Ticks..........

[mudpie]

What do people do about ticks? Are there natural predators that we should get some of for our property to keep the population reduced?
We have Blue Bird boxes on out property. Should we clean the nests out or leave them alone?
Love the property, hate the ticks..................

 

[Boyd]

Get a spray that contains permethrin and use it to treat your clothes. It must only be applied to clothing and not to your skin. You need to do this in advance so it will dry - read and follow the directions exactly. The stuff I've used recently came from Dick's Sporting Goods and is called "Permethrin Clothing and Gear Premium Insect Repellent" - http://www.sawyer.com/bugs.html

You will need to go to a sporting goods store to find this stuff, none of the grocery stores, drug stores or department stores seem to carry it. For awhile WalMart sold a brand called "Permanone" that was great, but I don't think they carry it anymore. Some people feel this is actually a conspiracy on the part of the big companies who make DEET based products like "Off".

If you use this stuff properly and take other sensible precautions - wear a hat and long pants tucked into your socks, you can basically forget about the ticks. I live out in the woods and am outside everyday.

I rotate between a couple separate sets of "outdoor clothes" and treat - pants, shirt, socks and shoes. It is effective for a couple weeks and can even survive a washing or two - you will need to experiment some on your own to determine how often to treat.

Do a search on this site for "permethrin" and you will find a lot of discussion.

 

[ecampbell]

Guinea hens are effective.
http://www.guineafowl.com/fritsfarm/guineas/

 

[dogg57]

Sawyers Spray Works great But is For shoes, clothing, nets, gear and tents (not to be applied to skin) - Lasts up to 2 weeks through several washes - Repels and kills ticks and mosquitoes. Contains .5% Permethrin. You hear every now and then people spraying there skin.Here is a good page for anyone just learning to use this stuff.

http://www.ohiodnr.com/Home/wild_re...ticks/tickprevention/tabid/23643/Default.aspx

 

[long-a-coming]

Good advice as usual. On the hikes in the Pines, especially from the spring on, I use permithrin to treat my clothes, boots, pack, outside of hat etc. It does work. Last May I changed clothes after a hike and relaxed at wading pines campground. I did not have treated clothes at that point. Last December I tested positive for lymes and was put on a heavy duty antibiotic- Doxycycline. I went to the doctors to inquire about pain in my joints and he immediately sent me to get tested. Since the antibiotics I have no more pain. I am getting re-tested tomorrow. I never saw the "bull's eye" anywhere on my body but did notice a tick imbedded in my lower back weeks after this particular hike. I cant be 100% sure I got the tick the day of the hike because I also cut grass on a few properties throughout the summer, and I know walking through tall grass w/o treated clothes is asking for trouble. I will be ready this season with treated clothes in reserve for all outdoor activities. Tick season is closely upon us, take precautions folks!

 

[Pan]

Ticks are the one outdoor thing I'm afraid of, and when I lived back east that's why I stopped going down to the Barrens so much. That was the worst place I've ever been for ticks. I had so many on me down there. Well, maybe the Ozarks were just as bad, come to think of it, if not worse. When I did go down there I wore white socks pulled up over my trouser bottoms so at least I might have a chance of seeing them crawling up. I sprayed my clothes with DEET. Is Permethrin something different? Is it better than DEET?

 

[dogg57]

Pros and Cons:

• DEET needs to be applied regularly and can only work as it is evaporating. Permethrin works for weeks after it has dried inside clothing fibers.
• DEET is applied directly to the skin and can be absorbed through the skin. Permethrin is applied to clothing only and has limited contact to the skin.
• DEET has a detectable odor. Permethrin smells only until it dries.
• DEET does not kill or disable ticks and is a poor repellent. Permethrin works instantly and is extremely effective. It is the tick repellent of choice by the military.
• DEET can melt synthetic clothes like nylon. Permethrin causes no damage to any known cloth or synthetic fiber.
• DEET products are easy to find. Permethrin is hard to find and more expensive.
• DEET is an effective fish repellent. Permethrin's effect on fish is unknown.

http://www.lymeneteurope.org/info/deet-versus-permethrin-as-a-tick-repellent

 

[Pan]

Thanks, Dogg. Good to know. Why is Permethrin hard to find? Is it dangerous or something?

 

[dogg57]

That Info was from overseas

 

[Boyd]

See these posts I made 6 years ago when I "discovered" permethrin. http://forums.njpinebarrens.com/threads/tick-bite-kills.2469/#post-22736

DEET is an excellent mosquito repellent, but it is a fairly poor tick repellent. The reason we are inundated with so many DEET repellents is because there are several huge corporations that manufacture hundreds of variations of DEET products. Only a few manufacturers use the more effective tick repellent ingredient approved for human use: 0.5 % permethrin.

 

[Teegate]

What do people do about ticks? Are there natural predators that we should get some of for our property to keep the population reduced?
We have Blue Bird boxes on out property. Should we clean the nests out or leave them alone?
Love the property, hate the ticks..................

Those high grasses in your back yard are going to make it a tough year for you. That is the type of vegetation I usually find chiggers in later in the year. Keep a close watch on your dog.

Guy

 

[Boyd]

Yeah, ticks can be controlled with permethrin but chiggers are another matter. It's supposed to work on them and maybe it helps, but not as dramatically as with the ticks. They are just terrible around where I live. I think the only way to avoid chiggers is to stay inside your house. But when you do go out, try to avoid any grassy areas. If you can't then hurry back home and scrub yourself down in the shower as soon as possible.

 

[mudpie]

I'm familiar with the pestisides, I was more wondering about the natural preditors that people keep on thier property that help keep the population down.

Were also getting a tractor or something to mow but people have said to get birds around that eat the ticks and chiggers.

 

[Gibby]

I am in agreement with Ecampbell and others with their choice of Guinea hens as an effective means of controlling insects and also mice. Purchase five or six from an auction and your neighborhood will be almost entirely free of pests. I can't think of anything negative from having Guinea hens on your property, other than they can be noisy at times, but I enjoy their cackle and liveliness.

 

[46er]

Where hip waders, and don't sit down.

 

[NJChileHead]

Glad to find this thread, I was going to make a thread regarding tick repellant.

Do people find that they pick them up when walking trails and not bushwacking (being careful to avoid brushing up against overgrowth)? We're planning on going to Wells Mills this weekend and Brendan Byrne in early April, just wondering what we're in for! Thanks for any help that you can give.

Chilehead

 

[Boyd]

If you stay on the trail and avoid brushing up against anything, you won't get many if any ticks. But that may be harder than you think.

 

[GermanG]

Glad to find this thread, I was going to make a thread regarding tick repellant.

Do people find that they pick them up when walking trails and not bushwacking (being careful to avoid brushing up against overgrowth)? We're planning on going to Wells Mills this weekend and Brendan Byrne in early April, just wondering what we're in for! Thanks for any help that you can give.

Chilehead

On that note, see the notice on the recreation sub-forum regarding Wells Mills being closed Saturday. Ticks will be beat down for a bit on the piece burned but it never lasts long. Their reproduction ability fills in any population gaps with amazing speed.

 

[wanderlust]

When we first moved here a few years ago we were constantly bringing in ticks from our backyard. One of our dogs ended up with RMSF and I was pretty much terrified to go out and play with the kids. We ended up getting chickens and also dust our yard with diatomaceous earth. It needs to be reapplied after it rains. Not sure which of these is doing the trick but we have deer in our yard every night and we haven't seen a tick since we got the chickens and started with the d/e.

 

[Teegate]

Glad to find this thread, I was going to make a thread regarding tick repellant.

Do people find that they pick them up when walking trails and not bushwacking (being careful to avoid brushing up against overgrowth)? We're planning on going to Wells Mills this weekend and Brendan Byrne in early April, just wondering what we're in for! Thanks for any help that you can give.

Chilehead

Jessica came up with the best way to keep them in check. She always carries this when ticks are around. And always wear light clothing.

Guy