Has anybody had any experience with tick repellants that work. in the past I have used flea and tick collars around my ankles when I was going into heavily infested areas but they are a blther to use
Boom Boom
TICKS - Appalachian Trail
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#2
Flea and tick collars can be a bit toxic if they touch the skin. When I was over in Kuwait with the Air Force we were specifically told not to use them for the sand fleas. Get some Permethrin (Sawyers) and spray your socks, shorts, and shirts (gaiters if you wear them); let them dry. This will last a week or so a help a lot. DON’T spray on your skin. Use DEET on your skin; however, most all skin replellant will weep off when you sweat. Ticks don’t jump so the sock application is most important. Check yourself thoroughly if you bushwack or have to push through any brush and after sitting down on the ground.
Silver Fox
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#3
Flame and I use Permanone (sp). It is probably the same thing as Silver Fox mentioned. You spray it on your clothes and let it dry. DO NOT PUT IT ON YOUR SKIN. We would wash our clothes and spray them down good when they where dry. The spray would last thru about 3 washings. Once the spray is dry on your clothes it is non systemic. It kills the ticks on contact. I started using the stuff about 30 years ago. A friend of mine was a game warden and they got it from the government because you could not buy it over the counter. It is band in some states. We had the spray in our maildrops. On our thru hike we never had the first tick. And hikers around us did.
Papa Smurf
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#4
Related to above precautions…I always keep small roll of white medical tape near my beltline - when ticks are spotted on skin just tear a small piece off, hold sticky side against the bugger, and tick gets stuck. roll up and discard properly. No fuss. But, not effective if tick is already embedded, although tape can be used once removed.
itchy
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#5
Deet didn’t work for ticks (but you definitely need it for the mosquitos in MA). Nothing did, so we just started pulling them off each other. I had never seen ticks so small in my life. We didn’t get them until PA, NJ, & NY & didn’t get them after CT-ish. If the perma-stuff is banned in some states, it gives you an indication maybe of how toxic it is. we never got Lyme’s disease but many after us did. choice of 2 evils.
Shera, Princess of Power
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#6
The permethrin is non-systemic because you spray it on your clothes. My friend that is a game warden has used it everyday during the tick season for over 30 years and to date, he has had no ill effect. I guess it was banned because people sprayed it on themself. Duh!
“Gee Bubba, if hit works good on your clothes, I bet hit’d kill them lit’l suckers real fast if you sprayed’t on yorself. What’g you thank? Huh? The can says, ‘hit last through 3 warshings’, that means hit’d last 3 weeks on yor skin! Hot Dang! this is some good stuff!”
I’m not sure if it is still banned in any states. I guess you can make anything toxic if you abuse it. You can kill yourself drinking too much water. Lyme’s disease can be life threating if not treated soon enough. I guess it boils down to either “pick the tick” or “spray your drawers.”
I remember sitting in the church hostel in Pearisburg, VA in '02 (waiting for our ride to Trail Days) and some hikers had just got back from going to Wal Mart. (They cut across the field, in the tall grass!) They were picking seed ticks for hours.
Hey Virginian, do you remember that?
Happy Trails!
Papa Smurf