Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Giveaway Winner! ... And A Message About Ticks

Today is the drawing for the Going Over 10,000 Views Giveaway Celebration!  My daughter was so happy to put all the names in a hat and draw the winner for me before she ran off to school this morning.   



And the winner of "Carrots Love Tomatoes" by Louise Riotte is ....

hoosier girl!

Congratulations!  E-mail me at my address below to send me your address and I'll get the book right in the mail!
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Now, a message about ticks. 
(May I add that simply looking for pictures of ticks made my lip curl)


We've had an unusually warm autumn and the ticks are horrible.    The family went for a walk and we found ticks climbing up our pant legs!  I went hunting, and even with all the necessary precautions, I still found a tick with it's head embedded into my foot.  

How do you get out a tick that's embedded itself into you?  In the past, I've tried the old standbys of putting a hot match to it's rear (didn't work) and putting Vaseline on it to smother it (I don't know about you, but I don't want to wait around for that nasty thing to smother - ugh). 

 I have found that the best way to remove a tick is to grasp the body firmly with a pair of tweezers and rotate counter clockwise (why counter clockwise?  I don't know, maybe because I'm right-handed, but it seems to work) while very gently pulling away with the tick.  You may have to rotate the tick body 5-7 times before it lets go.  Disinfect the site.  

I quickly run the tick to the toilet and flush it down because it seems that you can squeeze a tick really, really hard and it doesn't die!  This method of removing ticks works well with your dogs and cats too - if you can get them to sit still (the pets, not the ticks).     

Be sure to watch for infection of the site and particularly look for a telltale red bulls eye which indicates Lyme's Disease.  See a doctor if either of these things happen.
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srfitzg@zitomedia.net

4 comments:

  1. Oh my goodness! I'm so excited!!!!!!! Thanks soooo much! And I have to add that I am a tick hater which is why we have guineas. They do a great job of tick control.

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  2. Hi there! New Follower here. Oh yeah, we hate ticks here in the Ozarks too. I've pulled hundreds of ticks off myself and my husband (yes, hundreds) and I find the best way is to just grab it and pull it right out without twisting or anything. I've heard all the "ways" and honestly, some of them are just weird. One lady swore up & down that you had to cover it in RED nail polish.

    Looking forward to reading your blog!

    Carolyn @ Krazo Acres

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  3. Congrats hoosergirl. I know you will love the book,

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  4. Red nail polish? Ugh. Again, you have to wait for the tick to fall off.

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