Tick Question(s)

[Trail_Name]

I was recently acquainted with the size of a deer tick..... Unfortunately, I have shoulder-length bushy hair, and I'm concerned that if I get a tick attached to my scalp, I won't be able to find it with my fingers. I'm not taking a partner with me. So, basically, what is your nightly tick-removal routine?

Also, is Deet-free spray good enough to prevent ticks from latching on? Should I just put a whole bunch of this stuff in my hair? If you recommend that I take spray with Deet, can that stuff make someone sick?

And why don't they have the equivalent of frontline for humans?

[Jersey Tim]

I keep my hair really short so it's less of a problem, but I still wear a hat to keep the little buggers off. What's more, I hit it and my pants with permethrin; DEET is a repellent, but permethrin kills the bloodsuckers on contact.

[Trailweaver]

With the summer heat and the threat of getting the little bloodsuckers in your hair and not knowing, why not just get a shorter haircut? I should think you'd want to be cooler anyway.

[Walkintom]

+1 on getting a shortr haircut. Ounce of prevention and all of that crap...

Understanding that this may not be an acceptable choice for you, this is what I have done when I have thought ticks were likely:

Starting from my nose, lightly run my fingers over my entire ace and neck. Then work my fingers over my entire scalp, again running my fingers lightly over the entire area. I try to proceed methodically. If I am not absolutely sure that a spot has been touched, I go over it again. I continue this until I have worked my way down the back of my neck.

I do this before any washing routine. If it takes under five minutes then I am not being thorough.

The only time a tick has made it to my head was about twenty years ago, when I was cutting down a large cane patch used as a roosting place for literally thousands of blackbirds. After this is when I adopted my habit of self hecking. I had almost shoulder length hair at the time and I am sure that is a factor in the tick's success in attaching itself to me. The area was generously supplied with ticks but what I recall best is the ammonia stench. Goats were avoiding the vicinity, if that gives you any context.

In this particular instance my tick removal was less than succesful; the jaws remained in the wound. They were eventually pushed out by my flesh but the spot festered in a minor way two or three times first. No long lasting effects other than lesson learned and a dislike of ticks.

[Snowleopard]

I've got a hat like this one, a cap with a cape on the back, treated with permethrin.
http://www.rei.com/product/708136/ex...hield-cape-hat
It works reasonably well at keeping the mosquitos and black flies off without using deet and should help with ticks. Also, treat your clothing with permethrin and ideally treat all exposed skin with deet. http://www.rei.com/product/751264/sa...mp-spray-12-oz I'd say especially treat your pants (preferably long pants with permethrin) and bare legs (DEET).

If you're in a place where there are tick borne diseases (Lyme, babesiosis,etc), DEET and permethrin are the way to go. I wouldn't use any of the other repellents.

Not to make you paranoid, but I read a trail journal from this year on the AT where they got a rain of ticks from the trees

The deer ticks that can give you Lyme disease are pretty small.

[Panzer1]

+1 on the permethrin.

Panzer

[WingedMonkey]

All the hikers I know that got Lyme had short hair. Then again none of them had the big ring on their scalp, but somewhere else.
Just saying....

[gunner76]

Even with all the chemicals you still need to do a eyeball check. Even with clothes treated with DEET and Permethrin I still found 5 ticks after a hike today.

[Reishi]

Hi, I havent done any real hikes other than 6-7 hours through the woods here in VA. I have removed 4 or 5 ticks from myself in the last month. I see most people saying to use permethrin. I am not comfortable using those types of chemicals, does anybody do long hikes with no chemicals?

[88BlueGT]

Glad I found this thread. I'm going out for a week in a few weeks and I'm starting to get nervous after all this tick and mosquito talk. In the past I have never done anything to try and prevent them I just take precaution and do a quick search before sunset.

I went out last night and bought a .5oz bottle of 100% deet. Don't feel all that comfortable applying to bare skin and clothing though :/ Hate ticks, scare the ***** out of me.

[Snowleopard]

...I see most people saying to use permethrin. I am not comfortable using those types of chemicals, does anybody do long hikes with no chemicals?

Sure. I'm also not comfortable using chemicals either, but Lyme disease is pretty common in southern New England; one friend in the Boston suburbs has gotten Lyme twice, probably in her own yard. I use permethrin and Insect Shield clothing (incorporates permethrin in its manufacture) and head net when needed and try to avoid DEET as much as possible. From my research, permethrin is pretty safe once it's dried on your clothes, and a bit less safe breathing it while applying it. Some of the 'natural' insect repellents instantly trigger my asthma, so I can't even be near someone who has applied them. I worry about DEET triggering my asthma, so I avoid it (but when you need it, you really need it).

The alternatives: First lookup what insect borne diseases are present in the area you'll hike.

For ticks (Lyme disease, babesiosis, rocky mtn fever):
Wear long pants and shirt, light colored so you can see the ticks.
Tuck pants into socks or wear gaiters.
Avoid walking through high grass and brush as much as possible.
Check your clothes for ticks regularly during the day.
Check your body for ticks regularly and have someone else check the parts that you can't. I live alone, so this one is harder for me; I guess I should use a handmirror.
Learn to distinguish regular ticks and deer ticks and how to best remove them.
I do all the above plus use permethrin on my clothes.

Mosquitos (West Nile virus, eastern equine encephalitis, malaria): Add a head net and if it's bad, gloves. Or, use a bug suit (get a good one from Canada). The good news is that there's not much malaria in the USA anymore. I don't think there's been much W. Nile or EEE along the AT in New England; around here it's been mainly Boston and suburbs and SE Mass.

Black flies: The good news is that black flies don't carry disease, they just make you wish you were dead. These are only a problem in the north, mainly in late spring, early summer. In a bad year they can be really, really bad in VT, NH, ME and the Adirondacks

... I went out last night and bought a .5oz bottle of 100% deet. Don't feel all that comfortable applying to bare skin and clothing though :/ Hate ticks, scare the ***** out of me.

Be careful using DEET on clothes; it'll dissolve some synthetic clothes (and packs, cameras, tents). Permethrin is better on clothes; it'll last 4 to 6 weeks from one application.

I've been seeing black flies in the woods here for a couple weeks, i.e., since before all the snow was gone. They're not biting yet, just checking out the menu (me)

Here's a map of Lyme disease prevalence, just remember that it is increasing everywhere:

[Sickmont]

Thats it. New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming and Montana is where i'm a-heading. Eff lyme disease and eff those little bastage ticks.

[Panzer1]

Hi, I havent done any real hikes other than 6-7 hours through the woods here in VA. I have removed 4 or 5 ticks from myself in the last month. I see most people saying to use permethrin. I am not comfortable using those types of chemicals, does anybody do long hikes with no chemicals?

back in the old days we did long hikes without chemicals because we did not have them.

Panzer

[Panzer1]

use DEET on skin not clothes.
use permethrin on clothes not skin.

Panzer

[Sarcasm the elf]

Just a warning permethrin is Highly toxic to cats, keep this
in mind when using and storing it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permethrin

Personally I never spray deet on my skin. I wear long pants and do quick checks each time I take a break (much easier to remove them from your cloths than from your skin) and one complete check at the end of the day.

Ticks should be taken seriously but they're nothing to irrationally fear. Be vigilant: check early, check often.

[Panzer1]

I don't buy into the "tuck pants into socks" theory. I can't see myself hiking down the trail looking like that. Its kind of dorky. Even if the theory makes sense.

Panzer

[Sarcasm the elf]

I don't buy into the "tuck pants into socks" theory. I can't see myself hiking down the trail looking like that. Its kind of dorky. Even if the theory makes sense.

Panzer

+1
It seems like ticks usually hitch a ride by hanging on shin/ankle level vegetation, never had one on my lower legs when wearing long pants.

[The Solemates]

i've found literally hundreds of ticks on me in my lifetime. at least half of them had embedded themselves in me. in fact, I just pulled one off my knee yesterday. Never once have I had one in my hair on my head. 99% of the time they are somewhere between my knee and waistline. i've never had a problem so I dont speak from experience, but I think the scare of ticks is way over-exaggerated.

[Trail_Name]

Thanks for the responses, everyone! I had already cut my hair to shoulder length for the trip and I can't make myself cut anymore. I'll do the break-checks and nightly super-checks and bring some deet-spray.

[LDog]

i've found literally hundreds of ticks on me in my lifetime. at least half of them had embedded themselves in me. in fact, I just pulled one off my knee yesterday. Never once have I had one in my hair on my head. 99% of the time they are somewhere between my knee and waistline. i've never had a problem so I dont speak from experience, but I think the scare of ticks is way over-exaggerated.

My sister had a tick a couple of years ago. Got the bullseye rash. Didn't think anything of it. Few did back then. Since then its been one unexplained symptom after another. Pain, nausea, loss of mental acuity, blackouts. Finally, a doctor had her tested for Lyme, and she was positive. Since then, she has had to search to find doctors that understand lyme, and there are major disagreements as to how to treat it.

Undiagnosed lyme is a nasty bitch. She is now sporting a port so that she can get IV antibiotics daily. Still has not recovered her full mental faculties, still has days when she cannot get out of bed due to pain and nausea ...

Don't under estimate ticks. Undiagnosed Lyme is a bitch, and now they are transmitting babesiosis, which is often fatal.

http://www.self.com/health/2011/03/r...printable=true

Don't underestimate ticks