A question for all those budding tarp enthusiasts. If I get a tarp for summer use, should I avoid using it in areas where ticks occur in numbers? I only ask beacause I really want to try using a tarp but I am worried that I might be a tick magnet as last year I managed to pick up two on Dartmoor. I am thinking of getting the solo tarp from backpackinglight.co.uk for using in the lakes for a 3 day walk starting from patterdale and was wondering if they are up to the job and if there are many ticks in the lakes and for future ref many people use tarps on Dartmoor without getting a tick problem?
There are ticks in the Lakes and they are biting for a longer season due to climate. I personally have never even seen a tick so don't really have a worry. Now midges, that is a different matter.
In the walking club I'm in it seems those that suffer with midges don't suffer with ticks. I'm not sure which is worse, I know ticks can lead to lyme desease, but I hate midges so.
Don't let ticks worry you, just get a tick remover and check yourself over occasionally. Also the clothes you wear can make it harder for ticks to bite you. Does skin so soft from Avon work to repel them as well as midges? Try camping away from bracken or other vegetation of a similar height I guess.
I think the only people who ever died as a result of being attacked by British midges were those who threw themselves off cliffs in suicide bids. I've only picked up two ticks in all the time I've been outdoors, but they are nasty little things and we're assured that they can carry nasty diseases. I've bivvied on the ground without even the benefit of a tarp and not picked up any ticks, but I much prefer a lightweight tent where I can zip up completely and keep the local insect life separate from my life.
Tarping is bound to be more risky than camping because you're giving the ticks more opportunity to attach themselves.
I think I had about 5 tick bites while walking and camping (not tarping) on Dartmoor last year and although you can minimise the risk to some extent by covering up, the logical conclusion is that the more contact you have with the ground and vegetation, the more likely you are to get bitten. Even if you cover up bare skin, ticks can attach themselves to your clothing and find a way in.
Quite a few people were wearing short gaiters in the Summer on perfectly dry days - I assume it was to seal the gap between socks and trousers.
The larger ticks can be spotted on light coloured clothing giving you a chance to flick them off your trousers. So it's worth brushing yourself down from time to time as a precaution.
I think if you're walking anywhere with ticks, expect to get bitten and check carefully for ticks (some can be tiny) at the end of each and every day - the sooner you remove them, the less risk of any infection. Lyme disease can be very serious if not treated.
I've usually found them on my legs but apparently they tend to migrate to the groin or armpit. So really you need to check yourself everywhere thoroughly, if you're with someone else, check each other.
So in answer to your question, sam.
If I get a tarp for summer use, should I avoid using it in areas where ticks occur in numbers?
I think you have to weigh up the risk and make your own informed choice. If you decide to go for it, take what precautions you can and make sure you remove any ticks that do attach, quickly and efficiently.
I find the 'tick twister' works really well, available for a few quid from pet shops.
It's also worth looking into the habits of ticks, because that can help you to avoid them. The over-winter in the ground, so they're no problem at that time of year. Once things warm up in spring, they emerge and have a preference for hanging on the edge of vegetation around knee-level. So... bracken is ideal for them... and so you should avoid brushing past it. If you do brush past bracken in an area known for ticks, then check yourself afterwards. It might logically follow that lying down on short vegetation is less likely to cause problems than bedding down in bracken or heather, since ticks do not favour the short stuff and presumably find it harder to get picked up by a passing animal or human at that level.
Ticks tend not to bite on contact, but are very fussy, and despite their tiny size, will crawl a long way for an ideal place to bite. That gives you anything from several minutes to an hour or so to seek and destroy. I don't flick them away... I crush them to death... saving anyone else or anything else the inconvenience of picking up the same tick. The only time I've ever been aware of a very large tick population was in the forests in Hungary. I noticed them when I checked out the routes for a walking group, then I warned the group about them in advance. Everyone was very good at looking out for everyone else, but I think we had daily shrieks of fear and loathing when some of the more squeamish folks found ticks on themselves. If I remember right... no-one actually got bitten because everyone was so aware.
Just pointing out that they can still be a problem in winter in some places, eg Dartmoor, which was one of the places sam mentioned in his original post.
Cold temperatures reduce tick activity, so ticks are most active from April to October. During warm winters & in certain areas of Britain, ticks 'quest' for blood throughout the whole year. Ticks may survive for more than a year without food & their bodies can remain in a dormant state for long periods. Because their bodies dry out easily, lack of moisture can be fatal to them at these times, e.g. hot, dry summers & very cold or dry winters.
Well maybe they could stay active around sunny South Hams (a nice place to spot glow-worms, by the way), but my winters on Dartmoor lead me to believe that any tick that values its life should be in the ground and hibernating. My first ever visit to Dartmoor involved being stuck in a snowdrift at Okehampton, and it definitely wasn't good weather for ticks. I don't doubt that they LIVE through the winter, I just doubt that they're ACTIVE on Dartmoor in the winter. They are, when all said and done, tiny, cold-blooded invertebrates and are therefore subject to the normal 'rules' for such creatures.
On the 'Sunny South Hams' theme... what ignorant oik decided to plant a sign on the shore warning people about the tide coming in? Eejits like that often get taken seriously, and that could well start a trend for 'warning' signs all the way round Britain!
As has been said ticks tend to hang out in long vegetation. In the Lake District long vegetation is usually easily avoidable. Personally I've never seen any ticks there. As oposed to the Scottish Highlands where I was constantly brushing them off my trousers along paths commonly used by deer. On paths which showed no signs of use by deer ticks were noticeably absent. Lots of slugs in the Lake District though for budding tarpers to wake up with.
The dug was certainly picking up ticks all through last winter but to be fair she wasn't walking on the moor every day, so if I widen it to say they're active in Devon (including the South Hams) through the winter, I think we agree, Paddy?
I'm not normally bothered by ticks but after a trip to Rum last month I had to remove several of the little beggars. I was then up in Inchnadamph, Assynt and the owner of the Inchnadamph Lodge was saying they are really bad up there this year. Well he was cutting his grass and I had been very dry there during May.
MoS - to my mind - South Hams is like the tropics compared to Dartmoor! I've also seen more snakes and lizards in an hour round South Hams than I'd normally expect to see in five years! It would be nice if the reptile life could see its way to eating the tick life!
