Beware of ticks (an important message)

I wrote about it in my description of the Norris hike, but it's worth repeating: 

There were some creatures that got a bit too friendly and wanted to come home with me - ticks. I found one on my arm when I was at the trailhead, waiting for my ride home. It was quickly and easily removed. When I got home, I took all my clothes and dumped them in the dry bathtub overnight until I had the energy to look for more. I checked myself for more ticks, as much as I could.

A tick (this one was tired, so it was lying on its
back! Not really, it couldn't run away from the
camera when it was on its back)

Allegedly, they like the color white, and they can't crawl up the side of the tub, so, on Sunday morning there was the one above, sitting there. I had to play de-tick-tive and look through the rest of my clothing and gear, inside and out and along all the seams. This was the only other one. ** UPDATE - there was a second one which found its way onto my shoulder but didn't bite me, possibly via my backpack ** 

The University of Rhode Island has a most authoritative TickEncounter Resource Center at http://www.tickencounter.org. You should check it out.

I reported mine to URI, with the photo above. I suspect it's an American Dog tick (Dermacentor variabilis), but I'm not the expert. After reading about them, and having seen three, I became super itchy and paranoid (kind of). I'm pretty sure I wasn't bitten - it's been 48 hours now since I finished my hike. Still, that large bottle of 0.5% Permethrin spray that my daughter bought for me will come in really handy soon! (http://sectionhiker.com/treating-your-clothes-with-permethrin/)