I'm trying to write a post about tick safety and avoiding tick bites, but a lot of the info on websites is like "Avoid going in the woods, in plants, and where there are wild animals" and "Activities like hiking and gardening can put you at risk" and I'm like thanks! This is worthless!

As ticks and tick borne illnesses are expanding their range, I think it's important for people to be educated about these things, and I think it's especially important to give people actual advice on how to protect themselves instead of telling them to just...avoid the natural world

Rough draft version of Tick Advice:

The above is useful for figuring out whether an area is likely to have lots of ticks, and how vigilant you have to be in that area.

If you're careful, you can usually catch ticks before they bite you, but if one does bite you, it's not the end of the world. Since tickborne diseases are different regionally i suspect this advice will differ based on where you are, but the important thing is remove the tick with tweezers (DON'T use butter, a lit match, or anything that kills the tick while it's still attached, please) and contact a doctor to see what to watch for. Most illnesses you can catch from ticks are easily treatable if you recognize them when symptoms first appear

Also, don't assume that just because you weren't in tall grasses you don't need to be checked.

Some advice from a former camp counselor:

- If you’re camping, check your towels, blankets, and anything else you’ve hung up before letting it touch your body. Ticks are drawn to wet towels and find it an easy jump to a person.

- If you’re out with a dog, check them over thoroughly before you pet them. Anti-tick medication can kill ticks that attach to your dog, but they can still hitch a ride on fur and then jump on you. Consider getting an outdoor comb and wear gloves while checking.

- Invest in a pair of fine-tipped tweezers to remove ticks. There are a ton of special “tick removal” tools that will work, but they’re essentially a riff on a basic set of fine-tipped tweezers. The fine tip allows you to pull a tick off without killing it while it’s attached. Standard, blunt-edged tweezers for eyebrows don’t work as well, because they can crush the tick’s body and release germs into your skin at the bite site.

- If you have a tick on or near your genitals, just go to a doctor. Just...just do it. Trust me. I’ve seen this happen. Do not engage with the junk tick.

- When you need to remove a tick, grasp it firmly with your tweezers as close to the skin as you can get it. If you can, grasp it under the head. Pull straight up - do not twist the tick. That’s going to be your best bet to pull it all off without leaving the head or mouth embedded.

- If you do break the tick, leave the mouth alone - don’t dig in to get it, since that can break your skin more and cause infection. Without the tick attached, the mouth should eventually fall off. If it doesn’t within a day or so, call a doctor.

- Disinfect, disinfect, disinfect. I’d recommend hitting the area with rubbing alcohol several times.

- Keep the tick in a plastic bag in your freezer or fridge. It’s gross, but if you start having any illness symptoms, it can be helpful for your doctor to have the tick itself.

- Watch for a rash on the site, a fever, chills, or body aches. If you experience anything like that, go to an urgent care or hospital.

- Don’t panic! Lyme disease is treatable. The quicker you get medical treatment, the less likely that you’ll have significant long-term effects.

Speaking as a long time outdoorsman this is all great advice. I’ll add one thing: in the past many places have had traditional tick seasons. Be aware that these seasons are shifting and expanding due to global climate change. I’ve spent a lot of time in the central Rocky Mountains and traditionally tick season was early to mid spring. That has shifted to late winter in the valleys and ranges to mid summer at higher altitudes.

Additionally, tick species ranges and the tickborne illness ranges have also been shifting because of climate change. Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever used to be moderately common in the Rockies and has expanded east.

Teal deer: don’t rely on traditional information, verify seasons and ranges before assuming you’re safe.

Do not engage with the junk tick.

Other protip: a deep woods style bug spray can repel ticks. Spray the insides and outsides of your shoes and also your socks. It helps a LOT.

I went from getting a dozen ticks to getting zero after doing this. Be aware that deep woods bug sprays are poisons and keep them away from non human animals and use sparingly on skin.

Tumblr adding polls was the best thing because it doesn’t matter what you’re asking, tumblr users LOVE sharing their opinions. You could ask something wildly abstract like “What cardinal direction do you associate with the person you reblogged this from?” and by the end of the day it’ll have 20k notes and there’s probably some kind of discourse happening in the replies.

Tumblr, you do not understand how little I want another 20k post.

how could you do this to me.

swerveconfident: "Boogeyman" 🔻👹🔻

📸: brainbuster__

(◡‿◡✿)

(ʘ‿ʘ✿) “what you say ‘bout me”

(ʘ‿ʘ)ノ✿ “hold my flower”

✿＼(｡-_-｡) “Kick his ass, baby.  I got yo flower.”

i found it

the original post

i found it

this should have the opportunity to be on everyone’s blog. 

*tour guide voice*

and here on the left ladies and gentlemen, you see one of the posts before everyone went batshit crazy

World Heritage Post

Everyone here is dead.

Any time I need to message tech support, I send an entire dissertation of all the trouble-shooting I’ve already done. They can’t know I’m weak. They have to know I’ve tried.

This is what you're supposed to do btw

If you already tried anything, you have to tell us because otherwise we're just gonna ask you "did you do x already", "okay please try y next" etc, not so much an issue if you're calling someone but if it's an email or ticket, it turns into a long and useless chain of "do this" and "I already did that"

The best thread incoming... Hilarious, fun memories wrestlers, trainers & more had with Chuck Taylor over the years, for those who are not on Twitter/X and can't see these!

Personally if I knew there was a guy in town who could send humanity back to the stone age by clapping his hands real hard I would simply hear him out and respond as necessary

Cereal Flirt

~

Mox huffs as he stands on his toes, trying to reach the top shelf. He could get there, he knows it, if it weren’t for this goddamned full arm cast.

“Fuckin’ Cocoa Puffs,” he grumbles. He stares at his bounty, mere inches from his fingertips, and wonders if throwing a box to knock over a box of Cocoa Puffs would cause too much damage.

“Uh, hey, dude.”

Mox turns around. “What?”

“Are you good?” His smile is a little too cute while his eyes are a little too smug. But they’re a green-blue that Mox has always been a sucker for, and his hair is curly and blonde, and Mox is too gay and too stupid for this.

“I – no.” Mox intended to say yeah, he’s fine, go away and annoy somebody else in the fancy juice aisle or whatever. But this guy is handsome and he’s thinking with his dick. “I can’t reach the Cocoa Puffs.”

“That’s all?” There’s a tiny twang in the accent, something that has Mox envisioning a cowboy hat. He glances down as the guy goes up on – yup. Cowboy boots. And an ass in shockingly tight jeans. He clears his throat. The guy hands him the box of cereal, gallant with a flourish. “There you go, man.”

Mox feels weirdly aflutter as he takes the cereal. “Thanks,” he says, and he hopes he isn’t blushing or anything.

The guy nods to his arm. “What’d you do to yourself?”

Mox grins. “Me and my bike underestimated a pothole.”

“You seem pretty proud of it.” That smile is great.

Mox shrugs and adjusts the basket hanging on the arm with his cast. “A little. Gets conversations started.” He can’t help himself from looking the guy up and down.

“You got a point there.” The guy smiles, then sticks out his left hand. “Adam Page.”

“Left hand shake?”

“You don’t have a right hand available.”

Mox looks down. “Oh. Right. Duh.” He reaches out his left hand and shakes. “Moxley. Jon.”

“Moxley Jon?”

“Jon Moxley,” he corrects, “Mox.”

“Mox.” Adam’s still shaking his hand, and Mox doesn’t think he’s ever liked his own name more. “You got a phone number, Mox?”

Mox seemed to enjoy Bryan’s BCC book club choice.

Found this pic on Pinterest! I adore them so much! You guys have to see the match against each other, it's so good!