Deer Ticks

[+corncat]

My wife were out GCing in Babler state park near St. Louis last weekend. We both ended up with deer ticks. What methods to you experienced cachers use to keep these and other little guys from taking up residence? I have read that deet will help, but how can one apply both sunscreen and deet for protection from both?

 

Thanks for your guidance.

[+Skyman]

If you want to go the Natural route use Banana plant leaves as a repellent I've tried them and seems to work for me.

[+briansnat]

DEET on the skin and a permethrin based repellent (like Duranon) on your clothing should keep the little buggers at bay. Also wear light colored clothing so you can see them before they crawl under the clothes and if you don't mind the high geek factor look, tuck your pants legs into your socks.

 

Finally, when you go home a full body tick check is a good idea. This can be a particularly pleasant experience if you can get the Olsen twins to do it for you (don't worry, they're 18).

[+miles58]

Go to a small animal veterinarian. Ask for a product called Mycodex. It smells funny but it's very safe. It is extremely toxic to insects and will kill any ticks you get it on.

 

FWIW you almost certainly had dermacenter ticks (brown dog ticks) instead of ixodes (deer ticks) at his time of year. The ixodes you need to worry about in the spring are the nymph stage ticks and they are so small you would not notice one on your leg even if you have young enough eyes to see something that small.

 

If your local Vet doesn't keep mycodex in stock they can order it for you.

[+Marcie/Eric]

Never mix sunscreen and deet.

 

Use deet on your body, and legs especially. I've never used permethrin treated clothing. But then again, i've never found ticks on myself after hiking. Only after a successful deer hunt. Thankfully they were only on my clothes.

[+cache_test_dummies]

If you are interested, there is a related discussion about ticks and Lyme disease going on over here in the New England forum.

[+carleenp]

Ticks were everywhere last year, I saw log after log mentioning them. Since they were out early here again this year, I assume it will be more of the same.

 

I have used permethrin treated clothes with great results. I tend to add some deet to avoid mosquitos. I have never had a tick when wearing long light-weight fabric zip off pants (comfortable even in very hot weather, I leave the legs on) that are treated with permethrin. I also treat my socks and a light travel shirt.

 

I have no idea about combining sunscreen and deet. A previous poster indicated that was bad. I know that I tend to apply sunscreen before I go out and deet later and have had no problems. I don't use the deet to avoid ticks. I use it for mosquitos since permethrin clothes doesn't do the trick on mosquitos very well.

[+Marcie/Eric]

Not that I pretend to know the effects of faster and increased skin/tissue absorbtion of DEET. But it can't be beneficial...

 

The study showed that combining sunscreen with DEET caused the skin to absorb the insect repellent more than three times faster than when used alone.

 

DEET is the most popular active ingredient in insect repellent, and its use is recommended to reduce the risk of diseases that are spread by insects, such as the West Nile virus.

 

Researchers say although DEET has a low risk of side effects when used on its own, the effects of using products that combine DEET with other substances that increase its potency deserves further study.

 

"DEET has an unbelievably superb safety record; it's been used on millions of people and it's critical that people don't get the wrong message," says researcher Edward A. Ross, MD, an associate professor of medicine at the University of Florida Health Science Center, in a news release. "People should continue using DEET because of the very real risks of mosquito and insect-borne illnesses, such as West Nile encephalitis, but use it in the lowest effective concentration, especially when you use it in combination with other topical lotions or in children."

 

"A lot of people think if a little bit of something is good, a lot is even better," says Ross. "We don't think this is true for DEET. So the message is not to go for the higher percentage, especially when you're using these other compounds. A little bit is better, not the other way around."

 

Sunscreen and DEET Creates Potent Mix

 

In the study, reported in the August issue of Drug Metabolism and Disposition, researchers tested the effects of applying a standard 20% DEET solution vs. a 10% DEET solution plus sunscreen on hairless mice.

 

Although standard 20% DEET took 30 minutes to be penetrate the skin, the DEET plus sunscreen was detectible in the skin in as little at 5 minutes, even though it contained half as much DEET as the standard solution.

 

The study also showed that once the DEET penetrated the skin, it was absorbed 3.4 times faster in the combination DEET and sunscreen than with the standard 20% DEET solution.

 

Researchers say the technology to test skin absorption of chemicals like DEET and sunscreens is readily available, but most manufacturers test these common ingredients individually rather than in combination. They say these findings suggest that more attention should be paid to the possible interactions of these chemicals.

[+Renegade Knight]

Wear pants, tall boots, long sleved shirts. Don't let them get under your clothes easily. Then be sure to do a tick check before they have had time to settle in. They usually like to look for that perfect spot before they dig in and feast.

[+Bird Hunter]

I've always had good luck with 3M's Ultrathon.

 

[+1setter]

Here's a natural way to avoid ticks of any kind. When out walking the trails, don't walk on the trails. The ticks don't move far from where they are born and they are born where they fall off the deer. If you inspect a heavily used deer trail closely, you will see them all over the grass on both sides of the trail. Very hard to find where it's harder to walk.

[+BlueDeuce]

Don't sit down on fallen trees.

[+reveritt]

I recently tried Permetherin for the first time. I thoroughly sprayed my jeans from the knees down. Everyone in my party found ticks on themselves except me.

[+Team Dougherty]

DEET on the skin and a permethrin based repellent (like Duranon) on your clothing should keep the little buggers at bay. Also wear light colored clothing so you can see them before they crawl under the clothes and if you don't mind the high geek factor look, tuck your pants legs into your socks.

 

Finally, when you go home a full body tick check is a good idea. This can be a particularly pleasant experience if you can get the Olsen twins to do it for you (don't worry, they're 18).

I do not know if I would use Permethrin. But I guess everything has its problems. I have had good luck with Deep Woods OFF. But that has deet.

 

Paul

[+Konnarock Kid & Marge]

Don't catch the deer.

[+Greymane]

All are good suggestions, but I cannot stress the body check enough. Even if you treat yourself, this is not perfect. I found a tick on my shirt after our last cache trip. Take the time and be sure you are safe.

Edited April 14, 2005 by Greymane

[+Crazy Aaron]

Permethrin worked for me but it was a pain to remember when to reapply. DEET works too but I don't like the feel it leaves on my skin (and the smell).

 

I simply wear light clothing and do a body check every once in a while when I am hiking and when I get back to the car.

 

When I get home I strip, check my naked body carefully and drop the clothes in the wash.

 

I also check the next day in the shower...any tiny ticks I missed will have latched on and started to become engorged with blood. They're easier to find then. Lyme disease takes a minimum of 24 hours of attachment before you'll become infected.

 

I remove ticks with this:

http://healthytraveler.safeshopper.com/3/104.htm?930

 

Basically, I am mindful and I've had no problems.

[+Eric K]

Can someone post a picture of what a tick would look like on you. Not a blowup but regular size.

 

Also, would a tick be harder to spot on dark skin?

Edited April 14, 2005 by Eric K

[CacheNCarryMA]

Yes, permethrin is your friend. I saw a tick on the cuff of my treated pants. It crawled up about four inches before curling its legs in and dying in agony.

[+HoundGrrls]

When I get home I strip, check my naked body carefully and drop the clothes in the wash.

 

I also check the next day in the shower...any tiny ticks I missed will have latched on and started to become engorged with blood.  They're easier to find then.  Lyme disease takes a minimum of 24 hours of attachment before you'll become infected.

 

Dog book after dog book says you must not just flush tick or put down the drain as this does not kill it. I suppose they mean too that, if not dead, it could crawl back up the pipes and come back to get you. Have you found this to be true?

 

Also, so, are you saying that you can feel ticks the next day on you? Eww. What about places you may not scrub, like hair line if not shampooing, etc.? They don't just fall off, right? Eww. I am liking winter a whole lot more.

 

I know the places they like to go on dogs (near anus, "arm pits",behind ears, between toes, and under chin) but where should I look on me; of course I would not be naked running through the woods but who knows where those critters like to get to?

 

Thanks

M

 

[edit: forgot arm pits. I often find a tick here.]

Edited April 14, 2005 by HoundGrrls

[+Miragee]

Can someone post a picture of what a tick would look like on you.  Not a blowup but regular size.

 

Also, would a tick be harder to spot on dark skin?

Lymnet is a very good resouce for information about Lyme disease, and its ramifications to your life, should you get it.

 

Here are some pictures of ticks, including this one. Eeeeeuuuwww!

 

[+corncat]

Thanks to all of you that responded. We'll be taking your advice.

[+Eric K]

Great! Now I'm going to be to freaked out to go hiking again!

[TCE]

How big is a tick? Here in Oregon, I've only heard rumors of them, and not actually met anyone who's been bit by one. I've done tons of hiking through all kinds of brush, and not encountered them. Are they that rare out here?...or have I just not met anyone lucky enough to be bit by one? Or is it the fact that for most of the year people can wear long pants while hiking in Oregon, and be perfectly comfortable?

[+HoundGrrls]

TCE-

 

Even if you have no dog, you could call a vet. Also, the CDC webpage gives tick info.

 

M

[+HoundGrrls]

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/lyme/riskmap.htm

 

I border red and black, yeah.

[TCE]

Oh, no wonder we almost never hear about ticks, we're in a low risk area according to the map!

 

I guess that makes sense considering most of our ticks come from a clocks and are followed by a tocks!

 

On a more serious note, I did check the map. Thanks for the link, it does make more sense now.