Tick time in the South. . .

Thomas' class went on a field trip today to a local produce farm. He was so excited he got to go on a hay ride and pick strawberries and he brought home a green bean to plant. He had a lot of fun. He also got to see some cows, horses, and peacocks. Only Thomas did not pronounce them that way. He called them "cocktails," I was not sure exactly where they had been after that comment.

They evidently had a really good time. He was so tired when he got home all he wanted to do was lay down and that is just not my Thomas. Jack was busy studying for the EOG in the kitchen so I made Thomas go to my room to lay on the bed. Not long after that he started screaming and he had hit his head on the wall. I went running down the hall to check on him and he was hysterical of course. He would not be my child if he were not. I started rubbing his head and checking to see if he was going to get a goose egg and found another little surprise. Yes, a tick. Ok, I will be honest, I panicked. I lost my head and was not sure what to do to get it off without injury or spreading any disease. So I ran to my trusty computer and googled ticks. I found several sites on identification but not many on how to remove one. I decided I would try alcohol, and no not a cocktail, but rubbing alcohol. I saturated a cotton ball and placed it over the tick still attached to Thomas' head. I found my tweezers and pulled, without squeezing the little body and put the tick on another cotton ball soaked with alcohol and put it in a zip loc baggie.

I returned to my trusty computer to google ticks again to find out which one we had. After looking at all the pictures I think it is an American Dog Tick. Yep, this is the one that carries good old Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. I don't think it was on him long enough to cause any trouble but I will be watching out for it.

So be sure you check your kids for ticks everyday. Especially if they have been in and around the woods. It is that time of year.