Seed Ticks

Three years ago when I first moved into Missouri, I happened upon a nest of seed ticks while out on the farm.  By the time my feet started itching and we realized what was going on, my feet and ankles were covered with the damn things!  I had several weeks of misery before they finally stopped itching so badly.  I've been pretty good about staying out of the woods during seed tick season, but a few weeks ago I was taking my daily walk on the trails when I ventured off into the fields to get a picture of some pretty milkweed that was blooming.  The memory of the last seed tick adventure must have faded from my mind enough for me to forget that it was almost August and I needed to be careful.  Awhile after I got home I felt my feet tingling and realized immediately what I had done.  I took off my shoes and socks and scraped off all visible ticks.  A few hours later my thighs started itching and I went upstairs to the bathroom and realized that I had ticks up my legs and beyond!  Mark has told me that he has taken showers with flea soap to get rid of them in the past, so without a moment's hesitation Lucy's flea shampoo was drafted for a  more noble purpose!  The next day when the bites were all evident, I had hundreds.  On my legs, stomach, back, shoulders, arms and even one on my chin! I HATE SEED TICKS!  I had checked in with my doctor during a different visit for his itching recommendation, and he said any of the newer antihistamines were my best bet.  Allegra was doing a pretty good job, but I did a few days later go to urgent care to see if there was something stronger, primarily because of my trip to GA and not wanting to be miserable while visiting.  The urgent care doctor said that I was the worst case he had seen that summer, and almost his worst case ever.  I was beaten out by a ten year old who was covered AND still had ticks in place.  He was also impressed with Mark's resourcefulness of flea shampoo!  Needless to say I have not ventured off the mowed lawn since, and won't possibly until the first frost.  I HATE SEED TICKS!  Several days after getting to GA, I got Sara to take a picture.  She said just looking at my ankles made her skin crawl.  This was definitely the most heavily affected area, but the rest of me didn't fare too much better!  I have now placed "seed tick season" on my Outlook calendar, and I hope I never come across them again!!