exofficio

[firegirl130065]

Has anyone tried the bugsaway clothing?

[4eyedbuzzard]

Pardon the intrusion into the female forum, but I don't think the bugs are that selective. I have one of their shirts and a ball cap. Yes, the product works as advertised. Garments that are factory treated also will retain the bug repellent, typically permethrin, far longer than DIY treated garments. Used with DEET, even more effective. Treat your boots and socks too for best protection.

[Offshore]

Another XY intrusion here - the ExOfficio Bugsaway stuff is expensive but it is really great hiking/travel apparel (and the Insect Shield treatment really works - I watched a tick die by the time it got from my ankle to my knee on my ExOfficio Ziwa pants). Check out the women's Ziwa convertible pants. The men's version is my go-to pant - well made, durable, pockets in all the right places. I also have a couple of their shirts. I wash my Insect Shield treated in a sport detergent (Prowash or Hex Performance) and line dry.

[mostlysunny]

Thanks for the info!

[sbhikes]

I bought an exofficio bug repellent hat that had a little curtain around your neck that you could button in front and found that it did work really well. Mosquitoes didn't buzz around me nearly as much. It didn't fit my head very well, though.

As for pants, I have found that ticks usually can't travel very far on nylon fabrics and will fall off before they get anywhere where they can get to you. The zip-off leg pants seem to form a barrier that ticks can't get over as they attempt to crawl up your legs, but they fall off of even non-zip-off pants well before they can get to your waistband.

The times I have gotten ticks have usually been from having them fall from branches into my shirt. They crawl into my bra and get me there. This happens only on really overgrown trails when I'm crawling on hands and knees and pushing my way through thick brush. I don't think the AT is like that and for sure the PCT is never like that.

[Offshore]

I don't think the AT is like that and for sure the PCT is never like that.

The AT goes though the heart of deer tick and Lyme disease country - Maryland through New England. You'd have to look long and hard to find a place with higher tick exposure.

[firegirl130065]

Thanks for the info!

[sbhikes]

The AT goes though the heart of deer tick and Lyme disease country - Maryland through New England. You'd have to look long and hard to find a place with higher tick exposure.

Yeah, but you don't have to crawl on your hands and knees with your hair getting caught in overgrow bushes.

[Buttercup01]

I've had great success with them.

[Offshore]

Yeah, but you don't have to crawl on your hands and knees with your hair getting caught in overgrow bushes.

Hike much in the northeast? Ignore sbhike's foolish misinformation. A good source of accurate tick and Lyme information is http://www.tickencounter.org/ (http://www.tickencounter.org/)

[Water Rat]

Pardon the intrusion into the female forum, but I don't think the bugs are that selective. I have one of their shirts and a ball cap. Yes, the product works as advertised. Garments that are factory treated also will retain the bug repellent, typically permethrin, far longer than DIY treated garments. Used with DEET, even more effective. Treat your boots and socks too for best protection.

I second this information. Even if you go with the Bugs Away line, you will need to have the garments re-treated after about 70 washings.

If you opt to go with your usual hiking clothing, there are commercial businesses that you can send your hiking gear to for treatment. Wired used Insect Shield LLC (out of North Carolina) to have her hiking clothing treated prior to her AT hike. Here is a link to the form if you have clothing you would like to have sent for treatment: http://www.insectshield.com/PDF/IS_Your_Own_Clothes_-_US_form_revised_3-23-2015.pdf

You don't have to be crawling around in the brush to encounter ticks. I can stand in my own yard (with very short grass) and find ticks in the NE.

[Buttercup01]

I don't specifically use bug away clothing, but my insect guard hat is a killer. :) So many of my friends had lyme disease that I always cover up. I'm a redhead, so covering up is second nature.

[kameyosekmoon]

I did a section hike of Benton MacKaye, I was bitten (attacked is a better word) by multiple ticks. After 25 days on doxycycline, I decided to invest in ExOfficio (pants, shirt, undies) and I've not seen a single tick since.

[Snowleopard]

The bugsaway and insect shield clothing work well, but are expensive. Mosquitoes and black flies won't bite through them and ticks will fall off and die. Any exposed skin is still vulnerable; use deet on exposed skin.

I have a friend that uses Ex Officio's damselfly bugsaway pants and really likes them http://www.rei.com/product/879519/exofficio-bugsaway-damselfly-pants-womens ; they're a very thin fabric. I bought the men's version, sandfly, almost identical except it has some webbing for ventilation. Both men's and women's are excellent for hot weather. For cooler weather, I'd either wear heavier pants or carry light long underwear. My friend also has the Ex Officio women's damselfly hooded insect shield jacket. She likes it a lot and wears the hood up in the woods; I think it's too warm for summer.

It's also worth treating shoes, socks and hats with spray permethrin. When mosquitoes or black flies are bad, carry a head net.

To be fair to sbhikes, California very little lyme disease and conditions are different there.

[shelb]

Just FYI: I found a tick on my hip when I arrived home and showered after 10 days hiking PA to NY. The tick was attached, but not "dug in." I figured it had been there about 36-48 hours since I had a 13 hour drive to get home from the trail

Best advice???? Check yourself carefully.... !!! I had been; however, I became lax about it the last two days of hiking because I hadn't had one yet.
Now, my doctor has me watching to make sure I don't come down with Lyme Disease symptoms...