got home from the graveyard and thought I might go out back for a quick stick of meat.. Well my cover was blown right as I stepped off the grass and into the woods.. Decided to sit for an hr before I started the many chores I need to complete today when I noticed 2 of the nasty buggers crawling on my pants.. Shewed them off and sat for awhile until the sprinkles started and wood needed to be loaded..
Finished that up, came in to type a little here and the crawling feeling set in..
Pulled 5 more off my stomach and arm..
They are bad , bad as I have seen as my son has been pulling them off every time he goes out there..
 
Just a word of caution to all that venture into the woods.. Check your self and family every day.. Lyme is no joke and a little prevention can save a lot of trouble down the road..

Tuna-There is a product that you spray on your clothes only, its called Duranon or Permanone, and its great for dealing with those little buggers.  You can find it online or at most sporting goods stores.  One treatment will last up to a month even if you wash your clothes.  I have used this stuff since the early eighties down in Westchester County where ticks are as thick as bees. 
 http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/product/index.jsp?productId=12327289

Wise words, Tuna.  The lyme is established as far west as Monroe County in NY now, and as many as 20% of people bitten don't show the ring or rash symptoms.  If you are in tall grass or thick brush, even with long sleeves and long pants the post hike check is essential  anymore, and if you start to feeling like you have the flu, and the Doc is perplexed, suggest that they do the bloodwork for lyme as the cure is a lot easier if they start early.
 
L13   

Nasty little buggers. I was out for a ride on my bycycle and stopped along the way to look for a few geocaches. Had long pants on tucked into my socks, long sleeve shirt and had a hat on. Didn't venture too far into the woods. Anyway, on the ride back home in my truck, I felt something crawling on my neck behind my left ear. Brushed it away and it landed on top of my left thigh. It was a tick! Man, I hate those things. Pulled a few off the dogs this year. My oldest son got Lyme desease last year. Very bad thing to deal with. One of their dogs also got it. Back in the day when I grew up, never even knew what a tick was.

I used to stock pile my overtime and vacation days to take the entire month of November off to bow hunt in Westchester County where I lived and worked.  The ticks have been a problem in that area since the late 70's.  One of the cardinal rules I made for myself was to never go crunching the brush in search of deer because if you did you were bound to be covered with ticks.  Never had Lyme but a hunting buddy has had it four times.  Use that product I mentioned in a previous post, great stuff even for yard work.  If a tick lights on your clothing it will die. 

Well it seems I didn't take my own advice. Was wood cutting in , the woods of course , on thurs . Tonight I feel like a little scratch on my lower back and sure enough a little bugger was sucking my fluids. Pulled him off and it feels pretty sore.
Hope the bastard got some sort of poisoning from me before I squashed the thing.

Keep an eye on that spot in case he left something.  And even if you don't get visible symptoms, if you start feeling "off" it might be worth a call to the Doc for some blood work.
 
L13

As one who has taken 'the cure' in the past Lyme ticks are a scarey thing. I live too close to the area where it was first discovered - Lyme is commonplace here in central CT -even  named after one of our towns ( Lyme Ct). Most infected don't know it and have 'issues' for a very long time- missed and mis diagnosis are commonplace..
 Unless things have changed over time those ticks you find crawling all over ya  are generally the larger brown dog ticks and Deer ticks that generally don't carry Lyme but do burrow into you. When removed improperly they too will leave an infected area.
     The original Lyme carrying tick is about the size of a pencil dot and is VERY hard to find even when not  burrowed into your skin. It requires VERY detailed inspection after going afield to find those tiny little buggers. They don't wash off very well in the shower either so don't think  good cleaning makes it all OK after coming back home- not to mention they may still be on your clothing in the house.

http://www.lymenet.org/pictures.shtml

Thanks 21- I stand corrected on the dog and Deer ticks. Back in the day they told us to be especially cautious of those littler tiny ticks.
 After I got a little tiny one in my knee went to the Medi Quick and was fortunate enough to have a DR there for the evening who was working on the Yale Tick Study. Back then it was still kinda new and a VERY scarey thing around here.
   Have had many of the larger ones over time that were dug in but never again had the bulls eye.
 One of the Grandkids had the bullseye and after several tests was cleared a couple of years back- ya never know .
 Ma  Nature never gives up trying to ruin nice days afield   lol.
 
Neighbor told me today  that someone is suing a Parks dept because of the park deer and the Lyme issue- been trying to find a report on it all day-America.