http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Topic: Anyone ever get ticks when they're cycling? en Wed, 13 May 2026 02:06:49 +0000 http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13183#post-380440 Fri, 01 Aug 2025 15:24:57 +0000 gembo 380440@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>@neddie this was years back. Before secrets.</p> <p>Happy to lead an expedition.</p> <p>There is a lovely Sheep Fank for luncheon. Photos somewhere of us all sitting on it.</p> <p>@Algo took most of the bikes in his Scooby Mobile but not sure it is still going?</p> <p>Started when I cycled all the way there one summer evening and met a terrier called Gadaffi in the kennels near the end of the road.if you check out page 82 of the lovely ride thread @amir provides a map of Coulter Reservoir Road. Remember to bear left or you end up at windfarms further down the valley. The caricaturist Gilroy is maybe buried in Coulter Kirk or maybe just born there.</p> <p>The last house before the road turns to track has a lovey old Austin 7 I have spotted the owner taking it down to Biggar for the Saturday Guardian.</p> <p>It is possible to cycle there and back from Balerno but would be a big day out to cycle to Coulter reservoir then do the bike a hike. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13183#post-380437 Fri, 01 Aug 2025 12:06:55 +0000 neddie 380437@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>What a shame the non-secret part of CCE were not invited </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13183#post-380436 Thu, 31 Jul 2025 18:59:21 +0000 gembo 380436@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I had to push through a lot of bracken, indeed it broke my fall coming off Coulter Fell on a nice day out with @Algo @Unhurt, @IWRATs, Shasha BIKESTATION AND SOME other cats. Ticks were available. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13183#post-380435 Thu, 31 Jul 2025 16:27:48 +0000 chdot 380435@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/jul/31/sweat-stingers-and-scratching-14-expert-easy-ways-to-treat-and-prevent-insect-bites" rel="nofollow">https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/jul/31/sweat-stingers-and-scratching-14-expert-easy-ways-to-treat-and-prevent-insect-bites</a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13183#post-380434 Thu, 31 Jul 2025 16:27:44 +0000 chdot 380434@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/jul/31/sweat-stingers-and-scratching-14-expert-easy-ways-to-treat-and-prevent-insect-bites" rel="nofollow">https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/jul/31/sweat-stingers-and-scratching-14-expert-easy-ways-to-treat-and-prevent-insect-bites</a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13183#post-379314 Mon, 21 Apr 2025 11:01:30 +0000 chdot 379314@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><a href="https://theferret.scot/releasing-pheasants-boosts-lyme-disease-risk-study/" rel="nofollow">https://theferret.scot/releasing-pheasants-boosts-lyme-disease-risk-study/</a></p> <p><a href="https://x.com/ferretscot/status/1914212645491650917?" rel="nofollow">https://x.com/ferretscot/status/1914212645491650917?</a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13183#post-374518 Wed, 17 Apr 2024 22:02:16 +0000 the canuck 374518@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I suspect I'd picked mine up while using nature's toilet, so from teh evening into the next morning, and then we did our inspection that evening, so 24 hrs max.</p> <p>Very helpful was to take phone photos of any mystery red spot, and then zoom in--several of them were so small they were just a faint shadow under the skin, only visible when magnified! </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13183#post-374494 Tue, 16 Apr 2024 22:09:26 +0000 gembo 374494@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I listened to it too, they picked up some tiny ones on the travelling rug they were dragging around Richmond Park. Deer ticks?</p> <p>How long have you got with them attached before trouble? Had the devil of a time getting one off the top of my leg in a car park in fort William in 1984. </p> <p>Was probably from going through bracken in shorts.</p> <p>Anyone else in the car park might have wondered what we were doing. But was empty. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13183#post-374493 Tue, 16 Apr 2024 21:57:31 +0000 the canuck 374493@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I heard that. The advice to just check your skin wasn't massively helpful. Last time I got ticks (North West Scottish coast), many of them were so tiny that headtorches, magnifying glasses, and a second person were involved. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13183#post-374474 Tue, 16 Apr 2024 09:49:04 +0000 chdot 374474@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>“</p> <p>We go on a tick hunt</p> <p>Inside Health</p> <p>We head to a leafy oasis in London to talk all things ticks - and see if we can catch some. How worried should we be about them?</p> <p>“</p> <p><a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001y87fI’m" rel="nofollow">https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001y87fI’m</a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13183#post-161996 Wed, 13 Aug 2014 10:56:36 +0000 I were right about that saddle 161996@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Could be the start of taking this issue a bit more seriously...</p> <p><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-28755248" rel="nofollow">http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-28755248</a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13183#post-160570 Tue, 29 Jul 2014 10:20:22 +0000 wingpig 160570@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><blockquote><em>"otherwise they nestle in the nape of your neck, under the hairline, until they get a better chance later"</em></blockquote></p> <p>I saw someone cycling with a neck buff today. Tick-defence could explain that, but not the people wearing zipped-up anoraks despite the heat.</p> <p>Maybe that's the purpose of my hypersweatiness - it's a defensive adaptation to try and drown stowaway arthropods. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13183#post-160568 Tue, 29 Jul 2014 10:16:34 +0000 minus six 160568@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>The ticks they fall like rain, and Lyme Disease is endemic in Scotland. </p> <p>Often misdiagnosed as MS, so i chuckle when they ponder why MS has such a high rate in Scotland.</p> <p>There is a recognised political issue, both here and in the USA, surrounding antibiotic treatment for Lyme.</p> <p>Your GP, or consultants at Infectious Diseases unit, will tell you that after the brief initial dose of antibiotics, you can't possibly still have Lyme, your symptoms are definitely not related. </p> <p>However:</p> <p><em>Bush and Lyme disease: what's the secret?</em></p> <p><em>The White House won't reveal the length of the president's antibiotics course. Are they protecting the insurance industry?</em></p> <p><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2007/aug/13/bushandlymediseasewhatsth" rel="nofollow">http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2007/aug/13/bushandlymediseasewhatsth</a></p> <p>worth a read. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13183#post-160564 Tue, 29 Jul 2014 10:00:29 +0000 Min 160564@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>!</p> <p>Staying indoors for the rest of my life it is then.. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13183#post-160562 Tue, 29 Jul 2014 09:46:04 +0000 minus six 160562@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><em>I think all of my ticks have been caught while I was wearing trousers</em></p> <p>neck buff is useful. </p> <p>otherwise they nestle in the nape of your neck, under the hairline, until they get a better chance later </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13183#post-160558 Tue, 29 Jul 2014 09:22:46 +0000 Min 160558@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><em>From now on it's lightweight walking trousrs on the hill and lycra on the bike. </em></p> <p>I am not sure that works. I think all of my ticks have been caught while I was wearing trousers. My latest tick was on my stomach which makes me think it must have got up my t-shirt. Up until that point I had been wondering if gaiters might help. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13183#post-160535 Mon, 28 Jul 2014 19:41:34 +0000 Dangerous 160535@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Yes.</p> <p>Got a Couple whilst mountain biking in Scolty Forest near Elgin.</p> <p>Didn't know much about Ticks and Lymes disease until about 3 years ago.</p> <p>It can be fatal as a former colleague died from it. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13183#post-160513 Mon, 28 Jul 2014 13:24:10 +0000 minus six 160513@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>@JohnS</p> <p>The NHS typically don't allow a sufficient antibiotic treatment length for Lyme. A fortnight isn't enough.</p> <p>My partner has had Lyme for seven years on and off, and has developed <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transverse_myelitis">serious secondary conditions</a> which are now permanent.</p> <p>If you developed symptoms you should be pushing for a full month of antibiotics.</p> <p>Read this stuff * (everyone should, really):</p> <p><a href="http://lymeywifey.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/lyme-overview-presentation.html" rel="nofollow">http://lymeywifey.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/lyme-overview-presentation.html</a></p> <p>(read both the presentation and the notes)</p> <p>(* not written by my partner, someone else) </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13183#post-160498 Mon, 28 Jul 2014 12:06:59 +0000 paolobr 160498@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I did find one on my leg while touring up to visit my family in Lossiemouth a few years ago. I'd been camping on the way, suspect it attached while I was rough camping at Loch an Eilein near Aviemore on the last day. Discovered it while in the bath later that day... </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13183#post-160480 Mon, 28 Jul 2014 10:25:39 +0000 JohnS 160480@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I have just finished a course of antibiotics as a precaution against Lymme's Disease. I caught two ticks cycling with silly loose shorts in Tentsmuir, Fife. It can take up to 15 days for symptoms to appear - usually an odd/ red large rash around the bite at least the size of a 50p piece. I developed these within that period. My GP advised to go straight onto antibiotics as the symptoms can be slow to appear. Blood tests show all clear thank goodness. Long term side affects can be nasty. I've picked up ticks hillwalking in the past, but nothing like this. GP said there has been a twofold increase in Lymme's largely due to mild winters. From now on it's lightweight walking trousrs on the hill and lycra on the bike. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13183#post-160399 Sat, 26 Jul 2014 09:34:33 +0000 gembo 160399@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>My youngest was bitten by a cleg this summer as we were in Devon I suppose it was a horsefly. Nasty. I was bitten by. Cleg t the third hole of lochwinnoch golf course so often as. Child that it became a feature of the hole, bit like the bunker. Nasty. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13183#post-160397 Sat, 26 Jul 2014 09:25:10 +0000 Cyclingmollie 160397@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Never while cycling but a few times while walking. The dog gets one now and then. I've not seen Anthocoridae but <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trombiculidae">Trombiculidae</a> were a problem when I was a child. My parents called them heat spots. A friend from Perthshire explained they were "berry bugs", tiny red spider mites. We never knew to avoid long grass (we lived in the country) nor found an antidote (Anthisan ftw). I hated them. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13183#post-160381 Fri, 25 Jul 2014 21:50:33 +0000 Min 160381@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><em>I say we take off and nuke the site from orbit, Min?</em></p> <p>I like that plan. Failing that, telling President Obama the tick has access to Russian made surface to air missiles would have a similar effect.</p> <p><em>My ex got Lyme's from a tick</em></p> <p>This is what bothers me. I read that it takes a few days for the disease to get passed to you so the sooner you find and remove the tick the better. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13183#post-160379 Fri, 25 Jul 2014 21:20:01 +0000 Uberuce 160379@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I say we take off and nuke the site from orbit, Min?</p> <p>I swept a round black insect from my thigh a couple of weeks ago, which I assume was a tick. It left a little mark on said limb, anyway. </p> <p>My ex got Lyme's from a tick, her main symptom being a tick bite that didn't heal so I watched the &lt;1mm wound closely, but since it healed in a handful of days, I assume I've gotten away with it. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13183#post-160377 Fri, 25 Jul 2014 21:00:58 +0000 Min 160377@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I am prone to ticks. I carry a tick remover in my first aid kit. I favour incinerating them with a lighter after removal, just to make sure. </p> <p>That tick video is oddly compelling. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13183#post-160363 Fri, 25 Jul 2014 16:26:36 +0000 I were right about that saddle 160363@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Ground dwelling midges? I've recently twigged that all the bites I get in the garden are down to minute pirates;</p> <p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthocoridae" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthocoridae</a></p> <p>Not sure if I'm prone to ticks, but I am prone to wading through vegetation. Inner thigh tick desperately unwelcome, even in 1980s Fort Bill. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13183#post-160362 Fri, 25 Jul 2014 16:24:12 +0000 wingpig 160362@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I had something fairly sizeable hanging onto my calf after visiting Dunvegan years ago but round here it's only Diptera and Hymenoptera which harass me. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13183#post-160361 Fri, 25 Jul 2014 16:18:25 +0000 gembo 160361@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>looks like you are prone to ticks</p> <p>always keen to remove them since story of person in bath and all the babies burst out</p> <p>wish i had known bout tick picks when I had one (inner thigh, Fort William 1985)</p> <p>I have some right itchy bites because I went down the garden last night after cyling home and had on little cycling socks which did not extend up my leg enough for the prevention of the little ground dwelling midges biting me. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=13183#post-160350 Fri, 25 Jul 2014 13:54:29 +0000 I were right about that saddle 160350@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I think it must have been when I was crashing through the foliage of Greenroofer's railway snicket from Myreside Road to Colinton Road down the side of Watsonian's cricket ground that I picked up a tick on the back of my thigh.</p> <p>Now my doctor gave me a formal instruction to take ticks seriously after learning that I got them regularly whilst running. Shorts and short sleeved tops are <em>verboten</em> to avoid tick-borne encephalitis or even Lyme disease. Any ticks got are to be removed by no means other than a tick-pick;</p> <p><a href="http://www.otom.com/how-to-remove-a-tick" rel="nofollow">http://www.otom.com/how-to-remove-a-tick</a></p> <p>Now I don't keep a tick pick in the office, and in fact I left mine at my mate's in Northumberland at the weekend. So I'm oddly proud of the improvised pick I just made from a sheet of Diet Coke can. Quick trip to the disabled toilets and the unwelcome arachnid has been consigned to the sink intact and alive.</p> <p>I think I'll add the improvised instrument to my toolkit. </p>