Ticked Off: Part II

Unfortunately there is more to the story. Part II has good news and bad news.

The good news is that now we don't think Princess had a tick embedded in her head all week. The bad news is that we found a tick on Flower yesterday afternoon.

Flower was in the bathroom and I went to help her finish up. I helped her off the potty and noticed something in the crease of her leg. You guessed it, tick number 2. I sent Princess to find Dear Husband. He is a pro at tick removal (and yes, his service is available to anyone in need) now so he showed up with alcohol and tweezers. Princess brought the sandwich bag. DH removed, bagged, and labeled the tick in seconds. Now we have a collection of frozen ticks.

You are probably wondering what the good news is. Flower's tick was barely in her and I know it wasn't there Friday at bedtime so we think she picked it up Saturday morning. We didn't leave the house Saturday morning. This means Princess might have picked up her tick in the house, most likely on Thursday.

From the online research we've learned ticks can only live on another animal or in wet environments. When we got home from our hike on Monday we were all soaked to the bone and muddy. We threw our wet clothes in the laundry. Then we found the leaking water heater and I immediately forgot about our wet clothes.

Thursday I decided to do laundry. I remember sorting the damp, smelly stuff from Monday and cursing myself for letting them sit for three days. I sorted the laundry on the floor downstairs. There is a large plant very close to this area. We think the ticks (hopefully only 2) made their way to the plant or one immediately found Princess.

Now we are all performing tick checks twice daily. I am examining every small round brown thread in the carpet. Keilie dog is wearing a tick collar. I am praying we only brought 2 ticks home with us. DH is leaving tomorrow on a fishing trip and will be gone all week. I hope I won't need the tweezers in his absence.

As a side note, we were seated in church this morning when Nana, Papa, and Grandma M arrived. Princess started shouting to Nana as they approached our isle, "Nana, Nana, guess what....Flower got a tick too!" Flower was standing next to me by the isle so Papa leaned over to say hi to Flower and ask me if she really did get a tick. Flower immediately pulled her pants down and showed God, Papa, and those seated near us the little red mark on her groin. The child is not modest.