Bugs Down on "D Farm"

Caution:  If you are squeamish about insects you might want to skip this story.


I am so sick of  TICKS!  Okay, so life in Kansas has some drawbacks.  Most fall under the category of either critters, bugs or extreme weather.

I’ll start with bugs:

 Admittedly, they’re not all bad.  Fireflies are pretty cool.  They are a flying beetle sometimes referred to as lightening bugs. They are very delicate but on a rare occasion as a kid I could actually catch one.  According to Wikipedia, in their larvae state they are called glow worms.  Evidently they are related to the glow worms I saw in caverns in New Zealand although I‘ve never seen a larvae in Kansas.  The glow emanates from the insect’s lower abdomen through a chemical reaction called bioluminescence. (You’ll have to look that one up yourself.)

Even more amazing are what I’ve always heard referred to as locusts.  It wasn’t until I looked them up on the internet that I learned that they are actually periodical cicadas  They hatch from eggs laid in tree branches.  They then drop to the ground and burrow down about a foot.  They don’t reemerge until 17 years later (the east coast variety) or 13 years later (the Midwest variety). They then climb back to the surface through tunnels leaving small ½” holes in the ground which explains the mysterious little holes I’ve noticed just outside the back door at “D“ Farm.  They emerge from a protective skin like a butterfly from its cocoon, leaving behind a neat little shell that I think resembles my P.T. Cruiser.  Besides the racket they make, a loud siren-like buzzing noise when disturbed, they are harmless.

But ticks?  Oh my!  I am studying the art of tick hunting.  Now that is disgusting!  But you do what you have to do.  I love my dog and dogs are powerful “tick magnets.”

My initial distain and disgust for the little critters is infused with a healthy dose of anxiety, probably instilled by the memory of my mom keeping  a watchful eye surveilling for ticks on me as a child, and further fueled by a time when there were constant  public service announcements warning about the dangers of contracting Lyme disease from ticks.

According to the locals, ticks are out in unusual abundance this year .  So I have done some internet research regarding their characteristics and recommended methods of coping with their unwelcome but unavoidable presence.

It turns out that they can live up to two years and lay as many as 1000 eggs at a time!  The only carriers of Lyme disease come off of deer and will only infect you if they have been imbedded in your skin for a while, not simply from contact or even a bite.

Ticks are tough and almost leathery due to the need to expand as they fill with their host’s blood.  Therefore a tick takes some extra effort to kill.  You can’t simply swat it like a fly or step on it like a spider.  I usually try to tear it in two by applying pressure from a fingernail into its midsection.

As for removal, you hope not to leave the head imbedded because it will remain a source of irritation for months to follow- I pinched off the very first one that bit me when I arrived at “D Farm” two months ago and I can still see the mark.  When I was little I remember hearing that they would release their bite if you burned them.  I have also read that if  you twirl them, they will get dizzy and let go.  I can’t vouch for either method from personal experience.

Once you are sensitive to their potential presence, you can often detect them  on you through the movement of  their little feet crawling across your skin….but not always.  The worst case is when you discover one that has already latched on without you realizing it.  I find myself constantly running my fingers through my hair feeling my scalp.  I remember the day when I had just finished jazzercise. As I was  driving down street I nonchalantly reached up to my left temple and found one just inside my hairline. Eeeew!

Of course I have had poor Guillie under constant observation.  Every time he comes back into the house I examine him.  At one point I wondered why he had started keeping his distance from me. I have figured out that it is because  tick inspections always end with discovery and removal.  They have rarely been on him for long when I find them but many times they come off with  a little tuft of hair and skin!  Only one time did I actually need tweezers to remove a big fat one- but I know I got the head and all because once removed it was still alive and kicking, albeit not for long!.