Ticks!

[Idaho45guy]

I heard due to our extremely mild non-winter this year, that ticks were going to be bad.

Normally, they really aren't a concern. I have never put on any sort of repellent or bug spray before going into the woods. My dogs have never had flea or tick collars and never had an issue. I believe I got a tick once a couple of decades ago, and have found maybe on or two on dogs in decades of roaming the woods around here.

Today, it was nearly 70 degrees, so me and my big yellow lab/great dane mix went for a hike and looked for mushrooms.

We're both old and out of shape, so the hike was short. Probably less than a mile in the brush. Only trails were game trails. No mushrooms, but did find some older wolf scat full of deer hair, and neither of us injured ourselves.

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I also took the opportunity to bring my new AR-10 build into the woods to see how it handled and felt in the woods. It's a heavy pig at right at 10 pounds, but was OK.

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Got back to the SUV and watered my dog and checked him over for ticks. Nothing. Hiked up my pant legs and checked me. Nothing.

Drove home and had dinner with my girlfriend and we snuggled on the couch and watched TV.

She got up to go get ready for bed and I hear her start shouting for me from the bathroom. I go running in and she pointed to a little bug in the sink and asked if that was a tick. I looked at it and sure enough, it was a dog tick. Tiny thing. Maybe 1/8" across. She said it was in her hair.

Now, I live in town and keep my lawn mowed. We went for dinner in my UTV but stayed on the street. I would guess that the tick came from either me or my dog, since we both like to cuddle her, lol.

I don't know much about ticks since I've never had an issue with them. My dog is blonde, and I'm blonde/gray. Girlfriend is a dark haired Latina and was wearing a dark blue T-shirt. I've heard ticks are attracted to dark clothing. So maybe one was hanging out on me and decided to jump ship for more attractive territory.

Maybe one came in the house from the bushes?

Anyway, I now have to go to town and get tick repellent and a bug bomb for the house.

Any suggestions for a good spray to use for me next time I head into the woods? Do the flea/tick collars work well enough or do I need to get the liquid that you put on the dog's back?

Will a bug bomb kill any ticks that may be hiding in the house?

[richhodg66]

They are normally real bad here this time of year, I've only found one so far this year. We've had pretty mild winters the past few years, but sometimes, the timing of the hard freezes seems just right to kill them off.

The past few years, I've been treating an old set of fatigues with the Sawyer's permethrin and wearing them whenever I was outside doing anything. That stuff works. Ticks were a real problem if I was outside doing anything I'd pick up a few, never did while wearing the permethrin.

Ticks are the nastiest things on the planet, and carry all kinds of bad stuff, it pays to be careful.

[Winger Ed.]

Don't mess around with them if your neighborhood has a history of Lyme disease.

My buddy's ex-wife married a guy who got it about 15 years ago.
He's still in a wheelchair.

[richhodg66]

Our Spring turkey season is on now, and I have a couple of friends who come out to look for Morels. I never really got into doing either, but I haven't heard from anybody that the ticks were as bad as usual this year, so not just me. It even seems like the poison ivy isn't flourishing like it usually is by now.

[square butte]

I don't know about the house, but the best one i have found around here is Sawyers Tick Repelent ( most of the hunters use it here ) - for the woods. I have had Lyme and don't want it again. This stuff works for the ticks here in the northeast. Can only assume that it works for rocky mountain ticks as well.

[Thundarstick]

Clothes treated with permethrin is 100% effective, with the side benefit that a mosquito won't land on you either. I use DEET on exposed skin and around the top of my socks to stop chiggers.

[farmerjim]

I have gotten 3 ticks in the last week. I had one last fall that had me on daily IV antibiotics for a month.Headache, sore joints, and fever 102. They never could find out what I had.

[mozeppa]

bed bugs are worse.

[NyFirefighter357]

Any of the commercial household flea foggers containing Permethrin/Permethrin will kill ticks & also kills ants, spiders, cockroaches, and mosquitoes. use as directed.

You can also treat your yard with a Permethrin/Permethrin concentrate. You spray the lawn, shrubs and scrub edges up to about 4ft high.

https://store.doyourownpestcontrol.com/permethrin-sfr-insecticide-qt?gclid=Cj0KCQjwy6T1BRDXARIsAIqCTXrB9CUzjr2HrqE4N 2JTiE2kriFOx_7eCEp_gogktsjrLkATN1QGAwUaAjboEALw_wc B

Use Advantage ii for dogs to prevent ticks on the dog. It costs about $10 a month. This works much better than collars and won't get hung up on brush.

Permethrin can also be sprayed on cloths, backpacks ect., allow to dry before use. It will last 6 weeks or 6 washings. This is the most effective primary defense for hunters & hikers.

https://youtu.be/9Ezb1uSgGSs

As an added protection use a product like Deep Woods Off.

You should also dress to prevent tick bites:

https://tickencounter.org/prevention/protect_yourself

https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-to-dress-to-avoid-tick-bites-1398725569

I also just listened to a 35min show from the MeatEater network. It's the most informative/ethical hunting/fishing network on the air. This Episode 38 of Cutting The Distance: Shooting Giraffes with Paintballs and How to Avoid Ticks and the Diseases they Carry
Just click the play arrow in the bottom orange boarder of the picture. IT starts with a story of using paintballs to deliver trick treatment to giraffes and ends with tick control information for hunting, it's worth the listen.

https://www.themeateater.com/listen/cutting-the-distance/ep-38-shooting-giraffes-with-paintballs-and-how-to-avoid-ticks-and-the-diseases-they-carry

I as well as my wife have Lyme disease it's pretty prevalent here. I spray the yard to protect the kids & dogs and prevent them from being brought into the house.

I once shot a deer that that after gutting, I put in the back of my SUV then drove to the hunting cabin & spent about an hour there. About a half hour into my hour drive home, I felt something on me. I was covered in ticks. As the deer cooled & the truck warmed up they left the deer and found me. When I got home I skinned the deer, changed my clothes and flea bombed the truck. That was 7 seasons ago and haven't hunted since.
I use those foggers yearly in my house, attic, basement & crawl spaces. It just about eliminates all those pesky things that crawl around & causethe wife & kids to scream.

[winelover]

I use Sawyer's permethrin on my dedicated woods working clothes. It works. The instructions specify that it last up to 42 days and six machine washings.

Winelover

[MrWolf]

I've already had at least three so far this year. One I got just going to driveway and passed some grass. Agree with Sawyers and you can also try the mixture of lemongrass and water in a mister. We tried it a few times and seems to work or could have been a coincidence. Hate them things worse than even stink bugs.

[dverna]

Clothes treated with permethrin is 100% effective, with the side benefit that a mosquito won't land on you either. I use DEET on exposed skin and around the top of my socks to stop chiggers.

What he said.

[curdog]

I have been turkey hunting here in Illinois and ticks are out in force. i use permethrin spray on my clothes and it seems to help. I did have one stuck to me in my armpit and I could have got it from one of my dogs. They are nasty.....................curdog

[bosterr]

Last Friday I was cutting down a tree in the back yard right on the edge of the woods where an obvious deer trail comes out to the yard. Trail cam pics and lots of hoof prints in the mud say it's a deer highway. I took a shower that night and didn't notice anything but later I sensed something on my stomach. Sure enough there was a tick burrowed in and back end of it sticking out. Wifey had bought a set of "Tick Tornadoes" last summer. These are 2 different sized L shaped plastic pieces with a small slit in the short side of the L. You slide the slit around the tick and twirl it around with your fingers until the tick detaches. I figured all it would do is twist the head off and it would need dug out by a doctor. Instead it worked like a charm. My wife's dentist boss said to watch out for a rash but all that's there is a itchy welt like a bad mosquito bite. Wifeys boss also recommended Sawyers and I have it in my Amazon cart.

[Petrol & Powder]

I think it's all been said.
I'll add that that in the mid-Atlantic where I live, ticks are a big problem. And if that wasn't enough, chiggers will really ruin your day. (and the next few weeks after that).

The little tiny "seed" ticks are the worst. I'm not sure what the proper name is for them but they are nasty little creatures. I still have scars inflicted from those pests 15+ years ago.

DEET and Premethrin are effective. The DEET is a repellent and the Permethrin is a poison. The DEET encourages the ticks and other bugs to abandon you after they hitch a ride and if they do stay on you, the Permethrin will kill them.
I don't think there's any science behind ticks being "attracted" to colors, hair type, etc. They hang out on plants waiting for some animal to come by and hop on any potential host that comes along. They are equal opportunity pests and will latch onto any deer, dog, human, or other mammal that comes along.

I spray the tops of my boots with Bens 100 DEET (98% DEET) it comes in a little orange bottle with a pump spray top. That's nasty stuff, don't put it directly on you. It really works well and you don't need to reapply it often. I also use Bens on the lower legs of my pants.
For other applications, any of the spray on repellants work fine.
I buy Permetrin concentrate and mix it as needed. For pants worn in the woods during warmer months, I dip the lower portion of the pant legs in a solution of water & permethrin and then let the pants air dry.

Ticks are typically found close to the ground so the DEET and Permethrin on boots and lower pants is effective BUT ticks will also transfer to you from higher brush, so you still need to vigilant.
I've never seen a flea and tick collar that is 100% effective, so check dogs every evening. If you are in the woods during tick season, check yourself.

Edit : And I forgot to mention, tuck the bottom of your pant legs into your boots.

[NoZombies]

Don't mess around with them if your neighborhood has a history of Lyme disease.


Yeah, it would suck to get Corona and Lyme's










(someone had to make the joke... sorry)

[cwtebay]

For people - I use Frontline spray (for dogs) sprayed on cut off elastic bands from the top of socks. I keep them in Ziploc bags and pull them over my pant cuffs and sleeves - same with bandana on neck, web belt on waist. For dogs - Seresto collars are incredible, and a spritz of Frontline as you're heading out doesn't hurt.
It's worked for me from South America to Texas to Kansas to the northeast without fail.

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

[Mal Paso]

You should also dress to prevent tick bites:

https://tickencounter.org/prevention/protect_yourself

https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-to-dress-to-avoid-tick-bites-1398725569



Wrong! Ticks use clothing to hold them in place while digging in. Nudist colonies have a lower tick bite incidence according to studies.

[Martin Luber]

Your dog or you will be the magnet to any in the house. I found frontline liquid treatments didn't work. The Seresto collars do, but they're expensive $75 at the vet and as low as $35 online. The latter could be old though.

I cut the bottoms off large wool winter socks, spray with permethrin, and wear as a gator over my boot tops, ankles, and lower legs. Works great and I don't need to usevas much. I don't sowk clothes as directed. I may lightly spray them though.

Absolutely HATE ticks, they leave a yearlong wound on me even if I pick them off early. Their proboskis breaks off under the skin and leaks toxin. They need a seam like your wastband to push against in order to dig in so be most mindful of those areas. Good luck

[white eagle]

funny as I read this and was scrolling down to comment my wife screams wood tick from our bathroom
I think you will be fine if you only have had 2 ticks in 20 years
we take our yellow lab for a walk and stop counting after we reach 30 ticks removed from him
so far this year we have had just one the season is just starting though
we do get a tick collar for our dog as well [smilie=w:

[.429&H110]

Can be lethal... my dog died two weeks ago of Ehrlichiosis from a tick bite.Three weeks of doxycycline, Bubba had no white blood cells left. Iced him over and over for amazing fevers, but it wiped him out.
Seems every time I turn around someone invents a new disease.
I had Lyme with great bullseye rashes in NH, grew echinacea (coneflowers) that I say cured it. YMMV.

[Idaho45guy]

Thanks for all of the great suggestions!

[Mk42gunner]

For me the highest concentration percentage of deet you can find seems to work okay, I wouldn't mess with anything less than 40%. I have never tried the permathyn (sp) but I may this year.

For dogs, it seems that you have to keep trying different things until you hit on one that works that year. The Saresto collars are supposed to last eight months; all the ones I have tried only last four, at least for fleas. They do have reflectors that latch on the collar though.

I got Rocky mountain Spotted Fever last year. I never had any symptoms, my doctor put me on doxycycline immediately, before the tests were back though. The reason I went to the doc in first place was when I found the tick the bite area swelled up like I had a marble under my skin, it was not a normal tick bite.

Robert

[jsizemore]

I used to go to a match that had a covered firing line. When folks weren't shooting the local deer used it as a hangout spot. The tickets would drop on you from the rafters. You had to put on enough DEET to cover your hair and spray down your clothes.

[Martin Luber]

429, I lived in NH in the 1970s, and we had ticks then, l believe we had Lyme then too but it wasn't identified as such. Swollen joints, fevers etc.

The other culprit for spreading ticks is believe it or not is mice.

[dbosman]

I'm on several medical threat mailing lists. I've noticed that there seems to be a new disease, carried by ticks. about every three weeks. I hope I'm mistaken. My BIL is Rheumatologist. Lyme disease seems to be only one of the tick gifts that keeps on giving and giving and ...

[JWFilips]

3 Time recipient of Lyme ( works it's magic every few years on me) I just got tired of trying to rid it ! Just live with the ticks and hope I catch them before I get another bullseye! I used to live in fear of going outside ! The first two times were really bad like getting spinal meningitis! The 3rd I caught quicker.....My recurrences are around ever 7 years....Campho-Phenique is my friend! Find a tick on the skin and a dab of that puts an end to his shenanigans!

[Joby]

We live along the woods. The whole tribe here has had Lyme. I removed a deer tick 3 days ago.
Seresto collars work great for the dogs.
Best way we have found to remove them without breaking off the head and sucker is to noose them with a loop of monofilament sticking out the end of a tiny tube and spin them counterclockwise about 6 turns. Hasn’t failed yet. We have the tool taped to the fridge for frequent use. Especially during small game season.

[bosterr]

We live along the woods. The whole tribe here has had Lyme. I removed a deer tick 3 days ago.
Seresto collars work great for the dogs.
Best way we have found to remove them without breaking off the head and sucker is to noose them with a loop of monofilament sticking out the end of a tiny tube and spin them counterclockwise about 6 turns. Hasn’t failed yet. We have the tool taped to the fridge for frequent use. Especially during small game season.

It's good to know ticks are left hand thread.

[richhodg66]

Been mentioned several times now, but that Sawyers permethrin treated clothes will flat keep them off of you. Works way, way better than any DEET based stuff I ever tried. I think I still have a can or two of the Army's issue permethrin somewhere, but the Sawyer's is just as good and their spray bottle is non aerosol.

My brother hikes a lot in Oklahoma and told me that if ticks get on soft clothes, like socks, that have been treated with permethrin it kills them, he had dead ones embedded in his socks. When I treated the old uniforms, I went walking around my woods here which were infested with them that Summer, I could watch them get on me and jump off. It's amazing stuuff and dirt cheap at the price considering what it can be saving you from. I'm sure there are other brands, but Sawyer's is the one Wal Mart carries.

[Petrol & Powder]

It's good to know ticks are left hand thread.
:bigsmyl2:
Just the dash 3 ticks and newer. The old ones were right head thread. :razz:

[Thundarstick]

Been mentioned several times now, but that Sawyers permethrin treated clothes will flat keep them off of you. Works way, way better than any DEET based stuff I ever tried. I think I still have a can or two of the Army's issue permethrin somewhere, but the Sawyer's is just as good and their spray bottle is non aerosol.

My brother hikes a lot in Oklahoma and told me that if ticks get on soft clothes, like socks, that have been treated with permethrin it kills them, he had dead ones embedded in his socks. When I treated the old uniforms, I went walking around my woods here which were infested with them that Summer, I could watch them get on me and jump off. It's amazing stuuff and dirt cheap at the price considering what it can be saving you from. I'm sure there are other brands, but Sawyer's is the one Wal Mart carries.

I know you can walk rite into one of those woods spiders webs and they'll ball up and roll off your shirt if it's permethren treated. I use permethren horse barn spray diluted to 0.1% on my clothes. It's off label use of the product though.

[bmortell]

I used to get tons everytime I went in the woods until I started using tobacco. seen others say the same.

[Idaho45guy]

I used to get tons everytime I went in the woods until I started using tobacco. seen others say the same.

Interesting. I was a smoker for 25 years and never had an issue with ticks. Quit a little over a year ago and now I'm getting them... Hmm.

[bmortell]

even chewing tobacco like me and most of the people im talking about seems to work so I don't just mean smoke smell. maybe there really sensitive to nicotine or something.

[Winger Ed.]

Never thought about smoking making a difference.
Years ago, we had a bit of the North East Texas wilderness for a weekender place, with a junked out house trailer on it.

I called it the poison ivy farm and tick ranch.
I smoked, and never had a problem with the ticks.

They were so bad, you'd even see them drop out of trees and land on the tractor hood while mowing.
One of my buddies didn't smoke, and he'd get a few ticks on him.
One bite put him on medicine for a couple months before he got right again.


Here's a +1 for them being left hand threaded.
As a kid, I remember they were a problem when we'd visit my grand parents in Mississippi.
In the mid-60's a old guy told me if I ever got one, push it down and turn it to the left as I pulled it off.

Lite a wooden match, blow it out, and stick it on 'em is supposed to work too.
Legend has it, they'll turn loose by themselves.

[Mk42gunner]

I don't believe the tobacco theory. I have smoked since boot camp, (if you didn't smoke, you didn't get a break) and I still get ticks. About the same amount as I remember as a kid.

I am going to pick up some of the Sawyer's Permathrin next time I am in Walmart.

Robert

[Martin Luber]

A friend stated the guy in deer camp that got all the tick bites ate banannas. I don't know if it's true but swearing off them seems to have helped me avoid them. While the dog had them jump on, they all died. The cat was the carrier.