Tick in a Glass

Name one thing that everyone hates. Ticks! What good are they? What purpose do they serve? They are nasty, blood-sucking things that leave itchy welts when they bite and cause concern over Lyme disease for all of us who live where deer ticks are found.

What I know is that having animals that go outside means they will bring ticks into the house and then they will end up on you. I used to comb my cat Richie when he came in from hunting all day in the woods and fields, and sometimes I would find 11 ticks on him at a time. It used to be that we got a break from the ticks after Spring, but this year Fall is bringing them back. I recently pulled a couple off my other cat.

In Florida I always sprinkled Borax around to keep the flea population down and it kills other things too, so I did a Borax experiment with a tick. I closed in a jar with borax in the bottom and waited to see if he would die.   I waited for days and he didn’t die.  So I flushed him like I usually do.

My landlady used to burn them with her lighter, and my neighbors loved the fact that their chickens ate them.

It is snowing now, so I hope this means the end of ticks until Spring.