Sue (a pharmacist) has asked me to post this link to a four page factsheet from Public Health England regarding tick bites.
We were lucky this year - she's prone to picking them up, especially when wearing shorts, and got a couple this year, but I have yet to encounter one in 9 Challenges. Perhaps camping high helps.

Thanks Sue via Martin - I need to conduct more thorough Tick checks in future. Every bug in Knoydart bit me during the first 2 days this year but as these were immediately itchy bites I just enjoyed the pleasure of scratching them raw. % days in though I noticed a 5cm circular red blotch(not a bullseye) under my watch strap. I'll get the results of my blood draw on Friday.

Only picked up three of the little bu..ers this year- my poorest score for many a long Challenge. In recent tests, eight out of ten ticks (that expressed an opion) preferred scrummy, yummy vetta blood to that of common or garden, ordinary Challengers - am I doing something wrong?. On a more serious note surely we would spend half of our lives at the doctors if we responded to just about every tick bite we got which then left some sort of a mark afterwards. Do we actually become immune after numerouse attacks??

cj

Is it possible that some of us have a natural immunity to ticks and if so who and why ? After five Challenges, countless other backpacking trips in Scotland, the Lakes and Wales and lots of orienteering in bracken I've yet to find myself bitten. Not that I'm complaining.
Others seem to be targeted every Challenge.
Is there any science or logic to this ?

Ticks see infrared. Perhaps you've got less 'radiation' of heat than others ?