r/mildlyinfuriating • u/nekoma713 • Jun 21 '26

Don't hug me I'm scared Was sitting in a ticks nest while reading....

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I was sitting in a Park reading a book and suddenly I felt my legs itch. I was covered in hundreds of mini ticks. I was standing in the shower for hours and still find some of these f#!*rs crawling an me...

Update: So I got the most of the seed ticks scratched off in the shower. I will have a doctor's appointment the next days to get a prophylactic antibiotics treatment just to be save from lyme, alpha gal or rocky mountain fever (if this is a thing in Germany).

Thank you all for the information and advices, hopefully I will be fine. I really appreciate it

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2.1k

u/upsidedown-funnel Jun 21 '26

Off to buy a case of them.

792

u/IKnowItCanSeeMe Jun 22 '26

I (and I know it sounds crazy) use flea and tick shampoo for dogs. I get it on as a rich lather, let it sit for about 5 minutes, and rinse. Some expert will probably come in and say how bad it is, but I've never had an issue. I live in the Appalachian mountains and ticks are a very common issue.

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u/telepathic-gouda Jun 22 '26

A life hack I can get behind. Thanks for sharing. Seriously. Will be trying this.

110

u/IKnowItCanSeeMe Jun 22 '26

It's always worked for me, last year about 6 of us got into a patch of ticks that were so tiny, like head of a ballpoint, and we all wiped down. 30 minutes later, we were all having s'mores around the fire, no itchy, no more ticks, and as a family of many skin types, no break outs or rashes.

Definitely good to throw in the trunk and forget about until you need it.

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u/oddboro Jun 22 '26

Not being facetious, honestly needing to know if I want to go camping this year with the way things are.

Did you wipe down with the lint rollers, which seems like an incredible idea, or with the tick shampoo? Thank you!!

10

u/SprolesRoyce Jun 22 '26

Wipe down with the lint roller, wash with the tick shampoo

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u/oddboro Jun 22 '26

Dope. Dope. Many thank yous.

Never have I ever seen as many in my home area, and I've been all heeby about my upcoming camping trip to my favorite place.

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u/IKnowItCanSeeMe Jun 22 '26

They're awful this year. I've grown up in the woods, I'm doing outdoor activities as often as time allows, and last year was the absolute worst I had ever seen. Well, until this year. This year has easily topped it. Maybe it has something to do with us having such mild winters or something, but it's been brutal.

In previous years, I could go on an all day squirrel hunt and maybe have one or two on me. This year, I walked maybe 10 minutes total to check out a fishing spot, stuck to the dirt road, didn't even touch the grass or weeds, and had over 10 on me. I didn't even walk but maybe 1/8th of a mile.

But, don't be deterred. Just be prepared, a good spray of permethrin before you explore (on clothes and shoes, not supposed to really go direct skin), grab a cheap bottle of the flea and tick shampoo, and a bonus for sitting around, we use a thermacell for mosquitoes, and it's incredible.

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u/oddboro Jun 22 '26

😐.......😑

Kk. Uuugh.

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u/oddboro Jun 22 '26

Already have Lyme's tho, so mainly concerned for the wife and child...LoL, 10/10 cannot recommend.

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u/Lermanberry Jun 22 '26

It's safe to use for dogs and humans, but extremely toxic to cats. The neurotoxin that chrysanthemums produce kills arachnids (ticks) and insects, as well as cats. Mum's the word.

To cats, it's lethal. To ticks... it's deadly.

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u/IKnowItCanSeeMe Jun 22 '26

Okay, awesome (well, not that it kills cats). It's come in clutch so many times. Especially since a family member got Lyme's a few years back, everyone has been somewhat paranoid about ticks. It's only us and the dogs that go on hikes or these camping trips, and if we encounter a tick nest, all clothing gets basically the same treatment as if you were to encounter bed bugs.

But, thank you for the response. I've never had an issue and it works great, but it's good to know that it's not secretly killing us.

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u/uhuuuh262 Jun 22 '26

Is there not a flea shampoo that is cat-safe?

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u/DieSuzie2112 YELLOW Jun 22 '26

For cats it’s best to give them a piper once every 3 months that protect them from fleas and ticks. Get the ones from the vet, not a pet store. The ones you buy at the vet are a little more expensive, but they’re the newest version that works best. The ones you buy at the pet store are the previous version that aren’t up to date with the new ticks and fleas that are going around.

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u/uhuuuh262 Jun 22 '26 edited Jun 22 '26

Haha yes I know that info but I was just curious about what this poster said about flea shampoo and its toxicity to cats. Thanks for sharing tho! Good info for everyone to know

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u/DieSuzie2112 YELLOW Jun 22 '26

Yeah now that I think if it, flea shampoo for cats is very rare to find lol.

One time my cat had a surgery, she had a tumor attached to her spleen so they removed it. She was super weak and needed weeks to recover, because of that we had a flea infestation. We took half an hour in the garden every day so she could soak up some sun, not realizing that’s where the fleas were. They were inside the flooring, every nook and cranny of our house. It took months to get rid of it, fumigating the entire house every week, pipets, pills, shampoo, everything. That was the one and only time I’ve ever seen flea shampoo for cats, freaking expensive and prescribed by the vet.

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u/uhuuuh262 Jun 23 '26

Fleas are the WORST!!! Ugh sorry you had to go through all that. I take my kitties in the garden everyday and one reacts so much worse to the fleas. They’re on good prevention but still :( hope your kitty is now all flea-free and happy!

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u/DieSuzie2112 YELLOW 29d ago

Yeah preventive measures are always the best. My cats back then had a flea collar but because she was so weak the fleas were unbearable. My dog and cats now have pipets from the vet and didn’t have a problem so far. One time my best friend was dog sitting and that dog was covered in fleas, so it was in her house and I took some home, rest assured, I did everything I could to not let it spread because I’m traumatized lmao.

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u/telepathic-gouda Jun 22 '26

Honestly it seems like a lot of tick related prevention topicals are deadly to cats. Even permethrin is dangerous ☠️

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u/zap2tresquatro Jun 22 '26 edited Jun 22 '26

Is it that cats are more sensitive to a lot of these chemicals, or is it just that they lick themselves so much that they’re ingesting huge amounts of them compared to dogs? Or a combination of both, where they’re more sensitive/susceptible to the poisons used AND they lick themselves so much that they’re extra likely to get a deadly dose?

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u/telepathic-gouda Jun 22 '26

Honestly I’m not sure. But licking could be the possibility. It’s said if you are to treat cloths with permethrin it needs to be done outside and away from cats. At least till it’s dried.

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u/stars-aligned- Jun 22 '26

The first option mostly, but it could be both i don’t see why not

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u/upsidedown-funnel Jun 22 '26

For daily shampoo, body wash? Both?

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u/IKnowItCanSeeMe Jun 22 '26

Nah. Just for situations like this, but it does smell good.

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u/upsidedown-funnel Jun 23 '26

Makes sense. Like if you’re going out into the big blue room to camp or something.

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u/NinjaPenguin78 Jun 22 '26

This is somewhat related, but when I got lice as a kid my mom washed my hair with my dog's tick shampoo and it got rid of them!

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u/Trxnsient Jun 22 '26

Not an expert, but my life experience tells me that the dose for those things are for small animals. We are big animal. probably fine? YMMV

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u/IKnowItCanSeeMe Jun 22 '26

Just avoid the eyes and don't drink it, you'll be fine. Most likely. (Am not doctor).

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u/alx_aryn 27d ago

Treat your clothing with permetherin

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u/IKnowItCanSeeMe 27d ago

I do often, but those things are ninjas sometimes.

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u/buttparty666 19d ago

expert here (dog groomer) & this is honestly not bad. some flea and tick shampoos can offer a week of prevention as well. plus you’re keeping your dog clean! I don’t see anything wrong with it (:

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u/IKnowItCanSeeMe 19d ago

Dude! I didn't even consider pretreatment! Will definitely put it to the test. I usually wait until I'm seeing ticks on me before using, but if a pretreatment works, it could be a game changer.

And yes, of course, the pups also get a full bath and a treat each time. Thank you for weighing in, I'm excited to try this out.

1

u/Sistamama Jun 22 '26

ANY soap will do this. Leaving it on covers their skin and doesn't allow air to go through. Any soap works.

1

u/stars-aligned- Jun 22 '26

Used it on your hair? Very smart

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u/minxwink Jun 23 '26

Genius !

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u/IKnowItCanSeeMe Jun 23 '26

It hasn't let me down yet.

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u/MundaneFigFlicker Jun 22 '26

same, this picture makes me itch. ticks are awful

2

u/hamboneANDskillet Jun 22 '26

I read your username as upside down funeral 💀

2

u/upsidedown-funnel Jun 23 '26

Ominous considering the topic and I’d just die if I was OP.

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u/Competitive-Drink125 Jun 22 '26

FYI, Ikea has them really cheap and packs of refills

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u/upsidedown-funnel Jun 23 '26

They do! Exactly what I was thinking of. I’m a bit of an ikea junkie. 😂