Tick Spray

[Programbo]

Does anyone know a good tick repelling spray for clothing?...I stop by the local high school after work and wander the track for exercise and sometimes walk thru a wooded area which is behind a driving range and gather up stray golf balls (Plus the path in the woods reminds me of the AT)..But this place is full of ticks..It seems if you barely come in contact with a branch you get one on you..I go there in my work uniforms which are professionally cleaned after each use as I get pretty greasy at work so it`s no big deal spraying a chemical on them..I could just avoid the woods but those free golf balls are just so hard to resist

What`s the deal with ticks anyway?..Do they just sit there on a branch for day after day hoping some animal just happens past that spot?..Do they eat anything else or do anything else?

[stag3]

I wondred the same thing..do they just wait for something tasty to walk into them. If so, how do they survive between meals ?

For a repelant, some one suggested DEET. I do not know if this works-maybe just another myth. The latest BP mag has an article on ticks and lyme disease.

[The Hog]

I spray my boots with Permethrin before hiking in tick-infested areas. It's pretty toxic, so you don't want to get too much on your skin. Deet (also toxic?) seems to work as a tick repellent too.

[Programbo]

I`ve been reasearching ticks to find out what makes them tick and although I haven`t gotten a solid answer to my question yet I did find one tidbit of information which makes a good argument for tick abstinence


".....In each case, the fed adult stage is terminal, that is, after laying one batch of eggs the female dies, and after the male has reproduced, he dies as well...."

[Spock]

Permethrin sprayed - ahead of time - and dried on shoes, outside of sock tops and outside of pants legs (if wearing long pants) kills ticks. DEET sortof works, but for heavy tick populations and living/working in the tick woods, the absolutely best thing is flours of sulfur... sulfur dust. Get it at the garden store, put 1/2 cup in an old sock and whack it against your shoes,socks, pants. It is harmless to you and pets and everything except ticks and fleas and other crawling arthropods.

[greentick]

You can get the stuff from REI and other outfitters I'm sure. You treat you clothes before you go into the woods and it repels ticks and mosquitos. Usually it will last for a few washings/weeks. DO NOT SPRAY ON YOUR SKIN. I used it extensively in the Army and found it to work pretty good. That being said you should always do a "tick check" every so often especially if you have brushed/busted alot of foliage. Probably works for chiggers too.

I like the sulfur dust idea. Reminds me of the liquid "chig-away" the army used to issue. Alternate technique: eat sulfur matchheads. Cannot personally vouch for this technique.

[BigToe]

What`s the deal with ticks anyway?..Do they just sit there on a branch for day after day hoping some animal just happens past that spot?..Do they eat anything else or do anything else?

Hard ticks seek hosts by an interesting behavior called "questing." Questing ticks crawl up the stems of grass or perch on the edges of leaves on the ground in a typical posture with the front legs extended, especially in response to a host passing by. Certain biochemicals such as carbon dioxide as well as heat and movement serve as stimuli for questing behavior. Subsequently, these ticks climb on to a potential host which brushes against their extended front legs.

Great info at:
http://entomology.ucdavis.edu/facult...y/tickbio.html

[grrickar]

I spray my boots with Permethrin before hiking in tick-infested areas. It's pretty toxic, so you don't want to get too much on your skin. Deet (also toxic?) seems to work as a tick repellent too.

Actually permethrin is not toxic if you just get it on your skin. I would not suggest injesting it, but it does not pass into the blood via the skin very well. It actually is safer than DEET according to everything I have read. It has been labeled as a possible carcinogen (what hasn't) although it appears to have low toxicity in humans. Note in this article volunteers actually ate some for testing purposes!

http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/permethrin.pdf

This article states that while it's purpose is different than DEET, it cites that using both is the smart thing to do. DEET for skin and Permethrin for clothes = 99% effectiveness against mosquito bites! It also states Permethrin is poorly absorbed by through the skin, and that it binds tightly with fabric.

http://www.travmed.com/trip_prep/insect_permethrin.htm

[swift]

Also, spraying DEET on clothing isn't such a hot idea since it breaks down synthetic material. If your uniforms are cotton you are okay. Walmart sells permethrin spray in the camping section, its called PERMANONE.

[The Hog]

It is very common for people to believe that just about everything causes cancer, so why worry about it. Toxicologists will tell you that in fact relatively few chemical compounds cause cancer. I think it's prudent to minimize one's exposure to carcinogens, not only for oneself, but for future generations (many carcinogens also happen to be mutagens, cause mutations, that is).