Tick Stopper?
Whitetail Deer
I know this sounds crazy and will illicit crazy responses BUT, has anyone ever tried wearing women's panty hose (under your clothes!!) to prevent ticks from attaching to your lower body? I am akin to a tick magnet and even with permithirin get bit. I am willing to try anything.
Not for ticks, but did wear them when riding horses. Your hide doesn't get chapped near as bad. Queen Bee size, nude color.
You need tall boots or gaiters to tuck your pant legs in.... and lots of permithrin.
Griz..... I’m in the same boat. I spray Off on my skin and spray my clothes with Permithirin and I still bring them home. Best luck I’ve had is take all precautions plus I shower as soon as I get out of the woods. Hot soapy washcloth scrubbing hard over every inch of me . I make it a point not to wait more than an a half hour after I return home.
If you shower when you get home use a dandruff shampoo on your body like Head and Shoulders. It contains an ingredient ticks cannot tolerate and they will drop off as you shower. Shawn
Couldn't you just try some sort of Spandex or Tech fabric like runners wear. Running tights? I also found stuff called Rinoskin. Seems like it might accomplish the same thing you are trying without the weirdness of wearing pantyhose.
Rynoskin link. This looks like it might help you.
I bought a complete set of Rynoskin back in '04 for early season in Wisconsin. They had camo back then so I wore the full body of Ryno under some shorts and a tee shirt so it was tolerable in the heat and no ticks attached. Since then it has been in the back corner of my closet (no ticks in Alaska). Would gladly sell if anyone is interested.
I've been using a bug skin during turkey season for 7 years. It is similar to pantyhose but no feet. Works fine but it is really warm later in the spring
I use a spray called Swayers. Very good stuff. Spray on clothes, not skin. Let dry overnight and you’ good to go. I get it at REI but you can probably get it online.
Keep a sticky lint roller in the truck and roll your clothes when you get out of the woods. I do that every time and also my dog when he’s with me. Picks up ticks that are still on the outside of your clothes walking around. Also put a light covered seat cover on your seats. They can fall off while your driving and hang around until you get back in later or someone else drives...little bastards!!
I find that permethrin works best for me when I wear BDU (drawstring cuff) type pants, and of course treat both socks and pants. With open cuffs, the ticks can run up the sock and latch onto your calf. The drawstring is a key barrier. I find ticks dead on the sock below the drawstring.
Thanks for the replies. I have tried OFF, Sawyers, and other permithirin based sprays with no luck. I do shower immediately when getting home but still will find an imbedded tick almost every time. Seems to be so many anymore and they are out almost all year in SE PA. I will try that lint brush idea as I find many while driving home. You would think with all of the Lyme disease there would be a sure fire way to not only prevent them getting on you but also killing them once imbedded. I've wondered about wearing dog flea and tick collars around my ankles too. Anyone try that?
how are you using the permethrin spray? I hang all my clothes ahead of time and spray them down real well and let them dry. it lasts a long time. I spray my boots down too. I feel like you need to give it another try.
Danwesson357, The Rynoskin looks very interesting. Might have to buy some.
I have read that it takes 24 hours for a tick to embed itself, true? Also, there is a clothing line that repels ticks, just can't remember the name of it, maybe someonelse can tell you. But panty hose should work, but it also keeps you warm, so depending on the temps you hunt in it could be hot .
"I have read that it takes 24 hours for a tick to embed itself, true?" FALSE!!!! if a tick finds where he wants to bite you in 5 minutes, he'll dig right in. I've had ticks imbedded in me inside of 15 minutes before under a pair of work gloves. 30 yrs ago I knew of some guys that swore pantyhose would keep the seed ticks off their legs during turkey season.
Grubby, Last year I dedicated a pair of pants, socks, sweatshirt , hat and boots to shed hunting. Sprayed them down with permithirin until they were soaked. Let them dry a few days. Taped my ankles tight. On my first shed walk I had at least 15 ticks on my clothing walking around and found three more on my body after showering. Only one was embedded but the other two were alive and well. The way I attract them, I will keep doing the permithirin but am looking for a final blockade to keep them from biting. I've been treated for Lyme 5 or 6 times now and it is getting old.
Permethrin works. Spray your clothes, boots, backpack......let it dry, and you won't get ticks. Also, your hat......they do drop out of trees, too.
I'm Having the same problem as you , Griz , here in Northeast Pa. There's an infestation on certain properties...... and my 40 acre piece is loaded. It can be a real fight....and you're right it gets old and sometimes I feel defeated, last summer I didn't bother planting after I had too many rounds of Doxy. The worse case I had.....the tick was so small I couldn't identify it as a tick. It looked like a speck of dirt.
Buddy of mine had what he thought was a pimple that would not go away right on the end of his.......er....well, you know where. He went to the doctor and under magnification it turned out to be a tiny deer tick that had nearly fully embedded itself. According to him, only its rear legs and back part of body was sticking out. The doc left the room and he heard all the nurses laughing in the hallway but when the doc came back there was no laughing. A couple of needles in the noodle later they surgically removed it. He said it HURT big time for about two weeks. This is my worst nightmare!! Bill, I'm in SE PA and they are even in suburban lawns around here.
socks over the pants will help and it looks super cool too! They will still drop on you with the permithrin on your clothes but once exposed it should kill them in short order. I set up my tent and blinds too and thoroughly spray the whole thing too. I buy mine concentrated at the feed store and mix it out. I put it in a pump up sprayer.
FYI, Ticks and mosquitoes don't like garlic. I take a deodorized Garlic pill every morning and haven't had a tick attach itself in 7 years. I hunt Eastern Shoe in Maryland lots of ticks. Pulled a few off crawling but no bites.and very few if any Mosquito bites as well , it is also good for your heart as a blood thinner. Worth a try
LB - some others have said it, but that is false, they can and will bite you as soon as they find a spot they like. It seems to take about 24 hours of attachment to transmit lyme disease (your specific number may vary), so if you catch em fast, most people can escape that. But... many tick bourne illness's can pass faster, basically get bit and you git the infection... So definitely err to prevention.
My strategy has been permithrin on outer layer clothes (as others have said, spray, dry, wear), and I tuck my pants into my boots, my upper body under layers into my pants and pray that by the time they reach my neck the permithrin has taken care of em or I've seen them and picked them off. So far, so good... But it's frustrating for sure. Especially with diseases like Powassan (sp?) on the rise...
My brother got Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever last spring from a tick. He was hunting in SE Nebraska. Nasty stuff.
I have been using Permethrin treated clothing for at least 8 years and have not had an embedded tick since I started using it. In fact I seldom find a live tick on my clothing. I used to spray my clothing, but have switched to sending my clothing to a company called INSECT SHIELD and have them treat it. The treatment is good for 70 washings. A single item costs $9.95 to be treated and 3-19 items can be treated for $8.33 per item. A pair of socks is considered as one item.
Items that are labeled Dry clean only ,Water Resistant, Line Dry, or Do not tumble dry cannot be treated.
They have many partners that have treated clothing listed on their website Game Hide, EXOFFICIO, Outdoor Research, and White Sierra to name a few, if you wish to buy clothing that is already treated.
Now why do I prefer to buy clothing that has been treated or send my own in to be treated rather than spray my clothing myself? The clothing treated by Insect Shield is good for 70 washings and has been tested after 70 washings to be effective, clothing that had been stored for 10 years was tested to still be effective. The treated clothing is effective throughout the fabric inside and out. Once fabric that has been sprayed with Permethrin has dried it is safe to wear, but during the process of spraying my own it is difficult to avoid getting exposed to the product.
When spraying my own the treatment is only good for several weeks and about 4 washings. I always forget when I sprayed them and how many times I have washed them. Also the clothing should be sprayed on both the outside and the inside unless using the immersion method. Just to much trouble considering the cost to send my own clothing in to be treated. The sprays such as Sawyers is not cheap and in the long run sending mine in to be treated is cheaper, less work and wore effective.
Now, I do spray my boots, daypack, and the ground I set my pop up blind on. I also spray about a foot up the inside and out side of my blind along with the carpet that I put inside the blind. I also spray the cloth seat covers of my truck since I do not need the verbal abuse I will suffer if my wife were to get a tick from riding in my truck.
I mix my own spray using a 10% permethrin concentrate that I get at Fleet farm. I mix one part of the 10% concentrate to 20 parts of water, which is approximately the equivalent of the Sawyers.
A couple of tips, I always tuck my pants into my socks to prevent ticks from crawling up the inside of the pants. I place my treated cloths in a tote to store them between uses in the event a tick was on the clothing, they will of course die in the tote after contacting the clothing, takes 30 seconds of exposure to the clothing to get a lethal dose. Placing your clothing in a dryer on high heat for 10-15 minutes will kill any ticks. It is recommended to place clothing in a dryer before washing them as washing will not kill the ticks. If you spray your own be sure to at least spray about 10 inches of the inside of you pant legs before you spray the outside. Go to the Insect Shield web site for more information and tips.
I wear Cabela's BugSkinz in tick weather. It works. I live in tick and chigger ground zero and I have never had a single issue while wearing those. Basically camo pantyhose bodysuit.
I really dislike permetherin. I turkey hunted with permetherin treated clothes and I swear it was having an effect on me. Weakness and shortness of breath. No thanks.
Take a look at the elimitick line of hunting clothing. I wear it religiously during turkey season and it WORKS! Use multiple layers of this stuff from long underwear to socks, to all outer garments. I live in one of the worst areas for ticks and have not been bitten or had any on me. Worth every penny!
http://www.glieberman.com/
Military used and approved. Sand Flea's, Biting flies, Tick's Chigger's, and help with blister protection. (Someone mentioned getting chapped ?)
I'm going to try a bunch of Sawyer's spray this turkey season. Might consider the Rynoskin too. I hate removing ticks.
Tried the garlic gel tablets and they worked, but within 3 weeks my body Oder increased dramatically and the wife said to stop! But it worked. Also had a couple guys I worked with get those ear tags for cattle to keep bugs at bay. And attached them to there boots and they swore that this kept the chiggers and ticks off them. Never had the nerve to try it. (not sure what chemicals are in them) But probably better than limes disease. Greg
Hec's under cloths helped me also they are nice a tight and protected me. About the only thing i found them good for.
Try SPANX, ticks hate them. ??
