Tick...tick...tick...

Butterfly Exhibit 2008- Krohn Conservatory, originally uploaded by graggirl.

and not the clock kind either. Being from California I don't see ticks all that often and am not used to having to check my kids just because they played in the back yard. I know some of you live in tick infested areas. So I want to know what you do. How often do you check your kiddos? What does that consist of? How do you get them out? These questions are spurred on mainly by fact that this morning while cuddling in bed I pulled something out of Lacy's hair only to find it was a tick. My response was not great. I got the kids off the bed and threw the tick on the bed. I can't find it now of course. I was checking my children first. So that brings me to another question...how do you respond to feeling (paralyzing knowledge) there is a tick in your home? I am petrified of going to sleep in there now. My reaction is that I think we should evacuate the home and send it up in flames and start over, tick free. See how scared of ticks I am. Oh, and as for me, I got one running through the woods in Tennessee once. It dug in but I got it out and lit it on fire. I was so much less freaked out before I became a mom!
Sorry if I have been scarce. I am probably going to be that way until finals are over on May 7th. So bear with me I will be back and hopefully I will pop in and out between studying. I would like to share more photos from the butterfly exhibit this weekend. The show was a little bit of a disappointment but I did try and play with my camera some.

Comments

[Crystal]

Yikes! I hate ticks too. My kids usually get 3 or so a year. I usually do a complete tick check once a week starting in May. The kids strip and I look at all their skin. If you go on hikes in the woods, play in long grass, etc, be sure to check them after. The ticks like warm moist places, like armpits, underwear lines, backs of knees. It's so hard to check girls hair. I don't know what to say about your tick on the loose. Mabye he will die. Soon. We can hope for the best, right? :)

To get them out, I grab them firmly near their head (which is imbedded in the skin) with tweezers and pull straight out. Then clean clean clean the area. Keep an eye out for redness and swelling.....I am sure you alreday know to do that.