Ticks!

Art Eatman said:
I've read that the guinea hen vs. ticks is a myth.
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I read quite a bit about it last year when my dad was talking about it. The general consensus seems to be that they help quite a lot, especially with the bigger ticks (that don't carry Lyme), but they don't get rid of them all or really any of the particularly dangerous deer ticks.
 
I don't think it would be possible to erradicate ticks. And it's not the ticks but the bacteria it carry,s .Lyme bacteria may be joined by other bacteria !! Maybe I can add to this next week when I get my test results back .
 
As stated above permathrin is the key. I have spent most of my adult life in the woods, everything from hunting and fishing to mushroom picking and cutting dead or dying trees for wood. I can honestly say i havnt had a tick on me in at least 5 years, and trust me they are bad around here. The key is to make the ticks crawl on the clothing, so spray all exposed outerwear including boots. Always let the items dry before use and duct tape any area that they can get under (pant legs to boots, shirt to pants sleeves to gloves) and youll be fine. It even protects against seed ticks (turkey ticks). I always reapply after 2 weekends (about 10 days). After it dries it is oderless so you can use it for deer hunting.

One thing to keep in mind is that it is not a repelent, you will see the ticks crawling on you. It takes less than 10 min to kill them so they wont have time to burry in. The first time i used it was about 10 years ago when i was fishing a pond. On day one i had no protection on and had over 30 seed ticks and 15 deer ticks. The next day i sprayed down and when i left i counted well over 50 ticks dead on the cooler that i was sitting on. So it realy works double duty it keeps them off you and reduces the population at the same time. Now if i could only find someont that will just spray it on and walk thrugh my woods every day.:D
 
New tick disease

Lyme disease I can handle. But if I get this new one that makes you allergic to red meat I might as well curl up in a corner and die. I asked my Doc once if I should get tested each year since I am a Wildlife Biologist and in the woods everyday. He looked at me and laughed and said I would probably turn up positive every time and I and he should only get concerned if I get an illness that won't go away.
 
I might get some Guinea chicks this spring. I hear they eat ticks all day long and also serve as good alarms.
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Good luck with the Guineas, at one time I had 20 now I'm down to 1.
Everything seems to want to eat them and they are not the smartest birds when it comes to avoiding danger.

The ticks around my part of the country were really thick this year.
Three days of being horse back this spring and I pulled 51 ticks off me, this year I felt a little sick from all the bites.

I spray myself and my clothes but it don't seem to do much good.

Best Regards
Bob Hunter
www.huntercustoms.com
 
Permethrin is quite stable, having a half life of 51–71 days in an aqueous environment exposed to light.
It is not easily absored by human skin so the risk of poisoning is very small.
It's used extensively by the military on clothing where insects are a problem to troops.
It is deadly to fish so I guess that means don't dump a bottle of it into the lake.
 
permethrin

Another vote for products with permethrin. Big tick problem here in AL as you could imagine. Active more or less almost year round. I don't use it in the winter, but my dogs will carry a tick or two in winter, and you'll kill deer with ticks on them too.

I could not spring turkey hunt comfortably, or mark boundary/woods tasks at work without the stuff. It works.......and seems to help with mosquitoes and gnats too. I spray my hat and mask, gloves, socks, pants and shirt of course.
The stuff makes a huge difference.
 
Someone above stated " Lyme disease I can handle." NOT SO -- Lyme disease can be crippling if not caught right away. And I do mean you may need a walker or crutches permanently, within a short time. I know 2 people dealing with this.
The red meat alergy would probably do me in, though.

Run your hunting stuff / outdoor gear through a hot dryer for 20 minutes will supposedley kill any ticks hitchinking there.
 
wizrd
Someone above stated " Lyme disease I can handle." NOT SO -- Lyme disease can be crippling if not caught right away. And I do mean you may need a walker or crutches permanently, within a short time. I know 2 people dealing with this.
The red meat alergy would probably do me in, though.

Run your hunting stuff / outdoor gear through a hot dryer for 20 minutes will supposedley kill any ticks hitchinking there.
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Isn't the red meat allergy from the Lonestar tick bite? I am pretty sure I heard that some place. That would do me in too.


I mentioned it in my other post, but as a reminder....Permethrin is great stuff, just make sure you read the directions and follow them. You do not want to get that stuff on your skin. Spray down your cloths and let them dry before putting them on. If you want to do a large amount of cloths at one time, use the big bottle and mix as directed and soak everything in an old bin/tub/bucket.

Here is a pretty good video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3sGvZE3rh4
 
My oh my I hate those little $#&$. I had three on me yesterday morning and wound up having to go to the Minute Clinic to get the one in the middle of my upper back off. We've got the little tiny ones this year.

They just creep me out!

I'll have to see about finding some permythrin.

I wish they made Trifexis for people. I really kind of think I'm getting them from my dog. He goes in the woods a lot more than I do. The only two I've found on him had died before biting.
 
Unfortunately ticks, like mosquitos are a part of life for most of us. Permethrin sprayed on hunting clothes is great, I spray my outer set of pants and shirt the night before a hunt and use deet to repel skeeters and such. I have walked into "nests" of seed ticks before and seen a moving brown mass on my lower pant legs and sprayed permethrin directly onto the pants/brown mass, almost instant stoppage of their movement, from that day on I was a believer. In the late 90's or early 2000's a vaccine called Lyme-rix or something similar came out, I signed up and got the first shot or maybe two shots (can't remember if it was a 3 shot thing like Hepatitis or just a 2 shotter), anyway before I could get the last shot we got a message that said don't do it, no longer authorized, no other information on it. Company said low demand, other scuttlebut said the results could be worse than the tick bite. I pull several ticks a year off of me, seldom after wearing permethin coated clothes during a hunt, usually after a creek fishing trip, or working on the farm etc. I'll never get overly excited about a tick bite, lots of other things more likely to cause my downfall in this life. Besides once you see it, pull it off, seal it up in scotch tape (keeps it from escaping and I hpe causes it a long and suffering death), or give it about a second or two exposed to a cigarette lighter flame and no more worries.
 
I like the soaking method with Permythrin, it seems much easier with bulk applications. But then what do you do with the stuff afterwards? Sure wouldn't want it creeping into my groundwater.

Good feedback on Guinea hens, thanks. I've got a pair of Broad-Tailed Hawks that nest on the property every year (cool birds, I've seen them take Blue-Jays out in mid-flight), and about five species of mammals that would eat the hens all day long. So that's a lot of money and work I don't have to deal with.

And I've got indoor cats. So I figure spray a couple of hunting outfits with Permythrin outside, and keep them hanging in the garage and use that as a staging area. That way I can bag my underwear and bring it directly to the washing machine before I shower.

It really stinks that going into the woods has turned into going into a radioactive zone.
 
Mainah

Pour it into a spray bottle to save it for the next time or to spray the outside of your boots. The guy in the video that I posted above did that. Good way to not waste any of it.

For mosquitoes....I go with the Thermocell. Them things flat work
 
It really stinks that going into the woods has turned into going into a radioactive zone
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Yeah, and the "what spray for ticks" threads are not nearly as heated as the "which gun for bear" threads.

Many folks attribute the increase in tick populations on the dramatic increase in deer/bear populations in many areas. Many also claim that Lyme disease was around for a long time before folks figured out what it was and where it came from. Seems the white footed field mouse is the real culprit in the cycle as they are the "Typhoid Marys" and give the disease to the tick in it's larvae stage.
 
Finally !! Got results from the lab that is said to be the best , POSITIVE !
Gave up on the idiot Docs and their silly tests who tested me negative .
not sure what treatment I'll get but this is a major step finally.
To the other Docs I can only say :p:p:p:p
 
Wear long enough pants an high boots so you can tuck your pants inside your boots. If you can wear light covered clothing --- do so --- so you can see possibly see the tick crawling on your clothing. Use the buddy system: Have a buddy look at your clothes, to see if he sees any ticks crawling on them. Look at the least of places where you might find a tick stuck on you're body, like under your toenail, near your anus or genitals.

Don't burn off or lube the stuck tick with Vaseline, or he'll just vomit the pathogens in your blood. Try to grab the tick by the head an pull straight out.

The nymphs crawl very fast. It takes around 24 hours for the tick to find a suitable spot. Sometimes you'll feel the tick flitting very fast around your face an hair. Try to grab it or flick it off.

When a wild animal dies...the ticks start too crawl off the body.
 
A couple of years ago, a really good bud got a tick bite on his farm. Wife was away for a couple of days and bud let it fester. By the time wife gets back, and gets Bud to a hospital, Bud was too far gone. I have visited his grave a couple of times now, in the fall, shame such a great guy was killed by a insect.
 
I highly recommend a tick removal tool- Ticked Off. It looks like a little plastic measuring spoon. Has a v-shape notched into the front lip of the spoon. I've taken dozens of ticks off of dogs with it, easy and quick. Then I dump the tick into a jar of hydrogen peroxide.

Never used it on myself. If I did I'd put the tick into a sandwich bag, you usually need to get them tested. That process can really help with your diagnosis. Especially now that there are at least three tick related diseases to worry about up here.

I also wrap wide masking or painters tape around the sheath of my knife. Easy to grab and re-wrap backwards around a couple of fingers for quick removal of ticks crawling on me.

And I found that blaze orange is great for spotting ticks, they really pop out when they're on that bright fabric. So I wear a wicking blaze orange long sleeved shirt under my top in any weather.
 
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