tick mitigation suggestions?

[Praha4]

Ticks are a major problem on NW Florida hiking trails also ... so bad that I rarely do any outdoor hiking any more in the summer. No matter how much repellent I've used, it seems ticks and/or chiggers find a way to attach themselves in tall grass or woodland environments.

I was talking to a doctor I met on the AT this spring, who was telling me that the bacteria that causes Lymes disease is very similar to the bacteria that causes syphilis. nice huh?

some reading here on the subject:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK2314/

[Cotton Terry]

Treat your clothing with Permethrin.

[perrymk]

Ticks are a major problem on NW Florida hiking trails also ... so bad that I rarely do any outdoor hiking any more in the summer.

Back when I had a dog to walk, and even now to a large degree, I select less tick prone areas to hike in summer. These are usually either well maintained, wide trails or forest roads with little traffic. Some can get a bit too much sun but I prefer sun block to tick bites. The trick, especially for female hiking companions, is finding a private clearing in the woods for when nature calls. I still treat as described earlier.

Even in the summer I try to maintain my conditioning so that when hiking season / winter rolls around I am ready to go. I aim for 8-10 miles every Saturday but my daily walks around the neighborhood with a 20lb pack are only 2 miles. I have a towel to cover my drivers seat in the car and a change of t-shirt as I will be dripping with sweat.

[Creek]

go to a local feed and seed or garden center, buy a bag of flours of sulphur. put some in a sock and dust yourself with it. it work on most pests.

good luck.

[Hoofit]

Light colored pants are definitely an advantage as far as spotting the little bas.......ards

[Walkintom]

Sawyer released a Picaridin lotion last month. It seems to do really well at repelling ticks and mosquitoes and does OK on flies as well.

I can lay out in my hammock and the only place I ever get bit is in untreated areas such as through my shirt. Without it, I'm constantly swinging like a fan.

[CoolBobby]

Just did 25 miles in the Ocala national forest on the trail. Light hiking pants, treated with permethrin. Treat shoes socks shirt, and use deet. We got covered in ticks, buy the ones on me dropped off after about 20 seconds. My hiking buddy used tea tree oil. He picked six off that had attached.

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[tflaris]

#1 what CoolBobby said. Permethrin works wonders.


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[ChuckT]

On the FT in Ocala NP DEET is your friend!

[ChuckT]

Ocala NF (National Forest) not NP. Spelling checker strikes again😠.

[martinb]

Just got back from a three nighter in ONF. Ticks are back, a couple of weeks early. Thought I could squeeze one more in before they showed up, nope, pulled three off last day. and flicked a couple off the pack on first two.


Got home and ordered ticktwister. I think it's going to be a banner tick year.

[ChuckT]

Thanks for the up date.
I was down by Lake Arbuckle weekend before last. Came away with nada, fortunately, _but_ saw plentiful signs of hogs and deer. Do the 2 equate do you think? More deer/hogs = more ticks?

Certainly looks as if it's going to go on to being warm (and drier) quicker this year.

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[martinb]

Chuck, I think it's climate-related more than animal pop numbers. I've been going out almost every weekend since the end of general gun (mdi-Jan.) and only one night below freezing. That's not good enough to stunt tick populations. Stock up on permethrin.

[ChuckT]

Bottle in the garage.

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[ChuckT]

Fwiw - Massdrop has got treated socks available. $ 26.00 for 2 pair and good for (if I recall correctly) 70 washings.

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[left52side]

Just hiked the citrus tract and man the ticks were horrible.

[ChuckT]

Two places I clearly recall being hot and parched - Citrus Tract and Farles Prarie and ticks in both.

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[mississippi_dan]

Wear light colored, long pants treated with permethrin. You can buy pre-treated clothing, like bugsaway or you can treat you own. There is also a vendor you can send your favorite garment for treatment.

Wear gaiters that fit snuggly or use athletic tape to secure pants legs to your socks to provide an additional barrier. Don't let them crawl up your legs.

Use picaridin or other repellent on exposed skin. Deet doesn't seem to work very well for ticks, at least for me.

Sulfur powder works best on chiggers and seed ticks. Seed ticks are very small, less than pin-head size. The powdered sulfur can be mixed with baby powder: 10 parts baby powder with 1 part sulfur. I keep it in a small baby powder container to dust it on. I dust on ankles and socks and around the waist. Wash sulfur treated clothes separately and do NOT dry in clothes dryer, else it will smell strongly of sulfur. Sulfur does smell and for this reason I don't normally use it for hiking, but it is toxic to chiggers. Works great when picking blackberries, off trail hiking, or hiking in over-grown areas.

Dan

[martinb]

Tick report coming Sunday night/Monday. Heading out to Hidden pond.

[Traillium]

I helped take a living Black-legged Tick, Ixodes scapularis, off a dog last Saturday, 2016 March 26, in the Niagara Peninsula of Ontario. The tick was fully engorged, and the blood inside was coagulated. My guess is that the tick had been on the dog for perhaps four or five days. In that area of Ontario, approximately 30% of deer ticks carry the Borrelia bacterium that causes Lyme disease.
That strikes me as very early — but we've had a record warm winter …
I'm treating my clothes with Permethrin this week … (BTW, we cannot buy Permethrin in Canada without a pesticide license. I had mine brought in from the US via a friend. I'm also seeking a prophylactic dose of Doxycyclin from my physician, to be used only if I remove a fully-engorged tick from myself as I hike the Bruce Trail through the Niagara area.)



Bruce Traillium