stock here: the deer were heavily populating my property while I was gone, and they have brought the ticks with them. I’ll knock down the tall grasses in the garden and spray the whole area. 2 people have mentioned ticks following them home from the garden.
I bought a 3 pack of 3 tick removers and a handy tick ID chart
Deer ticks have the highest chance of carrying Lyme disease.
From the video, a Gemini summary. I have plenty of mice too, so I will buy that…..
stock here: LOL don’t jump to ivermectin…they have studied it, and it doesn’t help. But I hope y’all have an emergency supply of anti-biotics, and Doxy is a good one.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11450675
Conclusions: A single 200-mg dose of doxycycline given within 72 hours after an I. scapularis tick bite can prevent the development of Lyme disease.
The Tick Myth
Forget the deep woods. Ticks are taking over suburbs and cities because they hitch rides on mice, chipmunks, and pets—not just deer. They love damp, shady areas, and they don’t jump or drop from trees. Instead, they wait on tall grass or leaves and latch onto your feet as you walk by.
The Shoe Supercharge
Since ticks always start from the ground up, your shoes are your best defense. Spray your shoes with a clothing-safe insect repellent (like permethrin) and let it dry. This creates a chemical shield that keeps ticks off your feet for about 30 days, cutting off their main highway onto your body.
Shorts vs. Pants
Most advice says to cover up completely, but ticks will just crawl up your clothes until they reach your head and hair, where they are impossible to feel. Wearing shorts and a t-shirt makes it much easier to feel them crawling on your skin so you can catch them before they ever bite.
The Packing Tape Trick
If you find a tick crawling on you, do not flick it off or squish it. It can survive in your house or inject nasty fluids into you. Instead, use packing tape. Press the tape onto the tick, fold it over to trap it forever, and save it in case a doctor needs to test it later.
Tick Tubes & Yard Defense
You can use mice to destroy the tick population. Drop “tick tubes” (degradable tubes filled with treated cotton) around your yard. Mice take the cotton to build nests, and the safe insecticide kills the ticks on them without hurting the mice. Keeping your lawn cut short also helps, as ticks hate dry, hot sunshine.
The Secret Bite
Ticks inject a natural numbing agent when they bite, meaning you won’t feel them dig in. Your only chance to catch them is while they are walking. Always do a full body check at the end of the day, and if you do get bitten, use a specialized tick-removal tool to scoop them out safely instead of squeezing them.
Here’s a quick Wisconsin tick ID chart.
| Tick | Quick ID | Size clue | Main concern |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blacklegged / Deer tick | Dark legs, reddish-brown body, no white markings | Tiny nymph = poppy seed; adult = sesame seed | Lyme, anaplasmosis, babesiosis, ehrlichiosis, Powassan |
| American dog / Wood tick | Larger brown tick with white/silver ornate shield | Adult often obvious, pencil-eraser-ish when unfed | Rocky Mountain spotted fever, tularemia; less Lyme concern |
| Lone star tick | Adult female has obvious single white dot on back | Similar adult size to dog tick, aggressive biter | Ehrlichiosis, STARI-like rash, possible alpha-gal/red meat allergy concern |
| Brown dog tick | Narrow brown body, usually around dogs/kennels/homes | Small-to-medium | Less common human issue in WI, but can infest homes |
Fast rule: in Wisconsin, the one to take most seriously is the blacklegged/deer tick. Wisconsin DHS says nearly all tickborne illnesses in Wisconsin are caused by deer/blacklegged ticks, and DHS lists the three disease-spreading ticks in Wisconsin as deer/blacklegged, wood/American dog, and lone star ticks.
Visual memory aid:
| Seeing this? | Think |
|---|---|
| Tiny, dark, no white markings | Deer tick — Lyme risk |
| Big, brown, white patterned back | Wood/dog tick |
| One clean white dot | Lone star tick |
| Found crawling indoors/dog bedding | Brown dog tick |
After a bite: pull straight out with fine tweezers, save it in a bag/photo it, mark the date, and watch for fever, aches, fatigue, rash, or spreading redness. CDC notes tickborne diseases can cause fever/chills, aches, fatigue, muscle pain, and sometimes distinctive rashes.