Since we are in the grasslands and off trail so much, we have picked up many ticks over the years.   We don't worry too much about having them on our clothes, but we take a number of precautions after our hikes.

• We do a visual inspection before climbing into the vehicle.
• Any probable tick "hideout" (jackets, backpacks, hats) gets isolated into our trunk/box on the way home.
• All "field" gear goes straight to the basement and most goes right into the washing machine.   Hair is brushed out in the basement and our packs don't come upstairs.
• We place the pack in a place below a natual climbing spot so that if any ticks are still there, they will climb to a visible spot, just as they do on grass and sagebrush.
• We do a thorough check of likely spots.

This works quite well usually, but here is what happened yesterday.

• I pulled two out of my hair but couldn't find any more.
• I followed the usual protocols, noted above.
• I had a lot of gear in my pack, so I left my pack on a chair at the dinner table for a short time, but I emptied it and moved it to the basement soon afterwards.

During a family dinner, as we sat down to eat, a small tick climbed out from beneath dinnerware onto our daughter-in-law's plate!   

It was quickly moved to the toilet bowl maelstrom, but it had everyone checking around them and finding imaginary tickles.    Ticks are not welcome guests at the dinner table….