If you’re in the tree care world, ticks are more than a seasonal nuisance – they’re an occupational hazard. On TreeBuzz, a forum where arborists swap war stories and wisdom, a recent thread dug into ticks, Lyme disease and the oddball allergy known as alpha-gal. The conversation was frank, sometimes funny and loaded with lessons for anyone who spends their workdays in the woods.

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Alpha-gal and bite season

One arborist started things off by revealing he’d picked up alpha-gal, the tick-triggered allergy that makes eating red meat – and sometimes dairy – a gamble. “Not so bad in the grand scheme,” he wrote, thankful he’d tested negative for Lyme after a season full of bites. Still, he knew it was time to rethink his bug-spray regimen.

Alpha-gal
According to mayoclinic.org, Alpha-gal syndrome (AGS) is a delayed-onset allergic reaction to a substance called alpha-galactose (alpha-gal). It is typically caused by the bite of a tick, most commonly the lone star tick. When a person is bitten, they develop antibodies to alpha-gal. Later, when they consume red meat (such as beef, pork or lamb), their immune system reacts to the alpha-gal in the meat, causing an allergic reaction. Symptoms of AGS typically occur two to eight hours after consuming red meat and can include hives, swelling, itching, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and even anaphylaxis. AGS is diagnosed with a blood test.

Illness, heat and brain fog
Plenty of arborists shared their close calls. Neill, a Michigan climber, recounted a brush with Rocky Mountain spotted fever. “I’m not looking for a third strike,” he admitted, now leaning toward stronger prevention measures.
Another poster, Treezybreez, described migraines, vomiting and brain fog, fearing it might be Lyme. Others quickly suggested heat stroke might be the culprit – especially since he’d had heat stroke before. The overlap of symptoms matters. Heat stress, Lyme and other tick-borne illnesses all can leave you drained, foggy and sick to your stomach. For crews in the field, that gray area can delay treatment when speed matters most.

Lyme disease: A testing mess
The thread’s hottest topic was Lyme testing. Daniel, from suburban Philly, didn’t mince words: “Tick awareness is as important as PPE.” He’s even delayed high-paying jobs rather than wade into dense, tick-heavy woods in peak season.

But he and others agreed, the bigger problem is testing. False negatives are common, and a single round of antibiotics may not be enough if Lyme has been in your system awhile. Rico pointed to labs like IgeneX, which screen for co-infections like Bartonella and Babesia. Not cheap, but more reliable than a standard Western blot.

Others shared mixed results. One poster tested positive for Lyme but never developed symptoms, while another stressed that most general practitioners simply don’t know how to treat long-term cases. The consensus? You can’t lean on one blood test alone – symptoms and exposure history count for a lot.

How long does it take?
Matias raised a classic debate: How long does a tick need to be attached to transmit disease? He thought it took hours, maybe a day. Rico countered with his own story – reinfection after less than two hours. Science doesn’t have a firm answer, which means the safest play is to check often and remove ticks fast. (Ed: Per the CDC, in general, infected ticks must be attached for more than 24 hours to transmit infection; prompt tick removal can prevent transmission: cdc.gov/lyme/causes/index.html)

Lessons from the field
The forum didn’t end with doom and gloom. Arborists swapped practical advice, reminding each other that prevention is just another kind of PPE:

• Treat clothes or skin with repellents you trust. Sawyer permethrin spray got high marks from some for lasting up to three months on clothes, but others balked at the idea of wearing chemicals that persistent. One member summed it up bluntly: “I’ll take my chances with the damn ticks.”
• Respect your body’s warning signs – migraines, fatigue and brain fog aren’t just “a tough day.”
• Stay hydrated and load up on electrolytes, especially if you’ve had heat stroke before.
• Don’t put blind faith in one lab test. Lyme and other tick diseases can slip past the standard screen.
• Check for ticks constantly. Don’t assume a short bite is harmless.

More than a nuisance
Ticks aren’t going anywhere, and the diseases they carry are part of the job landscape now. But threads like this one prove arborists aren’t alone. Just like sharing gear hacks or rigging tricks, trading health stories builds collective knowledge.

As Daniel put it, treating tick safety like hard hats and harnesses isn’t overkill – it’s common sense. For arborists, staying sharp about tiny pests may be just as critical as guarding against the big hazards with chains and saws.