Thursday, July 4, 2013

Tick Bombs


So yesterday I briefly mentioned ticks. Let me now explain to you what a "tick bomb" is. Here in the wetlands ticks can very in size; from large to tiny. In addition, ticks can vary in color. Today I learned that some tick species are very social animals. For instance- one species of tick occasionally gather in large groups, usually of 200 to 500 animals. These, what I refer to as 'tick parties' occur at the tips of grass blades or on the edge of leaves. The ticks in these parties are incredibly small, but together they form quite a force. An army. These parties look to the untrained eye like little fury grey clouds upon a pleasant green leaf. But beware: Ticks are thirsty for blood. And because none of the ticks ever gets the BYOB memo for their parties- they wait around for an animal to wonder by.This is where the "bomb" part comes in.... When an animal briefly brushes past this fury grey/green leaf... The ticks freakin' EXPLODE.... And you soon notice that you have literally hundreds of ticks running up your legs. Ok? Would you like to know how I know this? BECAUSE THIS HAPPENED TO ME TODAY!!!!!!!!!I didn't notice until our guide pointed out to me that I had two exploded tick bombs, one per leg, as I was calmly eating my delicious lunch of scrambled eggs and rice. Oh, there were hundreds. And I lost my mind. ProTip: When you are the target of a tick bomb, use handfuls of sand/dirt to rub against the site of the explosion. This technique rids you of ticks in that area. I don't really get it, but it works.And so my outfit went from completely pitch black to sandy grey. Also, I had hundreds of ticks on my clothing. Shoutout to all of my friends who groomed me for an hour out under those beautiful mango trees. The ticks were black... And my outfit was dark, as I mentioned, so it was difficult to see the little buggers. Our guide picked two ticks off of my neck. But those were the only two ticks that bit me.... A freaking miracle. I went home when I realized the ticks had found their way inside of my pants. It took 30 minutes to get home. When I got there, I stripped. My whole body was covered in the dirt I had used to wash off the ticks while in the forest. Natalie checked my back for me. None. I checked everywhere else.... None. Two tick bombs and only two attached ticks. Why on EARTH was I that lucky??? Oh boy, that was an emotional roller coaster. What the heck am I doing here? Jk,

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