why that tick is
stuck in there like that, including barbs and glue like
substance that they secrete into the bite site which holds
it firmly, so that makes it difficult. And also, the
different types of ticks have different lengths of mouthparts, so
(24:58):
the longer the mouth part is obviously the more secure
it's going to be in your skin. And deer ticks
have pretty long mouth parts compared to other ticks, So
a little bit left in there, right, But never fear,
here's another myth. If you leave the mouth parts in
your body, you're going to increase your chances of getting sick.
(25:18):
The tick's going to grow back. I heard that one
the tick will grow back and continue to feed on you,
or you're just gonna get really sick. Now that's not true.
Although you don't want any foreign body in your skin,
if the ticks mouthpart breaks off, you're gonna be okay
because once the body of that tick is removed, you're
(25:40):
at no further risk of exposure if that tick is
carrying a pathogen that causes disease. And I also want
to point out I know I'm talking a lot, but
I want to point this out that ticks can carry bacterials, bacteria,
they can carry viruses, and they can carry parasites, and
you can conceivably at all three from one bite. And
(26:02):
they're all treated differently with different medications. So it's scary
when you when you do when you point out all
these things. But keep in mind, just because the tick
has it doesn't mean you're going to get it. And
if you get it, you don't know if you're going
to have a mild case that's easily treated, or it
might really cause problems in the future.
Speaker 2 (26:23):
So let me jump in here.
Speaker 3 (26:25):
If I can, let me jump in here, if I can,
Dick ben Dan, you done a great job explaining what
should be done.
Speaker 2 (26:32):
My suggestion to you, Ken, for your.
Speaker 3 (26:34):
Peace of mind and out of an abundance of caution,
have you have your your wife take her to your
doctor's office when as soon as you can, and have them,
you know, do what they have to do to remove
whatever's left of the tick. I think Dick Man Dan
has tried to basically assuage your concerns. But I, having
(26:54):
listened to you before the news, I think you need
to do this for peace of mind. And then follow
how how many days is your prescription for uh doxy cycling?
For how many days?
Speaker 5 (27:06):
It was one shot? Two hundreds two hundred milligrams?
Speaker 2 (27:11):
Just just when you say one shot.
Speaker 5 (27:15):
Dose one dose, two pills one hundred milligrams each, So
it was two hundred milligrams taking once and that's it.
Speaker 2 (27:25):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (27:25):
I'm not sure that that necessarily would that our expertsy degree.
Get your white to the doctor. That's that's the best
that can be done. I can't spend any more time
because I got.
Speaker 5 (27:36):
Packed, but thank you both.
Speaker 3 (27:39):
Yeah, just get it to the doctor and UH and
get it. Get whatever is there removed properly and uh
and listen to what me and Dan has said, has
says says for the rest of the hour.
Speaker 4 (27:49):
Okay, yes, and Ken Ken listen ten please, I'm gonna
later in the show, I'll be giving you a uh,
the listeners, a contact number where I can actually provide
you with some more one on one attention to this
right now. It's a complimentary service, but you know, during
regular hours, So if you'd like, just keep on listening
(28:10):
and I'll provide you that information and I'm happy to
talk with you. Thank you very much, both of you.
Good night.
Speaker 3 (28:16):
We'll give you this and we'll give that information right
towards the end of the hour. Okay, thanks can appreciate it,
all right, tick Man, Dan, we've just begun here. We're
gonna take a quick break and then we got a
whole bunch of calls to get through, and I want
everybody to again come up with your own questions as
quick as possible, and we'll get going right after this
break here on night Side.
Speaker 1 (28:38):
You're on Night Side with Dan Ray on Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (28:45):
All right, everybody going to ask to quicken it up here.
Speaker 3 (28:48):
I'd like to get everybody who's been on the line, Linda, Elaine, Larry,
and Bruce in.
Speaker 2 (28:52):
You're going to start with Linda. She's been on the longest,
Linda and Weymouth. You're on with tick man Dan. What's
your question, Linda.
Speaker 6 (28:58):
We asked one of them was did that two hundred
and fifty bytes give him immunity? And you gave a
decent answer there. I'm thinking of lawn care. If I
cut my lawns close, will it prevent the ticks from
coming in? And what about these sprays that they put
(29:19):
on lawns.
Speaker 4 (29:22):
Yeah, that's a great question, Linda, and certainly very relevant
around here. Ticks don't typically hang out in the middle
of manicured lawns. So if you do keep your grass
mode regularly and it's in a sunny area, ticks don't. Actually,
that's not a natural habitat for them. What they like
(29:45):
is the edges, so around the edge of your the
property or the perimeter, that's where they're going to be
hanging out because they can't live without moisture. Humidity is
their friend, and so when there's periods of drought, that's
actually good because it kills the ticks. Although we need water,
but you know that is the good the good side
(30:07):
of a drought. There are companies out there that will
do perimeter spraying and they can offer you options. Whether
it's a natural product or organic versus a synthesized or
chemical product. You can have that choice. However, my preference
is for products that contain pyreethroids, which is like that
(30:30):
permethron that I mentioned earlier. The components from the pyrie
froid family I feel are the best and most effective.
Now you're never gonna keep them at bay under a
single or a few applications. This is something that has
to be done on a regular basis because rain and
other weather conditions can weaken the barriers as well as
(30:53):
animals who are tracing through your yard. You may have
deer in the yard, You're gonna have raccoons and rodents
and all all sorts of things, and they can be
bringing ticks back into your perimeter after an application. But yes,
you have to do whatever you can. Just keep in
mind you have to stay on top of it, and
constant vigilance is important.
Speaker 3 (31:16):
Questions, Linda, I gotta I got it. I have three
other callers, Linda, I got to give everybody a fear shot.
Speaker 2 (31:25):
Here Okay, thank you, Thank you.
Speaker 3 (31:29):
Linda, apologize. Let me go next to Larry and Dennis Fort.
Larry's same with you. I got two behind you. Go ahead, Larry.
Speaker 4 (31:36):
Okay, quick questions. That previous talk to Textia's disease would
have been good because there's some correlation between lime and
long COVID. But I have two quick questions. What do
you think about I'm in the woods all the time
an avid mountain biker. What do you think about deep
versus essential oils? And the second question is if I
go swimming in the ocean after I'm in the woods,
(31:58):
do ticks come off of you from so water? Okay?
So the first yeah, So the first question deep versus
the natural stuff? Is that what you're asking? Yeah, essentral oils? Yeah, yeah,
for ticks. I'm not a huge fan of deep or
any type of skin applied of repellent because ticks their anatomy,
(32:24):
they don't breathe regularly. They may breathe only a few
times in an hour, so it allows them to, you know,
come across. Let's say you put deet on your legs.
They won't like it, but they may just meander and
wander around to get away. From it, but not necessarily
fall off, like if they're on promethrone treated clothing. So
(32:48):
what they'll do is they'll always trying to climb up,
and they'll keep climbing up away from that deep. And
I'm not sure about you, but I would never put
the deep on my private areas. So they do like
those warm, moist cretesy areas, And so I'm not a
huge fan of the deats. I think you'd be much
(33:10):
better off looking into the primetherin treated clothing. I tend everything,
I tend to everything to insect shield. Oh perfect. Yeah,
they have a great process. Now is it going to hurt?
You know? And it is very effective the deats in
the other organic products, and some people have luck. I
think it's a personal preference of trying to find the
(33:31):
right group that makes the skin applied products. But you know,
mosquitoes and black flies. It works awesome, and so keep
using it. But again, the most important thing that anyone
can do is when you get home. I forgot to
mention this earlier. Put take off all your clothes plumb
in a hot dryer, and while you're in the buff,
(33:54):
go ahead and really meticulously looked your body over and
keep doing it, you know, whenever you get a chance.
Speaker 3 (34:02):
And I think that real quickly, really important, dick man
Dan real quickly. Larry asked the other question, if he
dives into the ocean because he's down on the cape,
will that get rid of any ticks that might be
on him?
Speaker 2 (34:13):
Or is that a false? Is that a well?
Speaker 4 (34:16):
You know, I've showered and not had ticks fall off
me using soap and water. If they're biting you, I
would say definitely not, because they're they're attached, They're anchored
to you, And ticks also have those hooks on their feet,
so it makes them really sticky, and so unless you're
using like a washcloth or some other means to rub
(34:38):
them off, they they probably will stick with you even
through a shower. Now the salt water, that may be
something different. But honestly, I just don't know if the
salt water would would cause them to release.
Speaker 2 (34:52):
But okay, Larry, appreciate that. I got two more. I
got to get to Thank you, Larry, thank you, thank you.
Speaker 3 (34:58):
Let me go next to Elaine in mailrows Elaine, you
gotta be quick for me so I can get Bruce
from Nat again as well.
Speaker 7 (35:03):
Go ahead, Elaine, HII mean that treatment that you recommended
for the parameter of your lawn can regular homeowners purchased
at or is this just through lawn services if you know.
Speaker 4 (35:18):
Yeah, I believe there are some products that you can
apply yourself. But again you've got to keep at it.
It's going to I mean, depending on the size of
your yard, you may have to buy a lot of it,
which can be not so cost effective. I think if
you have an experienced group that provides you with the
piriethroid products, or even there are some organic products products
(35:42):
that will naturally repel them, you would be better off. Now,
the most important thing about having an experienced tick spraying
company is the application process. Now, ticks are hybrid, are
not hibernating, but they're hiding under the leaf litter. So
you either need enough of that liquid on the perimeter
(36:02):
to soak down through the leaf littered levels into the soil,
or you need a high pressure applicator that will turn
the leaves so you get underneath it where they are,
and that's going to be the most effective.
Speaker 7 (36:16):
And the other quick question is so once you wash
your clothes when you come home and the wash it
does that kill them while they is it the dryer
that kills them.
Speaker 4 (36:25):
It's the dryer because the dryer sucks the humidity right
out of those clothes, and ticks do not survive well
in low humidity situations. So ten minutes on a high
heat and their toast good.
Speaker 1 (36:40):
Way.
Speaker 7 (36:40):
They'll call mentioned Insects Shield. Is that a company that
you send your clothes to.
Speaker 4 (36:45):
Yes, Insects Shield dot com. They work, They do a
really good job.
Speaker 2 (36:51):
All right, thank you very much. Thank you. Let's go
to Bruce. Bruce, somehow we get to you here, Go ahead,
Bruce got about a minute and a half.
Speaker 4 (36:58):
Go ahead, Bruce, great, Thank you, a long time listener,
first time caller.
Speaker 2 (37:03):
All right, give you a quick round of a plus from.
Speaker 4 (37:09):
Okay, I want to share my experience. I had lime disease.
My legs in my arms started getting very weak and
eventually on the couch, my legs came numb, paralysis, totally numb.
I couldn't even stand up. Paramedics came in, had to
(37:30):
lift me up off the couch, put me on a journey,
bring me to the hospital. Now my question is, well, actually,
what I think happened was I chicked bit and ran
chewing screw as you call it so it could it
have gotten any worse? Maybe death? I heard someone died
(37:50):
once with lime disease. Oh was that absolutely possible. I
mean fatalities have been reported and a lot of people,
actually some with very bad line have committed suicide as well. Wow.
Speaker 2 (38:07):
Well, how are you doing now, Bruce? How you doing now?
Speaker 4 (38:11):
Fantastic, Dan, fantastic, No after effects or anything. Shade in
the hospital. I think three or four days. I don't
know what they gave me, but no, no round circles
or anything like I said, I don't know.
Speaker 2 (38:27):
But anyways, Bruce, Bruce, I gotta let you go. I'm
flat out of time.
Speaker 4 (38:31):
You got it.
Speaker 2 (38:32):
Thank you so much and call back. We'll give you
more time next time. Thank you, Rob.
Speaker 3 (38:37):
Let's keep this going tick men, Dan, I want to
give you some time to give your phone number at
least on the other side, and if you want to
take a couple of more phone calls, I think they'll
come in.
Speaker 2 (38:46):
Are you up for a few more minutes?
Speaker 4 (38:48):
Absolutely? Dan, I'm yours all right, and we'll get.
Speaker 3 (38:51):
Give me how can people reach you? Give it to
us quickly and we'll repeat it on the other side
of the ten what's the best way to reach you.
Speaker 4 (38:58):
Well, I've got a website out there. It's not really
doing much the moment, but I'm planning, uh to make
it more useful. But it's Tickmandan dot com. And there
is a tick hotline that I'm setting up right now.
It's a complimentary service during regular business hours. The telephone
number is eight five five bad tick.
Speaker 2 (39:20):
Okay, you hold on and we will give that again
on the other side.
Speaker 3 (39:24):
And folks would like to continue calling bring it six
one seven, two five four ten thirty six one seven
uh six month seven nine.
Speaker 2 (39:32):
Three one ten thirty. We'll we'll g.
Speaker 3 (39:35):
Into the next hour in this because this is important
and he's one of my best guests and he's never
said no to me before. Tick Man Dan, stay right there.
We'll be back with tick Man Dan right after the
ten o'clock news
It's Night Side with Dan Ray on WBS Boston's Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
All right, well, you can't win them all.
Speaker 3 (00:09):
Okay, the Red Sox got a little bit of a
winning streak going, but obviously you know you're not gonna
win every game. But we we're not worried about the
Red Sox. Too early in the season to worry and
fret about the Red Sox. I mean, you want them
to win, but you know no, you know, no, no
(00:30):
doing anything drastic. This team will be okay at the
end of the day. I have something that you can
worry about, but I also have something that can solve
you worries. This is sort of our annual visit with
tick Man Dan. Tick season is upon us. I know
that it's been a nasty cold winter and it really
(00:52):
hasn't warmed up a lot, but it doesn't need The
ticks don't need much to get active. And we're delighted
to be joined by tick Dan tonight once again to
answer any and all of your questions about ticks.
Speaker 2 (01:07):
There are more ticks around every.
Speaker 3 (01:09):
Year, and if you haven't been bitten by a tick,
you're very lucky. We tick Man Dan's going to tell
us how to prevent or decrease the likelihood of you
being bitter one of your family members being bit and
also he's going to talk about what can be done
if the unfortunate happens. Tick Man, Dan, welcome back. You
had a sweat in there for a moment.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
I don't know what was going on. How are you tonight?
Speaker 4 (01:33):
Yeah, some technical issues, but it's always great to hear
your voice, Dan, and it's wonderful to be back. And
every time that I'm here, it means that it is spring,
So that's that's something enlightening and uplifting.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
Well, you know the funny thing about it is we're
about a third of the way through spring. Actually, I
believe we're a couple of days beyond a third of
the way through spring. And spring has, like all the seasons,
about ninety one days burned about thirty one of those days.
We haven't had much spring. But the ticks know what
time if here it is, and they are out and
(02:09):
about already.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
What's going on with the ticks?
Speaker 4 (02:12):
Yeah, Well, it's typical ticks season is upon us, and
we're entering into the most active time of the year
for them and also the most likely time where people
are going to pick these suckers up and their pets
and where they're going to start biting us, And it
is really important to do whatever we can to reduce
(02:34):
our risk of being bitten. And the prevention part of
it is so important, and I'm here to help you
with some of the basics. Unfortunately, there's no guarantees when
it comes to ticks because they are insidious little suckers
and they will find their way to a meal at
some point. So if you're up here in the Northeast
(02:55):
or other areas where they're abundant, you got to really
be careful.
Speaker 3 (03:00):
Let's just talk about for this winter, the ticks go away,
and you know this, I remember some of it. When
the first freeze hits in the fall, Is that the
end of the tick season sometime in late October early
November for the most.
Speaker 4 (03:15):
Part, No, not at all. As a matter of fact,
people often think, you know, they always said to me, oh,
after the first prost of freeze, then the ticks go away.
But no, that's what happens with mosquitoes and some other
pesky biting insects. Ticks are not insects, and they possess,
you know, just naturally some really cool things I mean,
(03:40):
if they weren't so yucky, they wouldn't. I mean, regardless
of their you don't have to use.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
By the way, tick mak dan.
Speaker 3 (03:47):
You do not have to use the technical medical terms
like yucky by audience, No, only DZ. They are pretty disgusting.
They are pretty disgusting. So they live through the winter.
They lived through in New England winter.
Speaker 4 (04:01):
Oh. Absolutely. Ticks have been around for centuries, you know,
since pretty much the beginning of of Earth, and they
have some great adaptations that will make them successful and
staying around to bite you. And one of those is
it's a substance in their cells. It's called glycerol, and
it's an anti freeze. So basically they they've become inactive.
(04:26):
It's not like they're hibernating. They go into a state
called diapause, which is just sort of like suspended animation
where where they'll hide underneath the leaf later underneath the
slope snowpack, and their their bodies shut down. But as
soon as the temperature starts to warm up a little
bit for for a day, two three days, it wakes
(04:48):
them right up and they're like, let's go find a meal.
And the unique crazy thing about glycerol, which is which
helps the tick survive, is that it's actually a food
source for the line bacteria if it's present within that tick.
So that's crazy stuff.
Speaker 2 (05:05):
Oh man, I'll tell you how many years have you
studied this? Now? I know it's been a while.
Speaker 4 (05:10):
Yes, I've been studying ticks for going on twenty five
ish years. And that's been using myself as a guinea
pig when it comes to that, because I've personally been
bitten and not intentionally, So don't get that idea in
your head. Everybody more than two hundred and fifty times,
and those numbers are so highs not because I'm dumb.
(05:34):
It's because I'm old and I spend a lot of
time out in the woods.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
And you do it intentionally, I assume to do research.
Speaker 3 (05:41):
I mean, you're not out there looking to set some
sort of Guinness Book of records for the man who
has been bit by the most ticks, right.
Speaker 4 (05:50):
Right, And I don't think I would have that record.
But no, I don't do it intentionally. And I would say,
as my mother used to tell me when I was
a kid, do as I say, not as I do.
And that has stuck with me like a tick.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
So okay, so is this what prompted your interest?
Speaker 3 (06:09):
I mean when you say you spent a lot of
time out in the woods, I mean maybe you're an
outdoors person, maybe you're a hunter, it doesn't matter. By
being bitten by ticks. Has this led you to your
vocation or did your vocation lead you to the ticks?
I'm trying to get this sort of like the classic
chicken and egg question.
Speaker 4 (06:30):
Yeah. No, Actually, you are correct in that the amount
of ticks that I was getting on me did lead
me to it sparked my curiosity what are these things?
And of course when I first started getting bitten all
those years ago, you know, it wasn't so bad even
though we hadline disease, of course, but it was just
(06:51):
starting to really become prevalent. Cases were increasing, but not
a lot of people really knew much about it, the doctors,
and there wasn't nearly as much awareness and prevention information
out there. But I tell you, the real thing that
led me to my to further my curiosity and turn
(07:12):
this fascination and fear into a business was when I
brought ticks home unintentionally and I noticed on My son
was ten years old at the time, and he came
downstairs and there was a tick stuck in his back. Now,
of course I didn't you know. With me, I'm like, okay,
(07:34):
I'll take care of it. But when it's your son
or your family member and they're vulnerable, that really got
me scared. So at that point I really turned the
jets on and started to explore and research and teach
myself all about it.
Speaker 3 (07:49):
So a couple of more quick questions about you and
where you got to this, and then we'll take a
break and we'll start talking about preventions and.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
What can be done.
Speaker 3 (07:57):
Have you developed an immunity having bitten this many times?
Do you have an immunity at this point or or
does such an immunity even exist in your world?
Speaker 4 (08:10):
Well, Jerry's out on that one. I have been approached
to participating in the study that looks at people that
have been bitten a large number of times and to
have my blood looked at. But that actually involved the
intentional implantation of ten ticks on my body and having
(08:31):
them feed to completion. And the compensation wasn't The compensation
wasn't quite enough to justify that.
Speaker 3 (08:41):
However, just just for curiosity, what will you offered, I
mean like five bucks a tick or something.
Speaker 4 (08:48):
I think it was one thousand dollars total.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
No, not even no.
Speaker 4 (08:55):
But they were CDC guaranteed clean ticks. That's what they
told me.
Speaker 3 (09:01):
Sorry, oh yeah, that's that's oh sure, right, yeah, okay right.
Speaker 4 (09:07):
Another point that my mother brought home, and I referred
to her quite a bit in my life now, was
are you crazy? Don't be stupid, and if you do that,
I'm going to be mad.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
So I didn't do that.
Speaker 3 (09:20):
That's all good advice for mom. And so then my
last question is, with all of the tick bites over
the years, approximately two hundred and fifty, have you ever
come down with a bad case or even a case.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
Of lime disease?
Speaker 4 (09:38):
I don't know, because I was vaccinated. There was a
vaccine available on the market in the late nineties. It
was available for only a couple of years. It was
pulled because there was controversy and it was not making
enough money for the pharmaceutical company that brought it to market.
(09:59):
So I I did, and now I believe that my
system is carrying antibodies for that particular strain of lime,
and I haven't been feeling myself lately. You know, over
the past couple of years, I'm trying to figure some
stuff out. And I did test positive for lime within
(10:21):
the past months, and that's the only time that it's
ever really concerned me. However, given that the standard line
test now initially tests for the antibodies or the body's
reaction to a bite and not the bacteria itself, and
there it has been proven to be highly inaccurate.
Speaker 2 (10:44):
So I was that the Western block test that you took, Well.
Speaker 4 (10:49):
There's two. There's a I think it was something called
Elissa E L I S A and then they do
a Western blot on one or the other. But I
only had the first one done. But I'm out there the.
Speaker 3 (11:00):
Western But the Western blood test of according to you know,
this expert that I deal with, he says that it's
highly unreliable. Guest, Yeah, yes, doctor Miller, who's just brilliant, brilliant.
Speaker 2 (11:14):
On this issue. My guest is tick Man Dan. He
can answer literally.
Speaker 3 (11:22):
Any question about different ticks, variety of ticks. All of
us are going to spend more time outdoors in the
next four or five months. Then we're virtually all of us. Uh,
then we've spent outdoors in the last few months. Simply,
this is the time of year when New Englanders want
to get out, get out and spend time at the beach,
(11:43):
maybe up in a New Hampshire or a main of
Vermont or wherever this and and even when you're out
in the winter time, if you're up skiing, there's no
way that tick's going to get you anywhere. You're skiing
too fast. So any questions you have about what works
what doesn't work, Dan will give us some general suggestions
(12:07):
on the other side of the break, and then we'll
leave it open to you and you can deal with myths.
You can deal with any question you want. There's nobody
who I know who is more qualified to talk about
how to avoid how to decrease the chances that you
might actually deal with a tick bite which could lead
(12:28):
to lime disease? Does it always lead to but could
leave We'll take a quick break. The lines are just
blowing up right now. Tick Man, Dan, you're one of
my most popular guests. The only line that is available
if you want to call in right now is there's
one line at six, one, seven, nine, three, one, ten thirty.
I don't want people to break their knuckles or their
their nails trying.
Speaker 2 (12:49):
To dial in.
Speaker 3 (12:50):
We want to get as many people in as possible.
Tick Man Dan is with us. We'll be right back
here on Nightside after this very brief commercial break.
Speaker 1 (12:59):
It's nice with Dan Ray Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
Pick Man Dad, I got full line.
Speaker 3 (13:06):
So let's do this real quickly, because one get at
least one or two callers in before before nine thirty,
we only got.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
A few minutes.
Speaker 3 (13:15):
What is the quickest and easiest advice you could give
to someone who you know, lands here on a spaceship
from Mars or something and says, we've heard about ticks.
Speaker 2 (13:24):
How can I protect myself? What do you tell people?
Speaker 3 (13:27):
What's the what's the let's go for the cliff notes
version right away.
Speaker 4 (13:31):
Well, initially I tell them stay in their spaceship and
and don't come out.
Speaker 3 (13:35):
But for a lot of reasons, by the way, for
a lot of reasons not necessarily all related.
Speaker 4 (13:40):
To takes go ahead exactly. Well, I mean, there are
the standard answers, and there's basic prevention, and they're very
simple and common sense. You know, if you're hiking in
the woods, stay in the center of the trails. Ticks
tend to hang out on the tips of grasses and
brush and leaves, and the deer tics which are the
(14:01):
most dangerous around here in the Northeast. They're called ambush
predators or ambush hunters. They'll just wait and they'll extend
their front legs, which are a little longer than the
rest of their legs, and they have like velcro type
hooks on the very ends of their feet. They'll start
waving them around and anything that brushes by will they'll
(14:24):
be able to stick to it, like again like velcrow. Yeah,
they hit, they're hitchhikers. However, there are studies and I've
seen the videos and it's amazing that static electricity can
also propel tics from their perch onto a passer by
that has a static charge. Now, don't panic, they don't
(14:46):
go flying through the air, you know, from across the trail.
This would be like millimeters. However, you don't actually have
to brush up physically against them in certain circumstances to
have them, you know, catched to you. By the way,
ticks do not jump, they do not fly. They don't
get on you and the drop on your head and
all that stuff. They are just physically incapable of that.
(15:10):
So you can also do the basics. Again, light colored clothing,
and that's not a deterrent, it's just allows you to
visually see those ticks easier because the ticks are like
little dark specs, and light clothing will help you with that.
Tuck your pants into your socks. Use repellent a car asides,
(15:30):
which is my favorite. It's it's called permethrone, which you
can treat your clothing with, not your skin. You can
use deep on your skin. And then of course I
always say do your tick checks, do them often, and
do not neglect your crevices.
Speaker 3 (15:49):
Yeah, where could people get promethrone?
Speaker 4 (15:52):
Permethrone is widely available at most garden centers or outdoor stores.
In a self applying spread. However, I prefer the clothing
when it's pre treated in a process from a factory
from a company called insect Shield, and that binds directly
(16:13):
to the fibers, so it reduces human error in the application,
and it's so bound to those fibers that it last
a really long time, much much longer than when you
self apply. However, the self applying spray I recommend highly
for your boots and shoes and other footwear. If you
(16:34):
know if you're wearing promethine treated apparel. So that's really important.
Speaker 3 (16:39):
And realistically you always have to wear long pants and tuck,
you know, tuck them inside your socks.
Speaker 4 (16:45):
That's a good idea and it just what that does
is that it doesn't prevent them totally from getting onto
your skin, but it makes it harder for them because
they can get through little tiny holes in your sock.
I mean, larvae and nympho stage ticks are very very small.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
Okay, let us do this.
Speaker 3 (17:06):
Let us try to get one quick call in before
before the break. So let me start off with Ken
in Topsfield. Ken, I'm going to get you in before
the break. You go right ahead.
Speaker 2 (17:17):
You're wrong with tick man, Dan, what's your question of comment, sir?
Speaker 5 (17:21):
My wife got picked yesterday by a tech.
Speaker 4 (17:23):
We found it.
Speaker 5 (17:25):
We assume it was yesterday. I removed it and I
got ninety nine percent. There was a little bit that
I could not get with the tweets. As I dug
at it, no success. Called the doctor's office, told them.
They said that wasn't a big deal, don't worry about it.
They issued a prescription for whatever. The standard thing is
(17:47):
two hundred milligrams of high I forget the name doxycycling, Yeah, sir,
And I want to know is there is their concern
should if is to weep it something like you said,
the end of it. I can't tell.
Speaker 4 (18:05):
They say, yeah, that's get Ken. That's a great question.
And it's just something that a lot of people experience.
And again, your chances of getting sick are not, you know,
eminent here, And it depends on the type of tick,
the stage of the tick's life, and how long it
was feeding. Now, there's a few things that I will
(18:26):
tell you guys, everybody should never ever do when they
remove a tick, and that is to flush it, burn it,
or dispose of that. Ken. Did you save the tick? Yeah, okay, perfect.
What I recommend doing is putting it in a ziplock bag.
You don't have to freeze it, you don't have to
put in an alcohol. Just keep it in a sealed bag.
(18:48):
Write your name or whoever the victim the tick bite
victim was right, that person's name on the bag? Is
the date? And how long you think you might have
had it attached and what where you think you might
have gotten it. Now, there's a few schools of thought
regarding what to do as far as a prophylactic dose
(19:10):
of doxy cycling, which is what you were prescribed or
your uh you said your wife right, Yeah, as far
as what she was prescribed, there's there's a lot of
controversy around that, and a lot of people in the
lime world and the tick world will say, don't do
that because there's something called a tick rash or a
bullseye rash, which is really a very very indicative sign
(19:35):
that you are infected with lime and a prophylactic dose
of doxy cycling I believe suppresses that rash. Now, not
everybody gets it, but if you do get it, it's
you're pretty much guaranteed that you should see your doctor
and get treatment for that. The other thing that I
recommend that people do is.
Speaker 3 (19:57):
In one question, because I got a question to the caller, ken,
did your wife obviously you know where your wife was bitten?
Can you look at that later today and when she
got bit yesterday? Is that is that the time frame here?
Did you see any sort of like what they call
a bullseye rash, which is like a red a circle
(20:19):
or you know, not a huge circle, but a red
circle around the place where she was bitten.
Speaker 5 (20:26):
Yep, there was there wasn't She feels that she hadn't
had it long. You know, we can't prove that, but
we felt that I was wondering how soon a bulls
eye might show up when a person.
Speaker 3 (20:38):
Well, let's let's ask the expert, Dan, she's bit yesterday,
how long should he try to monitor the presence of
the appearance of a bullseye? Right?
Speaker 4 (20:48):
Well, the problem is that not everybody is typical, and
bullseye rashes, if they appear, can appear within days or
a week or so of the bite. Now, the big
problem here, and I know we're pressed here for time, Dan,
is that you have to know the difference between a
bite site reaction and a target lesion or bullseye rash.
(21:11):
And that's important and I you know, I'm happy to
explain that. But Dan, you're running the show here, so
are we? Are we good for time?
Speaker 3 (21:22):
Yeah, let's do this. Let's hold Ken over after the newscast.
Ken you're too important to call. Stay there, we'll pick
you up on the other side of the newscast. Okay,
we have a newscast. We're with tick Man Dan. As
you can see, this guy knows his stuff. He's an
amazing guest to me one of my favorite guests.
Speaker 2 (21:38):
Every year.
Speaker 3 (21:39):
Sometimes we have him a couple of times in the springtime,
but certainly every once every spring. We'll take a break,
here's a newscast. We'll be back. We'll be start off
with Ken in Topsfield and we'll get his questions answered
in yours as well. Back on Nightside after this.
Speaker 1 (21:54):
Night Side with Dan Ray, I'MBZ Boston's news Radio.
Speaker 3 (22:00):
We're going to bring Ken from Topsfield back up here
and we're going to try to move a little bit
more quickly.
Speaker 2 (22:05):
But I didn't want to short change him. Ken.
Speaker 3 (22:08):
We're back in the ear. You're on with tick Man,
Dan tick Man, you can pick it up. You're leading
the stance, go right ahead.
Speaker 4 (22:17):
Yeah. So we were talking about the prophylactic dose of
doxycycling after a tick bite. But I think what's also
really important to look at is what do you actually
need to do? What are the steps that you need
to follow once you find an attached tick And I
think if everybody had sort of a card or a
(22:38):
protocol to follow, there would be a lot less anxiety
and stress about it. Although you have to look at
the situation, there's a potential for somebody to get very sick. Now,
to put it in perspective, we have a majority of
the people that get bitten by ticks that are positive
for carrying lime that don't get lime at all. We
(23:00):
have a lot of people that actually do get lime,
and most people can get treated and recover just fine.
But there's a small percentage of people that it just
screws up their whole life and they can have terrible,
terrible problems. And we're seeing a lot more of that
just because the numbers in general of tick bites is increasing.
(23:24):
So but Ken, what we want to do is help
you out now, because time is of the essence. The
quicker you treat a tickboarn illness, the better off you're
going to be. So there's a few steps that I
think are important. First of all, you got to start
with proper tick removal. And I might claim to fame
was that I invented a product under the name Tickies,
(23:48):
which is a two sided with steel tick removal tool. Now,
forget about these bottle cap looking things, forget about twisty
things for ticks and all this other stuff, the gimmicky
stuff that I call it, and just basically use a
fine tip tweezer. Now, mine was good that it had
a little angle on it and also had a little
scoop side for removing larger and gorge ticks from animals.
(24:12):
But proper tick removal is important. It is, and it's
very simple. Simple is better. What you're gonna do is
you're going to try to get down as close to
the skin surface as possible with the very very tips
of the fine tweezer, squeeze the tick down low, firmly, lifts,
slowly and steadily straight up until it pops out. Now,
(24:36):
there's a whole bunch of reasons why that tick is
stuck in there like that, including barbs and glue like
substance that they secrete into the bite site which holds
it firmly, so that makes it difficult. And also, the
different types of ticks have different lengths of mouthparts, so
(24:58):
the longer the mouth part is obviously the more secure
it's going to be in your skin. And deer ticks
have pretty long mouth parts compared to other ticks, So
a little bit left in there, right, But never fear,
here's another myth. If you leave the mouth parts in
your body, you're going to increase your chances of getting sick.
(25:18):
The tick's going to grow back. I heard that one
the tick will grow back and continue to feed on you,
or you're just gonna get really sick. Now that's not true.
Although you don't want any foreign body in your skin,
if the ticks mouthpart breaks off, you're gonna be okay
because once the body of that tick is removed, you're
(25:40):
at no further risk of exposure if that tick is
carrying a pathogen that causes disease. And I also want
to point out I know I'm talking a lot, but
I want to point this out that ticks can carry bacterials, bacteria,
they can carry viruses, and they can carry parasites, and
you can conceivably at all three from one bite. And
(26:02):
they're all treated differently with different medications. So it's scary
when you when you do when you point out all
these things. But keep in mind, just because the tick
has it doesn't mean you're going to get it. And
if you get it, you don't know if you're going
to have a mild case that's easily treated, or it
might really cause problems in the future.
Speaker 2 (26:23):
So let me jump in here.
Speaker 3 (26:25):
If I can, let me jump in here, if I can,
Dick ben Dan, you done a great job explaining what
should be done.
Speaker 2 (26:32):
My suggestion to you, Ken, for your.
Speaker 3 (26:34):
Peace of mind and out of an abundance of caution,
have you have your your wife take her to your
doctor's office when as soon as you can, and have them,
you know, do what they have to do to remove
whatever's left of the tick. I think Dick Man Dan
has tried to basically assuage your concerns. But I, having
(26:54):
listened to you before the news, I think you need
to do this for peace of mind. And then follow
how how many days is your prescription for uh doxy cycling?
For how many days?
Speaker 5 (27:06):
It was one shot? Two hundreds two hundred milligrams?
Speaker 2 (27:11):
Just just when you say one shot.
Speaker 5 (27:15):
Dose one dose, two pills one hundred milligrams each, So
it was two hundred milligrams taking once and that's it.
Speaker 2 (27:25):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (27:25):
I'm not sure that that necessarily would that our expertsy degree.
Get your white to the doctor. That's that's the best
that can be done. I can't spend any more time
because I got.
Speaker 5 (27:36):
Packed, but thank you both.
Speaker 3 (27:39):
Yeah, just get it to the doctor and UH and
get it. Get whatever is there removed properly and uh
and listen to what me and Dan has said, has
says says for the rest of the hour.
Speaker 4 (27:49):
Okay, yes, and Ken Ken listen ten please, I'm gonna
later in the show, I'll be giving you a uh,
the listeners, a contact number where I can actually provide
you with some more one on one attention to this
right now. It's a complimentary service, but you know, during
regular hours, So if you'd like, just keep on listening
(28:10):
and I'll provide you that information and I'm happy to
talk with you. Thank you very much, both of you.
Good night.
Speaker 3 (28:16):
We'll give you this and we'll give that information right
towards the end of the hour. Okay, thanks can appreciate it,
all right, tick Man, Dan, we've just begun here. We're
gonna take a quick break and then we got a
whole bunch of calls to get through, and I want
everybody to again come up with your own questions as
quick as possible, and we'll get going right after this
break here on night Side.
Speaker 1 (28:38):
You're on Night Side with Dan Ray on Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (28:45):
All right, everybody going to ask to quicken it up here.
Speaker 3 (28:48):
I'd like to get everybody who's been on the line, Linda, Elaine, Larry,
and Bruce in.
Speaker 2 (28:52):
You're going to start with Linda. She's been on the longest,
Linda and Weymouth. You're on with tick man Dan. What's
your question, Linda.
Speaker 6 (28:58):
We asked one of them was did that two hundred
and fifty bytes give him immunity? And you gave a
decent answer there. I'm thinking of lawn care. If I
cut my lawns close, will it prevent the ticks from
coming in? And what about these sprays that they put
(29:19):
on lawns.
Speaker 4 (29:22):
Yeah, that's a great question, Linda, and certainly very relevant
around here. Ticks don't typically hang out in the middle
of manicured lawns. So if you do keep your grass
mode regularly and it's in a sunny area, ticks don't. Actually,
that's not a natural habitat for them. What they like
(29:45):
is the edges, so around the edge of your the
property or the perimeter, that's where they're going to be
hanging out because they can't live without moisture. Humidity is
their friend, and so when there's periods of drought, that's
actually good because it kills the ticks. Although we need water,
but you know that is the good the good side
(30:07):
of a drought. There are companies out there that will
do perimeter spraying and they can offer you options. Whether
it's a natural product or organic versus a synthesized or
chemical product. You can have that choice. However, my preference
is for products that contain pyreethroids, which is like that
(30:30):
permethron that I mentioned earlier. The components from the pyrie
froid family I feel are the best and most effective.
Now you're never gonna keep them at bay under a
single or a few applications. This is something that has
to be done on a regular basis because rain and
other weather conditions can weaken the barriers as well as
(30:53):
animals who are tracing through your yard. You may have
deer in the yard, You're gonna have raccoons and rodents
and all all sorts of things, and they can be
bringing ticks back into your perimeter after an application. But yes,
you have to do whatever you can. Just keep in
mind you have to stay on top of it, and
constant vigilance is important.
Speaker 3 (31:16):
Questions, Linda, I gotta I got it. I have three
other callers, Linda, I got to give everybody a fear shot.
Speaker 2 (31:25):
Here Okay, thank you, Thank you.
Speaker 3 (31:29):
Linda, apologize. Let me go next to Larry and Dennis Fort.
Larry's same with you. I got two behind you. Go ahead, Larry.
Speaker 4 (31:36):
Okay, quick questions. That previous talk to Textia's disease would
have been good because there's some correlation between lime and
long COVID. But I have two quick questions. What do
you think about I'm in the woods all the time
an avid mountain biker. What do you think about deep
versus essential oils? And the second question is if I
go swimming in the ocean after I'm in the woods,
(31:58):
do ticks come off of you from so water? Okay?
So the first yeah, So the first question deep versus
the natural stuff? Is that what you're asking? Yeah, essentral oils? Yeah, yeah,
for ticks. I'm not a huge fan of deep or
any type of skin applied of repellent because ticks their anatomy,
(32:24):
they don't breathe regularly. They may breathe only a few
times in an hour, so it allows them to, you know,
come across. Let's say you put deet on your legs.
They won't like it, but they may just meander and
wander around to get away. From it, but not necessarily
fall off, like if they're on promethrone treated clothing. So
(32:48):
what they'll do is they'll always trying to climb up,
and they'll keep climbing up away from that deep. And
I'm not sure about you, but I would never put
the deep on my private areas. So they do like
those warm, moist cretesy areas, And so I'm not a
huge fan of the deats. I think you'd be much
(33:10):
better off looking into the primetherin treated clothing. I tend everything,
I tend to everything to insect shield. Oh perfect. Yeah,
they have a great process. Now is it going to hurt?
You know? And it is very effective the deats in
the other organic products, and some people have luck. I
think it's a personal preference of trying to find the
(33:31):
right group that makes the skin applied products. But you know,
mosquitoes and black flies. It works awesome, and so keep
using it. But again, the most important thing that anyone
can do is when you get home. I forgot to
mention this earlier. Put take off all your clothes plumb
in a hot dryer, and while you're in the buff,
(33:54):
go ahead and really meticulously looked your body over and
keep doing it, you know, whenever you get a chance.
Speaker 3 (34:02):
And I think that real quickly, really important, dick man
Dan real quickly. Larry asked the other question, if he
dives into the ocean because he's down on the cape,
will that get rid of any ticks that might be
on him?
Speaker 2 (34:13):
Or is that a false? Is that a well?
Speaker 4 (34:16):
You know, I've showered and not had ticks fall off
me using soap and water. If they're biting you, I
would say definitely not, because they're they're attached, They're anchored
to you, And ticks also have those hooks on their feet,
so it makes them really sticky, and so unless you're
using like a washcloth or some other means to rub
(34:38):
them off, they they probably will stick with you even
through a shower. Now the salt water, that may be
something different. But honestly, I just don't know if the
salt water would would cause them to release.
Speaker 2 (34:52):
But okay, Larry, appreciate that. I got two more. I
got to get to Thank you, Larry, thank you, thank you.
Speaker 3 (34:58):
Let me go next to Elaine in mailrows Elaine, you
gotta be quick for me so I can get Bruce
from Nat again as well.
Speaker 7 (35:03):
Go ahead, Elaine, HII mean that treatment that you recommended
for the parameter of your lawn can regular homeowners purchased
at or is this just through lawn services if you know.
Speaker 4 (35:18):
Yeah, I believe there are some products that you can
apply yourself. But again you've got to keep at it.
It's going to I mean, depending on the size of
your yard, you may have to buy a lot of it,
which can be not so cost effective. I think if
you have an experienced group that provides you with the
piriethroid products, or even there are some organic products products
(35:42):
that will naturally repel them, you would be better off. Now,
the most important thing about having an experienced tick spraying
company is the application process. Now, ticks are hybrid, are
not hibernating, but they're hiding under the leaf litter. So
you either need enough of that liquid on the perimeter
(36:02):
to soak down through the leaf littered levels into the soil,
or you need a high pressure applicator that will turn
the leaves so you get underneath it where they are,
and that's going to be the most effective.
Speaker 7 (36:16):
And the other quick question is so once you wash
your clothes when you come home and the wash it
does that kill them while they is it the dryer
that kills them.
Speaker 4 (36:25):
It's the dryer because the dryer sucks the humidity right
out of those clothes, and ticks do not survive well
in low humidity situations. So ten minutes on a high
heat and their toast good.
Speaker 1 (36:40):
Way.
Speaker 7 (36:40):
They'll call mentioned Insects Shield. Is that a company that
you send your clothes to.
Speaker 4 (36:45):
Yes, Insects Shield dot com. They work, They do a
really good job.
Speaker 2 (36:51):
All right, thank you very much. Thank you. Let's go
to Bruce. Bruce, somehow we get to you here, Go ahead,
Bruce got about a minute and a half.
Speaker 4 (36:58):
Go ahead, Bruce, great, Thank you, a long time listener,
first time caller.
Speaker 2 (37:03):
All right, give you a quick round of a plus from.
Speaker 4 (37:09):
Okay, I want to share my experience. I had lime disease.
My legs in my arms started getting very weak and
eventually on the couch, my legs came numb, paralysis, totally numb.
I couldn't even stand up. Paramedics came in, had to
(37:30):
lift me up off the couch, put me on a journey,
bring me to the hospital. Now my question is, well, actually,
what I think happened was I chicked bit and ran
chewing screw as you call it so it could it
have gotten any worse? Maybe death? I heard someone died
(37:50):
once with lime disease. Oh was that absolutely possible. I
mean fatalities have been reported and a lot of people,
actually some with very bad line have committed suicide as well. Wow.
Speaker 2 (38:07):
Well, how are you doing now, Bruce? How you doing now?
Speaker 4 (38:11):
Fantastic, Dan, fantastic, No after effects or anything. Shade in
the hospital. I think three or four days. I don't
know what they gave me, but no, no round circles
or anything like I said, I don't know.
Speaker 2 (38:27):
But anyways, Bruce, Bruce, I gotta let you go. I'm
flat out of time.
Speaker 4 (38:31):
You got it.
Speaker 2 (38:32):
Thank you so much and call back. We'll give you
more time next time. Thank you, Rob.
Speaker 3 (38:37):
Let's keep this going tick men, Dan, I want to
give you some time to give your phone number at
least on the other side, and if you want to
take a couple of more phone calls, I think they'll
come in.
Speaker 2 (38:46):
Are you up for a few more minutes?
Speaker 4 (38:48):
Absolutely? Dan, I'm yours all right, and we'll get.
Speaker 3 (38:51):
Give me how can people reach you? Give it to
us quickly and we'll repeat it on the other side
of the ten what's the best way to reach you.
Speaker 4 (38:58):
Well, I've got a website out there. It's not really
doing much the moment, but I'm planning, uh to make
it more useful. But it's Tickmandan dot com. And there
is a tick hotline that I'm setting up right now.
It's a complimentary service during regular business hours. The telephone
number is eight five five bad tick.
Speaker 2 (39:20):
Okay, you hold on and we will give that again
on the other side.
Speaker 3 (39:24):
And folks would like to continue calling bring it six
one seven, two five four ten thirty six one seven
uh six month seven nine.
Speaker 2 (39:32):
Three one ten thirty. We'll we'll g.
Speaker 3 (39:35):
Into the next hour in this because this is important
and he's one of my best guests and he's never
said no to me before. Tick Man Dan, stay right there.
We'll be back with tick Man Dan right after the
ten o'clock news
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