View Full Version : How bad are the ticks in the SNP this year?
We did some trails last year in July and did not find a tick on us. How bad are the ticks this year in the SNP?
was pulling them off me constantly at the south end on sunday, seemed to get less so further north, but the rain maybe had something to do with that too.
stranger
06-16-2012, 05:34
June and July are always the worst months for ticks, any year. Contrary to popular opinion there are no more ticks on a warm year versus a cold year, the real issue is whether or not there is a decline in field mice populations (and tick behavior), the main food for ticks (the mice are the Lyme carriers, the ticks contract it from them), if there is a decline in mice, ticks will look elsewhere for hosts - hikers!
Pemethrin
was pulling them off me constantly at the south end on sunday, seemed to get less so further north, but the rain maybe had something to do with that too.
Thanks for the info tdozi. Were you around rock fish gap.``
coach lou
06-16-2012, 09:59
June and July are always the worst months for ticks, any year. Contrary to popular opinion there are no more ticks on a warm year versus a cold year, the real issue is whether or not there is a decline in field mice populations (and tick behavior), the main food for ticks (the mice are the Lyme carriers, the ticks contract it from them), if there is a decline in mice, ticks will look elsewhere for hosts - hikers!
Pemethrin
Of the 3 times I've been there, the time in July was THE worst ever......anywhere, ever!
Wise Old Owl
06-16-2012, 10:26
This year my mistake was spraying on the deet then the sunscreen ... turns out put the sunscreen on first.
I still have a large supply of DWO and a can of Bullfrog. But I am treating the hammock and some clothing with Sawyer Permethrin.
My Manager said - hey why not use Agent Orange? - He has a strange sense of humor.
I'm starting to think some people have a natural tick repellent. I didn't see one tick during my recent Springer to Damascus hike nor did I see one when I hiked the Shenandoah's last june. Could there be any truth to this? It seems like some people attract many more mosquitos than others.
Cat in the Hat
I attract mosquitoes like crazy, while my wife standing right next to me will be fine.
I had found several ticks on my when I was in SNP a couple of weeks ago. Two had taken hold, several others just crawling on me. I in the area of MM 84.
Wise Old Owl
06-16-2012, 11:49
I'm starting to think some people have a natural tick repellent. I didn't see one tick during my recent Springer to Damascus hike nor did I see one when I hiked the Shenandoah's last june. Could there be any truth to this? It seems like some people attract many more mosquitos than others.
Cat in the Hat
Check your glasses.... I do not like tick's there, I do not like ticks here, I will spray the hell out of them everywhere.....
and Pumba - I have seen that too - turns out people that drink very little water and are outdoors alot have a leather like skin and avoid it somehow. One indian in the Amazon said "you dring too much" to a reporter.
ive bought permethrin and deet. some are saying its all hype. that nothing will keep the ticks off. I plan on using both even though I have never used them before.
Rocket Jones
06-16-2012, 21:40
In late April in the northern section of SNP, those of us who had treated their clothes with permethrin had zero ticks. The others each pulled at least a few off of them. The dogs now, were terrible. We probably pulled 40 or more off of a Golden Retriever and 20 off the short hair, and both owners found attached ticks at home the day after.
An added bonus with the permethrin is that it's not just ticks that stay away. I was buzzed for quite a while by a couple of wasps and flies. They wanted to land on me (I was sitting still, sketching), but everytime they'd come close they'd veer away and buzz around again. I was not waving them off, they just couldn't/wouldn't land. I'm convinced it was the treated clothing.
Wise Old Owl
06-16-2012, 21:49
Canoe - nothing is 100% it works well - in our business a "reduction" sometimes is a success.
stranger
06-17-2012, 04:21
Of the 3 times I've been there, the time in July was THE worst ever......anywhere, ever!
I know, I'm just saying its not entirely due to the weather
Thanks for the info tdozi. Were you around rock fish gap.``
yeah, from rockfish gap to blackrock hut. at the hut in particular everyone was finding them all over.
I did the southern 25 miles of SNP last weekend. No tics. The grass on the most southerly 8 miles is very long though, so pay close attention there.
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I am here: http://tapatalk.com/map.php?ibxfhz
Now these last two post seem to be quite differant... hhhmmm
Now these last two post seem to be quite differant... hhhmmm
it happens, i dont doubt we were both there. although, if anyone says they were at blackrock hut sunday night and didnt see any ticks, that i'd have trouble believing. everyone there was pulling them off the whole time.
Wise Old Owl
06-18-2012, 11:12
M Hurley - did Tapatalk just give away your address?
I was near Rockfish Gap this past weekend and had to do very frequent tick checks. I averaged 10 crawling ticks per mile (about 50 total, no joke, stopped counting once I hit 40).. It was so bad that when I got back to my car I ziplocked my clothes and shoes for the ride home, and found another 5 ticks crawling in the bags later. Yesterday, I still found two ticks crawling inside the car near the windows. Sprayed some more permethrin in the bags and I'm just letting them cook out in the sun for a few days because it was nasty. Definitely the worst year I've experienced.
I was on the trail Thursday and yesterday. Hot man HOT. Did find a few on me. Two embedded on me. Wife found none. Go figuire. Was going to stay last night but with 100 temp projected we decided to leave. Glad we did. I looked at forcasts the entire week. Nothing like what happened was ever forcasted. What a storm.
Waynesboro
09-07-2012, 05:34
I believe the theory that some people are less attractive to ticks. I've lived near Rockfish Gap since the turn-of-the-century and spend a lot of time outdoors here, and haven't found a single tick this year. However, local mosquitoes in the area think I am one of the tastiest things that they have ever slurped.
I was hiking on trails about 40 miles up into SNP, not long ago, and we went through a lot of tall grass. 5 of the 7 hikers had to pick several ticks off of them, but two of us didn't find any (I know I did a very careful search). I am not confident enough to say that I am immune to ticks, but I do think that I am unattractive to them, most of the time... and I drink a lot of water.
When I get home, the clothes go into the washing machine immediately, and I go into the shower. Lyme disease is not something that you want to experience. I've heard the stories.
Greg
Different people DO attract insects etc at different levels BUT it isn't necessarily "uniform across all bugs.
If my wife is around it takes a real swarm of mosquitoes for any to come near me. Conversely I attract ticks big time. The original tick magnet.
Bites are different too. Even a short bite from a tick leaves me with a recurring itch and sore for 3 months or more. I have been stung multiple times by wasps (hurts like hell) but have no itch or pain within 1/2 hour. Mosquitoes don't generally give me more than a short period of irritation either. Bull ants (a local nicety) make me sore for days.
turtle fast
09-07-2012, 18:45
Is it possible for some that the lack of ticks was due to another hiker going through the area before them? We had that happen to us with a few groups ahead of us in July.
Is it possible for some that the lack of ticks was due to another hiker going through the area before them? We had that happen to us with a few groups ahead of us in July.
Yeah, could be. Whoever gets out early contends with breaking through the spider webs and picks up the ticks.