Tick Repellant?

[Bruce L]

Hi all,just wondering if anyone has come up with a tick repellant yet.Cleaned the pans yesterday,brought home float boxes,fittings etc last night, sat down and felt something crawling on my arm, there was the tick! I hadn't even ventured into the bush, so what happens when I do for cutting wood and changing lines?

[happy thoughts]

The current advice is to wear permethrin treated clothes and shoes when in tick country. These can be bought commercially pretreated (lasts up to 70 washings) and there are kits available for treatment at home (protects up to 30 days). More info can be found at the U of RI tick site here:

http://tickencounter.org/prevention/protect_yourself

[TonyL]

I have a set of clothes that I treat with permethrin. I wear these when I will be in the woods...it seems to work well, and it's easy to do. It can be toxic to cats, however.

[steam maker]

We use sawyers repellant, comes in a yellow spray bottle and u treat the clothes u wAnna wear . Seems to work so far !!! Keeping our fingers crossed though. Before we started using it dad had lyme diesese two years ago!!now he says mom checks him over nose to toes . Think he tells her he saw a tick just for enjoyment 😄😄😄😄😄

[maple flats]

A discovered I was using my tick repellant wrong. I've had 3 tick bites in the past month, 2 on a single day and 1 the next time.
I was applying it just to my legs, from the knee down. After getting bit by 3 and needing 2 courses of medication, I applied it from foot to head, on my head I sprayed it on my hand and then applied it to my neck, hair and lightly to parts of my face away from my eyes and mouth. That seemed to work thus fat.
The first ticks I ever saw in my life were just 3 years ago, now they are everywhere.

[BreezyHill]

I have a cousin that swears by garlic. after having lime and and knowing several trappers and being part of a game club he decided to give the garlic a try. four years now without a tic. He works construction, and is part of the building wild team on Nat Geo. I have had several ticks on me this year but only one bit from a dog tick. Our farm is loaded with the little B tards. I cant use DEET as I had a reaction to it one time when using the wipes. I still spray it on a hat or a coat but never near my skin or on a t shirt even. Garlic works on our horses...five never had lyme. Wannabe has a sad story of his daughter having lyme. It is nothing to play around with.

[DrTimPerkins]

I have a cousin that swears by garlic.

Keeps all co-workers and vampires away too. I used to do a lot of field work with a guy who used garlic (eaten) as a repellant. You couldn't get within 20 ft of him.

[PerryFamily]

I agree with flats, you never heard of ticks until a few years ago. Why is that?

Although some disagree, I think there is also something to do with the individuals chemical makeup. Whether its smell or oils on the skin seems that some people are prone to attraction and others( like myself, knock on wood) are not.

[Sunday Rock Maple]

[QUOTE=PerryFamily;258337]I agree with flats, you never heard of ticks until a few years ago. Why is that?

It seems to be a very relevant question, there have been smaller population levels for years and yet now there is more. Are they cyclical like the tent caterpillar, or have conditions changed?

[happy thoughts]

I agree with flats, you never heard of ticks until a few years ago. Why is that?

Although some disagree, I think there is also something to do with the individuals chemical makeup.

From what I've read, ticks are attracted to carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide. CO2 is used in tick traps. One of the worst places to stop for a potty break is at the edge of the highway where CO levels tend to be high. Blame it on fossil fuels. :)

[BreezyHill]

In our area it is rather simple. Ticks are spread by the field mice. There are more over grown fields and less predators to keep the mice in check. In the last two years our coyote population as been decimated by hunting and deer hunters simply popping them. I have never seen so many mice in the fields. When haying I would always have a coyote or a pair of red tails eating the mice...not one this season. Snakes are way down also. So the mice rule the roast and the ticks rule the mice.

I would have hoped that the long stretch of sub zero with no snow would have reduced numbers somewhat but that seems to not be the case.

They seem to be in the parts of the bush that need to have brush removed but that looks like a winter job now with the high tick counts.

[BreezyHill]

In our area it is rather simple. Ticks are spread by the field mice. There are more over grown fields and less predators to keep the mice in check. In the last two years our coyote population as been decimated by hunting and deer hunters simply popping them. I have never seen so many mice in the fields. When haying I would always have a coyote or a pair of red tails eating the mice...not one this season. Snakes are way down also. So the mice rule the roast and the ticks rule the mice.

I would have hoped that the long stretch of sub zero with no snow would have reduced numbers somewhat but that seems to not be the case.

They seem to be in the parts of the bush that need to have brush removed but that looks like a winter job now with the high tick counts.