After this long, nasty winter, we are anxious to come out of hibernation.
We will once again enjoy the warm outdoors … but beware.
My GrandDad believed, They are waiting to ambush you.
The “they” referred to ticks.
Many summers I would help him herd cattle out of the thickets of East Texas … and most of the time, I would return with mauve half a dozen ticks.
GrandDad would say, They hide in those trees, just waiting for you to ride under them, and that’s when they jump you.
Even if you don’t get into the woods, you could end up with a tick or two. You might just be cooking in the backyard or playing golf and hunting down balls that missed the fairway and darn near the entire course.
I’ve even been sitting at an outside cafe and after a light breeze, looked down to find the wind had carried one of those miniature vipers through the air until he ended up on my arm.
There are various old school methods to get rid of a tick. Some work, and some shoos never be tried.
Using tweezers to pluck a tick is not a good idea ; usually you leave the hear imbedded
Lighting a match, blowing bit our and touching the smoking end to a ticket will sometimes cause him to back out. Other times, the tick just digs in deeper.
My GrandMother had her own tactic.
When I would get home from herring cattle, I would strip down and climb into a tub GrandMother had prepared.
She would pour a lye soap or ammonia into the water.
My skin would burn, but the ticks would soon release hold and be floating in the water.
As GrandDad said, A tick doesn’t have a chance if your GrandMother is in the house.
I can still smell the stench of that water and the burning of my skin.