(My boss said it was a grass tick. He told me that he used to collect ticks and sell them to vets so that they could milk them to get antibodies. I hadn’t heard of that before.
He said to catch them put a white sheet down in the area and they’ll gather onto that.)
I’m imagining a cattle sized tick with udders and a vet in a lab coat on a milk stool lol. Grass tick, cool, I might have to go down the Wikipedia rabbit hole :p
Ok I just looked it up. I’m pretty sure the one on me had eight legs not six. Or maybe the front two things are pincers, I really don’t know.
Edit. Just had another look and it had eight legs. Sorry in some other online info it said that the very young ones have six legs which is what I’m referring to.
““Grass ticks” are not a separate species. The term usually refers to the tiny, newly-hatched larval stage of the Australian Paralysis Tick (Ixodes holocyclus), also known as “seed” or “pepper” ticks. Though only 0.5 to 1.5 mm in size, their bites are just as dangerous as adult ticks and can transmit paralysis, severe allergies (including red meat allergy), or transmit tick-borne diseases.”
I know the deer ticks here can cause the red meat allergy along with Lyme disease and stuff, but man, I don’t know if I’ve heard about paralysis! Ticks that can paralyze you sound fucking terrifying! My brother in Christ, to think I was going to inquire about being an honorary Aussie lol. I’m a little scared now! I mean I already knew y’all had some interesting wildlife, but oh my goodness! 😱😨
“No, paralysis from tick bites is generally not permanent. The condition is caused by a neurotoxin in the tick’s saliva that disrupts nerve-to-muscle signals. Once the tick is removed and the toxin leaves the body, normal muscle function typically returns.”
So you should visit soon. You won’t want to leave. Where are you by the way ?
Illinois, US. My ex wifes dream was to visit Australia. I think it may of had something to do with y’all’s wildlife. She loved Steve Irwin. At some point she was scheming to use her mom’s timeshare points or whatever they are to get a hotel there. It does seem like there’s some awesome natural beauty there though, I heard it might almost be paralyzing :)
Ha. Mate you should absolutely visit. I fully understand that you have amazing places over there. Well here there are lots of beautiful spots kinda on our doorstep.
It’s a different world my friend. I’m from England and got here 32 years ago. I don’t visit those places anymore, but it’s nice to know that they exist. And I have great memories of such places. I’m lucky that I’ve had Aussies let me tag along with them on some trips.
And it’s just such a fantastic feeling of feeling safe. There are no mountain lions stalking you, or the chance of running into bears for instance. And violent crime is pretty damn low.
My advice generally is to travel while you can, because we don’t really want to live with regrets. ( I mean we live with plenty I reckon, but let’s minimise them if we can. )
And don’t worry about ticks. These last four make a total of five since I got here.
As for all the other scary animals that want to kill you, meh. Yes they exist, but so do many many other crap things in life that we rarely come across.
What is the type in the photograph, do you know?
(My boss said it was a grass tick. He told me that he used to collect ticks and sell them to vets so that they could milk them to get antibodies. I hadn’t heard of that before.
He said to catch them put a white sheet down in the area and they’ll gather onto that.)
I’m sorry you milk what for a living?
Oh. Ticks with a TEE
I’m imagining a cattle sized tick with udders and a vet in a lab coat on a milk stool lol. Grass tick, cool, I might have to go down the Wikipedia rabbit hole :p
Ok I just looked it up. I’m pretty sure the one on me had eight legs not six. Or maybe the front two things are pincers, I really don’t know.
Edit. Just had another look and it had eight legs. Sorry in some other online info it said that the very young ones have six legs which is what I’m referring to.
““Grass ticks” are not a separate species. The term usually refers to the tiny, newly-hatched larval stage of the Australian Paralysis Tick (Ixodes holocyclus), also known as “seed” or “pepper” ticks. Though only 0.5 to 1.5 mm in size, their bites are just as dangerous as adult ticks and can transmit paralysis, severe allergies (including red meat allergy), or transmit tick-borne diseases.”
I know the deer ticks here can cause the red meat allergy along with Lyme disease and stuff, but man, I don’t know if I’ve heard about paralysis! Ticks that can paralyze you sound fucking terrifying! My brother in Christ, to think I was going to inquire about being an honorary Aussie lol. I’m a little scared now! I mean I already knew y’all had some interesting wildlife, but oh my goodness! 😱😨
I had a quick look into paralysis ticks.
“No, paralysis from tick bites is generally not permanent. The condition is caused by a neurotoxin in the tick’s saliva that disrupts nerve-to-muscle signals. Once the tick is removed and the toxin leaves the body, normal muscle function typically returns.”
So you should visit soon. You won’t want to leave. Where are you by the way ?
Illinois, US. My ex wifes dream was to visit Australia. I think it may of had something to do with y’all’s wildlife. She loved Steve Irwin. At some point she was scheming to use her mom’s timeshare points or whatever they are to get a hotel there. It does seem like there’s some awesome natural beauty there though, I heard it might almost be paralyzing :)
Ha. Mate you should absolutely visit. I fully understand that you have amazing places over there. Well here there are lots of beautiful spots kinda on our doorstep.
It’s a different world my friend. I’m from England and got here 32 years ago. I don’t visit those places anymore, but it’s nice to know that they exist. And I have great memories of such places. I’m lucky that I’ve had Aussies let me tag along with them on some trips.
And it’s just such a fantastic feeling of feeling safe. There are no mountain lions stalking you, or the chance of running into bears for instance. And violent crime is pretty damn low.
My advice generally is to travel while you can, because we don’t really want to live with regrets. ( I mean we live with plenty I reckon, but let’s minimise them if we can. )
And don’t worry about ticks. These last four make a total of five since I got here.
As for all the other scary animals that want to kill you, meh. Yes they exist, but so do many many other crap things in life that we rarely come across.
Feel free to ask me anything if you wish.