Question about Lone Star Ticks on Signal and Lookout Mountain (house, allergy)

[cepeha]

I am considering a move to either Signal or Lookout Mountain, two very great options of many, but wanted to know how the residents of Hamilton County perceive the ever present tick population. I love walking on trails with my dog, yes on leash, and would love to know if locals have encountered any serious problems/have major concerns if not wandering off the designated trails. I’m quite aware of common sense protocol, but I’m seriously afraid of the Lone Star Tick meat allergy!! I’d be devastated if I couldn’t enjoy a good steak or eat my bi monthly ribs My dog does have topical insect meds I use religiously, I would use DEET for the first time, if it meant not getting near death from my favorite foods. Any advice or thoughts are greatly appreciated .

[Normashirley]

Lone Star ticks can be found all over Tennessee.

I'm in southern Middle Tennessee and pick the little so-and-so's off my horses on a steady basis -- all year long. We have 25 acres that we keep well groomed and a neighbor has chickens, so our tick population is pretty low.

When hiking, you will find the biggest Lone Star tick populations in/near Cedar trees first, pine trees second

Don't believe the notion that ticks die in the winter -- they do NOT. They burrow into the dirt. The colder the weather the deeper they burrow but dying only happens when we kill them.

The best you can do is to keep yourself covered, sprayed, and check yourself everywhere when you get back to the house -- and I do mean everywhere

Keep a good tick repellant on your dog but you have to realize the tick has to bite the dog in order to die from the repellant. So the product really isn't a repellant.

I like the Seresto collars the best BUT I had a purebred Lab and a Catahoula/Fox Terrier get sick from them. It ended up the only dog who didn't have a reaction was the Weimaraner and that was a great thing because she always had her nose in the weeds

I still have a Catahoula/Pit mix and purebred Rottweiler. I use Advantix II on both of them with a reasonable amount of success but I sure know when the product is getting close to the thirty day limit because they start scratching.

Best wishes and were it me (who is not a big meat eater, I would worry more about the other effects of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Lymes that you can get from deer & dog ticks