Ticks and Lyme disease

[hogpatrol]

The ticks are BAD this year. A couple years back I got nailed twice by deer ticks and took Doxycycline for a preventive. Pretty powerful stuff, it's the same thing used for malaria.
Now I use a Permethrin based aerosol spray and do ALL of my clothes that I wear in the woods for any type of activity. Spray them completely inside and out, gloves, hat, pants, jacket, shirts, T-shirts, socks, boots, belts, EVERYTHING. Usually good for a half a dozen washes. DON'T spray it on your skin though, it's nasty stuff. Cabela's, Tractor Supply, etc. sells it. Also through the Amazon link at the top of the page.

 

[dbduff]

Make sure your dogs are treated. Talk to your vet. In Northern NY it is year round treatment. This is nothing to fool around with. Serious problem for man and beast.
D

 

[jimbires]

I can find sawyer brand deet in walmart and other places , it seems to work well . it also lasts for a few washing cycles .

from what I've read the holding heat by the tick , or using liquid soap or vaseline is really not the recommend way . you should not do anything that could cause the tic to vomit while it is dug in you .they say the very small deer tics , "nymphs", carry lymes too and are small enough they are hard to see .

I've came home from the woods with more than a few tics a couple of times , before I started using deet . I just use a tic spoon that I bought from a veterinarian and pull them out . this time I never saw the tic . the bullseye was on my shoulder by my arm pit , should have been easy to see .I was not in the woods , I was just working at the exterior basement doors of my house and a day or two later I had the bullseye , within a couple hours I had the flue .

 

[Kenneth66]

Seems to vary from person to person I am guessing . Have had hundreds of tick bites from working right of ways , so far so good far as I know . Have had some get burroughed so deep they never came out , at least not hole . Have lots of co-workers who have been bitten a lot , a few guys came down with it , most didn't . Have had some bites that stayed scabbed for months , but far as I know me and the others are clicking right along .
We were sleeping in the trucks on one particular storm and woke up with my nose itching , woke me up a couple times , started digging and had one latched onto the inside of my nose , that made the eyes water when I pulled that sucker out .
One of our crews recently working a job in Fairfax has been getting hammered with them . Finding as many as 15 or more a day

 

[varmintshooter]

I agree with Hog, Permethrin goes on my clothes when ticks start to show up. It goes on everything socks, boots, pants, etc. Its good for 6 wks and I don't seem to have any tick problems. The problem with DEET is it is hard on the finish of guns and other things.

 

[msinc]

Make sure your dogs are treated. Talk to your vet. In Northern NY it is year round treatment. This is nothing to fool around with. Serious problem for man and beast.
D

Yes sir, and I don't know if there is any truth to this, but I have recently read that a tick has to remain on a dog for 24 hours in order for the disease to transfer and the dog to become infected. If this is true then due diligence removing and preventing can go a long way. Also, there are two more {that I know of} tick born diseases that dogs can get. Cant remember the one {anaplasmosis???}, but erlichiosis is the other and pretty bad for dogs.
I keep mine hosed down with Happy Jack Flea and Tick spray and I still had one test positive for erlichiosis.

 

[6fatrat]

Deet is not effective against ticks, deer or brown dog ticks. Permethron on the clothes will work, buy the online concentrate and mix your own. Re apply after each washing. For your dogs use the vet prescribed oral flea and tick repellent, the liquid applied to the dogs back will wash off.

 

[JRS]

Deet is not effective against ticks, deer or brown dog ticks. Permethron on the clothes will work, buy the online concentrate and mix your own. Re apply after each washing. For your dogs use the vet prescribed oral flea and tick repellent, the liquid applied to the dogs back will wash off.

 

[Richard Jones]

Let's not forget Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever as well. Almost did me in years ago....................

 

[LarryDScott]

LDS, aren't you over by LBL? Western KY has lots of deer and even more deer ticks. Our family reunions down there always involve gallons of DEET

I'm at the HWY 68 bridge crossing into LBL. The deer population
in LBL is slim compared to what it once was, but dont dare walk anywhere in there w/o Permanone on everything. LDS

 

[Liven The Dream]

Got 99% Deep at REI for Our African Trip.
Nothing Bit us ! Loin came close.
Best of Luck

 

[Bangs OH]

Many insects - not just ticks which spread mainly Lyme and RMSF - are vectors for the nasty disease Tularemia. Although common in the Western states it's coming east, probably spread by flying biters like deer flies, and warmer winters here. Rabbits are the biggest carriers of the disease, although beavers, squirrels, pd's and groundhogs harbor a lesser strain, so be careful around dead varmints.
I may have caught a case of it while groundhog hunting a few years back, and still have a couple sets of holes in the skin where whatever critter's fang holes necrofied. Later, a doc told me about the disease and said he saw it when he interned in AZ; read it's now more common in these parts, but without (moot and expensive) tests we'd never know for sure.
Now, if I'm not able to confirm a kill on a "crawler" by quickly shining a mirror beam down a hole, I don't hang around. Also wear long pants, or silly-looking long socks with shorts on very hot days, plus DEET repellent. Can't be too careful.

 

[XTR]

The ticks that carry Lyme are about -----> . <----- big, not the ticks most people think of that are ---> O <--- . I've worked where we taped on tyvek pant to do surveys in the high grass, and I live in NH now. Ground zero for this nasty disease.

Ticks don't bother me, gotten lots of them over the yrs, Lyme doesn't bother me too much if you get it treated early, Lyme that goes undiagnosed scares the unholy crap out of me. That can leave you messed up. I don't want any of that.

 

[nmkid]

I agree with Hog, Permethrin goes on my clothes when ticks start to show up. It goes on everything socks, boots, pants, etc. Its good for 6 wks and I don't seem to have any tick problems. The problem with DEET is it is hard on the finish of guns and other things.

I started using Permethrin about 2 years ago. Was going to metal detect a site for Civil War relics in the dead of Summer. Sprayed my clothes with the stuff and it worked perfect. 6 hrs. of detecting and not a single tick! It's pretty nasty stuff and works for quite awhile. I don't know what's in it...Perhaps I don't want to know!!

 

[Bangs OH]

This just in: News reports this week claim meat allergies caught from bites of Lonestar ticks are spreading across the country. Not making this up. Those infected suffer outbreaks of hives and uncontrollable diarrhea if they consume the tiniest amount of meat products, even non-meat things that are baked or fried with lard.
Have a nice day!

 

[Someoldguy]

Seems to vary from person to person I am guessing . Have had hundreds of tick bites from working right of ways , so far so good far as I know . Have had some get burroughed so deep they never came out , at least not hole . Have lots of co-workers who have been bitten a lot , a few guys came down with it , most didn't . Have had some bites that stayed scabbed for months , but far as I know me and the others are clicking right along .
We were sleeping in the trucks on one particular storm and woke up with my nose itching , woke me up a couple times , started digging and had one latched onto the inside of my nose , that made the eyes water when I pulled that sucker out .
One of our crews recently working a job in Fairfax has been getting hammered with them . Finding as many as 15 or more a day

I would hate to guess how many times I've had ticks on me as well. Not something I want to have happen, but seems nearly unavoidable. I also work in a large shop that has a pigeon problem. Several co-workers have had nasty illnesses that were suspected to be from pigeon feces, including meningitis , but such things are nearly impossible to proove. Local, state and Federal laws prevent the eradication of the pigeons. Ain't it grand?
I must say from a purely annoyance angle, chiggers have got to be the most devilish creatures I've ever encountered.

 

[LarryDScott]

Chiggers get so bad at my house, that I have to spray any area that I may walk in, including a gravel driveway, with Bifiden IT.
I use a tank sprayer mounted on my Lawn mower
I was late spraying this yr and got several bites as my reward.
This product is great, It will kill any insect, and is food and pet safe. I get it from Do it Yourself pest control.com LDS

 

[snert]

I would hate to guess how many times I've had ticks on me as well. Not something I want to have happen, but seems nearly unavoidable. I also work in a large shop that has a pigeon problem. Several co-workers have had nasty illnesses that were suspected to be from pigeon feces, including meningitis , but such things are nearly impossible to proove. Local, state and Federal laws prevent the eradication of the pigeons. Ain't it grand?
I must say from a purely annoyance angle, chiggers have got to be the most devilish creatures I've ever encountered.

State local and federal prohibit pigeon shooting??? Gawd what has this country come to. Even in NY the common pigeon is a non-game (means shoot em all) species. I have found that many localities prohibit discharge of pigeon shooting implements. However, understanding businesses actually had me come in at night and well, no more pigeons. And pigeon crap carries all kinds of virus. Really bad to inhale dried pigeon poop dust.

 

[Someoldguy]

State local and federal prohibit pigeon shooting??? Gawd what has this country come to. Even in NY the common pigeon is a non-game (means shoot em all) species. I have found that many localities prohibit discharge of pigeon shooting implements. However, understanding businesses actually had me come in at night and well, no more pigeons. And pigeon crap carries all kinds of virus. Really bad to inhale dried pigeon poop dust.

Someone from the United States Department of Agriculture occasionally comes in after sunset and shoots a few of them with an air rifle. Of course, thats a bit like trying to rid your house of termites by stepping on 5 or 10 of them a couple of times a month. And I'd REALLY like to know what the USDA has to do with pigeon control in an industrial setting. (??!!!!).

 

[JRS]

Someone from the United States Department of Agriculture occasionally comes in after sunset and shoots a few of them with an air rifle. Of course, thats a bit like trying to rid your house of termites by stepping on 5 or 10 of them a couple of times a month. And I'd REALLY like to know what the USDA has to do with pigeon control in an industrial setting. (??!!!!).

Take a look at the amount of livestock feed that is contaminated by pigeons and starlings, especially at dairy farms. That's why the USDA is involved.