Tics!

[+GW_Diesel]

We got Tics this weekend! Besides being a nuisance, has anybody had bigger problems? We did buy some spray with Deet! Is this effective? What's everyones scoop on this?

[beaver96]

Ticks can be a problem. Deet products will help repel them but long term exposure has not been studied. Especially on children. I apply in on my clothing. On my socks,the bottom of my jeans, on a bandana that i wear around my neck. This also helps with the mosquitos and other bugs. Just be careful on what type of material you apply it on as deet can destroy some materials. The best policy is to do a complete tick check at the end of the day. Check all spots where tight clothing gives them a place to hide

 

I just wanna be a cosmic cowboy.

[+aka Monkey]

No, no. He said "tics."

 

Check out this site.

[+aka Monkey]

Sorry, that wasn't very helpful.

 

Yes, ticks can be a serious problem in areas where Lyme disease or Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever are present.

 

Your best bet is permethrin, and it's actually much safer than almost anything else (here's some safety info).

[+shawhh]

ticks are the pits! deet will ward them off, however, i agree that treating clothing with permethrin is the best way to avoid the little blood suckers. just be sure to follow the directions on the can. good luck. -harry

[+briansnat]

Assuming you are referring to ticks and not tics, they can be a problem in areas where caches are likely to be hidden. For the seriously paranoid, spray your face, neck, waist and legs with a DEET repellent and and use a Permethrin based repellent/insecticide such as Duranon on your boots, socks and clothing. Note, the latter should only be sprayed on your clothes.

 

Another way to reduce your exposure is to wear light colored clothes, so you can detect the ticks while they are still on the outside looking for a way in. Also, when you get home, be sure to toss your clothes directly into the washing machine and inspect your body for the little buggers (a slim, blonde, 19 year old German girl named Anna would come in handy for this )

 

This subject has been discussed in detail in the Northeast Forums because the majority of Lyme cases occur in a few northeastern states.

 

 

[This message was edited by BrianSnat on April 28, 2003 at 03:23 PM.]

[+Possum Posse]

You might want to try 3M Ultrathon. It can be bought at Walmart stores. We have had good luck with it so far.

 

"Reputation is what men and women think of us; character is what God and angels know of us" - Thomas Paine

[+Matt1344]

I haven't had my first tick of the season yet but others caching with me have. Yesterday, though, I did have a biting ant that simply would not let go. I discovered him while driving down the road. I tried flicking him but he wouldn't budge. I had to pull over and yank him out of my arm!

[+GW_Diesel]

Tics, Ticks! ha ha, I get it! LOL

 

Actually read through that thread on Ticks in the NorthEast.. Seems to be a bigger problem up there. On the sad side, everyone has their opinions on it! ha ha. I guess I can't let Ticks get in the way of a good Cache find...

[+Markwell]

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong - but the way I heard it:

 

Premethrin for clothing

Deet for skin

 

IIRC, deet applied to clothing does no good, as it is designed to react with contact to skin, not clothing. The way I heard it in the past, deet sprayed on clothing is a waste of deet.

 

Markwell

Chicago Geocaching

[+Newenglandah]

Ok Ok this sounds a bit weird but.....Bring up your intake of garlic in your diet and this will help also, same with your dog if your hiking with him, put some garlick in your doggs food. Not only is it good for you it help ward of ticks/bugs... It may sound like an old wivies tale but it has worked for me....

 

Do you get funny looks from co-workers -when you say your going into the woods with a 200$ gadet to find kids toys?

See You In the Woods!!!

Natureboy1376

[+briansnat]

DEET on Clothing

 

The first place I ever heard that DEET was not effective on clothing was on this website.

 

I checked the websites of a number of repellent manufacturers, as well as several public health websites, including the Center for Disease Control. I found no mention that DEET did not work on clothing. In fact I found many statements recommending that DEET be applied to the skin AND clothing. For instance, here is a paragraph from the Montana Dept. of Public Health website:

quote:

---

Repellants containing DEET (N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide) ...The Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services recommends that people use mosquito repellant containing up to 30 percent DEET for adults, along with wearing loose-fitting long-sleeved shirts. When an adult goes into an area of biting mosquitoes, the DEET can be sprayed onto the clothing, thus reducing the amount of DEET exposure to the bare skin on the neck, face and hands. Other, mosquito repellants can be used, but they don't work as well or as long as those containing DEET. If you plan to be outdoors for a great length of time, it is recommended to wear shirts that cover the arms and pants that cover the legs. Then, for bare skin on the face, neck and hands, use mosquito repellant containing DEET.

---

 

The website of the leading manufacturer of DEET (Reilly Industries) had this on their website:

 

quote:

---

DEET is the superior insect repellent, effective against most biting insects regardless of geographic location. It repels mosquitoes, sand flies, gnats, chiggers, ticks, deer flies and fleas. Applied to the skin, it offers hours of protection. As a repellent on clothing, DEET usually provides protection for several days.

---

Note, they also advise against spraying synthetic clothing with DEET as it may damage the fibers.

 

Of course peremethren based repellents are only to be applied to clothing, as they are also an insecticide, but from what I've read and also from my long personal experience with DEET based repellents, they are also effective on clothing.

 

I also agree with Natureboy about the garlic. I eat lots of it and also take a garlic suppliment and rarely have problems with mosquitos or ticks. When people around me are being swarmed by mosquitos, or covered with ticks, I go relatively untouched. On the downside, I haven't had a date in 6 years.

 

"It has been my experience that folks who have no vices have very few virtues" -Abraham Lincoln

[+HartClimbs]

I have had a nervous tic - but it might be from being around BrianSnat after he ate all that garlic.

 

Seriously, I've found ticks crawling on my legs, arms (under my watchband), and clothes but haven't had one attach in a long time. I'd go with the DEET recommendation others have already mentioned.

 

There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in his home. - Ken Olsen, President, Digital Equipment, 1977

[+Markwell]

Thanks for doing the research Brian. That says it all. THANKS!

 

Markwell

Chicago Geocaching

[+clearpath]

quote:

---

Originally posted by BrianSnat:

 

inspect your body for the little buggers (a slim, blonde, 19 year old German girl named Anna would come in handy for this )

 

---

 

You must use the correct dick inspector for optimal dick detection and (God help you) dick removal. According to the book, "Don't Be A Dick", you should try to... wait a minute ... you mean ticks, okay ... sorry, never mind.

 

"Heck, that scares me and I'm fearless"

[+GW_Diesel]

Ok, should I be more worried about Ticks? Or Worried about the mental stability of some of the fellow cachers? LOL

[+Newenglandah]

quote:

---

Ok, should I be more worried about Ticks? Or Worried about the mental stability of some of the fellow cachers? LOL

---

 

I think both of these are serious maters -hehehehe

 

Do you get funny looks from co-workers -when you say your going into the woods with a 200$ gadet to find kids toys?

See You In the Woods!!!

Natureboy1376

[Captain Chaoss]

I checked the local stores - Wal mart, K-mart, Big Lots, Lowes, etc. Also, all the outdoors stores and catalogues.

Where the heck can I purchase a 19 yr. old german blond?

( hope my wife or the feminists don't read this )

 

Two roads diverged in the woods and I,

I took the one less traveled,

and that is how I found the cache.

[+GeneralBracket]

Ticks can cause tics...

 

http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs.cmu.edu/user/jake/mosaic/lyme.html

 

The wife of a friend of mine has had Lyme Disease for years. She'd go bonkers sometimes just because she saw a certain pattern or color.

 

Can you say permanent disability?

[+ErSamin]

Tick related definition:

 

Politics : From the root words 'Poly', meaning many, and 'Ticks', meaning blood-sucking insects.

 

"Could be worse...could be raining"

[+aka Monkey]

My understanding is that DEET does work on clthing, but be very careful with it. It will dissolve many plastics, and could easily ruin your $300 waterproof-breathable jacket (or your wristwatch or sunglasses).

 

As for permethrin, the reason they say to only apply it to clothing is that contact with the skin rapidly neutralizes it. Spraying it on your skin is simply a waste of permethrin.

 

As an aside, permethrin is derived from a naturally occuring insecticide found in chrysanthemums.

[+Alan2]

Does anyone have data as to which works longer on clothing and/or is more effective: Deet or Permethrin?

 

Alan

[+yumitori]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Alan2:

Does anyone have data as to which works longer on clothing and/or is more effective: Deet or Permethrin?

 

Alan

---

 

You might want to check out the reports on BackpackGearTest. The test items include a number of insect repellents, including Permethrin.

 

Ron/yumitori

[bignoseduglyguy]

quote:

---

Originally posted by GeneralUrsus:

Ticks can cause tics...

 

http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs.cmu.edu/user/jake/mosaic/lyme.html

 

The wife of a friend of mine has had Lyme Disease for years. She'd go bonkers sometimes just because she saw a certain pattern or color.

 

---

 

Believe me, as someone who has Lymes Disease and it's after effects, you don't want to take it lightly. I used to travel to the US every year on business and spent weekends hiking various trails in shorts, never thinking to cover up (no need in the UK). I got a tick bite walking a section of the AT and thought nothing of it, scratching it now and then over the duration of the trip. It was only on the flight back to the UK that the full symptoms of what turned out to be Lymes Disease came on - almost certainly the worst 9 hours in my life. I only got a good diagnosis beacuse my doctor also hiked and had read of the disease. I spent the following weeks delirious with fever, muscle and joint pain and still suffer dizziness and chronic tiredness on occasion to this day.

 

Prevention is 1000% better than cure, believe me.

 

bignoseduglyguy

www.bignoseduglyguy.com - obligatory caching page now added!

[+GW_Diesel]

So, what is it that some people I hear of get hundredes of tick bites, and get nothing, yet I hear of others who get 1 or 2 then get Lymes? Is it truley a regional issue? Or just luck of the draw?

[+Brian - Team A.I.]

Has anyone tried countering them with some 'Tacs'? Sorry, had to say it.

 

Brian

Team A.I.

[+GeneralBracket]

quote:

---

So, what is it that some people I hear of get hundredes of tick bites, and get nothing, yet I hear of others who get 1 or 2 then get Lymes? Is it truley a regional issue? Or just luck of the draw?

---

 

The first paragraph of the link I posted answers your question mostly.

 

Lyme disease is an illness caused by a spirochete bacteria, Borrelia burgdorferi, which is transmitted to animals and man through the bite of infected ticks.

 

The disease is reported worldwide and throughout the United States. The states of New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island and New Jersey account for the majority of cases in the United States. However, cases are reported from all geographic regions of the country. Different ticks are carriers in the different regions. Ixodes dammini (the deer tick) in the Northeast and midwest, Ixodes scapularis (the black-legged tick) in the South, Ixodes pacificus (the western black-legged tick) in the West and Amblyomma americanum (the lone star tick) found in several regions are all considered vectors. The is growing concern that Dermacentor variabilis (the American dog tick) may also be capable of transmitting the disease. Transmission by biting insects (flies, fleas, mosquitos) is speculated but appears to be quite rare.

 

Not all ticks are infected. Infection rates in tick populations vary by tick species and geographic region from as few as two percent to 90 percent or more.

 

[Team Fido T. Catt]

Deet is a good idea, but a serious chemical. Try to limit the exposure to your skin by applying to your clothing.

 

Make sure you check WELL at the end of the day, Lyme disease sucks