Deer Tick Repellants

imported
#1

What works and what doesn’t work for repelling deer ticks. What’s your experience with DEET, Avon Skin-So Soft, or other repellents?

Zachsdad

#2

I know lots of folks swear by Skin-So-Soft, and claim that it repels bugs, mosquitos, ticks, porcupines, kangaroos, mothers-in-law, bad guys, … Others say they think it’s just a cruel joke, there’s sugar-water in the bottle, because it almost seems to attract biting bugs.

Personally, I’m a big fan of the technical repellents. DEET (29% should be plenty except in the worst bug seasons) will keep insects from targeting you (it works like a radar jammer). Add a Permethrin product to the equation and you’re going to do all right! (Permethrin is a spray for your clothing/fabric items. It doesn’t hurt DWR fabrics, it lasts through a couple of washes, and it needs to be reapplied about every 12-15 days. Permethrin stuns or kills any bugs/bees that make it through the DEET haze).

Two common arguments against using DEET/Permethrin:
1/ it’s unnatural, could be bad for you. Maybe, but it’s no worse than using suntan lotion, hairspray, deodorant, etc.
2/ it’s a pain to apply. Okay, that’s true. But enacting any insect repellent system is a loathesome chore, and at least this one really, truly works.

Good luck. --TR

Teddy Roosevelt

#3

There are some pretty gnarly things you can put on yourself to try to repel bugs. I think the best prevention is daily tick checks and checking after you pass through tick-prone areas, like grasses and herbs that touch your legs.
To bust some common myths, any type of tick can carry lyme disease. The deer ticks are bad, but the seed ticks are even worse. They are smaller than pinheads. Also, the “bullseye” bruise is not always present when the disease is present. In my thru, I didn’t get many ticks on me, since the trail, for the most part, is clear of brushing vegetation. My partner for the last K was not so lucky, and he got lyme disease for his second time. The tick was under his waist band. They like those warm, moist spots. Make sure you check all of those.
If you do want to put those nasty chemicals on you, make sure you put them on you clothes, and not skin. that stuff is not good you, and it stinks. It’s also a false sense of security, which is something very marketable these days…

THA WOOKIE

#4

Yikes, I picked up Lyme Disease in SNP last summer and I was only out for two weeks. Mine was also under the waist line and so tiny I never saw it.:eek: Luckily I got the bullseye and got treatment and cured right away. Anyway, I’ll take the false sense of security from both clothes and skin treatment this year. But I will check hard and often.

Skeemer

#5

I agree that visual checking is the best solution. They do tend to migrate to dark, cramped environments… so your crotch is a perfect spot for ticks to rest. Check everywhere!!! I stopped using chemicals after I saw ticks climbing around on treated skin. BTW… Seed ticks realy suck, I’ve been infected three times. However, seed ticks are an immature form of adult ticks and I’ve read that they are to young to get infected with lyme. For those who don’t know what seed ticks are, by brushing up against a nest you get thousands on you instantly which is why I use the word “infected” with seed ticks.
TB

TurkeyBacon

#6

We used Permethrin on our clothes. We would spray it and not wear it for 24 hrs. It would last several weeks and many washings. I had only one tick and it was crawling on my sock and Flame had none. We still checked ourselves every night. Permethrin is not for your skin. It actually kills the bug on contact. All the bug has to do is walk on a surface treated with it and it is curtains for the bug. We checked the FDA website about Deet and it has been used since WWII and there has never been a case of toxicity reported. I believe (If my memory serves me right) it was used as a paint thiner or clearner by the Navy in the Pacific in WWII and the sailors noticed it repelled mosquitoes.

Papa Smurf

#7

Deet is good to use to repel bugs. I recommend not camping in grassy and weedy areas. Ticks climb up onto high stalks of grass and weeds and from there climb onto any animal or person who happens by. I recommend camping under the forest canopy, where grass and weeds are scarce----hence less ticks and less possibility of picking one up. Also when hiking in high grass and weeds, wear long pants, boots or shoes with pants legs closed at the bottoms—this will help keep the ticks off of you and also the poison oak off of you also, which is very very abundant on the AT. Checking yourself every night or on breaks for ticks is also a very good idea. Good luck. Keep on hiking.

Maintain

#8

Thanks for the input! I think I’ll go with DEET and Permethrin as a first repellent, together with those common sense precautions. I’ll also use some Skin-So-Soft because it’s also an excellent sunscreen. That nude hiking idea sounds interesting too!!!

Zachsdad

#9

Don’t want to burst any bubbles here, but the so-called “seed ticks” (the tiny immature form of ticks) can indeed transmit Lymes. Actually they may cause more transmission than the adults due to the difficulty if detecting them. These are so tiny most people never even see them through all the trail dirt, so they can stay on long enough to transmit disease.

To transmit disease, most ticks must be attatched for greater than 18-24 hours, so daily tick checks are extremely important. Find a friend or carry a small mirror, and check your hair, too. Lymes is not the only disease these little monsters are transmitting, however - Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (quite common in the EASTERN US, despite the name) and Ehrlichiosis can both be very serious diseases and are spread by the larger ticks you see on the trail (brown dog tick and American dog tick).

Two words: TICK CHECK

-Chipper

Chipper and Jeff '02