tick repellant

jimg · Jun 19, 2007

Thanx for all the help. At the moment guineas just aren't practical as I need to get the work done now. Ill keep it in mind as a long term solution though. Id be interested to know how to size a flock to land area. The tick population here is huge and most of my land is open.

I have some deep woods so Ill give that a go on the boots & pants. In the mean time Ill keep an eye out for a permethrin based product.

jimg · Aug 13, 2007

Tried permethrin and it works great + very inexpensive. The bottle I got should last a LONG time. The Off Deepwoods works just as well but is much more expensive. The only down side to the permethrin is letting the application dry completely prior to use unlike the Deepwoods which is squirt and go.

dmccarty · Aug 13, 2007

Jim,

Patrick put out a post years ago on Permethrin use. I found some at REI if you don't have one near you, you can order it online. The stuff works. Just soak it into the clothes. Let it drive overnight and you are good to go. It seems to last at least the hot part of the year. One summer I was walking/working in an area and stopped for a break. I looked down at my legs and right around my knees on both legs, two "nests" of chiggers had landed. About that time I saw two bucks so I stood there and watched the deer and the chiggers.

Its an exciting life I have...

After about 15-30 minutes the deer had wandered deep enough into the woods that I could no longer see them. The chiggers had advanced a few inches up my leg before they stopped. I saw some either jump off or fall off dead. When they stopped they where all dead. I think the ticks are repeled. I have never found a dead one on my treated pants.

For the last year or two I have been just spraying DEET on the pants below my knees which works as well. I have just been too lazy to treat the work clothes.

You might be able to find Permithrin at a farm supply store. I looked at the big box stores and never found any.

Later,
Dan

MississippiMan · Aug 13, 2007

MicroPilot said:
The problem with guineas is they don't wonder more than a few 10's of yards from wherever they roost.

i had some guineas for a couple of weeks. it took that long for the coyotes, fox and hawks to kill them all.

jimg · Aug 13, 2007

Dan
hanx for the info and funny story!

I found a small bottle of permethrin at TSC, cut it and apply from a sprayt bottle to my work pants. It works as well as Backwoods but at a fraction of the cost. Right now Im working around my fields and the grass is pretty deep and infested w/ ticks (and other things). Ive found a couple dead ticks on my pants so far...but none on me.

Soundguy · Aug 14, 2007

We also buy the permethrin oil emulsion mix and mix ourselves and add to spray bottles.. makes good fly spray too..

Soundguy

VABlue · Aug 14, 2007

For dog protection go with Frontline. It's expensive, but is well worth the price if you care about Fido. Once applied, you won't see ticks digging in for over a month, and fleas stay away for up to two months. I apply it each month to all of my dogs and never see ticks on them anymore. Once dried, they can swim everyday all month and still be protected. Great stuff...

arthr31 · Aug 14, 2007

Here's a thought.. About a month ago, while brush cutting, i saw about 20 ticks on my right leg, no joke.
I had a overspill of diesel from the tank side of my tractor... Upon seeing the the ticks, i whiped my hand over the diesel "spil" and rubbed over my leg, some of tht ticks had dug in. Upon the diesel being applied, they all fell off. And I mean ALL I watched them fall in amazment upon a straightaway of cutting.

So, it's not great to go greasing yourself in diesel, it beats getting a disease from a tick.. But to me the take away is, check yourself completely after being in a tick area and treat appropriatly. In my case with #2 fuel LOL

tallyho8 · Aug 14, 2007

VABlue said:
For dog protection go with Frontline. It's expensive, but is well worth the price if you care about Fido. Once applied, you won't see ticks digging in for over a month, and fleas stay away for up to two months. I apply it each month to all of my dogs and never see ticks on them anymore. Once dried, they can swim everyday all month and still be protected. Great stuff...

And to save money on the Frontline, buy the packs for 130 pound dogs and put one pack on 2 medium dogs or 3 small dogs. This can cut your cost by 50% to 75%.