A VERY unwanted hitch hiker from my hiking trip. :(

The perils of hiking and at some points wandering through long grass. I spotted a rather unwanted bug that had hitched a 500 mile ride back to Liverpool from Scotland on my leg .

Luckily when I touched it, it dropped off of its own accord so no head or mouth parts left behind. Immediately cleaned and disinfected the bite area so hopefully, there'll be no repercussions.

Incidentally, if anyone would like to browse through my shots from the trip to Cape Wrath in Scotland, there are some in the Landscapes and Birds sections however if you wish to view directly, they're here in my gallery . There's a rather beautiful sunset (Multiple shots) in there. I think perhaps my favourite sunset (that I've taken) ever.

http://ipc.smugmug.com …t#!i=2512460168​&k=34FzmjB


Anyway.... my hitchiker! A Fully gorged (on my blood) Tick!

Yep he's bloated!

He's dead now!

His clock finally Ticked out!


Love your C. Wrath pics, Ian!

I hate those damn things. I've was ticked twice last year and once the previous year. Lyme disease is so common in our area that when you show up with a tick bite they just assume that you have been infected and treat you accordingly - strong antibiotics. Nasty business.

Yuck, I hate ticks. I still have two nasty bites from over a month ago.

Makes me glad I mainly shoot in my garden.

Good capture of the beast, and lovely landscapes too.

hehe, cheers guys. Horrible little monsters they are.

Also cheers about the Cape Wrath pics

magoosmc wrote in post #15939387
Lyme disease is so common in our area that when you show up with a tick bite they just assume that you have been infected and treat you accordingly - strong antibiotics. Nasty business.

Yeah I hope you don't have Lyme disease issues in your neck of the woods, OP. Bad news.

I've quite a few tick bytes over the years, but Lyme disease is not extremely common here. I do own a "tick hook" to easily remove them and always disinfect with alcohol, both from the outside and the inside

Whenever you get bit, it's good practice to save the tick (maybe even freeze it in a jar with the date on it) so it can actually be examined. That way if you're in doubt later you can have the tick tested for the bacterial infection that causes Lyme.

Yeah I've got the little horror sealed in a bag in the freezer, just in case I start to show any signs of infection / Lymes disease. I did speak with one of our local medical centres and they examined the bite area but said it looks ok at this time however if I start to feel flu like symptoms, aching joints etc. within the next 30 days to see my GP.

I'll be keeping a close eye on myself for sure

I picked a tick off a buddies neck once, about a week later he came down with lyme disease. Might want to get yourself checked out. It wasn't a huge deal, he was fine with the help of some good antibiotics.

Hi Mac,

I have been to a medical centre and was kinda dismissed. It was a general walk in centre.. might just go see my GP to be on the safe side.

Beautiful set at the link Ian...Sorry about your hitch hiker.

I hope you gave him a right proper ticking off !