tick treatment

[Mike in FL]

I've not seen a tic or chigger since I moved to FL 8 years ago. But FL is not a woodsman's paradise. I pour a bucket of ticks on my head if I could go back to the mountains.

 

[Trigger]

NH was nice the mountains.

I favor the mountains. I never got a deer there. But I've got a few mountain turkey.

 

[Twisted_1in66]

I’ve used permethrin for years, and I’m a firm believer. I spray my clothes any day I’m hanging at the house, cuz I know I’ll be walking around in the grass or woods at some point. Tick bites (even for a short attachment time) cause an intense itchy spot on me that lasts for months, so I always treat my clothes. Underwear, socks, pants, shirt, boots. All of ‘em. Even a jacket if it’s cool out.

Spraying it on your skin does no good, and can potentially cause a rash on some folks. The enzymes on your skin will consume the active ingredient, so it simply won’t work on skin.

Personally, I don’t have any problem putting on dampened clothes right after I treat them. I try to give them time to dry, but I feel fortunate that it doesn’t bother me if I have to put them on damp.

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Permethrin on clothing and gear is superb! I have a number of Buzz-off clothing (now known as Insect-Shield) that are impregnated with it and used them extensively when I was a fly-fishing instructor and guide. They work wonderfully well. Do not spray it on you or you will have a bad reaction, but in your clothing and gear it works great!

 

[ADK Bigfoot]

Just returned from a three-day event in Northern Maine. Ticks everywhere. Also black flies and mosquitoes. I sprayed my pant legs, shoes, wrist cuffs, and the hem of my Rendezvous long shirt with Permethrin. Found ten ticks on me, two attached, one of which had to be cut out near my right armpit. He had apparently been there a while. Worst insect year I can ever remember.

ADK Bigfoot

 

[WonkyEye]

I've been using martins permethrin 10% concentrate for years. I buy the liquid, mix it up in a bucket and dip all my camping and hunting and yard clothes, then hang them to dry. Something about the drying makes it bind to the fabric. After that I rinse in clean water to get the excess out. They're good for a few months or a few light washes. I spray the leftovers around the foundation of the house, keeps the crawlies away.

 

[NotDanielBoone]

I've not seen a tic or chigger since I moved to FL 8 years ago. But FL is not a woodsman's paradise. I pour a bucket of ticks on my head if I could go back to the mountains.

Visit the panhandle, it's not the mountains, but it can be wild. I saw bears crossing the woods roads, so I imagine there is all types of wildlife. FL is big.

 

[Bald Mountain Man]

I've not seen a tic or chigger since I moved to FL 8 years ago. But FL is not a woodsman's paradise. I pour a bucket of ticks on my head if I could go back to the mountains.

We see ticks a lot while at our winter place in Northern Florida.... almost as much as at our Pennsylvania place.

I absolutely hate ticks & the diseases they carry! My wife & I have both.(years ago) been diagnosed with Lyme disease & had serious complications from it.
We're also worrying about & monitoring our beagle. He's been sick for more than a week now. We took him to the vet Saturday & blood tests showed him positive for Lyme & Anaplasmosis. He's being treated with doxycycline. He is in pain, quivers & barely walks. We're hoping & praying that he recovers.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Are we done with discussion of bug repellent, especially for ticks? Seems a lot of comments are creeping in that are off topic.

LD

 

[Mike in FL]

We see ticks a lot while at our winter place in Northern Florida.... almost as much as at our Pennsylvania place.

I absolutely hate ticks & the diseases they carry! My wife & I have both.(years ago) been diagnosed with Lyme disease & had serious complications from it.
We're also worrying about & monitoring our beagle. He's been sick for more than a week now. We took him to the vet Saturday & blood tests showed him positive for Lyme & Anaplasmosis. He's being treated with doxycycline. He is in pain, quivers & barely walks. We're hoping & praying that he recovers.

My prayer already lifted. I never sat that lightly. A dog can get into our hearts so easily. Because I'm old, I've lost no few and each time it's an unforgettable trial. BTW, I dearly love beagles. Very loving and gentle. A child's true friend.

 

[smoothshooter]

It's that time of year ,
thank God the weather is getting nice and warm, trees are blooming, grass is growing, hillside are nice and green,

Came back from the shooting range this morning , talk about a 2-mile walk,
And over the next 4 minutes removed about 20 ticks from my pant legs and Boots.

Time to start carrying the tick treatment,
I have not found very much insect repellent that ever actually works but I carry a little bottle of diesel fuel just a tiny dab of this will put an end to a tick, just a tiny dab of it on them,

Used to carry a little box of matches because people taught me you have to burn ticks to make sure they're dead but just a dab of diesel fuel seems to be the safest way to end them.

Little bit of medical equipment that's easy to carry ,
carry some after bite,
Do carry a bit of repellent because the mosquitoes are starting to come out , some parachute cord for creating a tourniquet,
and a saw blade for removing bigger limbs like legs and arms that can't be quickly chopped off with a knife such as toes and fingers can be.

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Seems to me like some of you guys are making an awfully big deal over a tick bite.
Tick removal tools? Really? You would think we were talking about snake or black widow spider bites.
I have had thousands of tick bites over the years as have many of my friends. A couple of times I have had thousands of them on me at once ( thankfully, i was able to scrape most of them off of my clothes with a knife blade before they bit me ).
I still get a few bites once in a while, and when I find them I simply yank them out with my fingers and get on with my business. No big deal.

 

[Mike in FL]

Seems to me like some of you guys are making an awfully big deal over a tick bite.
Tick removal tools? Really? You would think we were talking about snake or black widow spider bites.
I have had thousands of tick bites over the years as have many of my friends. A couple of times I have had thousands of them on me at once ( thankfully, i was able to scrape most of them off of my clothes with a knife blade before they bit me ).
I still get a few bites once in a while, and when I find them I simply yank them out with my fingers and get on with my business. No big deal.

Seems to me like some of you guys are making an awfully big deal over a tick bite.
Tick removal tools? Really? You would think we were talking about snake or black widow spider bites.
I have had thousands of tick bites over the years as have many of my friends. A couple of times I have had thousands of them on me at once ( thankfully, i was able to scrape most of them off of my clothes with a knife blade before they bit me ).
I still get a few bites once in a while, and when I find them I simply yank them out with my fingers and get on with my business. No big deal.

Yep, you sir are a woodsman. They didn't have specialized tools and repellent or diesel fuel "back when" but they sure had ticks. One thing I'd add is get someone to look you over at the end of the day. Some places on ourselves we can't see.

 

[David LaPell]

Something I started a couple years back, first on my dog and then on me. Go to the local pharmacy and get a bottle of peppermint oil. Take that, add 20 drops of it to about 8 ounces of water in a spray bottle, shake it up and spray it on. It works better than anything else I've ever used on them. I tested it a couple times on ticks, once or twice it kills them outright but it really messes them up, makes them walk around in circles, etc.

 

[smoothshooter]

Yep, you sir are a woodsman. They didn't have specialized tools and repellent or diesel fuel "back when" but they sure had ticks. One thing I'd add is get someone to look you over at the end of the day. Some places on ourselves we can't see.

Don’t get me wrong. If I know in advance I am headed someplace where there are more than a few ticks, I will use some kind of repellent or killer on my clothes.
Some of the places where I got the most I was unaware of the situation in advance and made no preparation. By the time I realized there was a problem, I already had them crawling all over the lower half of my body. When getting out of the area in a hurry I of course had to go right back through the same area I picked them up in the first place.

 

[Mike in FL]

Don’t get me wrong. If I know in advance I am headed someplace where there are more than a few ticks, I will use some kind of repellent or killer on my clothes.
Some of the places where I got the most I was unaware of the situation and made no preparation. By the time I realized there was a problem, I already had them crawling all over the lower half of my body. When getting out of the area in a hurry I of course had to go right back through the same area I picked them up in the first place.

I surely do hate 'em.

 

[Brokennock]

Seems to me like some of you guys are making an awfully big deal over a tick bite.
Tick removal tools? Really? You would think we were talking about snake or black widow spider bites.
I have had thousands of tick bites over the years as have many of my friends. A couple of times I have had thousands of them on me at once ( thankfully, i was able to scrape most of them off of my clothes with a knife blade before they bit me ).
I still get a few bites once in a while, and when I find them I simply yank them out with my fingers and get on with my business. No big deal.

Is it the so called "bite" we are making too big of a deal about for your manliness? Or the nasty diseases that can come from one?
Especially one tiny little pin head size tick that went undiscovered?

 

[nit wit]

I pull them off and dab a little rubbing alcohol where it was.
Nit Wit

 

[saculmot]

I was talking to a fellow member on the phone the other day, he was telling me when he operated heavy equipment, and was handling diesel fuel a lot ticks stayed away from him.

When I was in the military, I knew a guy that would wear panty hose down range. We would tease the bejesus out of him, but he never got ticks or chiggers on his lower extremities. He also drank a shot of vinegar every day. He said it kept skeeters away. I'll stick with permetherin. Not judging.

I heard a joke years ago about a guy's buddy noticed he was wearing panty hose. He asked him when he started wearing them, and he replied "ever since my wife found them in my truck."

 

[saculmot]

Permethrin on clothing and gear is superb! I have a number of Buzz-off clothing (now known as Insect-Shield) that are impregnated with it and used them extensively when I was a fly-fishing instructor and guide. They work wonderfully well. Do not spray it on you or you will have a bad reaction, but in your clothing and gear it works great!

Actually, scabies treatment involves an ointment of 5% permethrin cream, so it won't kill you.

 

[pilot]

I never was all that concerned about them, either, until all the diseases started popping up. My father in law almost died from anaplasmosis a few years back. I was having problems with my shoulder and had blood tests run thinking it could be Lymes. Guess what? Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. Yep, had it. At least the antibodies for it. Never had symptoms.

I'm a firm believer in Permethrin now.

The comments about Sulphur jogged my memory. My great uncle that I hunted with as a kid always used it. I may have some around here somewhere.

 

[Harry Marinakis]

If I go bushwhacking on my land, I'll return home with 30 ticks on my clothes.
If I spray down with DEET before the walk, I'll have 0 ticks.