rekees4300
Elite Member
Did use Off to keep the ticks off but this year switched to Natrapel. Spraying shoes, socks and lower pants has been 100% effective so far. It also smells better than Off and it doesn't contain DEET. Got it from Amazon.com
Concern about ticks?
- Thread starter Richard
- Start date
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forgeblast
Elite Member
had a small one deer tick, and a simple blood test after a dose of antibiotics ran its course showed no lyme disease. i would see a dr. it could be the head is still inside, it will work its way out, you just want to watch for infection.
dmccarty
Super Star Member
We live in Tickville. Even with two feet of snow on the ground we can have ticks. 
This time of year it is getting really bad. In a few months it will be beyond bad. The Chiggers will be out in June to add to the fun.
We use the Pro Tick Puller that we get at REI. Pro-Tick Remedy Tick Removal System at REI.com. It is the best tick puller we have tried. And we have tried a few. It can get out small ticks that the other pullers cannot.
When working outside I wear long light colored trousers tucked into socks and then sprayed with a DEET product. If I think ahead I soak my clothes in Permethrin which lasts the seasons. This is a different bottle but same brand, Sawyer Permethrin Pump Spray - 24 oz. at REI.com. I have walked into two nests of chiggers and watched them die from contact with trousers treated with Permethrin.
For chiggers the clear Benydryl gel works well. It can cover a large area of bites easily and quickly.
The wifey had a tick in the back of her neck. By the time we found it the tick had burrowed deep into the skin. Even with the previously linked tick puller we could not get it out. The tick broke up. The head stayed in her skin. The doc said the body will deal with it and just watch for infection. :confused2: Which is what we did.
We have small ticks. Medium ticks. And big ticks. I think we have deer, dog and Lonestar ticks. I think a wildfire is what it would take to clean them up for a year or two. I am hoping the fire ants will do them in. :thumbsup:
I don't know how we could not have Lyme at this point but I have read that the tick has to be attached 12-24 hours before Lyme is transmitted. The tick puller we use does not smoosh the tick so it pukes into you so maybe we have been "lucky" so far. But I know I have had the Bulls eye rash years ago.
Depending on the tick bite I might each of a few days but the "bump" may last a few weeks. Sometimes the bite site is a welt. The Chigger bite sites seem to last a month with a couple of weeks of itching. Though they don't seem to itch as bad as they used too. Guess I am getting used to them.
In the winter when we find ticks we put them in the wood stove. In the fire. :thumbsup: Send them back where they belong......
Later,
Dan
This time of year it is getting really bad. In a few months it will be beyond bad. The Chiggers will be out in June to add to the fun.
We use the Pro Tick Puller that we get at REI. Pro-Tick Remedy Tick Removal System at REI.com. It is the best tick puller we have tried. And we have tried a few. It can get out small ticks that the other pullers cannot.
When working outside I wear long light colored trousers tucked into socks and then sprayed with a DEET product. If I think ahead I soak my clothes in Permethrin which lasts the seasons. This is a different bottle but same brand, Sawyer Permethrin Pump Spray - 24 oz. at REI.com. I have walked into two nests of chiggers and watched them die from contact with trousers treated with Permethrin.
For chiggers the clear Benydryl gel works well. It can cover a large area of bites easily and quickly.
The wifey had a tick in the back of her neck. By the time we found it the tick had burrowed deep into the skin. Even with the previously linked tick puller we could not get it out. The tick broke up. The head stayed in her skin. The doc said the body will deal with it and just watch for infection. :confused2: Which is what we did.
We have small ticks. Medium ticks. And big ticks. I think we have deer, dog and Lonestar ticks. I think a wildfire is what it would take to clean them up for a year or two. I am hoping the fire ants will do them in. :thumbsup:
I don't know how we could not have Lyme at this point but I have read that the tick has to be attached 12-24 hours before Lyme is transmitted. The tick puller we use does not smoosh the tick so it pukes into you so maybe we have been "lucky" so far. But I know I have had the Bulls eye rash years ago.
Depending on the tick bite I might each of a few days but the "bump" may last a few weeks. Sometimes the bite site is a welt. The Chigger bite sites seem to last a month with a couple of weeks of itching. Though they don't seem to itch as bad as they used too. Guess I am getting used to them.
In the winter when we find ticks we put them in the wood stove. In the fire. :thumbsup: Send them back where they belong......
Later,
Dan
I tested positive for lymes last summer. I was bit on my stomach at some point during the day and removed the tick around 7 P.M. Three weeks later devolped the Bulls-Eye rash and went to the doctor. Had to take antibiotics for a month.
The itch is well treated with Absorbine Jr., do you guys remember that stuff. It was for sore muscles and athletes foot I think. Don't know why it works but it does. I have had the "itch" for well over 2 months before I was told of the Absorbine Jr.
My advice would be dont worry about it if you don't see anything more than a red spot. If you start to feel bad or get any type of rash then go get it looked at.
For the chiggers I use clear fingernail polish. I scratch em until I can see all the red spots, wipe with rubbing alcohol then apply the fingernail polish.
The itch is well treated with Absorbine Jr., do you guys remember that stuff. It was for sore muscles and athletes foot I think. Don't know why it works but it does. I have had the "itch" for well over 2 months before I was told of the Absorbine Jr.
My advice would be dont worry about it if you don't see anything more than a red spot. If you start to feel bad or get any type of rash then go get it looked at.
For the chiggers I use clear fingernail polish. I scratch em until I can see all the red spots, wipe with rubbing alcohol then apply the fingernail polish.
LostInTheWoods
Platinum Member
But I know I have had the Bulls eye rash years ago.
Dan,
With that history, have you been tested for or treated for Lyme disease? If not, I'd recommend you get checked out. Once you get past the initial flu-like phase, Lyme disease can remain "dormant" in your body for many, many years. Then, it rears its ugly head again, but the next time around it can get much worse. This time around it tends to mess with your heart, nerves, and joints.
You may not have actually had Lyme disease, even with the "bull's-eye" rash. I actually wrote my Master's Thesis on tick-borne illnesses. If you ever have trouble sleeping, let me know and I'll see if I can find it...two pages of that and you'll be sawing logs for sure...:laughing: There are other diseases, both tick-borne (Southern Tick-Associated Rash Illness, or STARI) and others totally unrelated to ticks (too numerous to mention) that are very similar to the classic rash of Lyme disease. Regardless, if you develop that type of rash and remember a tick bite - even if it was years ago - get yourself evaluated.
foggy1111
Elite Member
Since we started treating our clothes with Repel permathrin we have had just a few ticks to deal with....in over a years time. Before that it was crazy....we must be the tick capitol of the USA or something.
I have had people come to visit me while I was working in the woods.....they will pull off like 20 ticks in a half hour....and I will have 0. I am a big time believer in treating my clothes with this stuff....and it seems to last a long time....even after washing our clothes. :thumbsup:
I have had people come to visit me while I was working in the woods.....they will pull off like 20 ticks in a half hour....and I will have 0. I am a big time believer in treating my clothes with this stuff....and it seems to last a long time....even after washing our clothes. :thumbsup:
clemsonfor
Super Member
Fingernail polish on chiggers i have heard is a wives tale. I use to do it, now dont, and i dont see a differece in the bite or itch. I was told that by the time you see the bite and feel it the whole thing is over so polish does not "smother" anything.
Just because you had a deer tick attached for 1 day 2 days or three does not mean you have lymes disease. Not all deer and therefor not all ticks carry lymes disease. Just cause you have had a tick bite for a 24-48 hour period does not mean you will 100% get it. NOT all ticks even have it , deer ticks are the carriers (not sure if the only tick species that can cary it), but again NOT all deer ticks are infected with the disease. I have no idea the percentage but in all my years of ticks i have been lucky many have been attached over night, rarely deer ticks mostly the smaller ones but have had larger ticks attached for a day or so i have not got lymes disease yet. Thank goodness.
Just pointing out this is not an inevitable thing. Its a percentages thing.
Just because you had a deer tick attached for 1 day 2 days or three does not mean you have lymes disease. Not all deer and therefor not all ticks carry lymes disease. Just cause you have had a tick bite for a 24-48 hour period does not mean you will 100% get it. NOT all ticks even have it , deer ticks are the carriers (not sure if the only tick species that can cary it), but again NOT all deer ticks are infected with the disease. I have no idea the percentage but in all my years of ticks i have been lucky many have been attached over night, rarely deer ticks mostly the smaller ones but have had larger ticks attached for a day or so i have not got lymes disease yet. Thank goodness.
Just pointing out this is not an inevitable thing. Its a percentages thing.
Tororider
Veteran Member
I feel lucky that we have very few ticks around us. Sounds like you guys need to invest in some chickens or guineas.
Toyboy
Platinum Member
I can just picture the coyotes and wolves up here hearing them, and think it was their dinner bell
dmccarty
Super Star Member
No test.
There is quite a bit of controversy on the tests, which test to take, when to take it, when is it valid to test after a bite, and what do the results mean.
I have never had a tick on me more than 12 hours or so. Even 12 I think is pushing it. Since you are not supposed to get Lyme until the tick has been in 24-72 hours I think I am ok.
Later,
Dan
